DRAFT 3/16/2012
IGA-110
MODERN DIPLOMACY: PEACE AND WAR IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Professor Nicholas Burns
Autumn 2013
M/W 2:40 – 4:00 PM
L230
Optional Discussion Session:
TBD Weekly
Office Hours:* Faculty Assistant:
M/W 10:30 am – 12:30 pm Alison Hillegeist
Littauer Bldg 374 Littauer Bldg 372
* Office Hours sign-up sheets will be posted bi-weekly on Monday mornings outside L372. Students may only sign up for one slot at a time and slots cannot be reserved in advance.
Course Assistants:
Divya Agarwal (MPA2/MIT Sloan) Akol Aguek (MPA2)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is a class about war and peace from the end of the Cold War in 1989-90 to the present day. We will focus on the importance of diplomacy in a globalized world as a central policy instrument for the United States, China, the European countries and other powers. Specifically, we will look at those instances—German Unification in NATO, the end of Apartheid in South Africa, the Peru-Ecuador border dispute, the first Gulf War, and Bosnia—when the international community deployed diplomacy successfully to prevent war, end an international crisis, or achieve a positive outcome. We will also study examples of when diplomacy fails and war, crisis or disagreement ensue—the genocide in Rwanda, the 2003 Iraq War, the Iran nuclear issue and the South & East China Sea crises. While this is not a course specifically and solely about American diplomacy, the United States will be discussed frequently given its current leading role in global affairs. We will pay close attention to the “how” of diplomacy. How is diplomacy conducted at the highest levels? How can a country use negotiations and the combination of diplomacy and the threat of force effectively? How can the United Nations and other international organizations operate more effectively to prevent human rights violations, injustice and war?
In addition to lecture and class discussions, we will use class debates, case studies and student presentations to help you practice the skills that are critical to success in public service as well as the private sector—deep intellectual knowledge of the core issues of our time, analytical thinking, effective writing skills and the ability to make clear and succinct oral presentations.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
Students should come to class having done all readings and prepared to engage in discussion and debate. We require active class participation with cold calling as the norm. Each of you will be assigned membership in a small group at the start of the course. All small groups will prepare short presentations one to two times per semester on assigned class topics. These presentations will give you the chance to practice the kind of cogent and focused briefings common in the professional environment. In addition, there will be a final oral exam at the end of the semester.
· Class Discussion/Participation 15%
· Group Presentations 15%
· Two (2) Concise Policy Memoranda (max. 1000 words) 30%
· Oral Exam 40%
Please use only your exam ID on your memos. Your exam ID is a 4-digit number and is different than your HUID. Cross registrants will be assigned an exam ID by the teaching staff.
REQUIRED READINGS
I am assigning three texts for you to purchase. These books will form the core of the reading list. They are:
· Haass, Richard N. War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009.
· Holbrooke, Richard. To End A War. New York: Random House, 1998.
· Ross, Dennis. Statecraft: And How to Restore America’s Standing in the World.
New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007.
In addition, I will assign other required readings for each class. Except for the above texts, all readings will be posted electronically on the course page. I will designate still other, non-mandatory readings under the rubric “For Further Exploration” for those interested in delving more deeply into particular issues. As this is a course that looks at several contemporary global issues, students are encouraged to read a major international newspaper daily and The Economist weekly, which is available for free online in the Harvard Library system (e-resources).
Students are also encouraged to post articles and discussion topics and to start conversations on the course website.
I will also offer a course discussion hour weekly that is not mandatory.
MAKE-UP CLASSES**
Class will not be held on Wednesday, September 25 This class will be made up on Friday, October 18. Please note time and location in the syllabus. The make-up class is mandatory; however, if you cannot attend due to schedule conflicts we will make a recording available.
COURSE CALENDAR
Wednesday, September 4 – SHOPPING CLASSES
2:40 – 3:10 PM – Section I
3:25 – 3:55 PM – Section II
L230
INTRODUCTION TO DIPLOMACY
WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION TO DIPLOMACY
Friday, September 6
Required Readings:
· Burns, Nicholas. Speech, “The Return of American Diplomacy,” Chautauqua Institution., August 5, 2013
WEEK 2: DEFINING DIPLOMACY
Monday, September 9
Required Readings:
· Nicolson, Harold. Peacemaking 1919: Being Reminiscences of the Paris Peace Conference. Safety Harbor: Simon Publications, 2001. pp 3-10; 30-56.
· Kissinger, Henry. Diplomacy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1994. "The New World Order," pp 17-28.
For Further Exploration:
· Library of Congress. Foreign Service Oral Histories. Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training.
· Freeman, Chas. W., Jr. The Diplomat’s Dictionary. National Defense University Press, 1993.
· Mak, Dayton and Kennedy, Charles Stuart. American Ambassadors in a Troubled World: Interviews with Senior Diplomats. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1992.
· Rice, Condoleezza. Speech on Transformational Diplomacy. Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., January 18, 2006.
Wednesday, September 11
Required Readings:
· Yunus, Mohamed. Nobel Peace Prize Lecture, 2006
· President John F. Kennedy Commencement Address at American University, Washington D.C., June 10, 1963. Audio and video files also available online.
· Obama, Barack H. Nobel Peace Prize Lecture. Oslo, December 10, 2009
For Further Exploration:
· Chollet, Derek and James Goldgeier. America between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11. New York: BBS Public Affairs, 2008.
EXPLORING EFFECTIVE DIPLOMACY
WEEK 3: THE PEACEFUL END OF THE COLD WAR: GERMAN UNIFICATION IN NATO
Monday, September 16
Required Readings:
· Rice, Condoleeza and Philip D. Zelikow. Germany Unified and Europe Transformed: A Study in Statecraft. Harvard University Press: 1995. Ch. 1 (pp 4-38) & 3 (pp 63-101)
· Ross, Dennis. Statecraft, pp 29-47. (TEXT)
· Cox, Michael and Steven Hurst. “His Finest Hour? George Bush and the Diplomacy of German Unification.” Diplomacy and Statecraft, Dec. 2002.
· Heuvel, Katrina Vanden and Stephen F. Cohen. “Gorbachev on 1989.” The Nation, October 28, 2009.
Wednesday, September 18
Required Readings:
· Cherniaev, Anatolii. “The Unification of Germany: Political Mechanisms and Psychological Stereotypes.” Russian Science Review, May/June 1999, pp. 50-65.
· Kusters, Hanns Jurgen. “The Kohl-Gorbachev Meetings in Moscow and in the Caucasus, 1990.” Cold War History, Jan 2002.
· Zoellick, Robert B. “Two Plus Four: The Lessons of German Unification.” National Interest, Fall 2000.
· Euronews. “Mikhail Gorbachev, former USSR President: ‘Perestroika won, but politically I lost.’” Interview, May 11, 2009.
For Further Exploration:
· Hutchings, Robert. American Diplomacy and the End of the Cold War. Princeton: Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 1997.
· Genscher, Hans Dietrich. Rebuilding a House Divided. New York: Broadway, 1998.
WEEK 4: GERMANY CONT’D.
Monday, September 23 – German Unification Class Presentations
Wednesday, September 25 – NO CLASS**
WEEK 5: THE END OF APARTHEID IN SOUTH AFRICA
Monday, September 30 – Guest speaker: Jim Smith – An Eyewitness to the End of Aparthied
Required Readings:
· Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. London: Abacus, 1994. "Part Ten: Talking with the Enemy," pp. 609-668; “Part 11: Freedom,” pp. 669-751.
· Seedat, Tony. Oliver Tambo Remembered. "Visits to Austria and West Germany." Ed. Z. Pallo Jordan. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, 2007. pp. 191-197.
· Mufson, Steven. “South Africa 1990.” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 70, No. 1, America and the World 1990/91, pp. 120-141.
· Biko, Steve. Black Consciousness and the Quest for a True Humanity. “I Write What I Like,” London: Oxford, 1987. pp 87-98.
· Stengel, Richard. “Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership,” TIME Magazine, July 9, 2008.
Wednesday, October 2
First paper due: November 10, 1989 Briefing Memorandum to Chancellor Helmut Kohl on the Fall of the Berlin Wall and German Unification
Required Readings:
· Sparks, Allister. Tomorrow is Another Country: the Inside Story of South Africa’s Road to Change. (1995) pp 5-14; 21-36; 48-56; 120-178; 226-239
· Lyman, Princeton N. Partner to History: The U.S. Role in South Africa's Transition to Democracy. Danvers: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2002. pp 23-43, 263-283.
· Carlin, John. “Nelson Mandela’s Legacy: What the World Must Learn from One of Our Greatest Leaders,” The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, pp 43-47
· De Klerk, F.W. The Last Trek – A New Beginning. (1998) pp. 156-185
For Further Exploration:
· Treverton, Gregory F. and Pamela Varle. “The United States and South Africa: The 1985 Sanctions Debate.” Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, 1992.
· Klotz, Audie. Norms in International Relations: The Struggle Against Apartheid. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1995. pp 3-18.
· Orkin, Mark, ed. Sanctions Against Apartheid. Cape Town: David Philip, 1990. Chapters 9-13.
· Venter, D. J. "Apartheid and International Foreign Policy Responses [excerpt]." South Africa, Sanctions and the Multinationals. Chichester, West Sussex: Carden Publications Limited, 1989. pp. 33-44.
· Woods, Donald. Biko–Cry Freedom. New York: Henry Holt, 1987.
· Tutu, Desmond. “Leadership.” Essays on Leadership. Washington DC: Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict, 1998.
WEEK 6: THE FIRST GULF WAR, 1991: A DIPLOMATIC TRIUMPH
Monday, October 7
Required Readings:
· Haass, Richard N. War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars. pp. 60-115. (TEXT)
· Ferguson, Niall. Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire. pp 132-138.
· Ross, Dennis. Statecraft. pp 73-99. (TEXT)
Wednesday, October 9
Required Readings:
· Haass, Richard N. War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars. pp. 116-153. (TEXT)
· Watkins, M. and Rosegrant, S. “TheGulfCrisis: Building a Coalition forWar,” HKS Case#1264.0.
WEEK 7: THE PERU-ECUADOR BORDER DISPUTE: A LATIN AMERICAN DIPLOMATIC BREAKTHROUGH
Monday, October 14 – NO CLASS (Columbus Day)
Wednesday, October 16 – Special Guest Speaker: Jamil Mahuad, Former President of Ecuador (1998–2000)
Required Readings:
· Simmons, Beth. “Territorial Disputes and Their Resolution: The Case of Ecuador and Peru.” Peaceworks No. 27. United States Institute of Peace, April 1999, pp 10-25.
· Herz, Monica and Joao Pontes Noguerira. Ecuador vs. Peru: Peacemaking Amid Rivalry. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2002. "The Mediation Process,” pp. 49-96.
· Einaudi, Luigi R. "The Ecuador-Peru Peace Process." Herding Cats. Ed. Chester A. Crocker, et al. Danvers: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1999. pp 405-429.
· Downes, Richard and Gabriel Marcella, eds. Security Cooperation in the Western Hemisphere: Resolving the Ecuador-Peru Conflict. Coral Gables, FL: North-South Center Press, 1999. Introduction; Chapter 6 “Brazilian Diplomacy;” Chapter 7 “Three Possible Scenarios;” pp 186-189 from Chapter 8 “Political-Military Coordination;” and Chapter 9 “New Perspectives on Using Diplomacy”
**Friday, October 18 (make-up class): Peru-Ecuador Border Dispute Class Presentations
12:15 – 1:45 PM
Malkin Penthouse (4th Floor Littauer)
WEEK 8: ENDING THE BOSNIAN WAR: DIPLOMACY PREVAILS AT THE DAYTON PEACE TALKS
Monday, October 21
Required Readings:
· HKS Case "Getting to Dayton: Negotiating an End to the War in Bosnia." C125-96-1356.
· Curran, Daniel F., James K. Sebenius, and Michael Watkins. "Two Paths to Peace: Contrasting George Mitchell in Northern Ireland with Richard Holbrooke in Bosnia-Herzegovina." Negotiation Journal 20, no. 4, October 2004.
Wednesday, October 23
Required Readings:
· Holbrooke, Richard. To End a War. pp. xv-xx, 21-33, 112-121, 199-214, 231-240, 288-327, 358-369. (TEXT)
· Ross, Dennis. Statecraft. pp 48-72. (TEXT)
For Further Exploration:
· Daalder, I. and Michael B.G. Froman. “Dayton’s Incomplete Peace.” Foreign Affairs, Nov-Dec 1999.
· Halberstam, David. War in a Time of Peace: Bush, Clinton and the Generals. New York: Scribner, 2001.
· Sharp, Jane. “Dayton Report Card.” International Security, Winter 1997-1998.
· Nation, R. Craig. “Russia and the Balkans.” Russian National Security: Perceptions, Policies, and Prospects, Dec. 2000.
WHEN DIPLOMACY FAILS
WEEK 9: THE GENOCIDE IN RWANDA
Monday, October 28
Required Readings:
· Power, Samantha. “Bystanders to Genocide,” The Atlantic, Vol. 288, September 2001.
· Gourevitch, Philip. “The Life After,”The New Yorker, May 4, 2009.
· Gourevitch, Philip. “Letter from Rwanda,” The New Yorker, December 19, 1995
· Human Rights Watch, “Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda.” Read all links under “History” and all links through “Rwandans Listened” under “Introduction.”
· Herbst, Jeffrey. “The Unanswered Question: Attempting to Explain the Rwandan Genocide,” Foreign Affairs, May/June 2001.
· Kuperman, Alan J. “Rwanda in Retrospect,” Foreign Affairs, Jan/Feb 2000.
· Interview with Secretary Madeleine Albright on Rwanda, Frontline, April 1, 2004.
· Speech by President Clinton, “Remarks to the People of Rwanda,” March 25, 1998.
· Remarks by Ambassador Susan E. Rice at Kigali Institute of Science and Technology, "Building a New Nation: Rwanda's Progress and Potential", November 23, 2011.
· Annan, Kofi. Interventions: a Life in War and Peace, Chapter 2 (pp 29-81).
For Further Exploration
· Groll, Elias. “5 highlights from Susan Rice's diplomatic career,” Foreign Policy, June 5, 2013.
· Boteach, Shmuley. “Rice's failure in Rwanda precludes her from becoming Secretary of State,” Huffington Post, November 30, 2012.
· “Rwanda; Genocide Seeds Planted Here Decades Ago- Kagame,” The New Times Rwanda, October 7, 2007.
· Philip Gourevitch, PBS Frontline interview on Genocide in Rwanda.
· Douglas Jehl, “Officials Told to Avoid Calling Rwanda Killings 'Genocide',” The New York Times, June 10, 1994.