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Course Description
This course is an introduction to the field of international politics for graduate students. As
such, it bridges the typical subfields of comparative politics and international relations,
whose distinctions have eroded in recent years. We will cover major topics in both subfields,
but focus on integrating them into a common perspective (for me, the best framework for
doing so is the two-level game, originally described by Putnam 1988). This basically means
that we will examine the influence of domestic politics on international politics, and vice
versa. Doing so is somewhat controversial methodologically because it allows so many
moving parts into study simultaneously, but most political scientists would probably admit
that it is empirically inaccurate to examine foreign domestic and international politics
separately in the 21st century.
The disadvantage of covering both of these courses together is that there are a lot of classics
in political science that we will not read in this course. Rather than focus on such works, I
have chosen good overviews of a topic where appropriate, along with a selection of some of
the best recent work.
The 1985 symposium provides a little bit of perspective here, but in the 20-odd years since
then, mainstream political science has converged around a multiple methods approach. The
other readings should serve to explain the strengths and weaknesses of each of the three
main approaches to research – modeling, statistics, and case studies.
No longer in vogue, systemic theories served as the basis for much theorizing in international
relations. The center of this debate was Kenneth Waltz, but other systemic theories also
deserve attention, and the central question was when wars between great powers occur.
Ken Organski founded Power Transition Theory in The War Ledger, and Lemke and Kugler
present this set of work nicely. Note the different causes of war in these two theories.
Powell provides a game theoretic work on these foundational theories. How does his
formalization help clarify previous questions? Where does it fail?
In a widely cited paper, Krasner tried to extend the systemic logic to international
political economy, and Keohane looks back on the mixed success of that effort. Kahler
presents an overview of where international relations has gone since leaving its fascination
with the interstate system, and that is to focus on the characteristics of states themselves.
Much of the ink spilled in theoretical debates in IR has covered the extent to which states are
willing to cooperate. Realists tended to argue that states rarely, if ever, change policy to
cooperate. Others, such as Axelrod and Stein here, believe that cooperation is not
uncommon and that realists had no way to explain it. Wendt is the leading proponent of
constructivism, which argues that anarchy alone does not determine states’ behavior, but
that it evolves in the relationships among states. Which of these camps is most persuasive,
and which (if any) should be jettisoned?
Sandler summarizes the findings of collective action theory for this debate. He calls
himself a realist, yet believes that cooperation is more likely in some instances than others.
The nice thing about his work is that he provides some very concrete answers to when
cooperation is most likely, but Chapter 10 points out some elements that are missing in the
collective action theory for state interactions. What are its strengths and weaknesses?
This week is really a follow-up to the theory of cooperation literature. Why do states choose
to cooperateand when they do, why are formal agreements and new organizations used
instead of alternate forms of cooperation? Chayes and Chayes are (ex?) lawyers, and tend to
believe that states do what they say and what they mean. Downs, Rocke, and Barsoom are
political scientists and are more skeptical about states’ willingness to cooperate in
meaningful ways. Lipson and Abbott and Snidal tackle the questions of when states
approach cooperation through different means. Fearon points out a wrinkle in the
theoretical argument of the cooperation literature more generally, and Koremenos is an
empirical piece that flows from this literature. So, why do states ever choose to delegate
power to an international organization?
Week Six: Statebuilding, Political Development and Democratization – February 14, 2007
Levi, Margaret. The State of the Study of the State. In Katznelson & Milner. Pages 33-55.
Geddes, Barbara. (1999). What Do We Know about Democratization after 20 Years?
Annual Review of Political Science 2: 115-44.
*Whitehead, Laurence. (2002). Democratization: Theory and Experience. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. Chapters 1 & 2.
Boix, C. (2003). Democracy and Redistribution. New York, Cambridge University Press.
Introduction & Chapters 1-3.
*Przeworski, A. (2000). Democracy and development : political institutions and material well-
being in the world. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Ch. 1 & Conclusion.
Pevehouse, J. (2002). "Democracy from the Outside-In? International Organizations and
Democratization." International Organization 56(3): 515-550.
Why do states democratize? Levi provides the most complete overview here. Geddes and
Whitehead both are concerned primarily with the transition from autocracy to democracy, but
Boix contains a remarkable political economy model of democratization. Przeworski (et al.) is
the best empirical work on the subject of democratization. Pevehouse is one of the first to
consider factors outside the state as important for the process of democratization. What
challenges does his analysis pose for the others here?
Realists have long hung their hat on “national interest” – but how do we know that there is
such a thing? Trade theory does the opposite, and shows us that different trade policies
“Institutionalism” is claimed by several different schools of thought. Hall & Taylor help sort
through those. Each of the others is a good example of one of those schools. Thelen is the
historical institutionalism representative; Greif and Laitin and Tsebelis the rational choice
institutionalism representatives. Pierson might fall into the former camp but does some
important bridge work. Sociological institutionalism doesn’t get as much attention in political
science, but it is an important source for Wendt and other constructivists (see Week Four).
This collection of readings investigates common political institutions and explains how
different institutions aggregate the same preferences. Blais and Massicotte is a very basic
overview of political systems. Stokes and Manin, Przeworski and Stokes present the
conventional wisdom on political parties and how they represent societal interests. Clarke
and Stewart examine reasons for the decline of this most common political institution in
The democratic peace might be the closest thing that international politics has to an
empirical law. Or it might not. This was a very hot debate throughout the 1990s, and
continues to receive attention. Ray is the overview, although you’ll get a bit of the in the
BdM2S2 article as well. Schultz tries to distinguish between two explanations for the
democratic peace. Rosato, a graduate student when this piece came out, provoked a lot of
backlash when he disputed the basic tenets of the theory. The backlash is here too.
Security-seeking states have two primary tools for achieving that goal. Internally, states that
have the industrial capacity can produce their own arms and armies. Externally, states can
allly with other states who have more or different arms production capabilities. Morrow
argues that these two choices are a tradeoff, and that states should systematically prefer
one or the other path depending on their willingness to sacrifice autonomy. Smith is a
watershed in the study of alliances, since he explains many of the prior findings in a coherent
theoretical package. Powell expands on his previous chapter in a relevant way here.
Fearon presents a signaling model to explain security choices.
Alt and his coauthors present an excellent overview of the trade literature. Hiscox takes up
their challenge and incorporates the two most prominent theories of trade policy preferences
into one theory and then proceeds to test it across countries. Note his research design and
data sources, which required some serous archival work.
Globalization has inspired a great deal of academic work. Finding a short sample of that
material is extremely difficult, but weeks twelve and fourteen cover topics that are often
synonymous with globalization. This week’s readings approaches the topic more generally
and provides an overview of globalizations causes and effects. Garrett presents what I’ll call
the conventional wisdom on each topic. Held and McGrew are concerned more with
definitions and categorization of the various people writing about globalization. Fischer, an
economist and currently Governor of the Bank of Israel, presents a typical view from his
discipline. Wade writes from considerably further left, where he tries to salvage state
autonomy.
The final week’s readings combine two things: an overview of the multiple levels of analysis
approach (two-level games) and some applications of such an approach. Gourevitch is the
classic here, and he focuses exclusively on one type of causal pattern: when the international
system impacts domestic politics. Frieden and Rogowski put a contemporary twist on that
idea, focusing mostly on capital mobility as the international variable. Putnam’s piece is
exclusively about international bargaining, but the approach is being used to study other
state interactions as well. The other pieces all deal with the “room to maneuver” debate –
how much freedom do states have to choose their own policies (primarily monetary and
fiscal) in light of capital’s ability to move about so freely?
Grading Policy
Each student will write five short (4-6 pages) papers that summarize and reflect on the
week’s readings. The focus of these papers should be your reflections on the papers – I
already know what the authors say, so pick out the points that you want to highlight as
emblematic of the author’s work or contradicting other authors. The papers should have an
introduction and a conclusion, and are best modeled on book reviews in current political
science journals (e.g., Perspectives on Politics). Summaries integrated into a broader
framework with greater focus on reflection will receive higher grades. Papers longer than six
pages will not be graded and must be revised and resubmitted with a grade penalty. The
grade penalty will also apply to late papers (see next section) or those with unusual text sizes
or margin settings (double-spaced 10-12 point fonts, 1 or 1.25 inch margins are standard).
During the first class students will select four weeks’ readings about which they will write,
and all students will write a short paper on the readings for the methods readings (week
two).
No research paper is required in this course. As an introductory course, the goal is to focus
on the readings, and it may be useful at times to consult other sources mentioned in the
required readings. Grades will be based on both the papers (60%) and class participation
(40%). Class participation includes attendance, so please inform me of necessary absences.
Attendance is expected at all classes. Students who are unable to attend due to illness,
childcare commitments, deaths of loved ones, or any other legitimate reason, should contact
the professor prior to the class to receive an excused absence.
Additionally, participation in classroom discussion is expected of all students. Each class will
begin with a brief summary from each student of his or her thoughts and impressions of the
week’s readings. Following these initial remarks, one (pre-selected) student will provide a
10-minute overview of the readings. A second student will serve as defender of the authors,
and will have the initial response to the presenter. At that point, the floor will be opened to
all students again. Those who contribute thoughtful, constructive criticism of both the
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