GOVT311 - United States Foreign Policy

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Academic Year 2003/2004

United States Foreign Policy
GOVT 311 FA

This course provides a survey of the content and formulation of American foreign policy with an emphasis on the period after World War II. It considers the sources of American foreign policy including the international system, societal factors, government processes, and individual decision makers. The course begins with a consideration of major trends in U.S. foreign policy after World War II. With a historical base established, the major institutions and actors in American foreign policy are considered. The course concludes with an examination of the challenges and opportunities that face U.S. decision makers in building a new approach to foreign policy and coping with the post-September 11 context. A significant component of the course is the intensive discussion of specific foreign policy decisions. It is assumed that students have a basic understanding of the American system of government. A significant component of the course is the intensive examination of significant foreign policy decisions.

MAJOR READINGS

Peter Hayes, Brenda Vallance, and Alan Tassel, esd., AMERICAN DEFENSE POLICY, 7th edition (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997). ADP hereafter.
John Mearsheimer, THE TRAGEDY OF GREAT POWER POLITICS (New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2001).
Jack Snyder, MYTHS OF EMPIRE: DOMESTIC POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL AMBITION (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1991).
Graham Allison and Philip Zelikow, THE ESSENCE OF DECISION: EXPLAINING THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS (New York, NY: Longman, 1999).
Eric Nordlinger, ISOLATIONISM RECONFIGURED: AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY FOR A NEW CENTURY (Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1995).
Tony Smith, FOREIGN ATTACHMENTS: THE POWER OF ETHNIC GROUPS IN THE MAKING OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY (Cam bridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000).

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

There will be two written assignments for the course. The first one will be a 5-7 page paper. The second paper will be a 15-20 page research paper.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Students who wish to be eligible to register for the course during Drop/Add should add themselves to the enrollment request system during on-line registration. Enrollment request preference rankings will be one factor I will consider in making Drop/Add period registration decisions. I will contact those registered for the wait list with further information on adding the course.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS GOVT Grading Mode: Graded

Prerequisites: GOVT155 OR GOVT151

SECTION 01

Instructor(s): Grigorian,Arman

Times: .M.W... 08:30AM-09:50AM; Location: PAC104

Reserved Seats: (Total Limit: 20)

SR. major: 6 Jr. major: 6

SR. non-major: 3 Jr. non-major: 3 SO: 2 FR: X

Special Attributes:

Curricular Renewal: Speaking, Writing

Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-19-2004