Political Science
363/International Studies 363
United States Foreign
Policy
Spring 2023
Tuesday/Thursday
11:00-12:15
Hibbs 428
Bill Newmann, Political
Science Department
Office Hours: 318 Founders
Hall. Tuesday 12:30-1:30 and Thursday 3:30-5:00, and by Appointment. We can set
up zoom appointments if you like.
Phone: Office: 828-2076
(main POLI number)
E-mail: wnewmann@vcu.edu
Newmann's home page: www.people.vcu.edu/~wnewmann
with links to other Newmann syllabi and other fun stuff.
POLI 363. U.S. Foreign
Policy. 3 Hours.
Semester course;
3 lecture hours. 3 credits. An analytical survey of processes and practices in
the formulation of U.S. foreign policy, including an introduction to the goals,
problems of implementation and current challenges faced by policy makers. Crosslisted as: INTL 363.
Structure
of the Class
This class is designated as
face-to-face. That means we’ll run the class in the traditional manner: we’re
all in one room on campus. The COVID-19
pandemic has not disappeared, however, and I realize that there may be expected
and unexpected challenges for all of us.
For that reason, I will also be recording lectures and posting them to
the Canvas page Media Gallery. They should be available within 24 hours of the
class. They will also be linked to the class syllabus online; that may take
some extra time. I will always notify everyone when the recordings are
available. The point of making the
recordings available is not to encourage you to skip class, but as a back-up
system in case people are ill or think they might be ill. All quizzes and exams will be in-class.
Introduction:
This
course serves as an introduction to US foreign policy. We’ll start with some
basics: the structure of the US foreign policy bureaucracies and the way
presidents make decisions on foreign policy.
From there we’ll consider theories of how we think about US national
interests (realism, idealism, economics). We’ll proceed from there to tackle
big, challenging issues: dealing with potential great power rivals such as
China and Russia; the threat from middle powers who reject international norms
such as Iraq under Saddam Hussein or the current Iranian regime or North Korea;
and 21st century threats from non-state actors such as al-Qaeda or
ISIS. Underneath it all will be two
simple questions. First, how do we
define the threats to the US? Second,
what should the US role in the world be?
Politicians, scholars, think tanks, lobby groups, the media, and the
public have generated a number of potential foreign policy priorities,
including: spreading democracy, opening closed economies, fostering basic human
rights in other nations, responding to humanitarian tragedies, ending civil or
ethnic wars, preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
deterring the rise of rival great powers, maintaining regional balances of
power, ensuring US hegemony, counterterrorism, and even reducing the US role in
world affairs in an effort to concentrate on the problems at home. We’ll be studying the interplay of those
priorities, how they change from time to time, and the way priorities are
decided. This is particularly interesting in the context of our current
political polarization and backsliding in our commitment to democracy at home.
We may be witnessing a fundamental change in the nature of the US political
system, which could lead to significant changes in our foreign policy
priorities. Trump foreign policy often
deliberately undermined traditional conceptions of US foreign policy. Maybe
it’s a mild ripple in the evolution of US leadership; Trump foreign policy
might be an outlier. We have seemed to return to more traditional foreign
policy principles in 2020 under Biden, but whether the Trump policies or Biden
policies last depends in part on the 2024 election. Maybe we’re seeing the
beginning of the end of US hegemony, either the inevitable decline of a
hegemonic state while a challenger rises (China) or the self- destruction of a
hegemon due to domestic instability (if Americans see each other as greater
threats than any foreign enemies could be, then it seems impossible for the US
to mobilize to deal with external threats; we’d never forma consensus on what
to do). Scholars from 100 years in the future may see this era as the period
when the US stepped away from global leadership and handed the 21st
century to China.
The
course will focus on the following:
Foreign Policy Decision Making Process:
We will examine the wild and wacky world of foreign policy decision making.
People think that issues as serious as nuclear weapons policy or armed
intervention are decided upon in the most solemn and analytical manner. I wish.
Foreign policy decision making often resembles a bunch of three-year-olds in a
sandbox fighting over the only pail and shovel. Understanding the way decisions
are made is perhaps the single most important aspect of analyzing foreign
policy. Many people think that there really is no US foreign policy, only a
process that churns out half-decisions, non-decisions and useless compromises.
By the end of the semester, you will be familiar with the policy making process
and all the institutions, departments, and agencies involved.
The Cold War Years: In examining the
period of intense competition with the USSR, we will focus on the emergence of
the two antagonists in the late 1940s and 1950s; US involvement in Vietnam;
detente and arms control during the Nixon years; the fall of detente and the
collapse of arms control during the Carter years; and the renewed Cold War of
the early Reagan years. The focus is two-fold: the ways in which the US and
USSR formed a competitive, yet in many ways cooperative relationship. In the
mid-1980s, new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had begun the restructuring of
the USSR, a restructuring that would eventually reshape the world. We will
examine the Reagan and Bush administrations' responses to the changes within
the USSR and the changes around the world that followed.
US Foreign Policy after the Cold War:
We will explore the range of possibilities for the future in terms of a number
of issues: the rise of economic priorities; the issue of intervention and peace
operations; human rights and democracy; great power rivals to the US; and the
spread of weapons of mass destruction. We will try to answer the big picture
questions: What world role should the US assume after the Cold War? Are there
economic threats facing the US that are as challenging as the political-military
threat of the old USSR? How should the US organize and use its military assets
after the Cold War? Is China the next great rival to the US?
The Non-State Actor Threat: The 9/11
attacks on the US were seen by many as events that changed everything. For others they simply forced the US to
recognize something that many other nations already knew: non-state actors such
as terrorist organizations were now players in the international arena. We’ll look at the US response to the new (or
not new) world and the fallout from US intervention in Afghanistan and
Iraq.
The 21st Century: The US faces old and
new challenges. China is a great power
rival like no other the US has faced – an economic, political, and military
rival. Russia, though not as powerful as
China, has a foreign policy focused on disrupting NATO and delegitimizing
democracy. Its strategies of hybrid
warfare (social media propaganda, cyberespionage, and paramilitary forces) have
left the US floundering to develop a response. Cyberspace itself as a realm of
international competition and war has changed the nature of international
competition. Perhaps most importantly,
the willingness of the US to provide global leadership is a growing
uncertainty. Of course, after the 2016
election, we need to consider how all this plays out in Trump and post-Trump
foreign policy represents a possible major shift in US foreign policy
interests. If the US abandons the alliance structure and rule-based
international order it created after WW II, what replaces that system? What role will the US play its foreign policy
is based on going it alone.
In the class readings we
will pay special attention to US policy in the Middle East and US relations
with China.
Learning
Outcomes
1.
Students will be able to
identify and analyze the organization of the US government for foreign policy
decision making as well as the way the interagency process is designed to
produce advice for the president
2. Students will achieve comprehension of and be able to assess the theoretical models of foreign policy decision making
3. Students will
be able to differentiate between and evaluate the different ways the US defines
and pursues its national interests, including strategies of intervention,
engagement, and confrontation
4. Students will
be able to differentiate between and evaluate the foreign policy challenges of
the cold war and the post-cold war, especially the difference between
challenges from nation states and non-state actors.
5. Students will
be able to differentiate between and evaluate the foreign policy challenges
from peer competitors and middle powers.
6. Students will
be able to evaluate the emerging challenges of the 21st century.
7. Students will practice writing an executive summary
8. Students will
experience a role-playing simulation
For an
extensive list of governmental and non-governmental sources of information on
foreign affairs click here: Links to Websites on
foreign policy and national security. Some of these links may be
in a state of flux because of the transition to a new administration. I will
try to keep them updated, but if anything changes or disappears, let me know.
Texts
You
need to read them, but you don’t have to buy them. The books are available at
the Virginia Book Company on Shafer St., the VCU Bookstore, and Bookholders. If
anyone has problems getting access to the texts, for any reason, let me know as
soon as possible so you don't get too far behind in the reading. Most of the
books are available on reserve at Cabell Library, which means that if you don’t
want to buy them, you can read them there. Ask me if you have any questions
about how the reserve system works. The
short version is this: A book on reserve can’t be checked out of the library. It
will always be there. It can be used for renewable two-hour periods in the
library.
·
Stephen Sestanovich. Maximalist (New
York: Vintage, 2014) On Reserve E744.S473 2014
·
Vincent Boucher,
Charles-Philippe David, and Karine Premont. National Security
Entrepreneurs and the Making of American Foreign Policy (Montreal:
McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2020) Available online in the
VCU Library system here:
And in hard copy on reserve: E744.B68 2020.
·
Elizabeth Economy. The World According to China (New York:
Polity, 2022) 978-1-5095-3749-5 (Not on reserve, but I will see if I can get
one on reserve)
·
David Phillips. Losing Iraq
(New York: Basic Books, 2005) 978-0-465-05681-1 (Not on reserve, but I will see
if I can get one on reserve)
·
Thomas Wright. All Measures Short of War (New
Haven: Yale University Press, 2018) Available online through the VCU Libraries
system here:
and On reserve JK275.W75 2017
A guideline for the
readings: There are aspects of US foreign policy that
you should give special attention as you do your readings. They affect every
debate over US foreign policy and it is probably a good idea to understand how
they relate to major issues and events when it comes to the final exam: (1)
Decision Making: US foreign policy does not just happen. Men and women make
those decisions and that process is important in shaping the actual substance
of US foreign policy; (2) Intervention Policy: The US picks and chooses what
type of world events have bearing on US national interests and in which events
it will take an active role. On what basis does the US make those decisions?
How has the US definition of national interest changed over the years and have
the criteria for involvement in international events changed? (3) Cold War vs.
Post-Cold War vs. War on Terrorism: How have the definitions of US national
interests evolved? (4) Domestic Politics: Are the definitions of national
interest and the content of US foreign policy based upon the threats the US
faces or on domestic political contests and trends that influence the
perceptions of those threats?
Grading
System: Grades
will be determined through the following:
|
January 26 |
5% of the
grade |
|
|
Exam 1 |
March 2 |
30% of the grade |
|
Rough Draft Due: March
23 Final
Paper Due: April 18 Both are due at the beginning of class in hard copy |
30% of the grade |
|
|
Simulation |
Day 1: April 27 Day 2: May 2 Graded for both attendance and participation |
5% of the grade |
|
Exam 2 |
May 11: 8-10:50 Notice the time change. (Same room) |
30% of the grade |
|
|
|
How do you calculate your grade? Use the percentages from the above
table. So, if you received the following grades, you would calculate your
grades in the following manner:
I give you this very
detailed formula for a number of reasons. You should never be unaware of what
your class average is. You can calculate it at any point in the semester. If
your grade is not what you'd like it to be, you should know, and you should come
see me about it. Do not come to me after Exam 2 and say that you're having
trouble in the class. It's too late at that point. But any time in the semester
that you feel you are having trouble, or not doing as well as you feel you
should, come talk to me. During my office hours and by appointment I am happy
to talk to you about the class
Grading scale: I use a
typical scale: A = 90-100; B = 80-89; C = 70-79; D = 55-69. Borderline grades
are considered in the following manner.
·
If your grade is
69.5, 79.5, or 89.5 or higher, then you may be a candidate for a round up to
the higher grade (Notice those numbers in the sentence; do not ask for a higher
grade if your average is a 68 or 78 or 88 or lower; those are not borderline
averages).
·
You may become a
candidate if your grades are borderline and if your grades have been going up
during the semester.
·
That means that
if you are borderline, but your last exam is lower than the previous exams (you
are between a B and C, but your third exam is a C for example), you will
probably get the lower grade.
·
If you are
borderline, and your last exam is higher than the previous exams (you are
between a B and C, but your third exam is a B), you may get the higher grade.
·
Another factor I
consider is the typical grade you receive. Let’s say we have four grades for
the class and three are grades of B and one is a C (bad day) and your average
is a 79.6, you are a candidate for receiving a B. If you have four grades and three are grades
of C and one is a grade of B, you are probably not a candidate for the higher
grade
·
There is no extra
credit for this class. Please do not
ask.
Speaking of grades
Withdrawal Date:
March 24
Final Date for
Requesting Pass/Fail
Grade Option: March 24
Map Quiz: Click
on the link to get the instructions
EXAMS: The exams will be short answer and essay. One week
before the exam I will place a review sheet on line, linked to this
syllabus, below this paragraph. This review sheet should be used as your study
guide for the exam. The review sheet will include some terms that are from the
readings only, so that you can go back and review those items from the
readings. Once you have the review sheet, feel free to ask me questions about
the terms. This is the best way to study for the exam. If you understand the
terms on the review sheet, you can define each one and see how each one relates
to the larger concepts and issues we've discussed in class, you should do just
fine on the exam. The final exam is
not-cumulative.
Research Paper and Class Role-Playing Simulation
Follow the link for detailed instructions. Read these instructions now. Read them later. Read them again and again. The short version is:
· Over two class periods at the end of the term the class will simulate the national security decision making process. Each of you will be assigned to play the role of a US governmental official with responsibilities for some aspect of US national security (officials in the Defense Department or National Security Council Staff or Intelligence Community, for example)
· Roles will be assigned in the first three weeks of class
· You will be given a national security problem to solve and guidance about what perspective you should focus upon. That perspective is based on your assigned role. The problem to consider: US intelligence believes that China is preparing for some sort of coercive action against Taiwan. It’s unclear if the action will be economic or military; it might be anything from increased tariffs on Taiwanese exports to China or bans on Taiwanese investments in China to a blockade of shipping in the Taiwan Strait or even direct military action. The president wants options for these possibilities. Your job is to prepare them.
· “Hey! But I don’t know anything about China and Taiwan!” By the time we get to the simulation, you will. Also, here’s a quick guide to some of the issues on China and Taiwan.
· You will write a 1–2-page executive summary presenting options for how to deal with the issue (from the perspective of the role you have been assigned; for example, if you are the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, you will focus on multilateral options for solving the problem; if you are the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff you will look at China’s military options.
· Required Rough Draft: Due: March 23 (it will be returned to you with comments quickly so you can work on the final draft)
· Final Draft Due: April 18
·
Both rough
and final drafts are due in hard copy at the beginning of class on the day
indicated; there are late penalties for both the rough and final drafts. The
deduction is 10 points for each day late for both the rough and final drafts
(there is a maximum of a 50-point deduction for the rough draft that is five
days late or not turned in).
· Paper Topics will be chosen in consultation with me. This is detailed in the research instructions and I will explain in class. On the back of the map quiz will be a list of all the possible role assignments for the class. You’ll give me your first, second, and third choices and I’ll then assign roles based on that.
· Role-Playing Simulation Assignments (will be linked here once they are made)
· Once the research is done and I have made comments on both drafts of your paper, we’ll begin the role-playing simulation: a three day in class exercise where you will develop a draft Presidential Directive spelling out the options for US policy in case of an Iranian intervention in Syria. I will prepare a detailed agenda for these sessions. Essentially, you will gather together in several interagency committees and negotiate to come up with a draft that includes all your perspectives, evaluates the pros and cons of various US options, develops a government-wide consensus, or spells out where consensus could not be achieved and why.
· Every aspect of this will be guided by a draft Presidential Review Directive where I will spell out what questions I want answered in the Presidential Directive (and in your papers). Once you’re assigned a role, you will have a specific research task. That research task will be spelled out explicitly in the Presidential Directive.
v The PRD 18 is here (once it is updated)
· All the details will be in the paper instructions, linked to the syllabus.
· The result of your simulation: Presidential Directive 64 (will be linked here once it is done)
COURSE AND
READING SCHEDULE
Note: For the first few
weeks the readings will be ahead of the class lectures. Make sure you keep up,
though. If you do not do the readings, you will quickly be lost and you'll be
in serious trouble on the first exam. The dates below are the dates when you
should have finished the readings (except for the first week of course).
Week 1: January
16-20 Introduction and Decision Making
·
Boucher, David,
and Premont: Introduction and Chapter One
Week 2: January 23-27 Decision Making
·
Sestanovich:
Prologue and Chapters 1-3
·
Lecture
Three January 24 Decision Making 2
·
Lecture
Four January 26 Decision Making 3
Week 3: January 30-February 3 Cold War I
·
Boucher, David,
and Premont: Chapter 2.
·
Sestanovich: Chapters
4 and 5.
·
Lecture
Five January 31 Decision Making 4
·
Lecture
Six February 2 Decision Making 5
Week 4:
February 6-10 Cold War II
·
Sestanovich:
Chapters 6 and 7
·
Boucher, David,
and Premont: Chapter 3
·
Lecture
Seven February 7 Decision Making 6; Cold War 1
·
Lecture
Eight February 9 Cold War 2
Week 5: February
13-17 Cold War III
·
Sestanovich:
Chapters 8 and 9
·
Boucher, David,
and Premont: Chapter 4
·
Lecture
Nine February 14 Cold War 3
·
Lecture
10 February 16 Cold War 4
Week 6: February
20-24 End of the Cold War?
·
Boucher, David,
and Premont: Chapter 5
·
Sestanovich
Chapter 10
·
Lecture
11 February 21 Cold War 5
·
Lecture
12 February 23 Cold War 6
Week 7:
February 27-March 3 Finish
First Half Lectures and Exam 1
·
No Readings
·
Exam 1: March 2
·
Lecture
13 February 28 Cold War 7
Spring Break: March 6-10
Week 8: March
13-17 The
New World Order? Bush 41 and Clinton
·
Sestanovich: Chapter 1
·
Phillips, Chapters 1-7
·
Lecture
14 March 14 End of the Cold War
·
Lecture
15 March 16 Bush 41 and Clinton 1
Week 9: March 20-24 Bush 43, 9/11, and the US in Afghanistan and Iraq
·
Rough Draft
Due: March 23 at the beginning of class in hard copy
· Phillips, Chapters 8, 10, 12-16
·
Lecture
17 March 23 GW Bush and Terrorism
Withdrawal Date:
March 24
Final Date for
Requesting Pass/Fail
Grade Option: March 24
Week 10: March 27-31
Obama/Biden vs. Trump
·
Wright: Preface, Chapters 1-2, and 4
·
Lecture
18 March 28 Bush, Terrorism, and Iraq
·
Lecture
19 March 30 Bush, Iraq, and Afghanistan 2
Week 11: April 3-7 Finishing Trump
and Beginning the Challenge of
China I
·
Economy, Chapters 1-3
·
Lecture
20 April 4 US-China Relations 1
·
Lecture
21 April 6 US-China Relations 2
Week
12: April 10-14: The Challenge of
China II
Week 13: April 17-21 Resurgent Russia
Week 14: April 24-28 Biden Foreign Policy and Simulation Day 1
·
Simulation Day 1: April 27
·
Catch up on other Readings
·
Lecture
26 April 25 Trump Biden 2
Week 15: May 2 Simulation Day 2
·
Wright: Chapters 5-7, and Epilogue
Exam 2: Thursday May 11: 8:00 AM to 10:50,
Notice the time change. Same room.
Other
Important Stuff
Political Science Advising
If you are a Political Science major, we highly recommend that you
meet with your friendly and helpful POLI advisors, Nathan Bickett and Jen
Clayton, at least once a semester to make sure you are on track - doing what
you need to do and not doing what you don’t need to do - and to discuss your
academic and professional goals. Current minors and those considering a POLI
major or minor are also encouraged to visit.
You may make an appointment
through the Navigator app or through a link on your VCU Portal. You may also
reach us at poliadvisor@vcu.edu
Political Science Librarian
Nia Rodgers is the librarian for Political
Science. She can help you find peer-reviewed materials to use in your research.
She can be reached at: slrodgers@vcu.edu or you can make an appointment at: https://vcu.libcal.com/appointment/8778
Where
can you find information on international affairs?
This is the questions
students always ask me: “Where do I find good information on international
affairs. I’m looking for something unbiased and something that doesn’t always
look at the world through American eyes (as in how do these developments affect
the US).
Here’s
the short answer: For day-by-day coverage of events
in the world:
On a weekly basis:
The
Economist: www.economist.com. This is a Britain-based weekly which covers
world politics and world business. There
really is nothing else like it in the comprehensive nature of its coverage. You can also buy it on the newsstand, but the
web is free. It covers world politics
very well.
Long Term Views of Crisis and Conflict:
International Crisis Group: www.crisisweb.org.
This is the International Crisis Group, a non-profit organization that
studies, analyzes, and makes recommendations about how to resolve various
crises in the world. There is nothing
better for the in-depth examination of current world events and the dilemmas of
problem solving and peace making. It has
reports (30-50 pages), briefings (10-30), and a weekly briefing (Crisis Watch),
which you can get on the web site or sign up for e-mail delivery.
VCU
Syllabus Policy Statements from Provost’s Office