The Politics of National Security Or

Transcription

1 Political Science 352 Spring 2018 Class Hours: T-Th 9:40-11:10 Sage 4218 Credit Hours: 3.0 Professor Michael Jasinski Sage 4624 Office Hours: Wednesdays 12-3pm The Politics of National Security Or You may fly over a land forever; you may bomb it, atomize it, pulverize it and wipe it clean of life but if you desire to defend it, protect it and keep it for civilization, you must do this on the ground, the way the Roman legions did, by putting your young men in the mud. --T.R. Fehrenbach. Course Description: The purpose of the course is to develop an understanding of the issues and controversies surrounding US national security policy, with particular emphasis on the US military as a tool of US foreign policy. Texts: No textbooks are used in this course. All readings will be found on D2L Political Science Essential Learning Outcomes Understand and apply theory frameworks Political Science students should be able to recognize normative and ethical components of politics understand theoretical foundations of politics in the different subfields recognize the value of theories for making sense of the past and present apply theoretical arguments and concepts in the service of explanation or prediction of political phenomena Understand and apply history as a lens of inquiry Political Science students should be able to use history as a framework for understanding contemporary politics understand that discerning historical patterns and their disruption are critical parts of the discipline Grade and Assessment Policy: Your course grade will consist of the following: --Three mid-course exams, each consisting of 6 essay questions, of which you will answer 5. Each midcourse exam will count for 15% of the final grade. The highest exam score will count an additional 15%. --Research Project: This project, which will take the form of a research paper with minimum length of 15 (fifteen) double-spaced pages, counts for 30% of your course grade. The paper will include a properly 1

2 formatted bibliography chiefly utilizing sources other than ones listed on the syllabus. While course readings may be referenced in the writing of your paper, they are not to constitute more than 25% of sources used. --Option 1: 245 Quantitative Research Design open only to students taking PS245 this semester. --Option 2: Leader Personality Profile. While John Adams famously said America had a government of laws, not men, the characteristics and preferences of individual presidents greatly influence the US political process. Using the analytical tools provided in this course, select a US president and write a psychological biography outlining his early childhood and influences, key events exposing him to the world of politics, his apparent motivation, and operational code, with particular attention being paid to Putnam s two-level game theory, and how the president in questions attempted to balance domestic and international challenges. --Option 3: Policy Debate. Select a major debate concerning the future course of US national security policy, and outline the major factions and schools of thought, including their views on domestic policies as well. The debate may concern the future US relationship with a specific state actor, the role of a specific type of weapon, the structure of the US armed forces, the role of other agencies of the US government, or any other relevant topic. Examine the debate through the lens of the theoretical framework that s presented in this course that examines the linkages between domestic and international policies by attempting to ascertain whether the arguments presented in this debate are driven primarily by international or domestic factors, and what combination of domestic and international outcomes the proposed courses of action are likely to result in. --Option 4: Forecasting Exercise. Describe the major national security challenges the US is facing in the year 2025, and policies the government has adopted in order to adequately address the threat. Again, keep in mind that since freedom isn t free, any form of response to an international challenge naturally entails some change in domestic policies, with the implication being that domestic priorities ( all politics are local ) often determine foreign policy outcomes. --Option 5: America Goes to War. Here you pick a war, any war (or a war by another name ) and look at it through the lens of the theories presented in this course. What was the nature of the threat? What military response did it necessitate? What caused America s success or failure? What were the aims pursued by the Chief Executive/Commander-in-Chief? What lessons, if any, were learned? You may team up with a classmate to product a joint project, in which case the minimum length requirement is increased to 20 (twenty) double-spaced pages. Research projects are to be submitted electronically to a D2L dropbox. --Weekly summaries. I require 12 summaries over the course of 14 weeks. They are due Monday of each week, should be 1-page (single-spaced) long, and provide a brief overview of the readings for that week. There is a D2L dropbox provided for the submission, and the grading is strictly pass-fail. Failure to submit more than two readings over the course of the semester that adequately address the week s readings results in a 2-point final grade penalty. However, well-written summaries will have a positive impact on the class participation grade. 2

3 --Participation in class discussion: This accounts for the remaining 10% of your course grade. Class participation grade will be assessed as follows: Frequent and topical participation: 100% Occasional participation: 85% No participation, or very rare participation: 70% As noted above, strong weekly summary performance (i.e., timely submissions of well-written summaries) will also result in a 100% class participation grade. In addition, your course grade will be affected by the following factors: --Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. However, you are allowed two unexcused absences. However, every additional unexcused absence will reduce your final course grade by 1%. An absence will count as excused if it is caused by a death in the family, illness, or similar events. You must provide relevant documentation to the instructor in order for the absence to be considered excused. Other reasons for excusing an absence may be considered only upon a prior consultation with the instructor. Academic Honesty: Academic honesty standards will be strictly enforced. Cheating and/or plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated. While you are encouraged to study in groups, all exam and research paper work must be your own. As noted above, however, you are permitted to team up in pairs to work on the research paper. Grade Scale: Final course grades will be assigned as follows: A: 92 and higher. A-: 90-91; B+: 88-89; B: 82-87; B-: 80-81; C+: 78-79; C: 72-77; C-: 70-71; D: 60-69; F: Week 1: One commands, all others obey. Michels Political Parties Part II Walker, Motivational Foundations of Political Belief Systems: A Reanalysis of the Operational Code Construct Klandermans, Collective Political Action Nye, Types and Skills Week 2: Whoever makes a pact with these means of violence and every politician does is exposed to its specific consequences. Levy, Domestic Politics and War Weber, What is a State? Putnam, Two-Level Game Caruso, Democrats and the Iron Law of Institutions Biddle and Long, Democracy and Military Effectiveness Art, Four Uses of Force Gilpin, Hegemonic War and International Change Week 3: Our detached and distant situation 3

4 Bemis, Washington s Farewell Address Bowman, Jefferson, Hamilton, and American Foreign Policy Lee, Early American Ways of War: A New Reconnaissance, Latner, A New Look at Jacksonian Politics Weigley, Armies and Societies Week 4 Manifest Destiny Lane, American Military Past: The Need for New Approaches Brown, General Emory Upton--The Army's Mahan. Colby, Elihu Root and the National Guard Tarlton, A Note on the "Mercantilistic Imperialism" of Alfred Thayer Mahan Barsness, Theodore Roosevelt as a Cowboy: The Virginian as a Jacksonian Man Week 5: I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." Legro, Whence American Internationalism Ikenberry, Rethinking the Origins of American Hegemony Dallek, Franklin Roosevelt as World Leader Weigley, Eisenhower s Lieutenants Chapter 1: The American Army; Chapter 2: Weapons and Divisions. Jacobs, Strategic Bombing and American National Strategy, Finkelstein, The United Nations: Then and Now Leffler, The American Conception of National Security and the Beginnings of the Cold War Exam 1 Tuesday of Week 6 (Weeks 1-5) Week 6: an Iron Curtain has descended Ambrose, The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan Ambrose, Berlin, NATO, and NSC 68 Jervis, The Impact of the Korean War on the Cold War DROP Quester, Was Eisenhower a Genius? Fisher,"The War Power: No Check and No Balance" Stanley, College Education and the Midcentury GI Bills Moskos, Racial Integration in the Armed Forces Week 7: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Bernstein Roosevelt, Truman, and the Atomic Bomb, : A Reinterpretation Betts, A Nuclear Golden Age? The Balance before Parity Coffey, Soviet ABM Policy: The Implications for the West Haas, Reassessing Lessons from the ABM Treaty Firmage, The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons 4

5 Week 8: pay any price, bear any burden Fleming, Vietnam and After Herring, American Strategy in Vietnam: The Postwar Debate Herring, Vietnam Remembered Hoffmann et al. Vietnam Reappraised Lunch and Sperlich, American Public Opinion and the War in Vietnam Week 9: "I am pleased to tell you today that I have signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes." Scheer, Nuke War And Birds Holm, Star Wars Perle, Reykjavik as a Watershed in U.S.-Soviet Arms Control Warner and Asch, The Record and Prospects of the All-Volunteer Military in the United States Week 10: "We have before us the opportunity to forge for ourselves and for future generations a new world order Tangredi, The Future Security Environment, Spiro, The New Sovereigntists Meilinger, Force Divider Lieber, The Rise of US Nuclear Primacy DeBlois et al. Space Weapons: Crossing the U.S. Rubicon Exam 2 Tuesday of Week 11 (weeks 6-10) Week 11: It seemed that a regular soldier might be helpless without a target. Barnett, "The Pentagon's New Map" Crenshaw, Causes of Terrorism Lawrence, "Science of Guerrilla Warfare Cordesman, "The Strategic Impact and Military Effectiveness of the Air and Missile Campaign" Week 12: Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer. Gaddis, "A Grand Strategy of Transformation" Biddle, "Afghanistan and the Future of Warfare" Aylwin, "Changing the Army for Counterinsurgency Operations Bacevich, "What's an Iraqi Life Worth?" Fick and Nagl, Counterinsurgency Field Manual: Afghanistan Edition Week 13: Tell me how this ends Kupchan and Trubowitz, Dead Center: The Demise of Liberal Internationalism in the United States Wheeler, What do Pentagon s Numbers Really Mean? Hendrickson, Revolution and Intervention Astore, The End of Airpower Turse, The US Military Pivots to Africa 5

6 Week 14 America is not at war. The Marine Corps is at war; America is at the mall. Kohn, Social History of the American Soldier Gelpi and Feaver, Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick? Veterans in the Political Elite and the American Use of Force Feaver and Kohn, "The Gap" Yingling, "A Failure in Generalship" The US Military Index Filling the Ranks Exam 3 Thursday of Week 14 [Weeks 11-14] Research Paper due Friday of Week 14 6