INR 3004: Geography, History, and International Relations | ||
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Dr. Paul Hensel |
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Note to prospective students: If you are interested in taking this class but you have not been able to register for it, please note that courses like this usually fill to the room's capacity early in the registration process, and I can not let additional students into the class beyond this capacity. There is a good chance that spots will open up during the first week of classes; my courses of this type usually experience about 20 percent turnover in the roster between the first day of classes and the end of add/drop, as many students decide that they don't want to have to write a research paper and take two essay exams. So my best advice to you is to keep trying to register through FSU's normal procedures. Good luck!
Course Description
Most political scientists study international relations "in a vacuum," without reference to the geographic and historical context in which events take place. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the impact of geography and history on international relations, and to reexamine traditional international relations phenomena such as trade or military conflict with a consideration for the influence of historical and geographic factors. A more technically accurate title might be "Geographic and Historical Influences on International Relations," although that is too long to fit in the schedule of classes. Upon completion of this course, students should have a better understanding of how geographical and historical forces influence international relations, and should be able to apply these concepts in following world events. The course will require a range of readings, regular attendance, two essay exams, and a research paper.
It should be noted that this is NOT a course in geography or history, but rather a course on the ways that geographic and historical factors can influence international relations. The topics covered in this course are traditionally seen as political science topics, and most of the readings and lecture materials are drawn from political scientists and political science journals. Students interested in a more geographic perspective are urged to take a complementary course from the geography department, such as GEO 4471 (Political Geography) or GEO 4480 (Military Geography). Additionally, this course uses history as a theoretical explanation for decision-making, events, and interactions in international relations, rather than as a separate subject of study; specific historical events or episodes will only be used to illustrate general theories. Students interested in history are urged to take coursework from the history department.
Required Texts
* "Student Atlas": John L. Allen (2007). Student Atlas of World Politics, 8th edition. Guilford, CT: Dushkin/McGraw-Hill. (Available at the FSU Bookstore and Bill's Bookstore, or maybe cheaper online through such sources as amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, half.com, or powells.com -- but be sure to get the correct edition!)
* JSTOR: An academic journal service that FSU provides for us. Access is free from any FSU computer (e.g., in FSU computer labs or dorms, or through FSU modem or DSL connections); you can search for individual articles by author or title, or browse by journal name and issue at <http://www.jstor.org/cgi-bin/jstor/listjournal>.
* Web: The remaining readings are available online. The online version of the syllabus has direct links to both Web and JSTOR resources. Be sure to access these readings early in the semester, because pages on the Web frequently move or disappear at inconvenient times.
Course Requirements
(1) Examinations: two noncumulative essay exams are required. Each exam will be worth 25% of the total course grade.
(2) Research Paper: one 10-15 page research paper is required for this class; more details are provided at the end of this syllabus. This paper will count for 40% of the total course grade.
(3) Preparation, Attendance, and Participation: Students are expected to complete the assigned readings before class, attend class regularly, and participate actively in class discussion. Class preparation will be measured through approximately 6-10 (unannounced) quizzes given at the very beginning or ending of class periods, which together will be worth 10% of the total course grade; each student's quiz grade will be determined by dropping the lowest quiz score.
Rest of Syllabus
The remainder of the syllabus -- course rules, notes about the academic honor code and the Americans with Disabilities Act, assigned readings, and details about the research papers -- is only available in the complete syllabus (in PDF format). Be sure to print out that complete syllabus and be familiar with it, so that you do not fall behind or miss any assignments during the semester.
Assigned Readings
The assigned readings for this course are listed in the PDF-format syllabus. This section only includes links to online readings, to make it easier for students to acquire these readings. Be sure to print these readings early in the semester, when they are all still available at these locations (all readings were verified as being available at these locations in January 2008); web pages are often moved or deleted during the semester, and the instructor of this course will not be responsible if you waited too long and a key reading disappeared the day before a quiz.
- CNN (1999), "Troubled Passageway: Following Conflict through the Panama Canal."
- Dan Gilgoff (2003), "Return to Kirkuk." U.S. News and World Report, 11 April 2003.
- JSTOR: Tanja Ellingsen, "Colorful Community or Ethnic Witches' Brew? Multiethnicity and Domestic Conflict during and after the Cold War." Journal of Conflict Resolution 44, 2 (April 2000): 228-249.
- UN High Commission on Refugees, "The 1951 Refugee Convention: Questions & Answers"
- AAAS Atlas of Population and the Environment: "Freshwater"
- Carel Dieperink (1997), "International Regime Development: Lessons from the Rhine Catchment Area." Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) Quarterly Review 12, 3: 27-35.
- Aaron Wolf (1998), "Conflict and Cooperation along International Waterways." Water Policy 1, 2: 251-265.
- UN FAO (2005), "Depleted Fish Stocks Require Recovery Efforts"
- TED Database: "CODWAR: Cod Dispute between Iceland and the United Kingdom"
- John Greenwald (1986). "Deadly Meltdown." Time, 12 May 1986.
- Congressional Research Service, "Global Climate Change Briefing Book."
- JSTOR: Paul F. Diehl (1985). "Contiguity and Military Escalation in Major Power Rivalries, 1816-1980." Journal of Politics 47: 1203-1211.
- Paul R. Hensel (2001). "Evolution in Domestic Politics and the Development of Rivalry: The Bolivia-Paraguay Case." In William R. Thompson, ed., Evolutionary World Politics. New York: Routledge.
- Paul R. Hensel and Paul F. Diehl (1994), "Testing Empirical Propositions about Shatterbelts." Political Geography 13, 1 (January): 33-52.
- JSTOR: Ricardo Hausmann, "Prisoners of Geography." Foreign Policy 122 (2001): 44-53.
- European Union (2003), "The EU At a Glance: The History of the European Union."
- Timothy Garton Ash (1999). "The New Adolf Hitler?" CNN/Time AllPolitics.com, March 29, 1999.
- Henry Kissinger (1975), "Lessons of Vietnam [page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5, page 6]." Memo to President Ford. From the Vietnam War Declassification Project at the LBJ Library, University of Texas.
- Salon magazine feature (2000), "What Did We Learn from Vietnam?"
- JSTOR: Howard Schuman and Cheryl Rieger, "Historical Analogies, Generational Effects, and Attitudes Toward War." American Sociological Review 57, 3 (1992): 315-326.
- Wikipedia: "Scramble for Africa" and "Berlin Conference"
- John Cell, "Colonialism and Colonies" entry in Microsoft Encarta.
- Colonel John R. Elting (1995), "Costs, Casualties, and Other Data." From Grolier Online's World War II Commemoration.
- CNN.com's Cold War feature, script for episode 2: "Iron Curtain."
- JSTOR: Gary Goertz and Paul F. Diehl (1995). "The Initiation and Termination of Enduring Rivalries: The Impact of Political Shocks." American Journal of Political Science 39, 1 (February): 30-52.
Additional Resources
Students interested in further research on these topics may find the following links to be useful. Some of these links are to materials that were consulted in putting together lectures and PowerPoint presentations for this course (please note, though, that I do not necessarily approve of or agree with all of the content of each of these linked pages). Students interested in citations to scholarly publications on many of these topics should consult the syllabus for my Contexts and International Relations graduate seminar.
Note that this list is currently incomplete and will be updated as the semester goes along.
I. GEOGRAPHY AS A CONTEXT
A. General Geographic Issues
Introduction to Contexts / Geography as a Context
- Nothing listed yet.
Nations, States, and World Politics
- Nations, States, and Minority Groups:
- Minorities at Risk data (discussed in class as a useful compilation of data on politically active minority groups)
- Ethnologue (another useful compilation of minorities, focusing on languages around the world)
- Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) (a group of self-declared nations seeking political recognition and/or independence -- some that most outside observers would agree are legitimate, some not)
- The Kurds:
- Lebanon:
- Lebanese Civil War (from Wikipedia)
- The Lebanese Civil War and the Taif Agreement (from Hassan Krayem of American University - Beirut)
- Taif Agreement text (from MideastInfo.com)
- Quebec:
- Quebec Sovereignty Movement, 1980 Quebec Referendum, and 1995 Quebec Referendum (from Wikipedia)
- Parti Quebecois (in French, of course)
Migration and Refugees
- UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR - covering global refugee concerns) and UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA - covering specific Palestinian refugee concerns)
- US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
Freshwater and River Issues
- See my web site's Freshwater and River Issues page
- The World Resources Institute provides a variety of reports and data related to numerous resources and other environmental topics.
- UN Water Development and Management Unit (part of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization devoted to water-related questions; see especially their Aquastat database)
Fisheries and Maritime Issues
- See my web site's Maritime and Fishery Issues page
- The World Resources Institute provides a variety of reports and data related to numerous resources and other environmental topics.
- UN Divison for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (a variety of resources related to maritime issues and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a.k.a. UNCLOS)
- UN Fisheries and Aquaculture Department (part of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization devoted to fish-related questions; see especially the biannual State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture)
Transnational Problems
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (an international body set up by the World Meteorological Organization/WMO and the United Nations Environment Programme/UNEP to investigate global climate change. The body includes hundreds of members ranging from governmental representatives to prominent world scientists, reflecting a wide variety of backgrounds, national origins, and views of global warming.)
- About the IPCC
- Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report - Summary for Policymakers (a summary version of their 2007 report, which is widely considered the most authoritative single report on climate change right now - although some argue that it goes too far and others that it doesn't go far enough. The full text of the massive report and a number of supporting documents, graphics, and PowerPoint presentations are available on the IPCC web site, but this 24-page summary is much more approachable. See also their Introduction to this report, which explains the scientific meaning of terms like "very likely" and "unlikely" as used in the report. You may also be interested in Wikipedia's summary of the report, although all standard disclaimers about the use of Wikipedia on current or controversial topics apply...)
B. Geography and International Conflict
Introduction / Facilitating Condition for Conflict
- See my web site's Borders and Territory page
- Nothing listed yet.
Territory
- Nothing listed yet.
Regional Context for Conflict
- Nothing listed yet.
C. Geography and Economics
Geography and Development
- Jared Diamond, "Evolution, consequences and future of plant and animal domestication." Nature 418 (8 August 2002): 700-707.
Oil and Other Resources
- OPEC web site
- The US government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides public access to a variety of energy-related data, including data on oil reserves, oil production, oil consumption, and oil imports and exports
- The World Resources Institute provides a variety of reports and data related to numerous resources and other environmental topics.
Geography and Trade
- Nothing listed yet.
Regionalism
II. HISTORY AS A CONTEXT
History as a Context
- Nothing listed yet.
Decision Makers and Learning from History
- Nothing listed yet.
Generational & Societal Learning
- JSTOR: Ole R. Holsti and James N. Rosenau (1980), "Does Where You Stand Depend on When You Were Born? The Impact of Generation on Post-Vietnam Foreign Policy Beliefs." Public Opinion Quarterly 44: 1-22.
History and International Cooperation
- Nothing listed yet.
The Impact of Colonialism
- Nothing listed yet.
Crises and Wars
- Nothing listed yet.
Rivalry
- Nothing listed yet.
History and International Economics
- Nothing listed yet.
Historical Barriers, Waves, and Norms / Course Wrapup
- Nothing listed yet.
http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~phensel/Teaching/inr3004.html
Last updated: 8 January 2008
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