HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
9 credits
Teacher responsible: Prof. Ilaria Poggiolini
Other teachers: Prof. Axel Berkofsky, Prof. Massimo Zaccaria
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Course: MONDAY-TUESDAY-WEDNSDAY 11:00-13:00
ABSTRACT
The course analyses the structure, main trends, crucial events and political decisions (both top down and bottom up) that characterise international relations and international politics and security from the late 1960s to the present day. Within this framework of analysis the main objective of the course is to familiarize students to the understanding and discussion of three case studies in three different regions throughout the second and third phases of the Cold War and up to the present day. The case studies are: the history and politics of transatlantic relations; the Arab World and Africa; Northeast and East Asia with a particular focus on China and Japan. Throughout the course, lectures and seminars will focus on the evolution of the Cold War and the ideological confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union shaping and defining policy approaches, policies and strategies in the respective regions.
Each of these three case studies will be at the core of a course module of 3 credits offered in succession by the three course conveners.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Participation
Students must be willing to keep up with weekly readings, to contribute to an informed discussion duringclasses and to maintain acceptable academic standards. Students are expected to attend regularly, and must provide reasonable justifications for any absences.
Seminar Presentation
In each of the three parts of the course students are expected to give one presentation of the duration of about 10-15 minutes largely based on the course readinglist or a topic assigned to the student.All students are expected to attend all presentationsand to contribute to the generaldiscussionthat will follow. Students are expected to actively participate in the discussionhaving read and reflected on the assignments pertinentto each presentation.
Final paper
Students are required to writeone paper (of around 6000 words) for the entire course (not for each module) on a subject discussed during classes or on a theme of their choice from subjects covered by all three modules. In both cases the topic for the final paper, as well as its structure,has to be discussed with, and submitted for approvalto,one of the three teachers, who acts as paper supervisor. Final papers should be ready for submission to the paper supervisor one week before exams.They must be structured, formally and substantially,according to the editorial guidelines provided by the teachers.
Students are strongly encouraged to produce original papers, which are not limitedto summarizing the analysis on the topic in question presented in the literature.While the paper should cite and deal with the relevant literature, students are expected to make an effort to add their own analysis. This helps to ensure that the paper has a critical analytical dimension and is not purely a reproduction and summary of the existing literature.
Final exam
In the final exam students will be evaluated on the basis of: 1) their overall course attendance and participation in discussions in class (40% of the overall mark); 2) their seminar presentations in class (20% of the overall mark); 3) the quality of their final papers (40% of the overall mark).
COURSE OUTLINE
Sept-Oct 2013
First module: Transatlantic Relations from Détente to the Post Cold War Era
This first module will build on concepts and methods for the study of transatlantic relations and will aim to help students to deepen their knowledge of trends, fundamental issues and threats in transatlantic relations from the “long 1970s” to the present day. Mutual perceptions that European and American leaders, public opinion and practitioners cultivated over the decades will be an important introductory part of the course.
Main themes for classes and seminar discussion in this module are:
a) Historiography, sources and perceptions.
b) American and European ways in the years of détente and emerging global challenges (non-renewable resources, trade wars, terrorism and climate change).
c) Globalization, Europeanization and the end of the cold war: challenges and opportunities in transatlantic relations.
d) The post Cold War international system and the enlarged Atlantic/European Community/Union: new visions of hegemony, threats,wars and diplomatic methods.
Oct-Nov 2013
Second module: The Arab World and Africa from the Late 1960s to the Present Day
The dominant approach to International Relations is one that focuses mainly on the relations between the Western countries and the “rest” of the world: i.e. the study of the relations between Europe and the Mediterranean countries or the relations between the US and the Arab World. However, non-Western countries (in the Arab world) have tried to develop their own models of International Relations diplomacy, in some cases entering into competition with, and offering alternatives to, the prevalent Western models. Policies of the Arab world towards Africa from the 1960s onwards are a case in point, as their policies have consistently challenged EU and US policy approaches and policies towards Africa. The late Colonel Gaddafi transformed Africa into his main venue for diplomatic action. Less openly, other Arab countries have been very active in Africa, and also deserve attention.
The following themes are discussed in this module:
a) Africa in the Arab world: a historical perspective.
b) The shaping of an Arab policy toward Africa: from anti-colonialism and anti-Zionism to land grabbing.
c) Libya, Egypt and the two Sudans: Afro-Arab relations in the new world order.
Nov-Dec 2013
Third module: International Relations, Politics and Security in North and East Asia from the 1960s to the Present day
The third module will analyse international relations and politics in Northeast and East Asia from the late 1960s to the present. An analysis of Cold War politics and politics analysing the main events, developments East Asian Cold War alliances which shaped the region from the 1960 until the present day.
In this context, amongst others the following topics will be analysed and discussed: Sino-Chinese relations and the making and breaking of the China-Soviet Union alliance, the Korean War and its impact on Cold War politics, Chinese international policies and politics under Mao Zedong, the US role in Asian security /the US-Japan/US-South Korea security alliance, US-Soviet ideological confrontation in East Asia.
READINGS
Preparatory readings
- The Cambridge History of the Cold War, Volume I: Origins (eds M. Leffler and O.A. Westad), chapters 1 and 2 (O.A. Westad, The Cold War and the international history of the twentieth century pp. 1-19;D.C. Engerman, Ideology and the origins of the Cold war, 1917-1962, pp. 21-43);
- P. Woodward, US Foreign Policy and the Horn of Africa, Ashgate 2006;
- Tsuyoshi Hasegawa (ed.), The Cold War in East Asia, 1945-1991, Stanford University Press 2011.
Course readings
A) On Transatlantic Relations
- Selected chapters from The Cambridge History of the Cold war (M.P. Leffler and O. A. Westad eds) volumes I-II-III, CUP, 2010
Week 1Volume I: O.A. Westad, The Cold War and the international history of the Twentieth Century; M.P. Bradley, Decolonization, the global South and the Cold War, 1919-1962; D.S. Painter, Oil, Resources and the Cold War 1945-1962.
Week 2Volume II : N.P. Ludlow, European integration and the cold War; J.M. Hanhimaki, Détente in Europe; R.D. Shulzinger, Détente in the Nixon-Ford years, 1969-1976; N.J. Cull, Reading, viewing, and tuning into the Cold War.
Week 3 and special lectureVolume III: V.M. Zubok, Soviet Foreign policy from détente to Gorbachev 1975-1985; J.W. Young, Western Europe and the end of the Cold War 1979-1989; J. Levesque, The East European Revolutions of 1989; A. Brown, The Gorbachev revolution and the end of the cold war; A. Roberts, An ‘incredible swift transition’. Reflections on the end of the Cold War.
See also J. Hanhimaki, B. Schoenborn, B. Zanchetta, Transatlantic Relations since 1945, 2012. This is a good, concise guide to the evolution of transatlantic relations from 1945 to today.
B) On the Arab World and Africa
Week 1: Jeffrey A. Lefebvre, “Middle East Conflicts and the Middle Level Power Intervention in the Horn of Africa”, Middle East Journal, 50, 3, Summer 1996, pp. 387-404.
Week 2: Yehudid Ronen, “Sudan and Egypt: The Swing of the Pendulum (1989-2001), Middle Eastern Studies, 39, 3, July 2003, pp. 81-98.
Week 3: Mehran Kamrava, “Mediation and Qatari Foreign Policy”, Middle East Journal, 65, 4, Autumn 2011, pp. 539-556; David B. Roberts, Qatari Mediation, University of Durham.
C) On the Cold War in East Asia
Tsuyoshi Hasegawa (ed.), The Cold War in East Asia, 1945-1991, Stanford University Press 2011.
Selected chapters from The Cambridge History of the Cold war (M.P. Leffler and O. A. Westad eds) volumes I-II-III, 2010(all chapters in three volumes which discuss and deal with Asia, excluding Russia).