Veidlapa Nr. M-3 (8)
Study Course Description
The USA and the International Order
Course Code
PZK_112
Branch of Science
International Politics; Political science
ECTS
6.00
Target Audience
Political Science
LQF
All Levels
Study Type And Form
Full-Time
Study Course Implementer
Course Supervisor
Edijs Bošs
Structure Unit Manager
Ieva Puzo
Structural Unit
Faculty of Social Sciences
Contacts
Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szf@rsu.lv
About Study Course
Objective
The course will provide students with an overview of the evolution of American foreign policy, diplomatic practices and strategic debates. The discussion will be grounded in the history of American foreign relations insofar as it provides a better understanding of how established policy traditions influence contemporary developments.
Preliminary Knowledge
A general understanding of US politics.
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge
1.Students will be able to identify factors, which determine the role of USA in the international system in general as well as in various regions.
Skills
1.Students will be able to present information on the foreign policy of the US.
Competences
1.Students will be able to analyse the role of the US in international relations in a wider historical perspective.
Assessment
Individual work
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Title
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% from total grade
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Grade
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|---|---|---|
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1.
Individual work |
-
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-
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|
Essays, final paper, presentation, exam.
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Examination
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Title
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% from total grade
|
Grade
|
|---|---|---|
|
1.
Examination |
-
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-
|
|
Active participation during classes and seminars (as well as criticism and recommendations given in response to other students' reports): 35%
Essays: 10%
Final report: 20%
Presentation of the final report: 15%
Exam: 20%
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||
Study Course Theme Plan
FULL-TIME
Part 1
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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The creation of United States and the geopolitical context of the emerging superpower. Challenges in early American foreign policy. Traditions of “isolationism”, “internationalism”, “idealism” and “realism”.
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-
Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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The “Monroe Doctrine” and territorial expansion until the Civil War. The path towards “empire”: the Spanish-American War and America’s place in the changing global geopolitical setting at the turn of the 20th century.
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-
Class/Seminar
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Students are expected to have read documents provided as source material for the essay. The title of the seminar discussion will be: “The Founding Fathers debate American foreign policy”.
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-
Class/Seminar
|
Modality
|
Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
|
Auditorium
|
2
|
Topics
|
Students are expected to have read documents provided as source material for the essay. The title of the seminar discussion will be: “The Founding Fathers debate American foreign policy”.
|
-
Lecture
|
Modality
|
Location
|
Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
|
On site
|
Auditorium
|
2
|
Topics
|
Towards the Pax Americana: World War I, Woodrow Wilson and the traditions of liberal internationalism. World War II and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s ideas about the international order.
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
|
2
|
Topics
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The Cold War and the American “grand strategy” in the age of bipolarity: the various conceptions of “containment” and simultaneous attempts to continue the pursuit of a liberal world order.
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Cold War case study: the Vietnam War. Outline of the history of the conflict and its significance for the study of American foreign policy.
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
|
Topics
|
Post-Cold War: Bill Clinton administration’s ideas about the “democratic enlargement” with a specific focus on the development of relations with the Baltic States in the 1990s.
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Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
|
Topics
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Post-Cold War: Bill Clinton administration’s ideas about the “democratic enlargement” with a specific focus on the development of relations with the Baltic States in the 1990s.
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-
Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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George W. Bush administration and 'neoconservative’ ideas about American grand strategy.
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-
Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
|
George W. Bush administration and 'neoconservative’ ideas about American grand strategy.
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-
Lecture
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
|
On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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The “reluctant realism” and “progressive pragmatism” of the Obama administration.
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-
Class/Seminar
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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Donald Trump’s worldview and his administration's approach to global affairs.
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-
Class/Seminar
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
|
On site
|
Auditorium
|
2
|
Topics
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Donald Trump’s worldview and his administration's approach to global affairs.
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-
Class/Seminar
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
|
Topics
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The Unquiet Frontier: America and Regional Allies in Eurasia.
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Class/Seminar
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
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Auditorium
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2
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Topics
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The Unquiet Frontier: America and Regional Allies in Eurasia.
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-
Class/Seminar
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Modality
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Location
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Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
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On site
|
Auditorium
|
2
|
Topics
|
The Unquiet Frontier: America and Regional Allies in Eurasia.
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-
Class/Seminar
|
Modality
|
Location
|
Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
|
On site
|
Auditorium
|
2
|
Topics
|
The U.S. as a European power. The U.S. as a regional power in Middle East. Destined for War? The U.S., China and the Thucydides Trap.
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-
Class/Seminar
|
Modality
|
Location
|
Contact hours
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|---|---|---|
|
On site
|
Auditorium
|
2
|
Topics
|
The U.S. as a European power. The U.S. as a regional power in Middle East. Destined for War? The U.S., China and the Thucydides Trap.
|
-
Class/Seminar
|
Modality
|
Location
|
Contact hours
|
|---|---|---|
|
On site
|
Auditorium
|
2
|
Topics
|
The U.S. as a European power. The U.S. as a regional power in Middle East. Destined for War? The U.S., China and the Thucydides Trap.
|
Total ECTS (Creditpoints):
6.00
Contact hours:
40 Academic Hours
Final Examination:
Exam (Written)
Bibliography
Required Reading
1.
Excerpts from Felix Gilbert, To the Farewell Address: Ideas of Early American Foreign Policy (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1970).
2.
Excerpts from Charlie Laderman and Brendan Simms, Donald Trump: The Making of a World View, (London: I.B.Tauris, 2017).
3.
Excerpts from Jakub J. Grygiel , A. Wess Mitchell, The Unquiet Frontier (Princeton UP, 2017)
4.
Excerpts from Graham Allison, Destined for War (London: Scribe, 2017)