AMERICA’S ROLE IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
AMST 420—FALL 2010
Colin S. Cavell, Ph.D. Course Room No.: S17-229
Class MW: 9:30-10:45 INTERNET: cscpo@arts.uob.bh
Office Hours: By appointment Office No.: S17-263
VOICE: 17438775 (W) 39631156 (H)
A
historical survey of America’s rise to international prominence and a discussion
of its current place on the international scene and its stance on various
regional and global issues.
Grading
Policy: 15% for Attendance*; 15% for the Class
Presentation (or Soliya Project); 15% for the Midterm Exam; 15% for the
Research Paper; and 40% for the Final Exam. A Guidelines sheet will be
distributed outlining the requirements for your Class Presentation and for your
Research Paper.
Grading
Scale: 93-100=A; 90-92=A-; 88-89=B+; 83-87=B;
80-82=B-; 78-79=C+; 73-77=C; 70-72=C-; 68-69=D+; 63-67=D; 60-62=D-; 0-59=F
Attendance
Policy*: Attendance in class is mandatory. It is the student’s responsibility to sign
the attendance sheet each day of class; failure to sign the attendance
sheet—even if in attendance—will be counted as an absence. If your unexcused absences exceed 25% of the
total number of lectures of the course in this semester, you will be
automatically withdrawn from the course and be given a grade of (WF) which will
be counted towards your GPA. As well,
you are expected to follow the syllabus and accordingly be prepared for each
day's class. This means that you must
read the pre-assigned readings before class so that you will be prepared to
discuss and debate in class the subject matter scheduled for that day and
answer questions related to the issues being covered. NOTE:
TURN OFF all cell phones during class.
* Absence from class may be made up by preparing a two-page, typed (i.e. using maximum 12 point font size and maximum
double-spaced text with one-inch margin on all sides), summary on the missed material scheduled to be covered the
day(s) of your absence. The summary must
be in your own words and must not be copied material from the text(s),
the internet, or any other source(s). All
summaries must be turned in to me by the last day of classes if you want
credit for your absences.
Required Texts:
Eland, Ivan. 2008. The
Empire Has No Clothes: U.S. Foreign Policy Exposed.
(Updated Edition) Washington, DC: The
Independent Institute. [ISBN 978-1-59813-021-8]
Cavell, Colin S. 2002. Exporting
‘Made-In-America’ Democracy: The
National Endowment for Democracy & U.S. Foreign Policy. Lanham,
MD: University
Press of America, Inc. [ISBN-10 0-7618-2440-5 ISBN-13 978-0-7618-2440-4]
Sept. 20: Introduction to U.S. Foreign Policy:
History, Politics, and Choice
Sept. 22: History of the US Empire
Readings: Eland,
Ch. 1, “The Seeds of Empire,” “A Global U.S. Empire Arises,” “Learn Lessons from World War I, Not
World War II”
Sept. 27: History of the US Empire
Readings: Eland,
Ch. 1, “Fight Against Communism Used as Cloak for U.S. Empire,” “The Post-Cold War Empire,” “Debate on U.S. World Role Has Finally Begun”
Sept. 29: Does the United States Really Have an Empire?
Readings: Eland,
Ch. 2, “Empire Is More Than Simply Territorial Conquest
and Rule,” “American Empire Is Neither Rome Nor Britain,” “American Empire Resembles Ancient Sparta,” “Why Does the United States Have an Empire?,” “One View: Empire Is Needed for Security,” “Domestic
Causes of Empire May Be More Potent,” “The Democratic Peace Theory”
Oct. 3-Nov. 25: Withdrawal
period with (W)
Oct. 4: Does the United States Really Have an Empire?
Readings: Eland,
Ch. 2, “Peace From Spreading Limited Government, Not
Democracy,” “American Empire: None of
the Benefits and All of the Disadvantages of Traditional Empires,” “Benefits of
U.S. Empire Are Scarce,” “Costs of Empire Are High,” “Economics of Empire Don’t
Pay,” “Is Empire Needed for Security and Stability in an ‘Age of Collapsed
Distances’?”
Oct. 6: Why Conservatives Should Be Against Empire
Readings: Eland,
Ch. 3, “Wars and Big Government in the United States: A Historical Overview,” “War and Empire Cause
Government Growth,” “Even Exaggerated Threats Can Cause Expanding Government,”
“Wars and Empire Lead to Increased Spending,” “High Defense Spending Hurts
Economic Growth,” “Paying the Costs of War,” “Hostilities Restrict Free Flow of
International Commerce,” “Interventionists Are Really the Isolationists,” “Is
Economically Isolating a Foe Likely to Be Effective?,” “Economic Sanctions May
Lead to War,” “Economic Coercion Can Kill,” “Economic Sanctions Are ‘Doing
Something’”
Oct. 11: Why Conservatives Should Be Against Empire
Readings: Eland,
Ch. 3, “Commerce Between Nations Lowers Probability of War
Between Them,” “Empire is Counterproductive for Security and Prosperity,” “Free
Commerce Is Better than Imperialist Mercantilism,” “Staying Out of Wars Is
Advantageous,” “U.S. Intervention Is Often Counterproductive,” “Maintaining an
Empire Could Lead to America’s Decline,” “Economic Problems Exacerbated by
Militarism Lead to Decline,” “Yes, Decline Could Happen to the United States
Too”
Oct. 13: Why Conservatives Should Be Against Empire—Guest
Visit by Professor Moustafa Bayoumi
Readings: Eland,
Ch. 3, “U.S. Empire Is in Auto-Expansion Mode,” “Put the
Economy, Not the Military, First in Foreign Policy,” “In the Longer Term, Rivals
Could Overtake the United States,” “China, India, or Russia,” “Can Potential
Rivals Overcome Their Limitations?,” “War and Empire Distort the Constitution,”
“War and the Rise of the Imperial Presidency,” “Members of Congress Have No
Incentive to Rein in Presidential Warmaking”
Oct. 18: Why Liberals Should Be Against Empire
Readings: Eland,
Ch. 4, “Left-wing and Right-wing Wilsonianism Both Equal
Empire,” “International Institutions Veil, Rather than Constrain, U.S. Power,”
“Foreign Policy Has Been Imperial Under Many Post-World War II Presidents,”
“Wilsonians of Both Left and Right Are Aggressive,” “Humanitarian Interventions
Are Often Not Genuine or Effective,” “Hidden Motives in ‘Humanitarian’ Wars,”
“Haiti,” “Bosnia,” “Kosovo,” “Humanitarian Interventions Are Ineffective and
Immoral,” “Disaster in Lebanon,” “Failure in Somalia”
Oct. 20: Why Liberals Should Be Against Empire
Readings: Eland,
Ch. 4, “Shaky Public Support for Military Social
Engineering Overseas,” “Nation-Building Has Not Succeeded,” “Curing ‘Failed
States’ with Military Force Is a Failure,” “Humanitarian Alternatives to
‘Humanitarian’ Military Interventions,” “The Greatest Drawback to Imperial Wars
May Be At Home”
Oct. 25: Why Liberals Should Be Against Empire
Readings: Eland,
Ch. 4, “War and Lost Civil Liberties: A History,” “The USA PATRIOT Act,” “Executive
Branch Infringements of Civil Liberties,” “Why Augmented Government Powers
Undermine the Fight Against Terrorism,” “Think of Terrorism as a Crime, Not a
War,” “The Government Frequently Shoots Itself in the Foot,” “Imperial Wars
Spike Corporate Welfare”
Oct. 27: Why All Americans Should Be Against Empire
Readings: Eland,
Ch. 5, “Imperial Foreign Policy Leads to an Imperial
Presidency,” “U.S. Empire Has Eroded the Congressional War Powers,” “The Empire Denudes U.S. Security,” “Terrorists Do Not Attack American Freedoms
or Culture,” “Blowback Terrorism Is Caused by U.S. Interventionism,” “Al Qaeda Terrorists Are Not the
Only Ones Who Hate U.S. Foreign Policy”
Nov. 1: Why All Americans Should Be Against Empire
Readings: Eland,
Ch. 5, “U.S. Government May Have Little Interest in
Protecting Its Citizens,” “‘War on Terror’ Used to Cloak Imperial Actions,”
“Empire-Building Is Outdated and Dangerous,” “Offensive Strategy Will Be
Ineffective in Today’s World,” “Offensive Strategy at a Time of Defensive
Advantage,” “Strategically, Terrorism Is an Effective Defensive Technique,”
“Interventionist Policy: Costs Increase,
Benefits Decline”
Nov. 3: An Appropriate U.S. Foreign Policy for the Modern Age
Readings: Eland,
Ch. 6, “The Founders’ Foreign Policy Is More Relevant Than
Ever,” “Why Did the Founders Adopt a Policy of Military Restraint?,” “In Some
Key Respects, the World Has Become Less Interdependent,” “Returning to an
Offshore Balancing Strategy,” “Abandon Outdated Alliances,” “Why Is the U.S.
Defending Rich Allies?”
Nov. 8: An Appropriate U.S. Foreign Policy for the Modern Age
Readings: Eland,
Ch. 6, “Alliances:
Costs Outweigh Benefits,” “U.S. Vital Interests,” “Focus on Three Key
Regions,” “Dealing with Rising Powers,” “Define Protection of Trade Narrowly,”
“Reduce the U.S. Nuclear Arsenal,” “Nonvital Interests,” “Empire or Role
Model?,” “Conclusion”
Nov. 10: Midterm Exam
Nov. 14-18: Mid-Semester
break holiday—[no classes]
Nov. 16: Arafah Holiday—[no classes]
Nov. 17-19: Eid Al-Adha
holiday—[no classes]
Nov. 22: Exporting ‘Made-In-America’ Democracy
Readings: Cavell,
“Introduction”
Nov. 24: Exporting ‘Made-In-America’ Democracy
Readings: Cavell,
“Introduction”
Nov. 29: Democracy and Hegemony
Readings: Cavell,
Ch. I, “Democracy and Hegemony”
Dec. 1: Democracy and Hegemony
Readings: Cavell,
Ch. I, “Democracy and Hegemony”
Dec. 6: From Westphalia to Globalization
Readings: Cavell,
Ch. II, “From Westphalia to
Globalization”
Dec. 7: Al-Hijra New Year 1432 holiday—[no classes]
Dec. 8: From Westphalia to Globalization
Readings: Cavell,
Ch. II, “From Westphalia to
Globalization”
Dec. 13: Past U.S. Attempts to Export Democracy in Latin America
Readings: Cavell,
Ch. III, “Past U.S. Attempts to Export Democracy in Latin America”
Dec. 15: Past U.S. Attempts to Export Democracy in Latin America [Last Day for In-Class Presentations]
Readings: Cavell,
Ch. III, “Past U.S. Attempts to Export Democracy in Latin America”
Dec. 16-17: National Day of Bahrain holidays—[no classes]
Dec. 16-17: Ashura holidays—[no classes]
Dec. 20: Origin, Structure, & Grantfunding Practices of the
NED
Readings: Cavell,
Ch. IV, “Origin, Structure, & Grantfunding Practices
of the NED”
Dec. 22: Last day for submitting enforced withdrawal
forms
Dec. 22: Origin, Structure, & Grantfunding Practices of the
NED
Readings: Cavell,
Ch. IV, “Origin, Structure, & Grantfunding Practices
of the NED”
Dec. 27: Capitalism, Hegemony, and Democracy
Readings: Cavell,
Ch. V, “Capitalism, Hegemony, and Democracy”
Dec. 29: Capitalism, Hegemony, and Democracy
[Research Papers Due]
Readings: Cavell,
Ch. V, “Capitalism, Hegemony, and Democracy”
Jan. 1, 2011: New Year’s
holiday—[no classes]
Jan. 3, 2011: Last
day of classes; Review
Jan. 15,
2011: Final Exam
14:30-16:30
Jan. 22, 2011: Last day for submitting first semester’s
grades to the Registration Department
Jan. 23-Feb. 19, 2011: Inter-semester Break [Holidays]