Modern Diplomatic History

Modern Diplomatic History

Modern Diplomatic History

Graduate Seminar

Dr. David Lorenzo

Office: 271305

Phone: 2939-3091 ext. 51305

Webpage: http://www3.nccu.edu.tw/~lorenzo/

Overview:

This seminar will provide an overview of modern diplomatic history, mainly during the 20th century. It focuses on alliances, wars and their causes, treaties and agreements, the League of Nations, the UN, and other events, organizations and documents of importance to understanding world relations during the past 125 years. While a considerable amount of focus will be on Europe, the place of Asia and other parts of the world will also be treated.

Assignments:

Students will be responsible for the following:

• Reading the assignment materials and participating in general discussions
• Actively participating in discussions
• Engaging in in-class writing exercises
• Two seven-page discussions of issues
• Submission of a preliminary literature review for their paper
• A final (18 page) paper

Classes:

Classes will be conducted as seminars. This means that I will lecture for only a portion of the class time. The rest of the time will be spent either as a class or in small groups in discussing the reading material that has been assigned.

Each class has a considerable number of readings assigned. I understand that most students have English as a second language, and therefore do not expect that all students will be able to make it through all the readings every week. However, students should do a minimum of three readings every week, and for purposes of writing a paper on a topic should read all the assigned texts for that particular topic.

Materials:

Materials will be taken from a variety of sources. Those located in books will be scanned and available online at my website (http://www3.nccu.edu.tw/~lorenzo/). Articles will also be posted on my website, but will also be available via JSTOR and other electronic means.

Grades:

Short papers: 25% each

Final paper: 40%

Participation: 10%

Papers

Participants will submit the following:

For the 7th and 12th weeks:

A seven page paper analyzing and assessing an issue surrounding a weekly topic we have covered (e.g., the strengths and weaknesses of the Locarno Treaty). These papers should clearly set out the issue, generate interesting questions regarding the issue, cover ways of thinking about that issue from a variety of perspectives grounded in scholarly sources, and discuss the implications of issue area.

For the 15th week:

A three page review of the literature on the subject of your final paper. This review shall identify relevant articles and books, discuss their relationship with the question posed by the paper, and assess the state of the scholarship at present bearing on the question posed.

Final:

On the day scheduled for the final exam submit the final paper. This paper will, building upon the literature review, data, and theoretical position you build, explore a question implicated in the study of diplomatic history. Your paper must clearly:

• Identify the question you pose
• Discuss that question in light of the literature review you create
• Identify the methodology and evidence you will utilize
• Answer the question
• Discuss the importance and relevance of your answer
• Discuss the importance and relevance of your answer both generally and in light of your literature review.

Grading Scale:

A: 100-90: Excellent work—generates several interesting insights and displays a sure grasp of the material

B: 89-80: Good, above average work—sometimes generates interesting insights and displays a solid grasp of the material

C: 79-70: Average work—displays a competent grasp of the material

D: 69-60: Below average work—displays a grasp of the material that is sometimes deficient

F: 59- : Unacceptable work: displays a poor grasp of the material

Course Readings

Week of Sept. 17: Introduction

Anders Stephanson, “Diplomatic History in the Expanded Field,” Diplomatic History, Vol. 22, no. 4 (Fall 1998)

Week of Sept. 24: Prelude to WWI

William C. Wohlforth,“The Perception of Power: Russia in the Pre-1914 Balance," World Politics, Vol. 39, No. 3 (Apr., 1987), pp. 353-381

Paul Kennedy, The Rise of the Anglo-German Antagonism, chaps. 15, 16, 20.

Before the war: studies in diplomacy / by G. P. Gooch,

The Coming of the First World War / edited by Robert John Weston Evans and Hartmut Pogge von Strandmann, chaps. 1, 2

David Stevenson, “Militarization and Diplomacy in Europe before 1914,” International Security, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Summer, 1997), pp. 125-161

Week of October 1: Diplomacy of War War I

David Stevenson, The First World War and international politics /

Eric Dorn Brose, A history of the Great War : World War One and the international crisis of the early twentieth century /

WILLIAM R.THOMPSON, "A Streetcar Named Sarajevo: Catalysts, Multiple Causation Chains, and Rivalry Structures," International Studies Quarterly (2003) 47, 453–474

Keir A. Lieber "The New History of World War I and What It Means for International Relations Theory," International Security Fall 2007, Vol. 32, No. 2

Richard F. Hamilton and Holger H. Herwig, Decisions for War, 1914–1917 (electronic edition available through NCCU library website)

Week of October 8: Post War Problems

Alan Sharp, THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES, 1919–1923, Diplomacy and Statecraft, 16: 423–438, 2005

Gerald D. Feldman, THE REPARATIONS DEBATE, Diplomacy and Statecraft, 16

Jon Jacobson, Locarno diplomacy: Germany and the West, 1925-1929

Week of October 15: Diplomacy of the 1920s

Kevin Narizny, "Political Economy of Alignment: Great Britain's Commitments to Europe, 1905-39,” International Security, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Spring, 2003)

Hans Gatzke, ed., European Diplomacy Between the Wars, 1919-1939, chap 2, 4

Zara Steiner, The Lights that Failed, chapter 7

Fascism and Italian Foreign Policy

Week of October 22: Prelude to World War II (1)

M. D. Gallagher, "Leon Blum and the Spanish Civil War," Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 6, No. 3 (1971)

Lukes and Goldstein, The Munich Crisis, 1938

Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Vol. 1, chap x, xi, xii

Steiner, The Light That Failed, "The Manchurian Crises".

Week of October 29: Prelude to World War II (2)

MICHAEL JABARA CARLEY, "`A Situation of Delicacy and Danger': Anglo-Soviet Relations, August 1939-March 1940," Contemporary European History, 8, 2 (1999).

William R. Thompson (1997): "Anglo‐German rivalry and the 1939 failure of deterrence," Security Studies, 7:2

Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Vol. 1, chaps. xv, xvi, xvii

Lukes and Goldstein, eds., The Munich Crisis, 1938, "Reflections on Munich after 60 Years," "Neville Chamberlain and the Munich Crisis"

Week of November 5: Diplomacy of WWII (1)

Albert Resis, "Spheres of Influence in Soviet Wartime Diplomacy," The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Sep., 1981)

Alan Alexandroff and Richard Rosecrance, "Deterrence in 1939," World Politics, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Apr., 1977)

Arthur Schlesinger, "The Origins of the Cold War" Foreign Affairs No. 46 (Oct. 1967) http://minotb52ufo.com/pdf/Schlesinger-Origins-1967.pdf

Geoffrey Roberts, "The Soviet Decision for a Pact with Nazi Germany" Soviet Studies, Vol. 44, No. 1. (1992)

Philip E. Mosely, "Dismemberment of Germany: The Allied Negotiations from Yalta to Potsdam," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 28, No. 3 (Apr., 1950)

Week of November 12:Diplomacy of WWII and Aftermath (II)

Edward Johnson, "Early Indications of a Freeze," Cold War History, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2006

Raymond Mikesell, "The Bretton Woods Debates: A Memoir," Essays in International Finance, March 1994.

Mark Mazower, "The Strange Triumph of Human Rights, 1933-1950," The Historical Journal, Vol. 47, No. 2 (Jun., 2004)

Leland M. Goodrich, "From League of Nations to United Nations," International Organization, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Feb., 1947),

Melvyn P. Leffler, "Adherence to Agreements: Yalta and the Experiences of the Early Cold War," International Security, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Summer, 1986)

Week of November 19: Diplomacy in the 1950s and early 1960s

ELMER PLISCHKE, "EISENHOWER'S "CORRESPONDENCE DIPLOMACY1' WITH THE KREMLIN-- CASE STUDY IN SUMMIT DIPLOMATICS," The Journal of Politics, Vol. 30, 1968

Vojtech Mastny, "The 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: A Missed Opportunity for Détente?" Journal of Cold War Studies Vol. 10, No. 1, Winter 2008

Roger Dingman, "Atomic Diplomacy during the Korean War," International Security, Vol. 13, No. 3 (Winter, 1988-1989)

Week of November 26: Establishment of the Postwar Order

DAN PLESCH, How the United Nations Beat Hitler and Prepared the Peace,” Global

Society, Vol. 22, No. 1, January, 2008

M. J. Hogan, The Marshall Plan. America, Britain, and the Reconstruction of Western Europe, 1947–1952 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987), Main 338.917304 H678

Patrick J. Hearden, Architects of globalism : building a new world order during World War II / IIR 327.73009045 H435

Sumner Welles, postwar planning, and the quest for a new world order, 1937-1943 / Christopher D. O'Sullivan IIR 327.2092 W449 O85

Week of December 3: The US and Postwar Order

G. John Ikenberry, “America"s Liberal Grand Strategy: Democracy and National Security in the Post-War Era,” in G. Ikenberry, American Foreign Policy: Theoretical Essays.

Randall Bennett Woods, A changing of the guard: Anglo-American relations, 1941-1946 / IIR 337.7304109044 W896

Paul Kennedy, The parliament of man: the past, present, and future of the United Nations / IIR 341.23 K36

G. John Ikenberry, “A World Economy Restored: Expert Consensus and the Anglo-American Postwar International Organization, Vol. 46, No. 1, Knowledge, Power, and International PolicyCoordination (Winter, 1992)

Week of December 10: US-Soviet confrontation in Europe

George Kennan, The Sources of Soviet Conduct (The "X" Article), www.historyguide.org/europe/kennan.html

J. Gaddis, Strategies of Containment: A Critical Appraisal of American National Security Policy During the Cold War, chapters 1-4, 7.

Douglas J. Macdonald, “Communist Bloc Expansion in the Early Cold War: Challenging Realism, Refuting Revisionism,” International Security, Vol. 20, No. 3 (Winter, 1995-1996),

Melvyn P. Leffler: The American Conception of National Security and the Beginnings of the Cold War, 1945-48, The American Historical Review > Vol. 89, No. 2, Apr., 1984

André de Staercke, NATO's anxious birth: the prophetic vision of the 1940s, edited by Nicholas Sherwen IIR 355.031091821 St13

Week of December 17: Diplomacy Between US and China in 1960s and early 1970s

Documents relating to Nixon's trip to the PRC: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB106/index.htm; http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB145/index.htm;

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB70/

Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, "Taiwan Expendable? Nixon and Kissinger Go to China," The Journal of American History, Vol. 92, No. 1 (Jun., 2005)

Evelyn Goh, "Nixon, Kissinger, and the 'Soviet Card' in the U.S. Opening to China, 1971–1974," Diplomatic History, Vol. 29, No. 3 ( June 2005).

James C. Thomson, "On the Making of U. S. China Policy, 1961-9: A Study in Bureaucratic Politics," The China Quarterly, No. 50 (Apr. - Jun., 1972)

Week of December 24: The End of the Cold War

Rey Koslowski and Friedrich V. Kratochwil, “Understanding Change in International Politics: The Soviet Empire's Demise and the International System,” International Organization, Vol. 48, No. 2 (Spring, 1994),

Daniel Deudney and G. John Ikenberry, “The International Sources of Soviet Change,” International Security, Vol. 16, No. 3 (Winter, 1991-1992),

Thomas Risse-Kappen, “Ideas do not Float Freely: Transnational Coalitions, Domestic Structures, and the End of the Cold War,” International Organization, Vol. 48, No. 2 (Spring, 1994)

Week of December 31:China and the Aftermath of the Cold War

Richard K. Betts, “Wealth, Power, and Instability: East Asia and the United States after the Cold War,” International Security, Vol. 18, No. 3 (Winter, 1993-1994),

Daniel Deudney and G. John Ikenberry, “The Unravelling of the Cold War Settlement,” Survival, 2010

G. John Ikenberry, The Rise of China and the Future of the West: Can the Liberal System Survive? Foreign Affairs , January/February 2008

Peter J. Katzenstein, “China’s Rise: East Asia and Beyond,” EAI Working Paper Series 12

YAN XUETONG The Rise of China in Chinese Eyes Journal of Contemporary China (2001), 10(26), 33–39

Pak K. Lee, Gerald Chan & Lai-Ha Chan,"China's Realpolitik"Engagement with Myanmar," China Security, Vol. 5 No. 1 Winter 2009