Course hours: Monday 3:55-6:25 p.m. Peter Feaver
Class location: Perkins 307 331 Perkins Lib
Office hours: Mon & Wed 11:00-12:15 660-4331
or by appointment
Purpose of the Course
This course will examine great normative questions of international relations and challenge students to consider what those questions mean for how students conduct themselves as global citizens. Normative questions involve considerations of right and wrong, where the "rightness" or "wrongness" of the action is measured by some conception of the good. There are many thorny normative questions in international relations. When, if ever, is the use of force justified? Should one state impose its moral code on another? To what extent do normative considerations influence the way states behave? To what extent ought they? Students will consider the ethics of war and weigh other ticklish issues prominent in current international politics, including questions about human rights, distributive justice, and self-determination. The course will challenge students to apply the theoretical discussions in a practical way to an international ethical problem. Students will conduct a major group project on the Sudan that will have both a traditional research component and an application component. The latter might involve a public education project aimed at the Duke community, or perhaps lobbying pressure on the U.S. government or private institutions in light of what the student research uncovers.
This course is designed to be challenging, a capstone experience for advanced undergraduates. The workload and the expectations are likely to exceed any other course a student has taken. But the rewards can be just as great if the students rise to the challenge.
Learning Objectives
* To master basic texts and arguments in the field of ethics and international relations
* To understand how to make ethical arguments on international issues
* To appreciate the limits and the potential for ethical constraints on international behavior
* To hone analytical skills and to refine one's ability to make a convincing argument
* To hone research, writing, and oral skills
* To understand and apply different styles of social science writing and research: policy memo, opinion advocacy, and empirical research
* To experience group and peer-led learning, interacting with the written work of your peers
* To experience a "realistic" assignment of a group project, collaborating on a major research question and coordinating a single, unified product
* To apply course material outside the classroom and to translate theoretical discussions into programs of action
Above all, the primary goal of this course is for students to have a challenging and stimulating learning experience. I want you to know the exquisite satisfaction that comes from working extremely hard on a sustained basis, refusing to settle for anything less than top quality products, and then finishing well. In years past, I have been very proud of the students who have taken this class and I want you to be similarly proud of your accomplishments in the course.
Requirements and Grading
Short writing assignment #1 10%
Short writing assignment #2 10%
Peer responses 10%
Group Project -- Rough Draft 10%
Group Project - Final Draft 30%
Group Project -- Practicum 10%
Class participation 20%
Short Writing assignments
Students will hand in two shorter assignments that are designed to give students experience with different styles of social science writing.
The first short assignment, due Friday, 30 August at 5:00 p.m., will be in the form of a "Memorandum to the President" on a topic to be assigned by Professor Feaver at the close of the first session. It will be short (less than 500 words, with word-count listed at top) and must summarize the problem and close with a recommendation for presidential action. A zero-tolerance policy on typographical errors will be strictly enforced.
The second short assignment, due Monday, 28 October at 8:00 a.m., will be in the form of an op-ed on a topic to be assigned by Professor Feaver later in the semester. The op-ed will be short (less than 750 words) and must analyze a problem, reach a judgment about how the public should interpret that problem, and seek to persuade the public audience on the correctness of this interpretation. Students are strongly encouraged to read the opinion pages of a major newspaper (New York Times or Washington Post) to get the flavor of this type of writing. Again, a zero-tolerance policy on typographical errors will be strictly enforced.
Both memoranda will be graded on clarity, substantive accuracy, persuasive power, chasteness of prose, and creativity. Professor Feaver will read the memoranda very carefully and will stop reading as soon as a typographical error or obvious glaring flaw is found; in that event, he will hand back the memoranda and request a "revise and resubmit." The first resubmission is "free." Every other resubmission involves a half-grade penalty.
Each memorandum will be read and critiqued by one other student in the class. The critique, which should cover both the style and the substance of the original memo, will itself be graded (5% of course grade each time) and will be due in class the week after the original memoranda are submitted.
Final Group Project
The class will constitute one "committee of the whole" for the purposes of conducting a major research service-learning project. The broad topic for the project is assigned - how should the world community and especially the United States respond to the Sudan problem - but how the group divides up this assignment is up to the students themselves.
You will have two principal outputs for this project. The first is a formal written volume reflecting the group's written research. The second is service-learning - a practical component that translates the findings of the research project into direct action, perhaps in the form of advocacy or public education.
I expect that the written volume will be in the neighborhood of 30,000 words, though the exact length will vary depending on how the topic is broken down. The paper must be handed in as a single, seamless, word-processed document. Obviously, portions of the volume may be individually written, but the overall document should read like a single edited report. The introduction and triumphant conclusion should be more than the individual summaries stapled together.
The grading criteria will be traditional: vigor of your argument; depth and breadth of your research; substantive quality of your insights; the organization and integration of the chapters; and (especially) the clarity of your writing. The writing for this project, unlike the shorter writing assignments, should be "formal" and even "social scientific." In general terms, social science writing involves an emphasis on argumentation: stating a thesis, marshaling evidence to support that thesis, identifying counter-arguments, rebutting those arguments. Common mistakes include: telling the reader what you feel or believe as opposed to what can be proven empirically or logically; failing to anticipate obvious counter-arguments; lacking a thesis and/or a clear logical progression in the argument; failing to do an adequate literature review; sloppy writing.
The volume will receive a single common grade.
Note: you will have to hand in a rough draft, which I will read, comment upon, and grade. One of the most painful and yet most fruitful steps in writing is revising your own work.
The second output will be the service-learning component. Students will have (almost!) entirely free rein here to design a practical application of what they are learning in the group project. For instance, the students might launch a public education project for the Duke community. Or students may identify changes in Duke policy, or in U.S. governmental policy, that the students can promote through direct advocacy in the appropriate venues. To that end, President Keohane has agreed to meet with the students later in the semester and hear a briefing on the results of the research and the implications, if any, for the way Duke conducts itself as an institution.
Throughout the course, students will have contact with activists for whom "ethics and international relations" is not a mere classroom topic but is a way of life. The practical component of the project is intended to expose students to the challenges and rewards of applying what you learn in a course to your day-to-day life.
Several of the class sessions are devoted to the group project and will serve as action-forcing events to ensure that the project is progressing at a responsible pace.
The schedule is as follows:
16 September: Readings for first "Sudan session" are distributed. Also, a two-page memo explaining the project management, the breakdown of the research component, and initial thoughts on the practical component are due.
23 September Class session devoted to group project.
11 November: Rough draft due at 8:00 a.m. the day of class. Class session devoted to group project.
4 December: Final drafts due in my office at 5:00 p.m.
Beware! This assignment is considerably more difficult because it is a group rather than an individual project. I fully expect that you will have trouble coordinating the inputs of each members. Group projects are challenging because they require the blending of individual skills and temperaments. Group projects are prone to the collective action problem of free riding. A major part of the educational benefit of the group project is precisely in overcoming these challenges and cooperating to produce a coherent consensus product. You will find, once you leave Duke, that most work in the "real world" consists of group projects. The sooner you learn to master this awkward but unavoidable approach to life, the greater will be your success after Duke.
At the end of the semester, each student will submit a confidential memorandum outlining his/her own contribution and evaluating the contributions of all the other members. These confidential memoranda will assist Professor Feaver in assessing the class participation grade and in addressing any egregious collective action problems that may have arisen.
Class Participation
Students are expected to keep up with the weekly readings and to come to class prepared to discuss them in depth. The reading load is fairly heavy, although it is trimmed significantly from previous years to adjust for the expanded group project. Each student will be assigned one week when he or she is responsible for initiating discussion. That week, the student is expected to circulate by email brief summaries of that week's readings, identifying the main points of the readings and any questions or responses thereto. The summaries will not be individually graded but will be factored into the student's overall class participation grade. These summaries are not intended to substitute for reading the original articles directly, but by complementing those readings they should significantly enhance class discussions.
Class Trip to Washington, D.C.
Depending on resources and logistics, the class will take a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with policymakers, advisors, and activists who are working the Sudan issue on a day-to-day basis. We can shift the date as needed, but for planning purposes, we should think of 17 and/or 18 October. NOTE: as part of your group project, the students will do most of the planning for this. I have arranged for contacts, but I will expect the students to do a great deal of the leg-work in setting this up.
Readings
The following books have been ordered at the bookstore:
Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars
Paul Christopher, The Ethics of War & Peace: An Introduction to Legal and Moral Issues, Second Edition (Prentice Hall, 1999)
Robert W. McElroy, Morality and American Foreign Policy: The Role of Ethics in International Affairs (Princeton Press, 1992)
There is also a Custom Case book available from http://www.guisd.org To order this case book, go to the site and click on Custom Case Books; then click on cb 146 Ethics and International Relations, Feaver; then scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on Buy; and then simply follow all the directions on the screen.
All readings except the case book are supposed to be either on hard-copy reserve at Perkins Library or on e-reserve. In past years, however, we have run into numerous problems. I strongly advise that you look for reserve materials at least one week in advance so that we can address any problems in the week prior to when the readings are due.
1. Introduction 26 August
* Joseph Nye, Nuclear Ethics, Chapter 2
* 500-word memorandum for the President due Friday, 30 August, at 5:00 p.m.
2. Power and Principle in International Relations 2 September
* Thucydides, "Melian Dialogue" in The Peloponnesian War. It is the last section of Book V; different editions have different page numbers.
* Henry Kissinger, "Morality and Power," in Ernest W. LeFever, Morality and Foreign Policy: A Symposium on President Carter's Stance?
* Robert W. McElroy, Morality and American Foreign Policy: The Role of Ethics in International Affairs (Princeton Press, 1992), Chapter 1.
* E.H.Carr, The Twenty Year Crisis, pp. 63-94, 146-169.
3. Moral Significance of Borders 9 September
* S. French and A. Gutman, "The Principle of National Self-Determination," in Virginia Held, et al., Philosophy, Morality and International Affairs.
*M. Walzer, "The Moral Standing of States," Philosophy and Public Affairs, Spring 1980. Available on JSTOR.
* David Luban, "The Romance of the Nation-State," Philosophy and Public Affairs, Spring 1980. Available on JSTOR.
* John Stuart Mill, selection from Utilitarianism, Liberty, and Representative Government
*Joseph Nye, Nuclear Ethics, Chapter 3
* Russell Hardin, One for All: The Logic of Group Conflict, Chapter 3, pp. 46-71.
*Amitai Etzioni, "The Evils of Self Determination," Foreign Policy, No 89 (Winter 1992-93), pp. 21-35. Available on Infotrac.
*Michael Lind, "In Defense of Liberal Nationalism," Foreign Affairs 73, No. 3 (May/June 1994), pp. 87-100. Available on Proquest.
* Clifford Bob, "Merchants of Morality," Foreign Policy no. 129 (March/April 2002), pp. 36-45. Available on Proquest under search terms "Merchants of Morality."
* Kofi Annan, "Two Concepts of Security," Economist, 18 September 1999, available online at http://www.un.org/News/ossg/sg/stories/kaecon.html
4. Distributive Justice 16 September
NOTE: We will meet at my house for dinner this week.
*Peter Singer, "Famine, Affluence, and Morality," and Onora O'Neill, "Lifeboat Earth," in Beitz, et al., International Ethics, pp. 247-281. Available on JSTOR.
*Garrett Hardin, "Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor," Psychology Today, September 1974
* Henry Shue, Basic Rights, pp. 13-64
* Matthew 5-7, The Bible.
* M.A. Thomas, "Getting Debt Relief Right," Foreign Affairs (September/October 2001), pp. 26-45. Available on Proquest under search terms "Getting Debt Relief Right."
5. Sudan Prep Week 23 September
* students will identify and distribute the readings, based on their research thus far
6. Human Rights in Theory 30 September
* Donnelly, Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice, Chapters 1-3, 6, 12
* Maurice Cranston, "Are There Any Human Rights," in Daedalus, Vol. 112, No.4
* Universal Declaration of Human Rights
* Michael Ignatieff, "Are Human Rights Defensible?: The Attack on Human Rights," Foreign Affairs 80, No. 6 (November/December 2001), pp. 102-116. Available on EBSCOHost by selecting Publications, typing in "Foreign Affairs," selecting the Nov/Dec 2001 issue and scrolling down. Note: NOT available on Proquest, even though Proquest normally carries Foreign Affairs.
7. Human Rights and Foreign Policy 7 October
* Vincent Auger, "Human Rights and Trade: The Clinton Administration and China," Pew Case Study 168-95-N. In the custom case book available for purchase on line.
* James Lilley, "Freedom Through Trade" Foreign Policy Spring 1994, pp. 37-45. Available on Infotrac.
* Robert Bernstein, "Human Rights First," Foreign Policy Spring 1994, pp.43-48. Available on Proquest.
* Aryeh Neier, "The New Double Standard," Foreign Policy Winter 1996-97, pp. 91-102. Available on Infotrac.
* Alan Tonelson, "Jettison the Policy," Foreign Policy Winter 1994-95, pp. 121-132. Available on Infotrac.
* Michael Posner, "Rally Round Human Rights," Foreign Policy Winter 1994-95, pp. 133-139. Available on Infotrac.
* Tina Rosenberg, "John Kamm's Third Way," New York Times Magazine, 3 March 2002. Available online through Proquest under search terms "John Kamm's Third Way."
8. Just War Theory 21 October
* Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars, skim entire but we will concentrate on Chapters 1, 5, 7, 8-10, 14, 16
* Paul Christopher, The Ethics of War & Peace: An Introduction to Legal and Moral Issues, pp. 1-117, 127-213
* Jenny Teichman, Pacifism and the Just War, Chapter 1
* reread Matthew 5-7, also Deuteronomy 20, Romans 13, The Bible
* Ward Thomas, "Norms and Security: The Case of International Assassination," International Security 25, no. 1 (Summer 2000), pp. 105.133. Available on Infotrac under search terms "norms and security and assassination."
9. War in Practice 28 October
* Alberto R. Coll, "Kosovo and the Moral Burdens of Power," in Andrew J. Bacevich and Eliot A. Cohen, War Over Kosovo: Politics and Strategy in a Global Age (Columbia University Press, 2001), pp. ###-###
* Martin L. Cook, "Immaculate War": Constraints on Humanitarian Intervention," Ethics and International Affairs Volume 14, 2000, pp. 55-65
* Carl Cavanagh Hodge, "Casual War: NATO's Intervention in Kosovo," Ethics and International Affairs Volume 14, 2000, pp. 39-54
* Charles J. Dunlap, "Law and Military Interventions: Preserving Humanitarian Values in 21st Century Conflicts," available online at http://www.duke.edu/~pfeaver/dunlap.pdf
*750 word opinion editorial due this week
10. Humanitarian Intervention and Economic Sanctions 4 November
* John A. Ausink, "Watershed in Rwanda: The Evolution of President Clinton's Humanitarian Intervention Policy," Pew Case Study 374-97-N In the custom casebook available for purchase on line.
* Ivo Daalder, "The Clinton Administration and Multilateral Peace Operations," Pew Case Study 462-94-N In the custom casebook available for purchase on line.
* Pew Case Study 515: Human Rights and Foreign Policy: What the Kurds Learned (A Drama in One Act), by Tom J. Farer In the custom casebook available for purchase on line.
* Joy Gordon, "A Peaceful, Silent, Deadly Remedy: The Ethics of Economic Sanctions," Ethics and International Affairs Volume 13, 1999, pp. 123-142
* George A. Lopez, "More Ethical than Not: Sanctions as Surgical Tools," Ethics and International Affairs Volume 13, 1999, pp. 143-148
* Joy Gordon, "Reply to George A. Lopez's 'More Ethical than Not," Ethics and International Affairs, Volume 13, 1999, pp. 149-150
* Jesse Helms, "What Sanctions Epidemic," Foreign Affairs 78, No. 1 (January/February 1999), pp. 2-8. Available from Duke computers with advanced search at the "Academic Index, Expanded" electronic database. Also available on Proquest.
* John and Karl Mueller, "Rethinking Sanctions on Iraq," Foreign Affairs 78, No. 3 (May/June 1999), pp. 43-53. Available from Duke computers with advanced search at the "Academic Index, Expanded" electronic database.
11. Sudan Prep Week 11 November
12. The Problem of Terrorism 18 November
* Rodney A. Snyder, "Negotiating with Terrorists," Pew Case Study 333. In the custom case book available for purchase on line.
* Paul Schulte, "I am Usama Bin Laden," unpublished mimeo, available online at http://www.duke.edu/~pfeaver/schulte.pdf
* Jonathan Lear, "The Remains of the Day: Why do they Hate us So Much?" at http://www.alumni.uchicago.edu/magazine/0112/features/remains-3.html
* John W. Soule, A Case Study of Terrorism: Northern Ireland 1970-1990," Carnegie Council Case Study #5, (43 pp.). I will hand out.
* "L. Paul Bremer, "A New Strategy for the New Face of Terrorism," National Interest, (Thanksgiving 2001), pp. 23-30. Available on Proquest.
* Robert Keohane, "The Globalization of Informal Violence, Theories of World Politics, and "The Liberalism of Fear" available at http://www.ssrc.org/sept11/essays/keohane.htm
* Adam Roberts, "The Relevance of the Laws of War in Anti-Terrorist Wars" available at http://www.ssrc.org/sept11/essays/roberts.htm
* Nicholas Wheeler, "Protecting Afghan Civilians from the Hell of War," http://www.ssrc.org/sept11/essays/wheeler.htm
* Seyla Benhabib, "Unholy Politics," available at http://www.ssrc.org/sept11/essays/benhabib.htm
13. When Do Ethics Matter? 25 November
*Robert W. McElroy, Morality and American Foreign Policy: The Role of Ethics in International Affairs (Princeton Press, 1992), Chapters 2-7
14. Final Wrap-up 2 December