Updated on May 18, 2008

The University of Texas at Dallas

GOVT 3328-001
International Relations

Summer 2008
MWF 09:00AM-11:45PM at FN2.106

Instructor: Professor Nakamoto

E-mail: mxn036000@utdallas.edu
Phone: (972) 883-6415
Office: GR3.220
Office Hour: MW 8:00AM-09:00AM or by an appointment

Course Objectives ∗ :
• To learn international relations (IR) theory
• To apply IR theory to gain understandings over world politics
• To acquire knowledge in relevant international issues
• To instill in the student’s mind the sense of being a global citizen

Required Course Texts:

Mingst, Karen. 2007. Essentials of International Relations. 4th ed. New York: W. W. Norton.
Mingst, Karen A. and Jack Snyder, eds. 2004. Essential Readings in World Politics. 2nd ed. W. W.
Norton.
Purkitt, Helen E., ed. 2009. Annual Editions: World Politics 08/09. 29th ed. Guildford, CT:
Dushkin/McGraw-Hill.

Plus, there are online articles accessible via UTD library or Internet. Refer to Course Calendar on
pages two through four.

THE CONTENT OF THIS SYLLABUS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. In case of any change in the
syllabus content, the instructor will make an announcement in class and/or through WebCT. Students
are responsible for keeping up with such an announcement.

Grade Distribution in This Course:

Quiz 10%
First Exam 30%
Second Exam 30%
Final Exam 30%
Total 100%

Letter Grades:
A+ (97-100%), A (93-96%), A- (90-92%); B+ (87-89%), B (83-86%), B- (80-82%); C+ (77-79%), C (73-76%), C-
(70-72%); D+ (67-69%), D (63-66%), D- (60-62%); and F (Below 60%).

∗
The course objectives and evaluation process listed herein seek to meet academic benchmarks for the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges (SACS). For further information, visit
http://sacs.utdallas.edu/sacs_home.

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Quiz:
While I do not take your attendance, I will give you a quiz at the beginning of each class. Each
quiz consists of fifteen multiple choice questions. A quiz will take place in the first five minutes of
class. Each quiz will evaluate your understanding over the content of the previous class, including
lecture, a video or a guest speaker presentation. A quiz on Friday will be from Wednesday’s material,
one on Wednesday from Monday’s and one on Monday from Friday’s of the previous week. For this
reason, class attendance is strongly encouraged. Quiz is worth ten percent of your semester grade.
If you miss class, come to class late or leave early, you will be only hurting yourself. In case of some
dire emergencies (e. g., death in family, serious health problems, etc.), which force you to be absent
from class, the instructor might waiver some of your quizzes. However, he may ask you to turn in
some supporting documents.

Current International Events:

Due to the nature of this course, the instructor asks students to stay informed of current events
across the world. Given below is a list of some newspapers and journals and/or their electronic
websites recommended by the instructor:

• BBC News: news.bbc.co.uk/

• Christian Science Monitor: www.csmonitor.com/
• Guardian: www.guardian.co.uk/
• Le Monde Diplomatique**: mondediplo.com/maps/
• New York Times: www.nytimes.com/
• The Economist**: www.economist.com/
• The Nation: www.thenation.com/
• International Herald Tribune: www.iht.com/
• Washington Post: www.washingtonpost.com/
**Paid subscription

Exams:
An exam will evaluate students’ knowledge over class lecture, required reading assignments and
current international events. Even if he or she is absent, a student is still responsible for every piece of
information covered in class. The instructor will not give the copies of his lecture notes to
students. You must take your exams in class on the dates scheduled by this syllabus. Make your
plans accordingly. In case you have to miss an exam, you must keep the instructor informed ahead of
time. Be prepared to present supporting documents in case you are requested to do so.
Each of the first two exams will consist of five identifications, five current event questions and one
essay. The essay is worth two-thirds of an exam. The identifications and current event questions
together constitute one-third of an exam grade. Presented as multiple choice questions, the current
event section will ask about major international news from two days prior to the day of the exam.
Bring a blue book and a blue/black pen to take your exam. Please write as legibly as possible.
This course’s final exam consists of one hundred multiple choice questions. It is cumulative and
covers everything from the first day of the semester. The questions on the final exam will be very
similar to what you will have seen on the quizzes throughout the semester. For your final exam, you
will have your lecture notes as well as your quizzes as your study guides. Hence, there is another
reason for attending class regularly. Bring #2 pencils, an eraser and an 8½” ×11” pink Scantron
sheet (Form No F-1712-PAR-L) on the day of the final exam.

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Class Rules:
Although they may seem common sense, I will nonetheless outline some fundamental rules in
class:
z Thou shall respect thy fellow classmates and professor.
Besides this basic rule above, there are some specific rules in Professor Nakamoto’s class:
z Turn off your cellular phone. That means you!!! Every cellular phone in the classroom must
remain turned off for the duration of the class period.
¾ The first two offenses will result in verbal warnings.
¾ However, a third or more offense will result in two-point deduction from your semester
average every time your cell phone rings in class.
¾ If you answer a call in class, you will automatically lose two points even if it is your first
offense.
z Please do not eat in class. If you are hungry, eat before or after class.
For further questions over class rules, visit “Student Discipline and Conduct” at the home page of The
University of Texas at Dallas at http://www.utdallas.edu/student/slife/dishonesty.html.

Academic Dishonesty:
Academic dishonesty, including plagiarism cheating on examinations, is not tolerated. For any
question over the definition of academic dishonesty, refer to The UTD’s “Student Discipline and
Conduct” at the website above.

Disability Accommodations:
Please let the instructor know of any need for disability accommodation. The instructor will do
everything to facilitate students’ learning in this course.

Class Calendar:
I. Levels of Analysis

23MAY Introduction

Class Objectives, Rules and Semester Overview

Realism vs. Liberalism: Competing World Views

• Mingst, 1~4; 59~61 (through the 4th paragraph); & 63~66 (through the 2nd paragraph).
• Thucydides, “Melian Dialogue,” in Mingst & Snyder, eds., 18~20.

Levels of Analysis and Actors in International Politics

• Mingst, 55~59; 72~75; & 75~78.

Individual Level Analysis

• Mingst, 4~13.

26MAY MEMORIAL DAY

28MAY

Individual Level Analysis

• Mingst, 139~161.

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State Level Analysis

• Mingst, 99~119.
• Kant, Emmanuel, “To Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch,” in Mingst & Snyder, eds., 20~24.

State-level Analysis
• Mingst, 119~136.

30MAY

State-level Analysis
• Krasener, Stephen D., “Sovereignty,” in Mingst & Snyder, eds., 143~149.

System-level Analysis: Structural Realism (Neo-realism)

• Mingst, 66 (from the 3rd paragraph) ~68; 81~82; & 84~91.
• Sommer, Theo, “Moscow Is Elbowing into Its Place in the Sun: But It Should Remain the West’s
Goal to Anchor Russia in Europe,” in Purkitt, ed., 84~86.

02JUN

Long Cycle Theory:

• Modelski, George and Patrick M. Morgan, “Understanding Global War,” The Journal of Conflict
Resolution, 29, no. 3 (1985): 391~417.

Hegemonic Stability Theory: Future of Pax Americana

• Drezner, Daniel W., “The New World Order,” in Purkitt, ed., 2~6.
• Fallows, James, “China Makes, the World Takes: A Look Inside the World’s Manufacturing
Center Shows that America Should Welcome China’s Rise—for Now,” in Purkitt, ed., 175~184.
• Schroeder, Paul, “Historical Reality vs. Neo-Realist Theory,” International Security, 9, no. 1
(1994): 108-148.

Liberalism and Neo-liberal Institutionalism

• Mingst, 61 (from the 5th paragraph) ~63 & 82~91.

04JUN

Liberalism and Neo-liberal Institutionalism

• Hoffman, Stanley, “Clash of Globalizations,” Foreign Affairs, 81, no. 4 (2002): 104~115.
• Jervis, Robert, “The Compulsive Empire,” in Mingst & Snyder, eds., 138~141.
• Bacevich, Andrew J., “Requiem for the Bush Doctrine,” Current History 104, no. 686 (2005):
411~417.
• Johnson, Chalmers, “Blowback,” The Nation, October 15, 2001, (posted on September 27, 2001).
Also accessible at http://www.thenation.com/doc/20011015/johnson.

06JUN FIRST EXAM

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II. International Interactions

09JUN

IR Theory in Historical Context

• Mingst, 15~52.
• Wilson, Woodrow, “The Fourteen Points,” in Mingst & Snyder, eds., 26~28.
• Walt, Stephen M., “International Relations: One World, Many Theories,” in Mingst & Snyder,
eds., 4~11.

Radicalism
• Mingst, 68~72; 91~98; & 262~268.
• Wallerstein, Immanuel, “The Rise and Future Demise of World Capitalist System: Concepts for
Comparative Analysis,” in Mingst & Snyder, eds., 130~137.

11JUN

Mercantilism
• Mingst, 260~262.
• Gilpin, Robert. “International Political Economy,” in Mingst & Snyder, eds., 402~410.

International Political Economy

• Mingst, 197~231.
• Hays, Jude, Sean D. Earlich and Clint Peinhardt, “Government Spending and Public Support for
Trade in the OECD: An Empirical Test for the Embedded Liberalism Thesis,” International
Organization, 59, no 2 (2005): 473-494.

13JUN

International Political Economy

• Hesse, Brian J., “A Continent Embraces the Cell Phone,” in Purkitt, ed., 185~189.
• Castañeda, Jorge G., “NAFTA at 10: A Plus or Minus?” Current History 103, no. 670 (2004):
51~55.
• Bello, Walden, “Manufacturing a Food Crisis,” The Nation, 286, no. 22. Also accessible at
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080602/bello.
• DeLong, J. Bradford, “Should We Still Support Untrammeled International Capital Mobility? Or
Are Capital Controls Less Evil than We Once Believed?” The Economists’ Voice, 1, no. 1 (2004):
1~7.
• Stiglitz, Joseph E., “The Way Ahead,” in Mingst & Snyder, eds., 437~458.

16JUN

Inter-governmental Organizations (IGO)

• Mingst, 163~187.
• Glennon, Michael J., “Why the Security Council Failed,” in Mingst & Snyder, eds., 208~218.

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• “Responses,” in Mingst & Snyder, eds., 219~222.
Inter-governmental Organizations (IGO)
• Rachman, Gideon, “Death of Enlargement,” in Purkitt, ed., 80~83.

Non-governmental Organizations (NGO)

• Mingst, 187~193.
• Keck, Margaret E. and Kathryn Sikkink, “Transnational Advocacy Network in International
Politics: Introduction,” in Mingst & Snyder, eds., 222~230.

18JUN

Globalization and Democracy

• Fukuyama, Francis, “The End of History?” The National Interests, 38, Summer (1989): 3~18.
Available at http://www.wesjones.com/eoh.htm. Also available at
http://www.cla.wayne.edu/polisci/kdk/Comparative/SOURCES/fukayama.htm. Also available at
http://www.law.utk.edu/ACADEMIC/currstudent/Blitt/Fukumaya%20The%20End%20of%20Hist
ory%20(1989).pdf.
• Soros, George, “The Capitalist Threat,” The Atlantic Monthly, 279, no. 2 (1997): 45~48, 50~55 &
58. Also accessible at http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/soros.htm.
• Kaplan, Robert D., “Was Democracy Just a Moment?” The Atlantic Monthly, 280, no. 6 (1997).
Also accessible at http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Democracy/DemocracyMoment_AM.html.
• Sen, Amartya, "Democracy as a Universal Value," Journal of Democracy, 10, no. 3 (1999): 3-17.

20JUN

International Law
• Mingst, 193~204.
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights, available at http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html.
• Ruby, Charles L., “The Definition of Terrorism,” Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 2,
no. 1 (2002): 9~14.
• Prunier, Gérard, “The Politics of Death in Darfur,” Current History 15, no. 691 (2006): 195~202.
• Finmore, Martha, “Constructing Norms of Humanitarian Intervention,” in Mingst & Snyder, eds.,
102~115.
• Byman, Daniel L. and Kenneth M. Pollack, “Carriers of Conflict,” in Purkitt, ed., 129.
• Kissinger, Henry A., “The Pitfalls of Universal Jurisdiction,” in Mingst & Snyder, eds., 253~258.
• Roth, Kenneth, “The Case for Universal Jurisdiction,” in Mingst & Snyder, eds.,, 258~261.
• Cobban, Helena, “International Court,” in Purkitt, ed., 168~171.

23JUN SECOND EXAM

25JUN Final Exam Review Session

27JUN FINAL EXAM (FN2.106 at 9:00AM)

30JUN Final Grade Posted Online

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Alternative Images of International Relations: Underlying Assumptions

Liberalism Realism Radicalism

Analytic Unit(s) Both state and non- The state is the Classes, states, and
state actors are principal unit of and non-state actors
Important. analysis for a realist operate as parts of
capitalist world
system (CWS)

View of Actor(s) The state is The state is a unitary International

Disaggregated actor. relations are viewed
into components, From historical
some of which perspective,
may operate especially the
transnationally. continuous
development of CWS

Behavioral Foreign policy- The state is a rational Focus is on the

Dynamic making and actor seeking to pattern of dominance
transnational maximize its own and among societies.
process involve interests or national
conflict, bargaining, objectives in foreign
Coalition and policy.
compromise, and
may not necessarily
result in optimal
outcomes.

Issues Multiple agenda: National security The economic welfare

socio-economic or is the paramount of the Third World is
welfare issues are issue. the most important
more important than issue.
national security
questions.

Change Incremental changes Conflictive changes Radical changes

through interactions (gradual or radical) normatively desired
due to a shift in the but limited by the
balance of power CWS

Source:
Paul R. Viotti and Mark V. Kauppi. 1993. International Relations theory:
Realism, Pluralism and Globalism. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, p. 10.
Mingst, Karen A. 2004. Essentials of International Relations. 3rd. ed. New York: W. W.
Norton.

Disclaimer: This handout for classroom and non-business use only

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Different Attitudes towards International Law

Liberalism Realism Radicalism
Important independent Skeptical of their ability Serve the interests of
actors for collective to engage in collective powerful states and
IGO action action the elites at the
expense of the
oppressed
Key actors that Not independent actors; Represent dominant
represent different power belongs to states; economic interests;
NGO interests and facilitate and any NGO derived unlikely to effect
collective action from states any major political
or economic change
Key source of order in Acknowledges that Skeptical because
the international international law the origins of law are
system; states comply creates some order, but western capitalist
International because law assures stresses that states tradition;
Law order comply only when it is international law
in their self-interests; only reaffirms the
and states prefer self- claims of the
help powerful

Disclaimer: This handout for classroom and non-business use only

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Comparison of the Three Schools of Thoughts in Political Economy

Liberalism Mercantilism Dependency

Corresponding School of
Thoughts in International Liberalism/Neo-liberal Radicalism
Realism
Relations Institutionalism

Fundamental • Conflictive
• Harmonious • "Zero sum" game
Assumptions on the • Conflictive
• "Positive sum" game • The core's
Nature of International • "Zero sum" game
• Cooperation possible exploitation
Economy • States as being
through bargaining, of the periphery and
economically
compromise and semi-periphery
predatory among
haggling to attain
each other
Equilibrium

Analytic Unit(s) or
Various economic State Economic classes
Primary Actor(s)
Actors Actors across the world

Normative Commitment Commitment to

the Third World's
welfare (but difficulties
Maximization of Maximization of In attaining it due to
global welfare national interests the exploitative nature
of the Capitalist World
System (CWS).

Relationship between
Primacy of politics
Economics and
Economics should over economics Economics determines
Politics
Determine politics for the purpose of politics
state power

Theory of Change
Shift in distribution of Tendency toward
Dynamic equilibrium power among states disequilibria in CWS

Sources:
Gilpin, Robert. 1987. The Political Economy of International Relations. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Gilpin, Robert. “The Nature of Political Economy.” In Mingst, Karen A. and Jack L. Snyder. 2004. Essential Readings in
World Politics. 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton: 403-410.
Paul R. Viotti and Mark V. Kauppi. 1993. International Relations theory: Realism, Pluralism and Globalism. New York:
Macmillan Publishing Company.
Disclaimer: This handout for classroom and non-business use only