SAASS 632

FOUNDATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

AY 2016-2017

27 SEPTEMBER – 21 OCTOBER

“None of us could understand the world we live in or make intelligent

decisions without theories.”

John J. Mearsheimer

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SAASS 632: Foundations of International Politics

Course description and objectives: According to the prominent international relations scholar

John Mearsheimer, “All students and practitioners of international politics rely on theories to

comprehend their surroundings. Some are aware of it and some are not, but there is no escaping

the fact that we could not make sense of the complex world around us without simplifying

theories.” The same can be said of the military strategist. This course accordingly introduces you

to theories of international politics. It stems from the conviction that one cannot do strategy

without a working knowledge of international politics and the role of force in international life.

The course is divided into four blocks. The first provides a brief historical overview of

international politics since the mid-seventeenth century as well as an introduction to international

politics as a distinct field of study. The second block represents a survey of leading international

relations theories, distinguishing between the arguments associated with Realism, Liberalism and

Constructivism. The third block looks at the role and limits of military coercion within

international politics. The fourth and final block is a sampling of various topics of significance to

international politics.

Expectations and alibis: If theories of international politics are unfamiliar to you, be forewarned:

the literature on this subject is neither light nor breezy. We are on a journey, one that you will find

rewarding and challenging.

Recall, a theory is a picture—mentally formed—of a bounded realm or domain of activity.

Theories explain things. They do so by isolating one realm of activity from another. Though not

divorced from the real world of experiment and observation, theories are only indirectly connected

to it. Thus theories are never said to be ‘true.’ We judge theories in terms of their usefulness—so

the question to ask when reading about theory is: How useful is it?

A crude but effective way to assess the usefulness of a theory of international politics is to test it

against the world around you. As I prepare this syllabus, China, North Korea, Russia, Iran, Syria,

and the European Union are in the news. How do strategists sort through the noise to get at the

heart of the matter? Theories help—they allow one to focus on a small number of big and

important things, things with strategic significance. To help you develop this analytic skill, we

will examine world events in class regularly. To do so intelligently requires a media strategy. I

suggest something like the following.

To stay on top of things, read The New York Times every day—it is the paper of record. The Wall

Street Journal is also excellent. Familiarize yourself with at least one of the following: The

Economist, National Review, or The New Republic. Also review either International Security or

International Organization; they are the field’s flagship journals. Foreign Affairs and The

National Interest are also worthwhile. Lastly, get in the habit of visiting the following websites:

Amnesty International, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, World Health

Organization, World Meteorological Organization, and the United Nations.

As you read, you’ll notice that some authors have a lot to say about force, its nature, and the

conditions under which it is most effective. Others hardly mention it. This might surprise you but

it is as it should be. Within the field of international politics, there is little agreement as to the

value of force, the causes of war, intervention, or the management of violence.

Likewise, some authors write explicitly about grand strategy, while others hardly mention it.

Again, this is how it should be. It is up to you—the budding strategist—to discern how force and

grand strategy fit into the world. This demands imagination and a lot of hard work on your part.

Welcome to SAASS 632.

Course Assignment:

The course assignment consists of an original, ten-page paper that makes a clear argument

addressing a topic to be provided NLT Tuesday, 11 Oct.

The paper will be written in Times New Roman font, size 12, with one inch margins on all sides.

Endnotes are allowed and do not count against the page limit, but they should consist primarily of

references and not include substantial explanatory text. The paper is due to your professor by

1600L on Friday, 21 Oct.

Grading: Your final grade will be based on seminar participation (40%) and the written

assignment (60%).

If you are in doubt as to how you measure up in seminar participation, talk with your professor.

Syllabus prepared by: Colonel Shawn Cochran, Course Director, Room 2220, ext. 5499.

Teaching Faculty: Colonel Shawn Cochran, Dr. David Benson, Dr. Derrick Frazier

Syllabus approved: Signed copy on file

Timothy M. Cullen, Col, USAF

Commandant and Dean

School of Advanced Air & Space Studies

Date: 14 July 2016

Course Outline

BLOCK 1: The History and Study of International Politics

27 Sep History of international politics

Reading:

James Nathan, Soldiers, Statecraft, and History: Coercive Diplomacy and International

Order

Nathan provides a concise yet sweeping overview of international relations from the 1648

Treaty of Westphalia to recent US air operations in Kosovo, with a focus on the role of

military coercion throughout the centuries. This history provides both the basis for theories

of international politics and the evidence by which these theories are evaluated. In

providing this overview, the author introduces you to the key concepts of international

order, balance of power, collective security, international law, and state interest among

others. What has remained the same in international politics and what has changed? How

has the use of military coercion evolved? To what extent can and should history serve as

a guide for foreign policy decisions today?

28 Sep The study of international politics

Reading:

E. H. Carr, The Twenty Years Crisis (Parts I and II)

Kenneth Waltz, Man, the State, and War: A Theoretical Analysis (Chapters 1, 2, 4, 6-8)

According to E. H. Carr, the contemporary study of international politics was born from

the wreckage of World War I. This tragedy may have prompted the study of international

politics as a distinct phenomenon, but it provided little direction on how to best study the

phenomenon. Carr bounds the study of international politics between Utopianism and

Realism, suggesting the value of adopting aspects of each. Waltz, in turn, describes three

broad frameworks or “images” for assessing the causes of war and peace. What are the

pros and cons of the various approaches to the study of international politics? Do you tend

to be an optimist or pessimist when thinking about the prospects for peaceful and

cooperative international relations? How does your outlook affect your interpretation of

current events?

BLOCK 2: Theories of International Politics

29 Sep Realist thought and realist theory I: Defensive or Structural Realism

Reading:

Kenneth Waltz, Theory of International Politics (Chapters 4-9)

Waltz had three aims in mind when writing this book: first, to examine theories of

international politics and approaches to the subject matter that make some claim to being

theoretically important; second, to construct a structural theory of international politics that

remedies the defects of present theories; and third, to examine some applications of the

theory constructed. In one fell swoop, he redefined the theoretical enterprise and the realist

tradition in particular. Scholars continue to define their work in terms of how close or far

away they are to Waltz’s theory. How does a structural theory of international politics

work? What can a structural theory explain? What can it not explain? What strategies

stem from defensive realism?

30 Sep Realist thought and Realist theory II: Offensive Realism

Reading:

John Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics

In this book, Mearsheimer presents the theory of ‘Offensive Realism.’ One of his central

claims is that great powers consistently look for opportunities to gain power at another’s

expense. In other words, great powers strive for more power; they do not, ‘naturally’

balance against it. The result is a world characterized by fear, mistrust, instability, and

aggression. Do Mearsheimer’s predictions necessarily flow from his underlying

assumptions? Must concerns over survival mandate aggressive state behavior? What

strategies stem from the tenets of Offensive Realism? What world events over the past five

years either support or undermine Mearsheimer’s logic?

3 Oct Hegemonic stability theory

Reading:

Robert Gilpin, War and Change in World Politics

Gilpin makes three main claims in this book: strong states seek hegemony, wars result from

certainty, and peaceful change is rare. Nonetheless, there is utility in hegemony as it

provides an elegant answer to the ‘order problem.’ Within the field today, scholars are

divided on this matter with some defending hegemony and others questioning it. Must

international order be dependent upon a hegemon? Is the United States a declining

hegemon? If so, what are the implications for international politics? What strategies stem

from hegemonic stability theory?

4 Oct Liberal thought and Liberal theory I: The Liberal Peace (?)

Reading:

Michael Doyle, “Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs” Parts I and II

See:

Michael W. Doyle, “Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs,” Philosophy & Public

Affairs, 12, no. 3 (Summer 1983): 205-235.

Michael W. Doyle, “Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs, Part 2,” Philosophy &

Public Affairs, 12, no. 4 (Fall 1983): 323-353.

Doyle is one of the most prominent international relations scholars of the Liberal tradition.

Like other Liberal scholars, Doyle considers ways in which self-interested states can

mitigate the worse effects of anarchy and develop long-lasting peaceful and cooperative

relations. But Doyle also makes clear that “liberalism is not inherently peace-loving nor is

it consistently restrained or peaceful in intent.” And in this series of two articles, Doyle

highlights the differences between liberal practice toward other liberal, democratic

societies and liberal practice toward non-liberal societies. What are the foundations of a

liberal or democratic peace? How are democracies different? Does a liberal viewpoint

encourage military intervention and efforts to force regime change?

6 Oct Liberal thought and Liberal theory II: Liberal International Order

Reading:

G. John Ikenberry, Liberal Leviathan

Neo-liberal institutionalism is the contemporary expression of liberal thought, which

focuses on the relationships among the great powers, economics, and international

institutions. That each plays a role in international politics is hard to deny but do they play

‘the’ causal role? You need an answer to that question—think about it before coming to

class. What is the significance and role of institutions in US grand strategy? Is the

American built and led order durable? What are the primary risks and challenges to this

order and its associated institutions?

7 Oct Constructivist thought and Constructivist theory I

Reading:

Alexander Wendt, Social Theory of International Politics (Chapter 3; pages 165 – 190;

215 – 245; Chapter 6; pages 324 – 342; optional reading: Chapters 1 – 2)

The application of Social Constructivism to the study of international politics presents a

challenge to both Realism and Liberalism. Wendt, one of the original architects of the

movement, emphasizes the importance of ideas over material factors and concludes there

is no single logic of international anarchy. Instead, anarchy is what states make of it. What

can Constructivism help explain better than Realism and Liberalism? Given the privileging

of ideas, are Constructivists more optimistic than Realists or even Liberals? What

strategies stem from a Constructivist perspective?

11 Oct Constructivist thought and Constructivist theory II

Reading:

Martha Finnemore, The Purpose of Intervention: Changing Beliefs about the use of Force

Building upon a Constructivist perspective, Finnemore examines changing ideas about the

use of force, arguing that over time, new types of military intervention become more useful

and effective “because states’ definitions of utility have changed, not in material ways but

in social and normative dimensions.” What causes these social and normative dimensions

regarding the use of military force to change? Finnemore published this book in 2003.

Have our beliefs about the use of force changed since then? What is the role of the military

as an agent in this process of change?

BLOCK 3: Coercion in International Politics

13 Oct Logic of Military Coercion

Reading:

Thomas Schelling, Arms and Influence (Chapters 1-4)

Robert Art (ed), The United States and Coercive Diplomacy (Chapters 1, 5, 6, 9)

According to Waltz, military force not only serves as the ultimate ratio but “indeed as the

first and constant one” in international politics. Today’s readings begin a block focused

more narrowly on the logic and utility of military coercion within the international domain.

To what extent, and under what conditions, does the “power to hurt” offer bargaining

advantages vis-à-vis other international actors? How does the introduction of nuclear

weapons alter this dynamic? What is the difference between coercion and deterrence?

What can we learn from past attempts at military coercion?

14 Oct Challenges of Coercing Weak States

Reading:

Phil Haun, Coercion, Survival and War: Why Weak States Resist the United States

As you recall from Thucydides’ description of the Melian dialogue, the Athenian

delegation to Melos puts forth, “You know as well as we do that right, as the world goes,

is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the

weak suffer what they must.” This may be true, but it does not mean that weak states will

always bend to the will of strong states. In today’s reading, Haun looks specifically at

efforts by strong states to coerce the weak and explains why so many of these efforts fall

short. So, why do weak states resist the United States? What do Haun’s arguments and

findings imply for our military strategies?

17 Oct Air Power and Coercion

Reading:

Robert Pape, Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in War

Pape, a former member of the SAASS faculty, assesses the utility of airpower for coercing

an opponent during times of war and argues against trying to gain the opponent’s

submission through the bombing of civilian or high-value economic targets. Instead, he

proposes the efficacy of a denial strategy. What is a denial strategy? How does denial

differ from attrition? Can punishment, risk or decapitation strategies ever succeed? Do

nuclear weapons matter? What about other technologies? Is there a difference between

coercion in war and coercion in lieu of war? Is there a difference between asymmetric and

more conventional conflicts when it comes to the efficacy of coercive airpower? Does

Pape’s theory align with current Air Force doctrine? How does Pape’s theory alter your

thinking as an airpower strategist?

BLOCK 4: Topics in International Politics

18 Oct Nuclear Proliferation

Reading:

Scott Sagan and Kenneth Waltz, The Spread of Nuclear Weapons

Does the spread of nuclear weapons increase or decrease the likelihood of nuclear

weapon use? How far should we go to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons?

20 Oct Globalization and International Security

Reading:

Stephen Brooks, Producing Security: Multinational Corporations, Globalization, and the

Changing Calculus of Conflict

Does economic integration reduce the likelihood of military conflict? What are the

implications of current trends in globalization for international politics?

21 Oct Rise of China

Reading:

Robert Ross and Zhu Feng, China’s Ascent: Power, Security, and the Future of

International Politics

John Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (Chapter 10 – Review)

What are the implications of China’s growing power? Will the rise of China be peaceful?

How should the United States respond? How do Realist, Liberal and Constructivist

perspectives inform your view of this topic?