SIR 101: Introduction to International Relations

David Kang
Professor of International Relations and Business
kangdc@usc.edu
213-821-4319
Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 4-5 p.m.
Tuesday and Thursday, 5:00-6:20
SLH 200
Teaching assistants: Chin-hao Huang, Seanon Wong, Jeanine Yutani

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Two major puzzles sit at the core of world politics: Why do nations fight, and why do they
cooperate? One popular theory views conflict as a normal state in international affairs,
presenting its supporters with the task of explaining why so much cooperation exists.
Another popular perspective characterizes cooperation as the norm, posing a dilemma for its
supporters to account for the violence in world affairs. Understanding cause and effect in a
complex world is a difficult challenge.
This course provides an introduction to the systematic study of major issues in international
relations. Some themes recur throughout the course: power, motivation and choice, nationstates, anarchy, sovereignty, interdependence, and political and economic market failure. We
will systematically explore the players, their goals, the constraints within which players
operate, the interactions between players, and the strategies they pursue.
Part I introduces general theories for explaining international relations. Part II addresses
domestic sources of foreign policy. Part III addresses asks why and under what conditions
wars occur, while Part IV explores how values and culture affect international relations,
focusing on the causes of terrorism.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the course, participants should:
1. Understand the principal approaches to the study of international relations;
2. Have a thorough knowledge of the levels of analysis and causes of war and peace;
3. Understand the policy options available to states and governments and the reasons why
particular choices are made.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:

Grading

25%: midterm (short answers and essay question)

35%: final exam (short answers and essay questions)
25%: Analytical paper (1,200 words max) details to be handed out in class
15%: discussion section participation
Regular participation in the discussion sections is expected of all students. The emphasis in
participation will be on the quality rather than quantity.
Keeping up with the daily events in class:
Readings
Art and Jervis, International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues (PearsonLongman, 2009), available for purchase in the bookstore.

Other readings available on blackboard or as links in the syllabus

Week 1 (August 24 and 26): What is international relations?

August 24: introduction and overview of the course
August 26: what is international relations?
Peter Baker, Obama puts his own mark on foreign policy issues, New York Times, April 13,
2010, p. A10.
Stephen Krasner, Think Again: Sovereignty, Foreign Policy (January/February 2001).
Week 2 (August 31 and September 2): Anarchy and the balance of power
August 31: anarchy and levels of analysis
Art and Jervis, pp. 1-7.
Jack Snyder, One World, Rival Theories, Foreign Policy (November/December
2004), pp. 53-62.
Kenneth Waltz, The Anarchic Structure of World Politics, Art and Jervis, pp. 3758.
John Mearsheimer, Anarchy and the Struggle for Power, Art and Jervis, pp. 59-69
September 2: the balance of power and the security dilemma
Stephen Walt, Alliances: balancing and bandwagoning, Art and Jervis, pp. 127-134
Robert Jervis, Offense, Defense, and the Security Dilemma, Art and Jervis, pp. 93113.
Week 3 (September 7-9): Hegemony and liberalism
September 7: hegemony
John Ikenberry, Getting Hegemony Right National Interest (Spring 2001).
Niall Ferguson, Hegemony or Empire? Foreign Affairs (September/October 2003).

September 9: Interdependence
Robert Keohane, International Institutions: Can Interdependence Work? Art and Jervis,
pp. 150-159.
Dale C. Copeland, Economic Interdependence and War: A Theory of Trade Expectations,
International Security 20, No. 4 (Spring 1996), pp. 5-41.
Week 4 (September 14-16): International institutions
September 14: International institutions and democracies
Michael Doyle, Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs, Art and Jervis, pp. 114-126.
Robert O. Keohane and Lisa L. Martin, The Promise of Institutionalist Theory,
International Security, 20, No. 1 (Summer, 1995), pp. 39-51.
**no class September 16**
Week 5 (September 21-23): Case Studies: the rise of China, and the decline of the US?
September 21: The rise of China
**Guest lecture: Professor Stanley Rosen, Political Science**
John Mearsheimer and Zbigniew Brzezinski, "Clash of the Titans," Foreign Policy,
(Jan/Feb. 2005).
Stanley Rosen, Contemporary Chinese Youth and the State, Journal of Asian Studies
68, no. 2 (2009).
Stephen Walt, blog on China-US relations:
o Chinas New Strategy,
o Balancing Act (Asian Version)
September 23: The U.S. as unipolar power
William Wohlforth and Stephen Brooks, American Primacy in Perspective, Foreign
Affairs 81, (July/August 2002)
Christopher Layne, Impotent Power, National Interest (September/October 2006),
pp. 41-8.
Week 6 (September 28-30): The causes of war
September 28: Structures cause war
John Mearsheimer, The Causes of Great Power War, in The Tragedy of Great Power
Politics (New York: WW Norton, 2001), pp. 334-359.
September 30: Ideas causes war
**Analytic paper due beginning of class**
James Fearon, Rationalist Explanations for War, International Organization 49, no. 3
(Summer 1995), pp. 379-414.
Week 7 (October 5-7): domestic politics: groups and individuals
October 5: Domestic politics and foreign policy

Michael J. Hiscox, The Domestic Sources of Foreign Economic Policies, Art and
Jervis, pp. 282-291.
Robert Putnam, Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of Two-Level
Games, International Organization 1988.

October 7: Individuals and psychology

Denny Roy, " North Korea as an Alienated State," Survival 38, no. 4 (Winter 19967), pp. 22-36.
Hazel Smith, Bad, Mad, Sad, or Rational Actor? Why the Securitization Paradigm Makes
for Poor Policy Analysis of North Korea. International Affairs 76, no. 3 (2000), pp. 593-617.
Week 8 (October 12-14): U.S. grand strategy, North Korea
October 12: Enduring elements of US grand strategy
David Kennedy, What Would Wilson Do? Atlantic Monthly, January/February
2010.
Doug Bandow, Japan Can Defend Itself, National Interest, May 12, 2010.
October 14: The North Korean nuclear problem
Kenneth Waltz, Nuclear Myths and Political Realities, American Political Science
Review 84, no. 3 (September 1990), pp. 731-45.
Victor Cha and David Kang, Think Again: the Korea crisis, Foreign Policy
(May/June 2003), pp. 20-28.
Week 9 (October 19-21): Midterm week
**MIDTERM: Tuesday, October 19**
**no class October 21**
Week 10 (October 26-28): Cultures and values as the cause of conflict
October 26: Is North Korea different?
Andrei Lankov, FP Memo: How to Topple Kim Jong-il, Foreign Policy February 14,
2007
B.R. Myers, North Korea's Race Problem: What I learned in eight years reading
propaganda from inside the Hermit Kingdom, Foreign Policy (March/April 2010).
October 28: Religion, identity and global governance
**Guest lecture, Professor Pat James, School of International Relations**
Fareed Zakaria, Culture Is Destiny: A Conversation with Lee Kwan Yew, Foreign Affairs
73, no. 2 (March/April 1994), pp. 109-126.
Adam Roberts, The United Nations and international Security Art and Jervis, pp. 524-532.
Week 11 (November 2-4): Non-traditional security: terrorism and human rights

November 2: Causes of terrorism

Mark Juergensmeyer, Terror in the Name of God, Current History (November
2001), pp. 357-361.
John Mueller, Harbinger or Aberration? The National Interest 69 (Fall 2002), pp. 45-50.
November 4: human rights and international relations
Elizabeth Economy and Adam Segal, China's Olympic Nightmare: What the Games Mean
for Beijing's Future, Foreign Affairs 87, no. 4 (July/August 2008), pp. 47-56.
Katharine H.S. Moon, Beyond Demonization, Current History (September
2008), pp. 263-8.
Week 12 (November 9-11): International finance and territorial disputes
November 9: territorial disputes
Taylor Fravel, Regime Insecurity and International Cooperation: explaining
Chinas Compromises on Territorial Disputes, International Security 30, no. 2
(Fall 2005): 46-83.
Peter Gries, The Koguryo Controversy: National Identity, and Sino-Korean
Relations Today, East Asia 22 (2005): 3-17.
November 11: capital flows
James Fallows, The $1.4 trillion question, Atlantic Monthly
(January/February 2008).
Jagdish Bhagwati, The Capital Myth: The Difference Between Trade in Widgets and
Dollars, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 77, No. 3, (May/June, 1998), pp. 7-12.
Week 13 (November 16-18): The international economy: trade and globalization
November 16: trade
Bruce Scott, The Great Divide in the Global Village, Art and Jervis, pp. 292-304.
Dani Rodrik, Trading in Illusions, Art and Jervis, pp. 339-347.
November 18: Globalization?
**Guest lecture: Professor Carol Wise, SIR**
Geoffrey Garrett (2004) Globalization's Missing Middle, Foreign Affairs,
November/ December.
Branko Milanovic. (2003). The Two Faces of Globalization, World Development
31 (2003): 667-683.
Week 14 (November 23): The environment
November 23: international relations perspectives on the environment
Garrett Hardin, The Tragedy of the Commons, Art and Jervis, pp. 502-507.
David Victor, International Cooperation on Climate Change: Numbers, Interests, and
Institutions, Art and Jervis, pp. 515-523.
Week 15 (November 30-Dec 2): The future of International relations

November 30: Iran and China

James M. Lindsay and Ray Takeyh, After Iran Gets the Bomb: Containment and its
implications, Foreign Affairs (March/April 2010).
John Ikenberry, The Rise of China and the Future of the West: Can the Liberal System
survive? Foreign Affairs (January/February 2008).
December 2: The U.S. in 2011: what have we learned in this class?
Walter Russell Mead, The Carter Moment, Foreign Policy (January/February 2010).
December 9, 4:30-6:30: FINAL EXAM