POL S 521 A: International Relations Core

DRAFT ONLY

Introduction to International Relations
POL S 521A

Aseem Prakash
Spring 2021
Tuesday, 1:30‐4:20 p.m.

Course Objective 
This is a core course for graduate students seeking to specialize in international relations, international politics, and/or global public policy. My objective is to expose you to important concepts, themes, and debates in this subfield. Importantly, this course will give you a sense of state-of-the-art literature in this area. It will also provide you the opportunity to develop a research proposal in order to examine specific issues that are germane to your research interests.

Readings
Given the short duration of the quarter system, and the rather large array of topics covered by IR scholars, designing a comprehensive syllabus is a challenge. I have decided to assign articles that cover important IR themes, especially the new and emerging issues.  All readings are available on Canvas.  

Course Expectations
This seminar requires active student participation. You are expected to energetically and thoughtfully contribute to class discussions and to contribute to the collective learning processes.

Student Presentations and Article Memo
For every session, students will present and critique the assigned articles. The discussant-presenter should prepare a two-page (single-spaced) summary and critique and email it to me by Monday, 12:00 noon. 

How to structure your memo? Assume a prominent journal has requested you to review the assigned article. How might you evaluate it? First, identify the big idea, the intuition behind and the motivation for the paper, and eventually the core research question. Situate this in the relevant literature. Then, evaluate the clarity of the key hypotheses, the appropriateness of the empirical methods, and the data employed to test them.  Assess if the findings are interpreted correctly. Finally, ask yourself: did this paper move forward our understanding of IR? If so, how? If not, why not?

The discussant-presenter should budget about 10 minutes for the in-class presentation. To minimize transaction and governance costs, I will assign the articles. You are free to “trade” (1 for one is the exchange ratio) among yourselves and arrive at an equilibrium that suits your intellectual tastes. 

I strongly recommend that you save all the memos generated in this course because they will be very helpful in preparing for the IR comprehensive exams.

Discussion Memos
To have a meaningful discussion, please review all readings prior to the class. Those not assigned to present any reading should email 2-3 discussion questions to me. I will forward them to the class. This one-page “Discussion Questions” memo should reach me by Monday, 12:00 noon. Please provide a short discussion on how your questions relate to the theoretical or empirical issues raised in the assigned readings (you are not obliged to cover all). You are encouraged to relate these readings to articles you may have reviewed in other seminars. As scholars, you must learn to cumulate knowledge: drawing connections with readings across different seminars is, therefore, a very good exercise.

Research Proposal
A five-page (single-spaced) research proposal is due June 8. Treat this as a first cut for a grant proposal or your MA/PhD proposal. One-page proposal outlines are due May 4. The research proposal could be structured as follows:

Research Puzzle:    What is the central issue you want to study and why is it theoretically important? It might be helpful to identify your dependent variable(s), the independent variable(s), and the logic connecting the two.

Research Context:  How does your topic speak to the IR literature? What are the relevant concepts or models? What are the research contributions?

Research Design:    What is the appropriate research strategy to examine your research puzzle? What are your hypotheses? Are they falsifiable? What are your data requirements? How would you analyze and interpret the data?

Contributions:    What new theoretical insights your research is expected to provide? What are the implications for future IR research?

Evaluation
Key questions memos  30 points
Article critique:             30 points
Class Participation        20 points
Research proposal:       20 points

Religious Accommodation
Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodation...). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).

Note
I reserve the right to change the syllabus.

Class Schedule

Session 1, March 30
World Politics and International Relations: An Introduction
•    Robert Powell. 1994. Anarchy in International Relations Theory: The Neorealist-Neoliberal Debate. International Organization: 313-344. NICOLAS

•    James March and Johan Olsen. 1989. The Institutional Dynamics of International Political Orders. International Organization, 52(4): 943-969. MEAGAN 

•    J. Davis and R. McDermott. 2021. The Past, Present, and Future of Behavioral IR. International Organization, 75(1), 147-177.  LUCAS

•    Alexander Wendt. 1992. Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics. International Organization, 46 (Spring): 391-425. INHWAN

•    David Lake. 1996. Anarchy, Hierarchy and the Variety of International Relations. International Organization, 50(1): 1-33.   SANDRA

Session 2, April 6
Cooperation under Anarchy 

 •  Robert Jervis. 1978. Cooperation under the Security Dilemma. World Politics, 30: 167-214.  IAN

•   Jack Levy. 1997. Prospect Theory, Rational Choice, and International Relations. International Studies Quarterly, 41(1):  87-112.  JANA

•  Terry Moe. 2005. Power and Political Institutions. Perspectives on Politics, 3(2): 215-233.  RAMSES

•    D. Snidal.  1985. The limits of hegemonic stability theory. International organization, 579-614. NELA

•    G. John Ikenberry. 2003. Is American multilateralism in decline?. Perspectives on Politics, 533-550.  JIYEON

Session 3, April 13
International Regimes and Actors

•    B. Koremenos, B., C. Lipson, & D. Snidal. 2001. The rational design of international institutions. International organization, 55(4), 761-799. JINTONG

•    Judith Kelley. 2004. International Actors on the Domestic Scene: Membership Conditionality and Socialization by International Institutions. International Organization, 58(3): 425-457. NICOLAS

•    Alexander Thompson. 2006. Coercion through IOs: The Security Council and the Logic of Information Transmission. International Organization, 60(1): 1-34. TAO

•    James Vreeland. 2008. Political Institutions and Human Rights: Why Dictatorships enter into the United Nations Convention against Torture. International Organization, 62(1): 65-101.  INHWAN

•    R. Blair. 2021. UN Peacekeeping and the Rule of Law. American Political Science Review, 115(1), 51-68.  JESSICA

Session 4, April 20
International Organizations

•    Michael Barnett and Martha Finnemore. 1999. The Politics, Power, and Pathologies of International Organizations. International Organization, 53:  699-732.  JIHYEON 
•    Julia Gray. 2009. International Organization as a Seal of Approval. American Journal of Political Science, 53(4): 931-49.  NELA

•    Alexandru Grigorescu. 2010. The Spread of Bureaucratic Oversight Mechanisms across Intergovernmental Organizations. International Studies Quarterly, 54: 871–886. IAN 

•    Jonas Tallberg, Thomas Sommerer, Theresa Squatrito and Christer Jönsson. 2014. Explaining the Transnational Design of International Organizations. International Organization, 68: 741-774.  SANDRA

•    Hyeran Jo and Beth Simmons. 2016. Can the International Criminal Court Deter Atrocity?’ International Organization, 70(3): 443–475.  MEGAN

Session 5: April 27 
Conflict
•    James Fearon. 1995. Rationalist Explanations for War. International Organization, 49: 379-414.  RAMSES

•    Brett Ashley Leeds. 2003. Do Military Alliances Deter Aggression? The Influence of Military Alliances on the Initiation of Militarized Interstate Disputes. American Journal of Political Science, 47(3): 427-39. TAO 

•    Matthew Gottfried and Robert Trager. 2016. A Preference for War: How Fairness and Rhetoric Influence Leadership Incentives in Crises. International Studies Quarterly, 60(2): 243-257.  JESSICA

•    Germann, M., & Sambanis, N. (2021). Political Exclusion, Lost Autonomy, and Escalating Conflict over Self-Determination. International Organization, 75(1), 178-203. JANA

•    G. Blair, D.  Christensen and A. Rudkin. (2021). Do Commodity Price Shocks Cause Armed Conflict? A Meta-Analysis of Natural Experiments. American Political Science Review, 1-8. IAN

Session 6:  May 4 (One Page Project Outline Turned in)
Peace and Peacebuilding 
•    David Lake. 1992.  Powerful Pacifists: Democratic States and War. American Political Science Review, 86(01): 24-37.  NICOLAS

•    Schwartz, J., & Blair, C. (2020). Do Women Make More Credible Threats? Gender Stereotypes, Audience Costs, and Crisis Bargaining. International Organization, 74(4), 872-895 SANDRA

•    Virginia Fortna. 2003. Scraps of Paper? Agreements and the Durability of Peace. International Organization, 57(2): 337-72.  INHWAN
•    Barnhart, J., Trager, R., Saunders, E., & Dafoe, A. (2020). The Suffragist Peace. International Organization, 74(4), 633-670 MEAGAN
•    A. Coe and J. Vaynman. (2020). Why Arms Control Is So Rare. American Political Science Review, 114(2), 342-355. JINTONG

Session 7, May 11
Civil Wars
•    James Fearon and David Laitin. 2003. Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War. American Political Science Review, 97(1): 75-90.  JANA

•    Virginia Fortna. 2015. Do Terrorists Win? Rebels’ Use of Terrorism and Civil War Outcomes. International Organization, 69(3): 519–556. JESSICA 

•    S. Daly. (2019). Voting for Victors: Why Violent Actors Win Postwar Elections. World Politics, 71(4), 747-805 LUCAS

•    J. Stanton. (2020). Rebel Groups, International Humanitarian Law, and Civil War Outcomes in the Post-Cold War Era. International Organization, 74(3), 523-559. JIHYEON

•    Koubi, V. (2019). Climate change and conflict. Annual Review of Political Science, 22, 343-360. NELA

Session 8, May 18
Domestic and International Interactions 

•    Colantone, I and P. Stanig. (2018). Global Competition and Brexit. American Political Science Review, 112(2), 201-218. RAMSES

•    Brian Greenhill, Layna Mosley, and Aseem Prakash. 2009. Trade and Labor Rights: A Panel Study, 1986‐2002. American Political Science Review. 103(4): 669‐690.  SANDRA

•    Simone Dietrich. 2015. Donor Political Economies and the Pursuit of Aid Effectiveness. International Organization, 70(1): 65–102.  IAN

•    David Doyle. 2015.  Remittances and Social Spending. American Political Science Review, 109(4): 785-802. JINTONG

•    Grigorescu, A., & Başer, Ç. (2019). The Choice between Intergovernmentalism and Nongovernmentalism: Projecting Domestic Preferences to Global Governance. World Politics, 71(1), 88-125. TAO

Session 9: May 25
Non-State Actors
•    Alexander Cooley and James Ron. 2002. The NGO Scramble: Organizational Insecurity and the Political Economy of Transnational Action. International Security, 27: 5–39.  JESSICA

•    Moonhawk Kim, Amy Liu, Kim-Lee Tuxhorn, David S. Brown and David Leblang. 2015. Lingua Mercatoria: Language and Foreign Direct Investment. International Studies Quarterly, 59(2): 330-343. INHWAN

•    Busemeyer, M., & Thelen, K. (2020). Institutional Sources of Business Power. World Politics, 72(3), 448-480. NICOLAS

•    Geoff Dancy and Verónica Michel. 2016. Human Rights Enforcement From Below: Private Actors and Prosecutorial Momentum in Latin America and Europe. International Studies Quarterly, 60(1): 173-188.  MEAGAN

•    Amanda Murdie and David Davis. 2012. Shaming and Blaming: Using Events Data to Assess the Impact of Human Rights INGOs. International Studies Quarterly, 56(1):  1-16. NELA

 
Session 10, June 2 (Research Proposal Turned in)
New Challenges
•    Weiss, J., & Wallace, J. (2021). Domestic Politics, China's Rise, and the Future of the Liberal International Order. International Organization, 1-30.  JIHYEON
•    Chris Adolph and Aseem Prakash. Does the Economic Decline of the West and the Rise of China Encourage NGO Crackdown? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, forthcoming. IAN

• Robert Blair and Philip Roessler, 2021. Foreign Aid and State Legitimacy:  Evidence on Chinese and US Aid to Africa from Surveys, Survey Experiments, and Behavioral Games. World Politics, 73(2). JANA

•    Goodman, S., & Pepinsky, T. (2021). The Exclusionary Foundations of Embedded Liberalism. International Organization, 1-29. RAMSES
•    Kaczan, D.J., Orgill-Meyer, J. The impact of climate change on migration: a synthesis of recent empirical insights. Climatic Change 158, 281–300 (2020). JINTONG