Sylabus
JPM406 Realism and liberalism (TMV)
Winter Term 2010/2011
Time/place: the seminar will take place on Thursdays (9.30 - 10.50) at J4019, it will take place at odds weeks and starts on September 30
Lecturer
PhDr. Jan Karlas, MA., PhD.
Office hours - Thursdays, 8.00 - 9.20 at J3087
Contact - jk.kurzy@seznam.cz
Number of credits 4
Course form 0/1 (Seminar)
Course availability
Master course taught as a seminar for the obligatory course Theories of International Relations - TMV (JPM043). It is one of the seminars to which students who participate in the obligatory course JPM043 must enroll (they cannot pass the obligatory course without passing one of the seminars). The course can also be chosen as an elective course by any other students, including Erasmus and exchange students, but the number of students in the course is limited and the students of the obligatory course will be given preference.
Prerequisites
None
Co-requisites
Co-requisites are not preset in SIS but students who select the course as a part of the obligatory course Theories of International Relations - TMV (JPM043) must pass both courses in the same semester. Otherwise the seminar will not be accepted as a component of JPM043.
Annotation
This seminar focuses on realism and liberalism as two longest existing theoretical approaches to international relations. It revises and extends students' knowledge of both approaches obtained in the obligatory course Theories of International Relations - TMV (JPM043).
The course concentrates on the realist and liberal insights into foreign policy as one particular dimension of international relations and on case studies that apply these insights to real-world events.
Course objectives, learning outcomes
In most general terms, this seminar seeks to increase students' ability to analyze current international processes. It should improve students' ability to identify important international issues as well as their alternative explanations and to formulate substantiated arguments about such issues. In this respect, realism and liberalism constitute two especially useful analytical tools as they represent two longest existing (and still most frequently used) theoretical approaches to international relations. From a more academic perspective, the participants of the seminar will deepen their knowledge of two of the main theoretical approaches in the discipline and explore the possibility of their application to the analysis of real international events. This will, among other things, assist students in improving the research designs of their term papers for other courses as well as of their MA theses. At the most immediate level, students of the specializations International Relations and Security studies at FSV UK will become better prepared for passing the exam for the obligatory course Theories of International Relations - TMV (JPM043) as well as the final Master's exam.
Teaching methods
The course consists of six seminars. Each seminar (except for the first one) will be based on two presentations based on the assigned topics, each delivered by one or two students. Each presentation will be followed by a discussion. In addition to delivering a presentation, all the students are expected to read the assigned readings, submit a short summary for each seminar (except for the first one and the one at which they have a presentation) and be actively involved in the seminar discussions. At the end of the semester, students deliver a term paper. The term paper will describe and assess one or several realist or liberal theories or apply those theories to a case or cases selected by the student according to his/her interests.
Preparation for classes
Students that do NOT have a presentation at the seminar have to read ONLY THE MAIN (AND NOT THE ADDITIONAL) READINGS. At the beginning of each of the seminars (except for the first one), students are expected to submit to the lecturer a printed written summary responding to the questions set-up in advance for the seminar.
Credit requirements 1) Regular Attendance
Only 2 absences per semester are allowed (one being at the first seminar). 2) 4 Written Summaries (15% of the credit in total)
The summary answers the questions selected in advance by the lecturer (the questions will be posted in the SIS at least two weeks in advance). The questions are connected with the MAIN READINGS. The summary should be approximately 300-600 words (that is about 1-2 standardized pages) in length. It is to be handed over to the lecturer in a printed form at the beginning of the seminar. The student submits a written summary for all the seminars, EXCEPT FOR THE FIRST SEMINAR AND THE SEMINAR AT WHICH S/HE PARTICIPATES AT PRESENTATIONS. 3) 1 presentation (20% of the credit in total)
Each seminar will be based on two presentations on the assigned topics, each delivered by one or two students. The purpose of the presentation is to address the tasks or questions selected in advance by the lecturer (the presentation guidelines will be posted in the SIS at least two weeks in advance). Each of the two presentations should take approximately 20 minutes. STUDENTS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO PREPARE AND USE A POWER-POINT PRESENTATION IN THE CLASS. 4) Seminar Activity (15%)
Students are expected to be actively involved in the seminar discussions following the presentations. 5) 1 Term paper (50% of the credit in total)
The term paper will describe and assess one or several realist or liberal theories or apply those theories to a particular case or cases chosen by the student according to his/her interest. It should be 4000-5000 words in length (that is about 13-17 standardized pages) in length. The paper must be submitted no later than January 31, 2011.
Course structure
The readings linked with "KSV" are available in the electronic databases of the Jinonice library (THE DATABASES CALLED "EBSCO" OR "JSTOR"). The readings linked with "scan" ARE AVAILABLE ON THIS PAGE OF THE COURSE IN SIS (please look at the upper part of the page). They can be accessed just by the students who are signed up for the course. 1. Introduction (September 30)
I. Realism and liberalism - overview 2. Realism [44/90 pages] (October 14 - because there is a matriculation ceremony on October 14 the seminar will be rescheduled to 8.00, J2018 on the same day)
Main readings
Buzan, Barry (1996): The Timeless Wisdom of Realism? In: Smith, Steve - Booth, Ken - Zalewski, Marysia (eds.): International Theory: Positivism and Beyond. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 47-65 [18 pages] (scan)
Waltz, Kenneth (1979): Theory of International Politics. New York: Addison-Wesley (chapter 5 "Political structures", pp. 79-101). [22 pages] (scan)
Additional readings
Jervis, Robert (1998): Realism in the Study of World Politics. International Organization, vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 971-991 [20 pages] (KSV - EBSCO)
Waltz, Kenneth (1979): Theory of International Politics. New York: Addison-Wesley (chapter 6 "Anarchic Orders and Balances of Power", pp. 102-128) [26 pages] (scan)
Presentation topics: 1) realism (general overview) 2) neorealism (detailed overview) 3. Liberalism [43/94 pages] (because October 28 is a national holiday the seminar will be rescheduled to October 26, 9.30, J4020)
Main readings
Zacher, Mark W. - Matthew, Richard A. (1995): Liberal International Theory: Common Threads, Divergent Strands. In: Charles W. Kegley (ed.): Controversies in International Relations Theory: Realism and the Neoliberal Challenge. New York: St. Martin´s Press, pp. 107-150 [43 pages] (scan)
Additional readings
Moravcsik, Andrew (1997): Taking Preferences Seriously: A Liberal Theory of International Politics. International Organization, vol. 51, no. 4, only pp. 513-524 and 533-553! [31 pages] (KSV - EBSCO)
Keohane, Robert (1989): Neoliberal Institutionalism: A Perspective on World Politics. In: Keohane, Robert. International Institutions and State Power: Essays in International Relations Theory. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, pp. 1-20 [20 pages] (scan)
Presentation topics: 1) liberalism - main ideas and variants 2) neoliberalism
II. Realism, liberalism and foreign policy analysis 4. Realism, liberalism and foreign policy analysis [47/92 pages] (November 11)
Main readings
Carlsnaes, Walter (2006): Foreign Policy. In: Carlsnaes, Walter et al. (eds.). Handbook of International Relations. London: SAGE, pp. 331-350 [19 pages] (scan)
Rose, Gideon (1998): Neoclassical Realism and Theories of Foreign Policy. World Politics, vol. 51, no. 1, s. 144-172 [28 pages] (scan)
Additional readings
Neack, Laura et al. (1995): Generational Change in Foreign Policy Analysis. In: Laura Neack et al. (eds.). Foreign Policy Analysis: Continuity and Change in its Second Generation. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, pp. 1-16 [16 pages] (scan)
Allison, Graham T. (1969): Conceptual Models and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The American Political Science Review, vol. 63, no. 3, s. 689-718 [29 pages] (scan)
Presentation topics: 1) foreign policy analysis as a field of study 2) selected realist and liberal theories of foreign policy
III. Case studies 5. German foreign policy [77/120 pages] (November 25)
Main readings
Rittberger, Volker (2004) Approaches to the Study of Foreign Policy Derived from International Relations Theories. Tübinger Arbeitspapiere zur Internationalen Politik und Friedensforschung, no. 46, pp. 1-32, http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/uni/spi/taps/tap46.pdf [32 pages] (internet)
Wagner, Wolfgang (2001): German EU Constitutional Foreign Policy. In: Rittberger, Volker (ed.): German Foreign Policy since Unification. Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp. 185-229 [45 pages] (scan)
Additional readings
Baumann, Rainer (2001): German Security Policy within NATO. In: Rittberger, Volker (ed.): German Foreign Policy since Unifi