W3963x. Seminar in International Politics:

Contemporary Issues of World Order

Jack Snyder

Fall 2000, Mondays, 2:10-4:00, meets in 717 International Affairs Building

office: 1327 International Affairs, 854-8290, JLS6@columbia.edu

office hours: Mon. 4-5, Weds. 11-12; and by appointment.

Themes: Is the international system undergoing fundamental changes, and if so, what kind? How is an increasingly powerful United States attempting to shape the contemporary “world order,” and how are other actors responding to these attempts? What are the implications of this for the spread of democracy, the management of ethnic conflicts, the promotion of human rights, retroactive justice for crimes against humanity, and economic globalization?

Requirements: One paper, about 25 pages. A great deal of flexibility will be allowed regarding topics and formats. One possible format is to use case studies to test a theoretically-grounded argument. Historical cases are appropriate, though their relevance to contemporary issues should be explained. Students may do policy options papers, though these should be informed by relevant theories. Paper proposals will be discussed in small groups in my office at times to be arranged during the first weeks of October. The final version of paper is due Dec. 13.

Students will present their research projects to the class at some point during the term. The exact timing of the presentation will depend in part on where the topic fits into the weekly themes. For example, students working on human rights will make brief presentations during the week in which we discuss the human rights readings on the syllabus. This means that some students will be presenting what amounts to a proposal fairly early in the term, whereas other students may be presenting something close to their final results later in the term. In addition, papers topics and drafts will be discussed individually with me during the term and in small groups of students working on related topics.

Readings: Required readings are mainly on reserve in Lehman library, though some may be at Butler or Barnard. Please check CLIO. Many supplementary readings are also on reserve in Lehman. Asterisk (*) indicates a paperback ordered at the Labyrinth bookstore, 536 W.112 St.. (#) indicates a reading included in the coursepack, which is available for purchase at the Village Copier.

Week 1. Sept. 11. DEBATES ABOUT WORLD ORDER AND DISORDER

During the decade following the demise of the Berlin Wall, public intellectuals debated the likely character of the newly emerging international system. You’ve probably read some of these pieces before, but if you missed some of them, they provide a good background for understanding the intellectual mindset of this period.

F. Fukuyama, "The End of History," The National Interest, summer 1989, excerpted in *Bruce Jentleson, Perspectives on American Foreign Policy.

S. Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations?" Foreign Affairs, summer 1993, pp. 23-49, excerpted in *Jentleson, American Foreign Policy.

Thomas Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, esp. 254-261.

Jessica Mathews, "Power Shift," Foreign Affairs (Jan./ Feb. 1997), 50-66.

Robert D. Kaplan, “The Coming Anarchy,” The Atlantic Monthly 273:2 (February 1994), 44-76.

2. Sept. 18. HEGEMONIC LEADERSHIP AND THE UNIPOLAR MOMENT

America now has unprecedented strength in every dimension of power. How do hegemonic leaders commonly try to organize acquiescence to their leading role?

#William Wohlforth, “The Stability of a Unipolar World,” International Security, summer 1999.

#G. John Ikenberry and Charles Kupchan, “Socialization and Hegemonic Power,” International Organization, summer 1990, 283-315.

#G. John Ikenberry, “Institutions, Strategic Restraint, and the Persistence of American Postwar Order,” International Security, winter 1998/99, 43-78.

SUPPLEMENTARY:

S. Krasner, "State Power and the Structure of International Trade," World Politics, April 1976.

T. McKeown, "Hegemonic Stability Theory and Nineteenth Century Tariff Levels in Europe," International Organization, winter 1983.

J. A. Gallagher and R. E. Robinson, "The Imperialism of Free Trade," Economic History Review, vol. 6 (1953), pp. 1-15. The British strategy of informal empire and indirect control.

Paul Kennedy, Strategy and Diplomacy, 1870-1945, ch. 1, 2, 8. The British empire lasted so long because of astute retrenchment and appeasement.

C. Layne, "The Unipolar Illusion: Why New Powers Will Rise," International Security, spring 1993, reprinted in Lynn-Jones, Cold War and After, expanded 1993 ed.

3. Sept. 25. AMERICA: THE ASSERTIVE LIBERAL HEGEMON?

*John Ruggie, Winning the Peace: America and World Order in the New Era.

SUPPLEMENTARY:

*B. Jentleson, Perspectives on American Foreign Policy, reader includes classic essays by Morgenthau and Kissinger as well as newer historical scholarship on the Cold War and contemporary issues pieces.

4. Oct. 2. THE POTENTIAL TO TRANSFORM THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM?

What do theories of the states system and international politics tell us about the likelihood of a fundamental change in the international system? What might such a change look like, and what might cause it? Browse at least one of these recent books, which are part of a wave of scholarship that questions what had long been taken for granted about the timeless nature of the states system. As background, you will need to have read Kenneth Waltz, Theory of International Politics.

*Alexander Wendt, Social Theory of International Politics, esp. chapters 1 and 7. This is very abstract and is not for everyone. However, it is the most ambitious attempt to think about the processes through which state identities might change and with them the nature of the anarchical states system.

*Martha Finnemore, National Interests in International Society, ch. 1 and any of the subsequent empirical chapters. How the norms of international society spread and penetrate actors around the globe.

*Charles Tilly, Coercion, Capital, and European States, ch. 1-6. Where did states and the system of states come from in the first place? By implication, how might social processes change that system and the nature of its units?

SUPPLEMENTARY:

Christian Reus-Smit, The Moral Purpose of the State, ch. 1-3. How the moral purposes of domestic society are reflected in the norms of international society: case studies of Ancient Greece and elsewhere.

5. October 9. NO CLASS; SMALL GROUP MEETINGS.

We will meet in small groups in my office at various times during this week or the following week to discuss your paper proposals. The proposal should be about three pages. Generally speaking, it should state (1) what question you are asking, (2) why it is important for theory and/or policy, (3) what hypothesis you expect to advance, (4) what alternative hypotheses you will address, and (5) what evidence you will examine to prove your argument. For methodological guidance in devising tests for your argument, you may wish to consult Van Evera, Guide to Methods, and Gary King, R. Keohane, S. Verba, Designing Social Inquiry (see readings for Oct. 16).

6. October 16. MAKING RIGOROUS ARGUMENTS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE

*Gary King, R. Keohane, S. Verba, Designing Social Inquiry. The positivist bible.

*S. Van Evera, Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science. Simpler and more accessible than KKV, giving advice that is similar but not identical.

J. Fearon, "Counterfactuals and Hypothesis Testing in Political Science," World Politics, January 1991. Research made easy: just make up your evidence!

C. Geertz, The Interpretation of Cultures, ch. 1, “Thick Description.” A different approach to understanding social processes that focuses on the meaning of actions to the participants.

7. October 23. SPREADING DEMOCRACY.

One of the key stated objectives of American foreign policy during the 1990s has been to promote the spread of democracy. How are we doing in that regard? What are some of the side-effects of democratic transitions?

*Thomas Carothers, Aiding Democracy Abroad

F. Zakaria, “The Rise of Illiberal Democracy,” Foreign Affairs, Nov. 1997.

Jane S. Jaquette, "Women in Power: From Tokenism to Critical Mass," Foreign

Policy (Fall 1997), 23-27.

*Jack Snyder, From Voting to Violence: Democratization and Nationalist Conflict, chapter 1, and maybe chapters 2, 5, and 6.

SUPPLEMENTARY:

M. Doyle, “Liberalism and World Politics,” American Political Science Review, December 1986. The classic article on the democratic peace.

8. October 30. MANAGING CONTEMPORARY ETHNIC AND CIVIL CONFLICT.

What tools and strategies should the international community use to manage ethnic and civil conflicts -- powersharing, partition, military intervention, mediation, others?

*D. Lake and D. Rothchild, “Containing Fear: The Origins and Management of Ethnic Conflict,” International Security, fall 1996, reprinted in M. Brown, Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict. Rationalistic diagnosis and prescriptions.

#J. Montville, Conflict and Peacemaking in Multiethnic Societies, ch. 25, Horowitz contrasting Malaysia and Sri Lanka, and ch. 27, Lijphart on powersharing. Should ethnic peace be built on powersharing guarantees for groups, or on incentives to break down group loyalty through electoral incentives for cross-ethnic voting?

I. Lustick, "Stability in deeply divided societies: consociationalism versus control," World Politics, vol. 31, 1979. Or is the hegemony of one group more stabilizing?

*C. Kaufmann, “Possible and Impossible Solutions to Ethnic War,” International Security, spring 1996, reprinted in Brown, Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict. Once the mayhem starts, insecurity rises, identities harden, and partition may be the only solution.

R. Kumar, “The Troubled History of Partition,” Foreign Affairs, January/February 1997, rebuttal to Kaufmann. Partition as a cause of conflict, not a solution?

C. Kaufmann, “When All Else Fails: Ethnic Population Transfers and Partitions in the Twentieth Century,” International Security, fall 1998. Surrebuttal to Kumar.

B. Walter, “The Critical Barrier to Civil War Settlement,” International Organization, summer 1997. Fear of being exploited after laying down arms.

Richard K. Betts, “The Delusion of Impartial Intervention,” Foreign Affairs 73:6 (November/December 1994), 20-33. To make peace, back a winner.

*J. Snyder, From Voting to Violence, chapter 7. Democratization as a challenge for all of these solutions unless institutions are strong and elites feel secure.

Chester Crocker, Herding Cats: Multiparty Mediation in a Complex World. Practitioners writing good contemporary cases studies about mediation efforts.

SUPPLEMENTARY REFERENCES FOR THOSE STUDENTS WRITING PAPERS ON NATIONALISM TOPICS:

S. and L. Rudolph, "Modern Hate," New Republic, March 22, 1993. It's not ancient hatreds.

E. Hobsbawm and T. Ranger, The Invention of Tradition, ch. 1. Social construction of nationalism.

Barry Posen, "The Security Dilemma and Ethnic Conflict," Survival, spring 1993, reprinted in Michael E. Brown, ed., Ethnic Conflict and International Security.

J. Fearon and D. Laitin, “Explaining Interethnic Cooperation,” American Political Science Review, December 1996. Formal model of ethnic groups’ internal policing.

V. Bunce, Subversive Institutions, ch. 5 and 6. Ethnofederal structure broke up USSR, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, but why the varying amounts of wreckage?

Human Rights Watch, Slaughter among Neighbors, read introduction and browse your favorite cases of recent ethnic conflict. Argues that authoritarian regimes play the ethnic card; democratization, civil society, and free speech are the solution.

S. Smooha, “Minority Status in an Ethnic Democracy: the Status of the Arab Minority in Israel,” Ethnic and Racial Studies, July 1990.

S. Woodward, Balkan Tragedy, on the Yugoslav break-up.

Hurst Hannum, Autonomy, Sovereignty, and Self-Determination. A lawyer looks at the right to self-determination and ethnic conflict.

*Stephen Van Evera, “Hypotheses on Nationalism and War,” International Security, spring 1994, reprinted in Brown, Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict. When does nationalism cause war, when not?

Donald Horowitz, A Democratic South Africa? Constitutional Engineering in a Divided Society, ch. 5, 6. Electoral schemes for encouraging cross-ethnic coalitions. See also D. Horowitz, Ethnic Groups in Conflict, ch. 7-10.

Arend Lijphart, “The Alternative Vote: A Realistic Alternative for South Africa?” Politikon: The South African Journal of Political Science 18:2 (June 1991), 91-101. Rebuttal to Horowitz.

A. Lijphart, Democracy in Plural Societies. The classic statement on consociation.

*V. P. Gagnon, “Ethnic Nationalism and International Conflict: The Case of Serbia,” International Security, winter 1994-95, reprinted in Brown, Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict. Milosevic the cynical manipulator. Why did it work?

G. Prunier, Rwanda Crisis, esp. ch. 1, 5, and 7.

D. Laitin, Identity in Formation: The Russia Speaking Populations in the Near Abroad, esp. ch. 1, 9, 12. Rational language-learning choices in new nation-states.

9. November 6. PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS

*Margaret Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists beyond Borders, ch. 1, 3, 5.

*Thomas Risse and Kathryn Sikkink, “The Socialization of International Human Rights Norms into Domestic Practice,” in Risse, Stephen Ropp, and Sikkink, The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change (Cambridge UP, 1999).

SUPPLEMENTARY:

C. Kaufmann and R. Pape, “Explaining Costly International Moral Action: Britain’s...Campaign against the Slave Trade,” International Organization, fall 1999.

Amartya Sen, "Universal Truths: Human Rights and the Western Illusion,"

Harvard International Review (Summer 1998).

10. November 13. NO CLASS; SMALL GROUP MEETING TO DISCUSS PAPERS

11. Nov. 20. TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE

Some people argue that peace in new democracies and post-conflict societies requires justice, and that perpetrators of crimes against humanity must be put on trial. Some people argue that amnesty is acceptable, but only if the truth comes out and the perpetrators admit to their actions. Others argue that it’s better to forget the past, not obsess on it. Who’s right under what conditions? How should this question be studied?

Steven R. Ratner, "The International Law: The Trials of Global Norms,"

Foreign Policy, 110 (Spring 1998), 65-80, excerpted in R. Art and Jervis, International Politics, 5th ed.

Pauline Baker, “Conflict Resolution versus Democratic Governance: Divergent Paths to Peace?” in C. Crocker, ed., Managing Global Chaos, 563-573.

Neil J. Kritz, Transitional Justice: How Emerging Democracies Reckon with Former Regimes (United States Institute of Peace Press, 1995), esp. excerpt from Huntington, Third Wave, and browse elsewhere.

#Jon Elster, “Coming to Terms with the Past. A Framework for the Study of Justice in the Transition to Democracy,” European Journal of Sociology (Archives européenes de sociologie) 39:1 (1998), 7-48.

SUPPLEMENTARY:

Hedley Bull, The Anarchical Society, Chapter 4, "Order versus Justice in World Politics."

Carlos Nino, Radical Evil on Trial.

12. Nov. 27. GLOBALIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS

#Dani Rodrik, "Sense and Nonsense in the Globalization Debate,” Foreign

Policy (Summer 1997)

#S. Krasner, “Abiding Sovereignty,” forthcoming in International Political Science Review, xerox in coursepack.

UN Development Program, “Social Stewardship: Globalization and Global Inequality,” in *Jentleson, 265-277.

William Reno, Warlord Politics in African States (Lynne Rienner, 1998), chapters 1 and 4, on Sierra Leone and the decentralized world economy.

Kiren Chaudhry paper, TBA

13. Dec. 4. REACTIONS TO AMERICAN HEGEMONIC LEADERSHIP?

*Mark Juergensmeyer, The New Cold War? Religious Nationalism Confronts the Secular State, ch. 1, 2, 3, 6.

David Shambaugh, “Containment or Engagement of China? Calculating Beijing’s Responses,” International Security 21:2 (Fall 1996), 185-6.

M. McFaul, “The Precarious Peace,” International Security, winter 1997-98. Why nationalism has remained relatively tame in democratizing Russia.

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