INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Please note: At your instructor's discretion, there may be minor alterations to the reading assignments listed below. One of the major advantages to providing you with an on-line readings archive is that timely articles can be added or substituted when appropriate. Opening documents downloaded from this website will require that your computer have Acrobat Reader . You will also need the class-specific password to open individual files.

Some handy resources for the unit:

• The course syllabus

• A handout on how your class participation grade will be assigned

• A handout that explains when and how you may use AI assistance in this course. You should read this before submitting any writing in this class.
  

• The High Point University Honor Code. Please carefully read the section on academic integrity.

Unit 2: Why states cooperate and fight

Week 6

Sept 21 (M)—Unit 1 test.

Sept 23 (W)—What do "realist" theories tell us about the international system's influence on countries' behavior?

• Read the first third of Mingst and Arreguin-Toft textbook, Chp. 3, "International Relations Theories." Review only up to (i.e., not including) the section Liberalism, paying very close attention to the sections on realism and neorealism.

• Also read: What would a realist US foreign policy look like, and is Pres. Trump a realist?: Andrew Byers and Randall L. Schweller, "Trump the Realist: The Former President Understands the Limits of American Power." Foreign Affairs, Dec. 2024, 8pp. As you read this article, think about ways in which these two political scientists were accurate in predicting President Trump's foreign policy in the first two years. And where were they wrong? One of the shortcomings of realism is that it doesn't focus very much on the personal traits and decisionmaking style of individual leaders. Indeed one of the shortcomings of the articles is that is suggests whether a country's behavior will be consistent with realism or not is largely a function of the beliefs and norms of its leader and population, which is what constructivists (below) say.
  

Sept 25 (F)—Why are liberals so more optimistic about future state behavior and state's capacity to cooperate?

• Finish Arreguin-Toft textbook, Chp. 3, and take its InQuizitive: https://digital.wwnorton.com/362934 

• Hal Brands, "How to Survive in World without Rules" (Foreign Policy, 2026, 11pp). As you read this article, take the BlackBoard quiz on it (the quiz both covers the article and asks you reinforcing questions about the main theories of IR as they apply to the reading's main points). You can complete this reading and quiz over the weekend if necessary.
  

Sept. 28 (M): Why do constructivists think it's up to us (especially our leaders and cultures) to create the kind of world we want to live in?

• Nina Tannenwald, sections from "Stigmatizing the Bomb" (International Security, 2004, 11p). This is an edited version of the article that removes most of her evidence explaining how and why the "nuclear" taboo formed. The short version provides a perhaps clearer explanation of how constructivist theory explain state behavior that what you see in your textbook, so that is why it is assigned. Also, we will return to her argument at the end of the course when we explore why only some countries have nuclear weapons while others do not.

Sept. 30, Oct 2: Why may globalization be more or less of a game changer than we first thought

For Wednesday