Basic Information
- Location- Hubbard Basement Seminar 22
- Times- TTh 2:30-4:00
- Office- Hubbard Hall Tower
- Office Hours- MW 2-3:30, TTh 11-12
- Phone- 725-3294
- E-mail: aspringe@polar.bowdoin.edu
Introduction
This seminar has as its central concern the challenge of preventing and controlling armed conflict. It begins with two well-known studies, Donald Kagan’s On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace and Just and Unjust Wars by Michael Walzer, which offer very different perspectives on the problem. We will then focus on two major conflicts of both historic and continuing significance: the UN operation against Iraq and the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Through these case studies, we will address such questions as the value of legal rules and institutions in controlling state behavior, the changing role of the United Nations, and the challenge of using diplomacy to resolve international disputes. In addition to introducing students to important issues in the study of international relations, the seminar requires extensive writing and offers students an opportunity to become acquainted with a range of source materials.
Readings
The following books are required for the course and are available through the Smith Union Bookstore:
James E. Bjork and Allan A. Goodman, "Yugoslavia, 1991-92: Could Diplomacy Have Prevented a Tragedy?" Pew Case Studies in International Affairs, No. 453 (Washington, DC: Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, 1993)
Richard Holbrooke, To End a War (New York: Modren Library Paperbacks, 1998, revised)
Donald Kagan, On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace (New York: Doubleday, 1995)
Martin Staniland, “Getting to No: The Diplomacy of the Gulf War, 1990-91,” Pew Case Studies in International Affairs, No. 449. Parts A, B, and C (Washington, DC: Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, 1993)
Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars (2nd ed., New York: Basic Books, 1992)
Since the class will include discussion of contemporary world events, you will also be expected to read the New York Times on a daily basis.
Requirements
Each student is required to complete four assigned papers. Assignments will normally be available at least 2 weeks before the papers are due. Papers should be 5-7 double-spaced pages in length, with normal margins and font sizes, and must be typed. Footnotes and bibliographies should be included in consistent and acceptable form. Papers are expected in my office on the due date by 5 p.m.. For every day the paper is late, I will lower your grade by one step (e.g. B to B).
Class participation is important to the seminar's success. Reading assignments must be completed before the class in which they will be discussed. Students are expected to attend all classes and to contribute regularly to class discussion.
On November 19-20, the class will be held at the Breckinridge estate on the York River in southern Maine, where we will simulate a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. We will be staying overnight and there will be a charge of $40 per student to cover the cost of accommodations and 3 meals at Breckinridge. (If this additional charge presents a problem for you, please speak with me about it.) Each of you will be expected to prepare a short (2-3 page) position paper and to contribute draft resolutions for discussion at that meeting.
The approximate weighting of these requirements in determining your final grade is:
80%- 4 papers (20% each) 20% - class participation
Syllabus
I. Introduction---9/2
II. A History of Armed Conflict (Paper #1- due 9/24)
A. The Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.)- 9/7
Kagan, On the Origins of War, ix-79
B. The First World War (1914-1918)- 9/9
Kagan, On the Origins of War, 80-231
C. Hannibal’s War, The Second Punic War (218-202 B.C)- 9/14
Kagan, On the Origins of War, 232-280
D. The Second World War (1939-1945)- 9/16
Kagan, On the Origins of War, 281-436
E. The Cuban Missile Crisis- 9/21
Kagan, On the Origins of War, 437-575
F. Analysis- 9/23
III. Ethics and Armed Conflict (Paper #2- due 10/15)
A. Introduction- 9/28
Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars, Prefaces and pp. 1-20
B. The Moral Reality of War- 9/30
Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars, pp. 21-47
C. The Theory of Aggression- 10/5, 10/7
Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars, pp. 51-124
D. The War Convention, Dilemmas of War, and the Question of Responsibility- 10/12, 10/14
Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars, pp. 127--335 (esp. pp. 160-175, 197-206, 233-268)
IV. The United Nations Operation Against Iraq (Paper #3- due 11/5)
A. Background- 10/19, 10/21
Staniland, "Getting to No," Part A
B. UN Action Against Iraq- 10/28, 11/2
Staniland, " Getting to No," Parts B and C
C. Aftermath and Analysis- 11/4
V. War in the Balkans (Paper #4- due 12/8)
A. Origins of the Conflict and the Breakup of Yugoslavia- 11/9, 11/11
Bjork and Goodman, "Yugoslavia, 1991-92,” entire
B. Simulation Exercise- UN Response to Hypothetical Crisis
Submissions: Proposed resolutions- due 11/18 Background paper- due 11/19
1. Background- 11/16
2. Preparatory Meetings- 11/18
3. Simulation Exercise- 11/19-20 [NO CLASS- November 23]
C. The Search for an International Solution: The Dayton Peace Accords and the War in Kosovo- 11/30, 12/2, 12/7
Holbrooke, To End a War, entire
Electronic Links
I plan to communicate with the class (e.g. update you on class assignments, answer questions) via e-mail. Please read your e-mail on a daily basis; you are responsible for being aware of any e-mail messages I send out!
I have provided a list of websites that may be of interest to students in this and other international relations courses. To find them simply press here.