Additional Readings (and links!) for PS413/513 American Foreign Policy

Additional Readings for PS413/513 American Foreign Policy

For each article below, I have posted a link to an online source that provides the content of the article or the scan. Note that for most of these links, you will have to be on campus or have proxy access (see the library's help page) to read the articles from your computer.

Michalak, Stanley, “Worldviews and the Analysis of Foreign Policy”, Chapter 1 in Competing Conceptions of American Foreign Policy. New York: Harper, 1991.

Graham Allison, "Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis." American Political Science Review. 63 (1969) 689-718.

Gaddis, J. L. “The Long Peace: Elements of Stability in the Postwar International System.” International Security, Spring, 1986, Vol. 10, No. 4

Mueller, John, “The Essential Irrelevance of Nuclear Weapons: Stability in the Postwar World.” International Security, Fall, 1988, Vol. 13(2)

Jervis, Robert, “The Political Effects of Nuclear Weapons.” International Security, Fall, 1988, Vol. 13, No. 2

Mearsheimer, John, “Back to the Future: Instability in Europe after the Cold War.” International Security, Summer 1990, Vol. 15, No. 1.

Wayman, F.W., “Bipolarity and War.” Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 21, No. 1 (1984), pp. 61-78.

Russett, Bruce M., John R. Oneal, and Michaelene Cox. “Clash of civilizations, or realism and liberalism deja vu? Some evidence.” Journal of Peace Research. Sept 2000 v37 i5 p583

Huntington, Samuel P. “Try again: a reply to Russett, Oneal and Cox.” Journal of Peace Research Sept 2000 v37 i5 p609

Oneal, John R. and Bruce M. Russett. “A response to Huntington.” Journal of Peace Research. Sept 2000 v37 i5 p611

Press, Daryl G., "The Myth of Air Power in the Persian Gulf War and the Future of Warfare," International Security. 26:2 (Fall 2001), 5–44

Posen, Barry R. “Military responses to refugee disasters,” International Security. Summer 1996 v21 n1

Pape, Robert, “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism”, American Political Science Review, Vol. 97, No. 3 August 2003: 1-19.

Bueno de Mesquita, Ethan, “Politics and the Suboptimal Provision of Counterterror." International Organization 61(1).

Fearon, James and David Laitin. 2003. “Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War.” American Political Science Review 97(1):75-90.

Fearon, James. “Why do Some Civil Wars Last So Much Longer Than Others?” Journal of Peace Research

Vasquez, John, 1995. “Why Do Neighbors Fight? Territoriality, Proximity, or Interactions.” Journal of Peace Research 32 (August): 277-293,

Douglas M. Gibler. 2007. Bordering on Peace: Democracy, Territorial Issues, and Conflict. International Studies Quarterly.

Marc Hutchison and D. M. Gibler. 2007. Political Tolerance and Territorial Threat: A Cross-National Study, Journal of Politics.

Huntington, Samuel, “Why International Primacy Matters.” International Security, Spring 1993, Vol. 17, No. 4.

Jervis, Robert, “International Primacy: Is the Game Worth the Candle.” International Security, Spring 1993, Vol. 17, No. 4.

Gholz, Eugene et al., “Come Home, America: The Strategy of Restraint in the Face of Temptation.” International Security, Spring 1997, 21(4)

Syllabus for PS413/513 American Foreign Policy

Here is the syllabus for my American Foreign Policy class, Spring 2007.

Final Exam

Final Exam for Ps 442/542 International Conflict
Fall 2006

DIRECTIONS: This final exam is take-home. Students are allowed to consult their notes and textbooks, but no other sources may be consulted. These are independent papers. Each student is expected to do their own work and may not consult with other students during the writing of the exam. Students should take care to cite evidence from the textbooks and their class notes. All responses are to be typed, double-spaced, with 12 point, normal font. Complete, concise, and coherent answers are expected.

NOTE: Final exams are due by Friday, December 15^th, at 11:30am in Prof. Gibler’s mailbox on the political science floor. Emailed exams will not be accepted.

Part I: Three questions (60 total points)

1.) Describe the Kantian tripod developed in Russett and Oneal’s Triangulating Peace. What evidence do they provide to support their arguments? Are the theory and evidence convincing? Why or why not?

2.) Describe the territorial explanation of conflict developed by Vasquez in The War Puzzle. What evidence does he provide to support his overall argument? Are the theory and evidence convincing? Why or why not?

3.) How do international power politics behaviors affect domestic processes and institutions? Use three examples of power politics behaviors and describe how these behaviors affect internal state institutions and/or political processes. Why is understanding the domestic level effects of international politics so important?

Part II: One question (40 points)

The Great Kingdom of Ishmaelia rests on a narrow, disputed border with Azania, its only neighbor. The President of Azania, Yogi Tuttle, heads a newly formed, democratically governed state and wishes to resolve the disputed border. However, Ishmaelia continues to stall on the negotiations. In fact, King Feral, who has ruled Ishmaelia for more than 50 years, has sought the outside aid of two powerful states in the hopes of deterring Azania. This new “Triple Alliance of the Obscenely Powerful” is a defense pact, and Ishmaelia can definitely be considered a minor state protégé of the other two states. President Tuttle, fearing reprisals at home, has begun a concerted effort to improve the military capabilities of his state, including the introduction of a military draft and a dramatic (7%) increase in weapons expenditures. This in turn has caused King Feral to move his troops to the border. Unfortunately, this entire situation reminds all watchers of the past two crises – now almost 50 years old – in which both states came so close to war.

It is not a good time for this dispute to be occurring. The world has been divided into two hostile blocs by some permanent alliances between the major states, but none of these major states have had enough capabilities to truly dominate the world system. Whatever intergovernmental organizations still remain have proven relatively ineffectual due to the numerous divisions among the major states, and numerous developing crises continue to divide the attention of the overworked heads of state.

It is into this situation that you now enter. You have been asked to independently assess the possibilities of war given the above scenario. If war is likely, you are to present evidence as to why it is likely, and how big and severe it is likely to be. Use all of the evidence you have learned this semester, and be sure not to shy away from citing every reading on the syllabus with SPECIFIC findings. Good luck.

Final Exam

Final Exam Questions for PS321 Democratization
Fall 2006

DIRECTIONS: This final exam is take-home. Students are allowed to consult their notes and textbooks, but no other sources may be consulted. These are independent papers. Each student is expected to do their own work and may not consult with other students during the writing of the exam. Students should take care to cite evidence from the textbooks and their class notes. All responses are to be typed, double-spaced, with 12 point, normal font. Complete, concise, and coherent answers are expected.

NOTE: Final exams are due by Tuesday, December 12^th, at 11:30am in Prof. Gibler’s mailbox on the political science floor.

Part I: Three questions (60 total points)

1.) What effects does asset specificity have on the likelihood of democratic transitions? Does it affect the type of transition? In your answer, be sure to trace through the process of democratization as it relates to asset specificity. Be precise in your answer.

2.) What regional forces have had an effect on democratization over the past 50+ years? Incorporate the discussions of specific countries from the group projects in your answers. Also, contrast these forces with the theory and analyses presented in Enteriline and Greig. (Both the group presentations and the paper by Enterline and Greig are available on the class blog.)

3.) What effects does external, territorial threat have on the likelihood of democratic transitions? In your answer, be sure to trace through the process of democratization as it relates to external, territorial threat. Be as specific as possible on how threat affects domestic politics and institutions. Students might also think about how to incorporate Boix’s work in their explanation.

Part II: One question (40 points)

Differentiate between Gleditsch’s (2002) integration theory of democratization and the theory of transitions based on territorial threat. Summarize Gleditsch’s argument and analyses, and then contrast that summary to the arguments given in Part I, Question #3 above. Who is right? What evidence do you have to come to this conclusion?

Priorities!

Here is a surreal story about the backdrop for a possible coup attempt in Fiji. Note especially the first sentence.

UPDATE (12/4): It looks like the rugby game is over.

Due Dates for Democratization Course

All Democratization Course Students--

Please be aware of the following due dates:
1.) By this coming Monday, December 4, every student needs to hand in a typed, 1 page report describing all the work they did on each of the group presentations. This paper is essential for grading the projects. NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED!
2.) The term paper that develops one country, analyzing all aspects of democratization for that country, is due by Friday, December 8, at 1pm.
3.) The final exam will be take-home and will be handed out in class next week. Your typed, double-spaced, normal font responses are due by the Final Exam data, which is Tuesday, December 12, 2006, at 11:30am.

Due Dates for International Conflict Course

International Conflict Class--

Please be aware of the following:

1.) The due date for Project #2 is December 8, 2006, but I will accept the project up until 4pm, December 11, 2006, without penalty.
2.) The take-home final will be handed out in class at some point during the next two weeks. Your typed, double-spaced, normal font responses are due by the time of the final exam for this course, which is Friday, December 15, at 11:30am.

Background Readings...

...for my lectures during the last two weeks of classes can be found here, here, and here. Enjoy!

Territorial Threat and International Alliances

Here are the notes for today's class.

Group Presentations -- Fourth Week

Here are the presentation slides for this week:

Group A: Latvia and Lithuania
Group B: Belarus and Ukraine
Group C: Bulgaria and Romania
Group D: Greece and Turkey

GINI coefficient

Here is a link to a nice explanation of the Gini coefficient measuring income (and potentially asset) inequality. Note the list of countries at the bottom.

Territorial Threat, State Development and Implications from the Theory

Here are today's class notes.

Foreign Terrorist Organization List

Conflict Class Members-

Here is a list of foreign terrorist organizations as labeled by the US State Department. I have highlighted, in yellow, the organizations that could possibly be related to one of the arms races in your set of cases. If you have an arms race that is post-1945, be sure to check this list and examine ANY linkages between the arms race and the terrorist organization. ANY linkage could mean formation, funding once it began, or a whole host of other connections. If your countries or your time periods overlap the terrorist group, make sure you investigate the group fully.

UPDATE: Here is a list of insurgency groups for every country. I have no idea if this list is exhaustive, so there may be insurgencies in your countries that are not listed here. So, at the very least, be sure to investigate these insurgencies to determine if your arms races started or provided funding for these groups.

Insurgency Funding

We've talked many times about the role insurgencies play, both as a hindrance to democratization and as a means of toppling the state. Here is an interesting New York Times story that discusses a recent US report on insurgency financing in Iraq. The report looks grim.

Group Presentations -- Third Week

Here are the presentations for Week 3:

Group A: Taiwan and South Korea

Group B: China and Japan

Group C: Myanmar and Vietnam

Group D: Sri Lanka and India

Project #2

Here is a description of Project #2. It's due December 8, 2006.

Group Presentations -- Second Week

I hope everyone remembers that we have only limited time for each group presentation -- 10 to 12 minutes maximum to ensure that each group presents. I'll strictly enforce that 12 minute maximum, so be sure to only hit the highlights of your research.

Here are the presentations--
Group A -- Libya and Algeria
Group B -- Burkina Faso and Ghana
Group C -- Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe
Group D -- Gabon and Congo

Take a look at this...

Here is an opinion piece by an economist at Harvard discussing how that university should organize its curriculum. It's interesting and applies well to how our classes have progressed. One of the best paragraphs is this one:

"Harvard’s system of general education should emphasize methodology over topic because methods are harder to teach and learn than facts. Facts become easier to absorb by one’s self once one has a handle on methods. Harvard students can learn facts about the United Nations Security Council or the Federal Reserve Board from the New York Times or Wikipedia, but they cannot learn the tools to make sense of these institutions so readily. As students learn to think rigorously about society and how to use data to test their thoughts, they acquire a set of tools that can then be used to acquire knowledge in any setting."

Contagion

Here is a short slide on contagion effects in conflict. The probabilities come from Yamamoto and Bremer (1980).

Presentations Update

Hi Everyone, Nice job on the first set of presentations -- we're off to a good start. On the second and future presentations, you may want to take a look at these websites (here and here) which offers several tips for PowerPoint presentations. The main advice I have is twofold: 1) Don't read your presentation, and 2) focus on the variables that are important for this class. On the latter, make sure every single piece of information you put on the presentation somehow relates to the role of democratization in that country.


Scheduling:
The second set of presentations will be this Friday, 11/17/06. Please make sure to email me your presentations by 5pm on Thursday. Also, please have both countries on the same presentation and title the file with a short (8 letter) descriptive name.

The third set of presentations will be next Monday, 11/20. Please email me the slides by 5pm Sunday.

Group Presentations -- First Week

I hope everyone realizes that we have only limited time for each group presentation -- 10 to 12 minutes maximum to ensure that each group presents. I'll strictly enforce that 12 minute maximum, so be sure to only hit the highlights of your research.

Here are the presentations--
Group A -- Mexico and Cuba
Group B -- Costa Rica and Guatemala

–

Group C -- Colombia and Peru
Group D -- Argentina and Chile

Togo -- An example for the class presentations

Click here to see an example presentation for the class projects.

Inside-out or outside-in

Here are today's class notes.

Final thoughts on crises

Here are today's notes for class.

Constitution Sheet Checklist

Here is the constitution checklist from today's class. We'll be talking about each group's outcomes on Wednesday.

Class Notes -- Alliances and Diffusion of Democracy

Here are the class notes for today's class.

Class Notes -- Crises (continued)

Here are the notes for today's class.

Class Notes -- Crises

Here are the slides for today's class on crises.

Class Project description for PS321

Here is a description of the class project for PS321 Democratization.

Arms Races and Conflict -- Project assignment

Here are the class notes from today's class meeting.

UPDATE: Also included on the PowerPoint slides is a description of the project.

Imposed Democracy Class Notes

Here are the notes for today's class.

Enterline and Greig reading for Democratization

Here is a link to the reading on imposed democracies. You may have to be on campus (or using a proxy through the library's website) in order to view it.

Class Notes -- Territorial Threat and the Development of the State

Here is the Power Point presentation for today's class.

North Korea goes nuclear

Here is the New York Times article describing the nuclear test in North Korea.

Here is an article from the Times of London that describes the border relationship between China and North Korea. Note: read all the way to the end for some potential ramifications of chaos in North Korea. From Reuters, here is China's reaction following the explosion.

Here is a map of North Korea and the rest of East Asia. Expand the map once, and the United States is viewable.

UPDATE: Here is a description of the likely test. And here is coverage President Bush's statement following the test.

Notes for class -- alliances and conflict

Here is a link to the PowerPoint presentation on alliances and conflict for today's class.

Notes for class -- region, democracy and conflict

Here is a link to the PowerPoint presentation on the relationship between region, democracy and conflict.

Notes for class -- power and conflict

Here is a link to the PowerPoint presentation on the relationship between power and conflict.

Remittances

Today in class I mentioned the role of remittances in the economy of Mexico and as evidence of the level of integration between the two economies. Here and here are two links that describe these remittances in greater detail.

Calculating Capabilities

Here is a PowerPoint presentation that describes how the Composite Index of National Capabilities (CINC scores) are calculated.

Flash movie on the diffusion of democracy

Here is a link to a flash movie describing the diffusion of democracy through "time" and "space". It's from Kristian Gleditsch's website at the University of Essex. Note that you may have to download the movie before viewing it.

PS442/542 International Conflict Review Sheet for Midterm Exam #1

Test Date: September 22, 2006

(NOTE: If you have questions about any of the material, make a post so that others can answer your question.)

Format: At least 30 (and no more than 40) multiple-choice questions, worth 80% of the overall grade, and 4-5 short essay/identify worth 20%.

Material Covered:

1.) Bennett and Stam, Chapters 1-5, and Russett and Oneal, Chapters 1-5.

2.) Lecture notes and all PS321 labeled posts to the class blog.

Review Materials—

Background Political Science Terms:

Theory

Hypothesis

Independent/Dependent variables

Operationalization

Measurement

Case studies

Quantitative methods

Correlation

Causation

Positive/Negative/No/Spurious relationships

Random selection

Sample bias

Endogeneity

Comparative Theory Testing

Background International Conflict Terms:

Polity Scores

Militarized Interstate Disputes (MIDs)

International Wars

Correlates of War Project

International Conflict Issues:

Democratic Peace theory (cultural, structural, and institutional)

Virtuous circles

Selectorate

Winning Coalition

Private versus public goods

Institutional incentives for leaders wanting to remain in power

Democratic Peace core findings

Democratic Peace secondary findings (war outcomes, war duration, war selection, conflict negotiations, etc…)

Trade and conflict

Intergovernmental Organizations and conflict

Theories tested by Bennett and Stam (Chapter 4)

Findings of Bennett and Stam (Chapter 5)

PS321 Democratization Review Sheet for Midterm Exam #1

(NOTE: If you have questions about any of the material, make a post so that others can answer your question.)

Test Date: September 22, 2006

Format: At least 30 (and no more than 40) multiple-choice questions, worth 80% of the overall grade, and 4-5 short essay/identify worth 20%.

Material Covered:

1.) Articles by Acemoglu, et al., Ross (2 articles), Bueno de Mesquita, et al., Munck and Verkuilen, and Fearon and Laitin (note that all of these are posted on the class blog).

2.) Boix’s Democracy and Redistribution, Chapters 1-3.

3.) Lecture notes and all PS321 labeled posts to the class blog.

Review Materials—

Background Political Science Terms:

Theory

Hypothesis

Independent/Dependent variables

Operationalization

Measurement

Case studies

Quantitative methods

Correlation

Causation

Positive/Negative/No/Spurious relationships

Random selection

Sample bias

Endogeneity

Background Democratization/Democracy Terms:

Freedom House Scores

Polity Scores

Civil war

Issues related to measuring democracy

Selectorate

Winning Coalition

Private versus public goods

Institutional incentives for leaders wanting to remain in power

Democratization Issues:

Asset specificity

Effects of income on democratization

Income inequality and democratization

The role of uncertainty and income inequality in determining democratization (see Boix on this)

The “resource curse” – oil, diamonds, gas, etc…, and the likelihood of democracy/democratization

Effects of geography on democratization

Effects of contraband goods on democratization and civil wars

Fearon and Laitin Reading

Here is the link to the Fearon and Laitin article for Monday's class. Don't forget to take a look at the discussion question and try an answer.

Discussion Question for Democratization Class

For those of you paying attention to the class blog, extra credit (additional discussion points) for quality comments on the likelihood of democracy happening in Iraq. Based on what you've read thus far in class, what do you think needs to happen in order to establish democracy? Is it possible? (Note that you may need to do some basic Internet research on Iraq and distributions of wealth, etc...)

Oil, Resources and Democracy

Here and here are links to two papers on oil, resources and democracy. We'll be talking about these papers on Friday and next Monday. These deserve a little closer reading than the income/democracy argument by Robinson. Enjoy!

Income and Democracy Reading

Here is a link to the paper we'll be talking about on Wednesday in the Democratization class. It's a long analysis of the link between income and democracy. As with the other readings, just make sure you get the general argument and the approach to the study.

Update: This is obviously a very difficult reading. There is no need to understand all the mathematics involved. Instead, just be sure you know the logic behind the argument and the counter-explanation for why income might not be related to democracy.

What professors do...

Here is a nice op-ed from the New York Times that describes the life of a professor, in case you're interested. To summarize quickly: yes, we do work during the summers, even if we're not teaching. But we do work at odd times and in odd places (coffee shops, mostly). I guess that's why it's taken me 10+ years to get my family to call it "work" rather than "school".

The Selectorate Model of Politics

To Students in my Democratization Class--

Here is a link that will provide some background material on what we're talking about today in class. The material is a little bit technical, so just get a feel for what the argument is suggesting, and obviously, questions go to the comments field below!

More datasets in International Relations

To all my students--

This quick post will hopefully get you familiar with a few of the datasets we'll be talking about in class throughout the semester. I'll probably most often mention the Correlates of War Project, and their datasets on Militarized Interstate Disputes (MIDs), State System, Alliances, etc... (follow the links from the main page for these).

We'll also often talk about the Polity Project at the University of Maryland and how it defines democracy. (You have to register to get the data, but just take a look at the front page, the updates, and get a sense for the changes in the data and their coding procedures.)

Peer review and publishing

Here is a link that describes peer-review in the sciences (which is quite similar to peer-review in the social sciences). There's also mention of a few suggestions for changing the 300+ year old system.

Measuring Different Types of War

Students in my International Conflict Course--

Here is an article in .pdf that describes several war datasets used by almost all the articles discussed in this class. Note the different types of wars, and the stregnths and weaknesses of the conceptualization of war based on battle-deaths. We'll be talking about this paper in Wednesday's class.

[NOTE: You may need to access the article from a UA computer or through a proxy server via the library website. And to answer the next question, no, I currently have no idea of how to do that. Use the comments bar if you have problems loading the article, and hopefully, another classmate can help you out.]

How to Measure Democracy

Students in my Democratization Course--

Here is an article in .pdf that describes various datasets used to measure regime type and democracy (you may have to press the button "begin manual download"). Note the many different conceptualizations of democracy and the strengths and weaknesses of each measure. We'll be talking about this paper in Wednesday's class.

[NOTE: You may need to access the article from a UA computer or through a proxy server via the library website. And to answer the next question, no, I currently have no idea of how to do that. Use the comments bar if you have problems loading the article, and hopefully, another classmate can help you out.]

Stephen Colbert on Wikipedia

Follow this link to Stephen Colbert's "The Word" segment on Wikipedia.

Here are two links, also courtesy of Marginal Revolution. First, a history of Wikipedia, and second, a defense of Wikipedia (and Wikis in general). Note Tyler Cowen's comment: "If you unconditionally trust controversial assertions in Wikipedia, you need to be much more careful. But if you think of the service as an exchange of sorts, and understand what you are getting, Wikipedia is a remarkable benefit. "

Remember, use internet resources with great care!

PS321 Democratization - Class Reading Schedule

WEEKLY SCHEDULE:

PART I: THE STATE, GOVERNMENT, AND GOVERNMENT TYPE

Week 1 (August 23rd) – Introduction to Course

Readings: Take a look at some of the following links: Causality, Ceteris paribus, independent variables, and dependent variables, and follow the links to any other articles you find interesting.

Week 2 (August 28th) – Role of the State, Government and Government Type

Readings: TBA

PART II: ENDOGENOUS DEMOCRATIZATION

Week 3 (September 6th) – A Theory of Democratic Transitions

Readings: Boix, Introduction and Chapters 1-3

Przeworski, Adam and Fernando Limongi, “Modernization: Theories and Facts,” World Politics, 1997.

Week 4 (September 11th) – Wealth and Resources

Readings: Acemoglu, Daron et al., “Income and Democracy,” NBER Working Paper No. 11205.

Ross, Michael, “A Closer Look and Oil, Diamonds, and Civil War,” Annual Review of Political Science 2006

Ross, Michael, “Does Oil Hinder Democracy?” World Politics 53 (April 2001).

Week 5 (September 18th) – Geography

Readings: Fearon, James D. and Laitin David D., 2003, “Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War”, American Political Science Review Vol. 97, No. 1 February 2003.

Midterm Exam I – Friday, September 22, 2006

PART III: EXOGENOUS DEMOCRATIZATION

Week 6 (September 25th) – Diffusion of Conflict, Integration and Democratization

Readings: Gleditsch, Chapters 1-3

Week 7 (October 2nd) – Diffusion of Conflict, Integration and Democratization

Readings: Gleditsch, Chapters 4-6

Week 8 (October 9th) – Imposed Democracy

Readings: TBA

Week 9 (October 16th) – External Threat and Development

Readings: Gibler, Douglas M., “Bordering on Peace” Working Paper.

Marc Hutchison and Douglas M. Gibler. Forthcoming. Political Tolerance and Territorial Threat: A Cross-National Study. Journal of Politics.

Week 10 (October 23rd) – External Threat and Development

Readings: TBA

Week 11 (October 30th) – Effects of External Threat on International System

Readings: Douglas M. Gibler and Scott Wolford. 2006. Alliances, then Democracy: An Examination of the Relationship between Regime Type and Alliance Formation. Journal of Conflict Resolution. February: 1-25.

PART IV: CASE RESEARCH

Week 12 (November 6th) – Latin America

Projects due in class on Wednesday

Week 13 (November 13th) – Africa

Projects due in class on Wednesday

Week 14 (November 20th) – Asia

Projects due in class on Wednesday

Week 15 (November 27th) – Eastern Europe and the former Soviet States

Projects due in class on Wednesday

PART V: Putting it all together…

Week 16 (December 4th) – TBA

Paper Due Wednesday, December 6, 2006

FINAL EXAM – Tuesday, December 12, 2006 at 11:30am

PS321 Democratization - Required Readings

Kristian Skrede Gleditsch, All International Politics Is Local : The Diffusion of Conflict, Integration, and Democratization, University of Michigan Press (August 7, 2002) [ISBN: 0472112678]

Carles Boix, Democracy and Redistribution (Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics), Cambridge University Press (July 21, 2003) [ISBN: 0521532671]

PS321 Democratization - Course Requirements

(20%) Attendance and Discussion: Regular attendance AND discussion are required

(20%) Group projects, 4 separate research presentations on individual countries

(20%) Paper (8-10 pages, double-spaced, normal font) developing the arguments from one of the research presentations.

(20%) Midterm Exam

(20%) Final Exam

PS442 International Conflict - Class Reading Schedule

Week 1 (August 23^rd) – Introduction to Course

Readings: Bennett and Stam, Chapters 1 and 2

Week 2 (August 28^th) – Democratic Peace Theory

Readings: Russett and Oneal, Chapters 1-3

Week 3 (September 6^th) – Democratic Peace Theory (continued)

Readings: Russett and Oneal, Chapters 4-7

Week 4 (September 11^th) – Comparative Theory Testing

Readings: Bennett and Stam, Chapters 3-5

Week 5 (September 18^th) – Comparative Theory Testing (continued)

Readings: Bennett and Stam, Chapters 6 and 7

Midterm Exam I – Friday, September 22, 2006

Week 6 (September 25^th) – Territorial Explanation of War Readings: Vasquez, Chapters 1-3

Week 7 (October 2^nd) – Territorial Explanation of War (Continued)

Readings: Vasquez, Chapters 4-5

Week 8 (October 9^th) – Territorial Explanation of War (Continued)

Readings: Vasquez (reader), Chapters 4-8

Week 9 (October 16^th) – Territorial Explanation of War (Continued)

Readings: Vasquez, Chapters 6-7; Vasquez (reader), Chapters 9-12

Week 10 (October 23^rd) – Project I completion

Project I is due on November 3, 2006

Week 11 (October 30^th) – Territorial Explanation of War (Continued)

Readings: Vasquez, Chapter 8; Vasquez (reader), Chapters 13-14

Week 12 (November 6^th) – Bargaining and War

Readings: TBA

Week 13 (November 13^th) – External Threat & Domestic Development

Readings: TBA

Week 14 (November 20^th) – External Threat & Domestic Development (Continued)

Readings: TBA

Week 15 (November 27^th) – Project II completion

Project II is due on December 1, 2006

Week 16 (December 4^th) – Putting it all together…

Readings: TBA

FINAL EXAM – Friday, December 15, 2006 at 11:30am

Late Assignments and Missed Exams

Project and paper due dates will be set in class and announced on the class blog. Fairness dictates that no late assignments will be accepted, no exceptions tolerated. Incompletes for this course will be granted only for extraordinary circumstances. Make-up examinations will be granted only for extraordinary circumstances. Seriously. If you absolutely, positively have to miss an exam, see me as soon as possible.

PS442 International Conflict Course Requirements

(20%) Attendance and Discussion: Regular attendance AND discussion are required

(40% - 20% for each project) Research Projects I and II: These are data collection and analysis efforts that will be described in class; no previous research experience is necessary to complete each project.

(20%) Midterm Exam

(20%) Final Exam

Use of the Class Blog

I use this class blog to communicate with my classes. On this blog website (make note of the URL), I’ll post support material for each class discussion. I’ll included brief discussion as well as hyperlinks to what I’d like to demonstrate in class. (For example, for the first class, I have already posted most of the introductory material that follows.) Most of the time, I will allow comments to be added to these posts. I would encourage students with questions outside of class to ask them through these posts. Further, any students willing to try to answer these questions (correctly) will definitely increase their overall course discussion grade!

NOTE: Do NOT rely on this blog to keep up with the class over an extended period of time; it will not help enough, I assure you.

PS442 International Conflict Course Description

This course is designed to familiarize students with the theoretical and empirical literature on the onset, expansion, and consequences of interstate war and the conditions for peace. Among the theories reviewed will be bargaining theory, power transition theory, the territorial explanation of war, and the democratic peace. Emphasized will be the role of alliances, arms races, and crisis escalation in generating conflict processes, and the effects of norms, regimes, and institutions on building peace. The goal of this seminar is the development of critical thinking, analysis, and application.

The main task each class will be a discussion of the reading assignment. Critical analyses of the readings are expected; discussions should outline both the flaws and relative merits of the readings as well as possible extensions and connections to other areas of the field. Students should also think about applying the materials discussed in class to contemporary issues of conflict in the world.

Required Books for PS442 International Conflict

1.) John A. Vasquez, What Do We Know about War?, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (October 28, 2000) [ISBN: 0847699277]

2.) John A. Vasquez, The War Puzzle (Cambridge Studies in International Relations), Cambridge University Press (May 6, 1993) [ISBN: 0521366747]

3.) D. Scott Bennett and Allan C. Stam III, The Behavioral Origins of War, University of Michigan Press (December 11, 2003) [ISBN: 047206844X]

4.) Bruce Russett and John R. Oneal, Triangulating Peace: Democracy, Interdependence, and International Organizations, W. W. Norton & Company (January 2001) [ISBN: 039397684X]

Class Discussions

Discussion of the material is important in my classes. I hate to lecture and will only do so occasionally. That means students are required to come prepared and to be able to intelligently discuss the material for that week.

I of course realize that students might sometimes be unwilling to talk in class, especially in the larger rooms. However, I really believe that discussion of the material is fundamental to understanding, and I hope each student will contribute as much as they can. That said, I will not penalize students for failing to talk in class, and I’ll never call on someone who doesn’t raise their hand asking to be recognized.

Note that the use of the blog provides a second chance for discussion points for those students unwilling to talk in class. Use the comments section of each post to ask questions, answer questions and otherwise communicate with your classmates.

Plagiarism

I take academic integrity very seriously and will not tolerate plagiarism or cheating. There are very serious penalties for cheating at UA that could have consequences far beyond your college career. Cheating of any form is a really stupid thing to do so don't try, and if you have any doubts about what cheating is, ask me, examine the UA policies (see below), or better still, take this tutorial on plaigarism that was developed by UA's libraries: Play-it-safe. (Please plug in speakers or headphones before starting this tutorial.)

The Code of Academic Conduct in the University of Alabama Undergraduate Catalog defines plagiarism and other acts of academic dishonesty as follows:

• Plagiarism: representing the words, data, works, ideas, computer programs or output, or anything not generated in an authorized fashion, as one’s own
• Cheating: using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, study aids, or computer-related information
• Fabrication: presenting as genuine any invented or falsified citation or material
• Misrepresentation: falsifying, altering, or misstating the contents of documents or other materials related to academic matters, including schedules, prerequisites, and transcripts.

Although authors occasionally indulge in plagiarism intentionally, most often writers plagiarize unintentionally. Many do not realize that indirect quotations, which result from paraphrasing and summarizing material, also require acknowledgement of the author and the source of the idea.

A direct quotation of an author’s exact words is the only footnoted material that requires the use of quotation marks, but both direct and indirect quotations must be footnoted. Any idea or statement that is not the author’s own must be documented.

Remember- the following require the use of a citation:

• Any material directly quoted from another’s work
• Any information that is summarized or paraphrased
• Any idea derived from a known source
• Any fact or data that is not common knowledge and is borrowed from another’s work

Material that is common or general knowledge does not have to be footnoted, unless the wording is taken directly from a particular source. A general rule is that if a fact can be found in five or more sources, it is considered to be common knowledge and does not have to be documented.

¡Anthony C. Winkler and Jo Ray McCuen, Writing the Research Paper; A Handout (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, c1979) 89.

Grading Policy

There is no official grading policy at UA, so I though students might like to know the general outline I use for assignments.

A (90s) Excellent: Students have mastered the material, exams or papers have no serious mistakes and display creativity, thoughtfulness, or insight beyond points made in the readings.

B (80s) Solid: there may be a couple of mistakes on exams, or weaknesses in written work, but the basic ideas and comprehension of the material are correct. B is a very good grade in my classes.

C (70s) Average: there are some basic misunderstandings of the material because the student has not put enough effort into the work. Regular attendance, completion of the readings, and light engagement of the subject will earn you this grade.

D (60s) Deficient: there are serious misunderstandings in the work and/or little evidence of any hard work.

F (50s or less) Failure to even try.

Attendance Policy

I require attendance. Attendance is helpful to you and to everyone else because my classes are oriented around discussion of the readings. Given class sizes, though, it’s not always possible for me to take roll. However, I will likely pass around a sign-in sheet whenever class attendance drops too low, and I will use these sheets to gauge your overall attendance for the semester. Don’t get caught napping!

I require attendance for good reason – those who come to class grasp the material better and are able to engage the class on a much higher level. In fact, the few semesters I took attendance I found that grades and attendance were highly correlated (around .81).

NOTE: If you are going to miss a class, THERE IS NO NEED TO LET ME KNOW. I don’t excuse absences, and there’s no reason to draw attention to the fact you’ll be missing class. Tests are different though, so see my policy on late papers and missed tests (in another post).

About Me...

Teaching—
This is my first semester at UA. Prior to coming to Alabama I taught at the University of Kentucky for 7 years, at Stanford for a little over one year, and before that, at Vanderbilt University where I received my Ph.D. in political science. I teach courses on International Relations, International Conflict, American Foreign Policy, and sometimes on Research Methods. This is the first semester I’ve had the opportunity to teach a class on my research interests in democratization and international conflict.

Research—
My research is currently focused on explaining the role of international conflict in preventing democratization within the state and the ramifications these processes have on state behavior in the international system. I’ve recently published a paper on how international threat is likely to make citizens within a country less politically tolerant, and I’ve also investigated the role that large, regional alliances can have in reducing international threat (which helps democratization, I think). The majority of my published work has actually focused on international alliances, and I’m currently finishing a book manuscript that examines formal alliances from 1648 to 2000.

Personal—
The main thing many UA students will probably get frustrated with me about is the constant bragging I’ll do over Notre Dame football and Yankee baseball this fall. Just be glad you don’t have to listen to me during UK basketball season!