LG211: America and the Wider World Lecture 1: The US & the Wider World Francesco Cavatorta School of Law and Government DCU

Who am I? Francesco Cavatorta  IR Theory  Middle East Politics C238 – Fridays 2:00-4:00 or by appointment Who are you?

Overview: Aims of the Course Course Outline Practical Issues:  Reading  Classes  Assessment Questions? US Foreign Policy – A very brief introduction

Aims of the course Guiding question: Has the USA had a foreign policy mission since the end of the Cold War?  Grand Strategy The aim of this course is to allow students to develop an understanding of US Foreign Policy as it has developed in the post Cold War world To familiarise themselves with the process and practice of US Foreign Policy To develop research and communication skills based on that knowledge

Course Structure: Two parts: Part 1:  Structure and processes of US Foreign Policy Part 2:  US Foreign Policy in action Cold War Post Cold War War on Terror

Course Outline: Part I – The process of choice Week 2:  Competing perspectives in US Foreign policy Soft power - Liberalism Hard power – Realism Week 3:  Foreign Policymaking I: The Institutional Context Formal Roles and Institutions Mechanisms of decision

Course Outline: Part II – The practice of choice Week 4: – Foreign Policymaking II: The Cultural Context Week 5: Bearing the burden and the end of history – The US during the Cold War

Course Outline: Part II – The practice of choice Week 7: The challenge of Grand Strategy Week 8: The World’s Policeman and the Bush doctrine – The US in the 1990’s and early 2000s

Course Outline: Part II – The practice of choice Week 9: A new mission? 9/11, The War on Terror and reshaping the Middle East Week 10: The end of the West? – Iraq and the Transatlantic divide

Course Outline: Part II – The practice of choice Week 11: the new red scare – The US in Latin America Week 12: A new American Century or the re-birth of Great Power Politics?

Practical Issues: Reading The recommended course text is:  Bruce W. Jentleson, American Foreign Policy: The Dynamics of Choice in the 21st Century, 3 rd or 4 th Edition (New York) Also recommended:  Wittkopf, Eugene, Charles W. Kegley, Jr., James M. Scott, American foreign policy: pattern and process, 7th ed (California, 2008) It is also advisable to keep up with current events from an American perspective, both the Washington Post and the New York Times have good websites. The Economist also has good reporting on the US CNN, Fox News, C-Span and the Daily Show are all available free online

Practical Issues: Reading In the readings associated with each lecture, given below, you should note that the essential readings are marked with an *, therefore you should ensure that you read the marked reading(s) first. Do not feel compelled to read all the readings on each topic. If a particular topic interests you, go further down the list. Alternatively, if the essential readings are unavailable the other readings in the list may be useful. Many of the readings are available online This reading list is not exhaustive, students are encouraged to go beyond the sources listed below whenever possible

Practical Issues: Assessment The Assessment for this course is broken down into 3 parts: One Essay worth 60% of the final mark, one position paper worth 20% of the final mark and one article review worth 20% of the final mark The essay should not exceed 2,500 words. The position paper should not exceed 1,500 words and the article review should not exceed 1,000 words. The essay should be chosen from the list of topics on page 7 of this outline. Alternatively Students can come up with their own topics subject to my approval The essay is due Thursday, April 7th 3pm, The article review is due Thursday, April 21st 3pm and the position paper is due Thursday, May 5th 3pm. Guidelines on essay writing, grading system, and plagiarism are available on Moodle

Practical Issues: Assessment 1 signed hardcopy to the School drop box on the 2 nd floor of the Henry Grattan building (see coversheet on Moodle) 1 electronic copy to (.doc,.rtf) Instructions will be available on moodle, please set up your account asap!

So any questions…?