Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne
Political Science Y200/401
Summer I 2008 Session
Professor James Toole Class Times: MTR 3-5:20
Office: CM 215 Class Location: CM 212
Telephone: (260) 481-6885 Office Hours: MTR 1-2, or by
Email: toolej@ipfw.edu appointment
Webpage: http://users.ipfw.edu/toolej/
Course Description:
This course examines large-scale intervention by outside actors in the affairs of at least formally sovereign states. We will consider a wide range of intervention motives, including but not limited to humanitarian ones. We also will consider a wide range of intervention methods, including consensual and non-consensual military operations, economic sanctions, arms embargoes, humanitarian relief operations, and judicial investigations and prosecutions. Many of the interventions that we will consider are multilateral (and often UN-sponsored) peace operations. When taken as either Y200 or Y401, this course will count toward completion of IPFW’s International Studies Certificate (pending the approval of Professor Virtue). When taken as Y401, the course provides General Education credit in Area VI (Inquiry and Analysis).
Course Objectives:
By the end of the semester, students who work hard in this class will be better able to: (1) understand prominent concepts and debates concerning international intervention; (2) understand how international intervention can be accomplished in different ways and toward a variety of different ends; (3) think critically and solve problems using knowledge and skills gained in this and previous courses; and (4) apply the knowledge gained in the course across interdisciplinary boundaries. Because students in Y401 will also write a research paper, each Y401 student who works hard should also end up gaining added insight into one pressing issue or case. The research paper should strengthen the ability of Y401 students to gather, evaluate, select, organize, and synthesize analytical material.
Course Requirements:
Students are enrolled in the class as members of either POLS Y200 or Y401. The list of required readings is exactly the same for both sections, and both sections meet as a single class. The only differences between Y200 and Y401 concern the graded assignments and the grading systems.
Students enrolled in Y200 will take two in-class examinations (one mid-term and one comprehensive final) and will write two five-page papers based on the course readings. All exams are blue-book exams. Each of these four assignments will be worth 25% of the final grade. My evaluation of class attendance, participation, and performance may affect the final
grade in very close cases. All assignments must be completed in order to receive a passing grade in the course.
Students enrolled in Y401 will take the same two examinations and will write the same early-semester five-page paper as Y200 students. Y401 students will also write a twelve- to fifteen-page research paper on a relevant case or issue. Research paper topics must be selected in consultation with me by the end of the second week of the course. For students in Y401, grades will be determined as follows: five-page paper, 20% of the final grade; mid-term exam, 25%; research paper, 30%; and final exam, 25%. My evaluation of class attendance, participation, and performance may affect the final grade in very close cases. All assignments must be completed in order to receive a passing grade in the course.
Classes will feature both lectures and class discussions. Students should make every effort to participate in class discussions and to ask questions about things they do not understand.
Examinations must be taken on the scheduled dates; make-up examinations will only be permitted at the discretion of the instructor and will be granted only in unusual circumstances. Late papers will be subject to significant penalties, to be described in written paper instructions to be handed out in class. Plagiarism will be considered a very serious offence and will be punished as severely as IPFW regulations allow. Students are encouraged to take advantage of free individual paper-writing consultations offered by the IPFW Writing Center. The center is located in Kettler G19.
Students should not expect to do well in the class unless they attend all scheduled classes. They are also expected to complete all listed readings before the start of each class, since failure to do so will greatly impair their ability to understand class lectures and to participate intelligently in class discussions.
The readings in the course come from three sources: books, library reserve, and the Internet. Many readings are from two books. Both are required for purchase and are available at the university bookstore:
Michael J. Matheson, Council UNBound: The Growth of UN Decision Making on Conflict
and Postconflict Issues after the Cold War (US Institute for Peace, 2006).
Thomas G. Weiss, Humanitarian Intervention (Polity, 2007).
Readings from library reserve are available electronically through the Helmke Library’s Reserves Express system. To access Reserves Express, visit the Library’s webpage (http://www.lib.ipfw.edu). Readings from the Internet are available through my webpage (go to http://users.ipfw.edu/toolej/Y200intreadings.htm). Students will be held responsible for all assigned readings, whether they come from purchased books, from Reserves Express, or from the Internet. All readings on the syllabus are required.
If you have a disability and need assistance, special arrangements can be made to accommodate most needs. Contact the Director of Services for Students with Disabilities (Walb, room 113, telephone number 481-6658), as soon as possible to work out the details. Once the Director has provided you with a letter attesting to your needs for modification, bring the letter to me. For more information, please visit the web site for SSD at http://www.ipfw.edu/ssd/.
Course Schedule and Required Readings:
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Date |
Topic |
Readings |
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5/19 |
Course Overview; Intervention Motives and Methods; Principles of International Relations |
None |
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5/20 |
Sovereignty: Evolving Norms and Practices |
Jack Donnelly, “One World, Rival Theories” (RESERVE); Stephen D. Krasner, “Sovereignty” (RESERVE); Anne-Marie Slaughter, “The Real New World Order” (RESERVE) |
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5/22 |
Intervention: Evolving Norms and Practices |
Weiss, introduction and chapters 1 and 2 |
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5/26 |
No Class (Memorial Day) |
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5/27 |
The UN; Contemporary War |
James Traub, “A Greater Magna Carta . . .” (RESERVE); Matheson, preface and ch. 1; Weiss, ch. 3; |
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5/29 |
The Legal Basis of Military Intervention |
Matheson, chs. 2 and 5; Weiss, ch. 4 |
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Monday June 2: First paper due in class
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6/2 |
Peace Operations: Purposes and Problems |
Matheson, ch. 4, Samantha Power, “Rwanda” (RESERVE) |
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6/3 |
Peace Operations: Responses and Reforms (includes showing of the film “Shake Hands with the Devil”) |
U.S. Presidential Decision Directive 25 (PDD-25) (INTERNET); The Brahimi Report, paragraphs 1-64 and 84-150 only (INTERNET) |
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6/5 |
MID-TERM EXAMINATION; Peace Operations: Logistics |
Katarina Mansson, “Cooperation in Human Rights: Experience from the Peace Operation in Kosovo” (RESERVE) |
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6/9 |
Economic Sanctions |
Matheson, ch. 3; David Cortright and George A. Lopez, “Are Sanctions Just? The Problematic Case of Iraq” (RESERVE) |
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6/10 |
The Iraq War |
The Iraq Study Group Report, Executive Summary, Section I and Section II (A) (INTERNET) |
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6/12 |
Post-Conflict Reconstruction |
The Iraq Study Group Report, Section II (B) (INTERNET); James Dobbins et al, “Germany” (RESERVE); James Traub, “Inventing East Timor” (RESERVE) |
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6/16 |
Preventive and Preemptive War |
“The National Security Strategy of the United States of America”, Section V only (INTERNET); Jack S. Levy, “Preventive War and Democratic Politics” (RESERVE); International Crisis Group, “Afghanistan: The Need for International Resolve”, Sections I through IV only (RESERVE) |
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6/17 |
Judicial Investigation and Prosecution |
Matheson, ch. 7; Ray Murphy, “International Criminal Accountability and the International Criminal Court” (RESERVE) |
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6/19 |
Human Rights and Humanitarian Relief |
David Rieff, “Humanitarianism in Crisis?” (RESERVE); Antonio Donini et al, “The Future of Humanitarian Action: Mapping the Implications of Iraq and Other Recent Crises” (RESERVE); additional reading to be announced |
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Monday June 23: Second paper due in class
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6/23 |
International Intervention in Retrospect |
Weiss, ch. 5 |
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6/24 |
No Class (Reading Period) (I reserve the right to replace the reading period with a class if needed) |
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6/26 |
FINAL EXAMINATION
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