Introduction to U.S. National Security Fall 2010

Transcription

1 American University Professor Jordan Tama School of International Service Office: SIS 309 Course number: SIS Tues, Fri 9:55-11:10, in SIS 120 Office hours: Tues 2-5:30, Thurs 9:30-12, and by appointment Introduction to U.S. National Security Fall Course Description and Objectives How does the United States seek to protect and promote its national security? This course examines the evolution of American national security strategy over time and how national security policy is formulated and implemented today. We will also assess contemporary debates on issues such as U.S. counterterrorism policy, nuclear proliferation, and the rise of China and Asia. The objectives of the course are to: Examine major events and trends in the history of U.S. national security strategy Explore the politics and processes of national security policy making Analyze competing arguments about contemporary national security issues 2. Learning Outcomes By the end of the course, I expect students to have achieved the following learning outcomes: Gained knowledge of the history of U.S. national security strategy Evaluated competing arguments and debates about national security policy Applied course concepts to current national security challenges Demonstrated strong analytical reading, thinking, and writing skills Synthesized course concepts and information 1

2 3. Readings and Course Schedule One book that is required reading is available for purchase at the campus bookstore: Walter McDougall, Promised Land, Crusader State: The American Encounter with the World since 1776 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997) The rest of the readings are available electronically through Blackboard. In addition to the assigned readings for the course, I strongly encourage you to read regularly the New York Times or Washington Post, which contain excellent news coverage of national security policy. August 24: Introduction Williamson Murray and Mark Grimsley, Introduction: On Strategy, in Williamson Murray, MacGregor Knox and Alvin Bernstein, editors, The Making of Strategy: Rulers, States and War (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), Chapter 1 August 27: The Roles of the Executive Branch and Congress Amos A. Jordan, William J. Taylor, Jr., Michael J. Meese, and Suzanne C. Nielsen, American National Security, Sixth Edition (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009), Chapters 4, 5 August 31: The Roles of the Military and Intelligence Community Amos A. Jordan, William J. Taylor, Jr., Michael J. Meese, and Suzanne C. Nielsen, American National Security, Sixth Edition (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009), Chapter 8 Mark M. Lowenthal, Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy, Fourth Edition (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2009), Chapters 1, 13 Dana Priest and William M. Arkin, A Hidden World, Growing Beyond Control, Washington Post (July 19, 2010) September 3: National Security Planning, Coordination, and Implementation Amos A. Jordan, William J. Taylor, Jr., Michael J. Meese, and Suzanne C. Nielsen, American National Security, Sixth Edition (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009), Chapter 10 Ivo H. Daalder and I. M. Destler, In the Shadow of the Oval Office: The Next National Security Adviser, Foreign Affairs (January/February 2009), pages

3 September 7: National Security Planning, Coordination, and Implementation David J. Rothkopf, Inside the Committee That Runs the World, Foreign Policy (March/April 2005), pages Thomas E. Ricks, Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, (New York: Penguin Press, 2006), Chapter 5 Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Who Killed Iraq? Foreign Policy (September/October 2006), pages September 10: National Security Planning, Coordination, and Implementation Jonathan Alter, The Promise: President Obama, Year One (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010), Chapter 21 Aaron L. Friedberg, Strengthening U.S. Strategic Planning, in Daniel W. Drezner, editor, Avoiding Trivia: The Role of Strategic Planning in American Foreign Policy (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2009), pages September 14: Early U.S. National Security Strategies Walter McDougall, Promised Land, Crusader State: The American Encounter with the World since 1776 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997), Introduction through Chapter 4 September 17: America s Emergence as a Great Power and Wilsonianism McDougall, Promised Land, Crusader State, Chapters 5-6 September 21: From World War II to the Birth of the Containment Doctrine McDougall, Promised Land, Crusader State, Chapter 7 John Lewis Gaddis, Strategies of Containment: A Critical Appraisal of American National Security Policy during the Cold War, Revised and Expanded Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), Chapter 2 September 24: Early Efforts to Implement Containment John Lewis Gaddis, Strategies of Containment: A Critical Appraisal of American National Security Policy during the Cold War, Revised and Expanded Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), Chapter 3 3

4 Thomas G. Paterson and Dennis Merrill, editors, Major Problems in American Foreign Relations: Volume II: Since 1914, Sixth Edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005), selections: Arnold Offner, Provincialism and Confrontation: President Harry S. Truman and the Origins of the Cold War, pages John Lewis Gaddis, Two Cold War Empires: Imposition Versus Multilateralism, pages September 28: The Vietnam War Steven W. Hook and John Spanier, American Foreign Policy since World War II, Eighteenth Edition (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2010), pages Julian E. Zelizer, Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security From World War II to the War on Terrorism (New York: Basic Books, 2010), Chapter 9 Thomas G. Paterson and Dennis Merrill, editors, Major Problems in American Foreign Relations: Volume II: Since 1914, Sixth Edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005), selections: Fredrik Logevall, Lyndon Johnson and His Bureaucracy Choose War, pages Robert K. Brigham, An Unwinnable War, pages James C. Thomson, Jr., How Could Vietnam Happen? An Autopsy, in G. John Ikenberry, American Foreign Policy: Theoretical Essays, Fourth Edition (New York: Longman, 2002), pages October 1: Détente Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy (New York: Simon & Schuster), Chapter 29 Thomas G. Paterson and Dennis Merrill, editors, Major Problems in American Foreign Relations: Volume II: Since 1914, Sixth Edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005), selections: Joan Hoff, Nixon s Innovative Grand Design and the Wisdom of Détente, pages Raymond L. Garthoff, Why Détente Failed, pages Walter Isaacson, Kissinger s Realism without Morality, pages October 5: The End of the Cold War Gaddis, Strategies of Containment, Chapter 11 Daniel Deudney and G. John Ikenberry, Who Won the Cold War? Foreign Policy, Number 87 (Summer 1992), pages

5 October 8: Midterm Exam October 12: Post-Cold War Strategy Derek Chollet and James Goldgeier, America between the Wars: The Misunderstood Years between the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Start of the War on Terror (New York: Public Affairs, 2008), Chapters 1, 3 October 15: Fall Break October 19: Post-Cold War Strategy Derek Chollet and James Goldgeier, America between the Wars: The Misunderstood Years between the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Start of the War on Terror (New York: Public Affairs, 2008), Chapter 5 Barry R. Posen and Andrew L. Ross, Competing Visions for U.S. Grand Strategy, International Security, Volume 21, Number 3 (Winter 1996/97), pages 5-53 October 22: George W. Bush s National Security Strategy President George W. Bush, The National Security Strategy of the United States Of America (September 2002), opening letter, pages 1-16 John Lewis Gaddis, A Grand Strategy of Transformation, Foreign Policy (November/December 2002), pages Jack Snyder, Imperial Temptations, The National Interest (Spring 2003), pages Ivo Daalder and James Steinberg, The Future of Preemption, The American Interest (Winter 2005), pages October 26: George W. Bush s National Security Strategy President George W. Bush, Second Inaugural Address (January 20, 2005) John Lewis Gaddis, Ending Tyranny: The Past and Future of an Idea, The American Interest (Autumn 2008), pages 6-15 Andrew Bennett and George Shambaugh, editors, Taking Sides: Clashing Views in American Foreign Policy, Fourth Edition, (Dubuque, Iowa: McGraw-Hill, 2008), pages October 29: Barack Obama s National Security Strategy Richard Cohen, Moralism on the Shelf, Washington Post (March 10, 2009) 5

6 David Sanger, Hints of Obama s Strategy in a Telling 8 Days, New York Times (April 8, 2009) President Barack Obama, Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech (December 10, 2009) Joshua Kurlantzick, A Nobel Winner Who Went Wrong on Rights, Washington Post (December 13, 2009) Jessica Tuchman Mathews, Solid and Promising, The American Interest (January- February 2010) Robert Kagan, Obama s Year One, World Affairs (January/February 2010) Peter Baker, Obama Puts His Own Mark on Foreign Policy Issues, New York Times (April 13, 2010) November 2: Barack Obama s National Security Strategy Obama National Security Strategy (May 2010), read pages 1-16, skim rest of document Peter Feaver, Obama s National Security Strategy: Real Change or Just Bush Lite? Foreign Policy (May 27, 2010) Leslie H. Gelb, Obama's Forgettable New Strategy, The Daily Beast (May 27, 2010) Samuel R. Berger, Obama s National Security Strategy: A Little George Bush, Lots of Bill Clinton, Washington Post (May 30, 2010) James Traub, The World According to Barack Obama, Foreign Policy (June 1, 2010) November 5: Contemporary Strategic Ideas Max Boot, The Case for an American Empire, The Weekly Standard (October 15, 2001) Charles Krauthammer, Decline Is a Choice: The New Liberalism and the End of American Ascendancy, The Weekly Standard (October 19, 2009) Benjamin Schwarz and Christopher Layne, A New Grand Strategy, The Atlantic (January 2002), pages Stephen Walt, Taming American Power, Foreign Affairs (September/October 2005), pages

7 November 9: Contemporary Strategic Ideas Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Soft Power and American Foreign Policy, Political Science Quarterly, Volume 119, Number 2 (2004), pages Suzanne Nossel, Smart Power, Foreign Affairs (March/April 2004), pages G. John Ikenberry and Anne-Marie Slaughter, Forging a World of Liberty under Law: U.S. National Security in the 21st Century, Final Report of the Princeton Project on National Security (2006), pages 6-32 November 12: Dealing with Autocratic States Azar Gat, The Return of Authoritarian Great Powers, Foreign Affairs (July/August 2008), pages Daniel Deudney and G. John Ikenberry, The Myth of the Autocratic Revival: Why Liberal Democracy Will Prevail, Foreign Affairs (January/February 2009), pages David Brooks, The Larger Struggle, New York Times (June 14, 2010) November 16: Dealing with the Rise of China and Asia Fareed Zakaria, The Post-American World (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2008), Chapter 4 Minxin Pei, Think Again: Asia s Rise, Foreign Policy (July/August 2009), pages John Pomfret, U.S. Takes a Tougher Tone with China, Washington Post (July 30, 2010) Analytical paper due at 1 p.m. on November 17 November 19: Counterterrorism Policy Marc Lynch, Rhetoric and Reality: Countering Terrorism in the Age of Obama (Center for a New American Security, June 2010) Philip H. Gordon, Can the War on Terror Be Won? Foreign Affairs (November/December 2007) November 23: Nuclear Arms Policy Amos A. Jordan, William J. Taylor, Jr., Michael J. Meese, and Suzanne C. Nielsen, American National Security, Sixth Edition (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009), Chapter 17 7

8 Various authors, White Paper on the Necessity of the U.S. Nuclear Deterrent (August 15, 2007) George Shultz, William Perry, Henry Kissinger, and Sam Nunn, Toward a Nuclear-Free World, Wall Street Journal (January 15, 2008) Barry Blechman and Alex Bollfrass, 5 Myths about Getting Rid of the Bomb, Washington Post (June 27, 2010) November 26: Thanksgiving break November 30: Dealing with Iran Case study prepared by Graham Allison on Iran policy David E. Sanger, Beyond Iran Sanctions, Plans B, C, D and..., New York Times (June 10, 2010) December 3: Dealing with Climate Change Joshua W. Busby, Climate Change and National Security: An Agenda for Action, Council on Foreign Relations (November 2007) Marc A. Levy, Is the Environment a National Security Issue? International Security, Volume 20, Number 2 (Autumn 1995), pages Date TBA: Final exam 4. Course Requirements and Assignments I will occasionally post on blackboard or to you announcements related to the course. You are responsible for checking the blackboard site for the course and your AU regularly and reading any announcements from me. I will also post course materials on blackboard. All of your writing for this course should be double-spaced in Microsoft Word, and you should always edit your work carefully to eliminate grammatical errors and maximize its clarity. Turning in your work on time is important. I will penalize late papers as follows: Late by more than one minute but less than one hour: 1/3 grade penalty (A becomes A-) Late by more than one hour but less than 24 hours: additional 1/3 grade penalty (A becomes B+) 8

9 Late by more than 24 hours: additional 1/3 grade penalty for every additional day the paper is late Class participation (15% of grade): You are expected to attend class, and you should come to each class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. I will evaluate your participation based on your attendance and the quality of your contributions to class discussions and debates. Approved absences are limited to absences for religious observance or for a medical or family emergency. Please contact me if you will need to miss a class for one of those reasons. The best contributions to class discussion are ones that demonstrate engagement with the course material, familiarity with the reading, thoughtfulness, and respect for the opinions of others. Attentiveness in class is also an important part of participation. It is unacceptable to use a laptop or other electronic device for an activity other than taking notes. Response papers (20% of grade): Over the course of the semester, you must turn in three response papers at the beginning of class. Each of the papers should be no more than 600 words. The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate that you have thought about the reading prior to class. Each paper should give your reaction to one or more of the readings assigned for a given class and should be submitted to me in hard copy form at the beginning of that class. The papers must demonstrate that you have done the reading, but the best papers will go beyond summarizing the reading to offer your own reflections or analysis of it, or to connect the reading to material covered earlier in the course. You can write the papers for any three classes during the semester, but two of them must be turned in by November 9. Midterm exam (15% of grade): This in-class exam, on October 8, will cover the readings and lectures up to that point. It will include a combination of short-answer and essay questions. Analytical paper (25% of grade): The purpose of this paper is to assess your ability to analyze and synthesize course material, as well as your ability to formulate a clear argument and support the argument with compelling evidence. I will distribute options for paper topics during the first half of the semester. The paper will be based entirely on course material and will not require you to do any outside research. The paper should be no more than 2000 words and is due at 1 PM on November 17. You should submit a hard copy of the paper to an envelope that I will place outside my office. If it is a hardship for you to submit a hard copy of the paper, you can submit the paper by 9

10 , but if you do so you must send it to me one hour early (by 12 PM on November 17). Final exam (25% of grade): The final exam will cover the readings and lectures from the entire course. It will include a combination of short-answer and essay questions. 5. Academic Integrity Standards of academic conduct are set forth in the University's Academic Integrity Code. By registering, you have acknowledged your awareness of the Academic Integrity Code, and you are obliged to become familiar with your rights and responsibilities as defined by it. Violations of the Academic Integrity Code will not be treated lightly, and disciplinary actions will be taken should such violations occur. Please see me if your have any questions about the academic violations described in the Academic Integrity Code in general or as they relate to particular requirements for this course. 6. Support Services and Disabilities If you experience difficulty in this course for any reason, please don t hesitate to consult with me. In addition to the resources of SIS, a wide range of services is available to support you in your efforts to meet the course requirements. Academic Support Center (x3360, MGC 243) offers study skills workshops, individual instruction, tutor referrals, and services for students with learning disabilities. Writing support is available in the ASC Writing Lab or in the Writing Center, Battelle 228. Counseling Center (x3500, MGC 214) offers counseling and consultations regarding personal concerns, self-help information, and connections to off-campus mental health resources. Disability Support Services (x3315, MGC 206) offers technical and practical support and assistance with accommodations for students with physical, medical, or psychological disabilities. If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please notify me in a timely manner with a letter from the Academic Support Center or Disability Support Services so that we can make arrangements to address your needs. 7. Emergency Preparedness In the event of a declared pandemic (influenza or other communicable disease), American University will implement a plan for meeting the needs of all members of the university community. Should the university be required to close for a period of time, we 10

11 are committed to ensuring that all aspects of our educational programs will be delivered to our students. These may include altering and extending the duration of the traditional term schedule to complete essential instruction in the traditional format and/or use of distance instructional methods. Specific strategies will vary from class to class, depending on the format of the course and the timing of the emergency. Faculty will communicate class-specific information to students via AU and Blackboard, while students must inform their faculty immediately of any absence due to illness. Students are responsible for checking their AU regularly and keeping themselves informed of emergencies. In the event of a declared pandemic or other emergency, students should refer to the AU Web site ( and the AU information line at (202) for general university-wide information, as well as contact their faculty and/or respective dean s office for course and school/ college-specific information. 11