Instructor/Lecturer
Rotem Dvir
Email: rdvir@tamu.edu; Web: https://rotemdvir.wixsite.com/mysite
Course Description
This is an upper-level course in International Relations (IR). The course offers an overview of the field of international relations. The primary purpose is to understand and evaluate the main theories, arguments, claims, and conjectures made by scholars in the field. The central question we will address is what are the main ways in which scholars organize and assess knowledge in the field? In the first half of the course, we will discuss the main theories used to understand international politics, including their application to central world events. In the second half, we go deeper on some specific issues such as international institutions, economic statecraft, and various aspects of international and national conflict including coercion, reputation, terrorism, modern technology and covert action.
Course Material
Week 1
Week 2
Readings:
- McClelland, Charles. “The function of theory in international relations.” Journal of Conflict Resolution, 4, 3 (1960), 303-336.
- Singer, David J. “The level-of-analysis problem in international relations”. World Politics, 14 (1961), 77-92.
- Colgan, Jeff. “Where is International Relations Going? Evidence from Graduate Training”. International Studies Quarterly 60, 1 (2016), 486-498.
Week 3
Readings:
- Walt, Stephen M. “International relations: one world, many theories.” Foreign policy (1998): 29-46.
- Jervis, Robert. “Cooperation under the security dilemma”. World Politics (1978), 167-214.
Week 4
Readings:
- Moravcsik, Andrew. “Taking Preferences Seriously: A Liberal Theory of International Politics.” International Organization 51, 4 (1997), 513-553.
- Putnam, Robert. “Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of two-level games.” International Organization 42, 3 (1988), 427-460.
- Koch, Michael. “Governments, partisanship, and foreign policy: The case of dispute duration.” Journal of Peace Research 46, 6 (2009), 799-817.
- Auerswald, David. “Inward bound: Domestic institutions and military conflicts.” International Organization 53, 3 (1999), 469-504.
Week 5
Readings:
- Fearon, James. “Rationalist Explanations for War.” International Organization 49, 3 (1995), 379-414.
- Fuhrmann, Matthew and Sechser, Todd. “Signaling Alliance Commitments: Hand-Tying and Sunk Costs in Extended Nuclear Deterrence.” American Journal of Political Science 58, 4 (2014), 919-935.
- Hopf, Ted. “The Promise of Constructivism in International Relations Theory.” International Security 23, 1 (1998), 171-200.
- Nunez-Mietz, Fernando G., and Garcia Iommi, Lucrecia. “Can Transnational Norm Advocacy Undermine Internalization? Explaining Immunization Against LGBT Rights in Uganda.” International Studies Quarterly 61, 1 (2017), 196-209.
Week 6
Readings:
- Hafner-Burton, Emily, Haggard, S., Lake, D., and Victor, D. “The Behavioral Revolution and International Relations.” International Organization 71, S1 (2017), S1-S31.
- Levy, Jack. “Prospect Theory and International Relations: Theoretical Applications and Analytical Problems.” Political Psychology 13, 2 (1992), 283-310.
- Horowitz, Michael and Fuhrmann, Matthew. “Studying Leaders and Military Conflict: Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 62, 10 (2018), 2072-2086.
- Hermann, Margaret. “Explaining Foreign Policy Behavior Using the Personal Characteristics of Political Leaders.” International Studies Quarterly 24, 1 (1980), 7-46.
Week 7
Readings:
- Milner, Helen. “The Political Economy of International Trade.” Annual Review of Political Science 2, (1999), 91-114.
- Mansfield, Edward and Mutz, Diana. “Support for Free Trade: Self-Interest, Sociotropic Politics, and Out-Group Anxiety.” International Organization 63, 3 (2009), 425-457.
- Allen, Susan. “The Determinants of Economic Sanctions Success and Failure.” International Interactions 31, 2 (2005), 117-138.
- Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce and Smith, Alistair. “Foreign Aid and Policy Concessions.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 51, 2 (2007), 251-284.
Week 8
Readings:
- Simmons, Beth. “Treaty Compliance and Violation.” Annual Review of Political Science 13, (2010), 273-296.
- Leeds, B.A. “Do Alliances Deter Aggression? The Influence of Military Alliances on the Initiation of Militarized Interstate Disputes.” American Journal of Political Science 47, 3 (2003), 427-439.
- Allee, Todd and Scalera, Jamie. “The Divergent Effects of Joining International Organizations: Trade Gains and the Rigors of WTO Accession.” international Organziation 66,2 (2012), 243-276.
- Fuhrmann, Matthew and Lupu, Yonatan. “Do Arms Control Treaties Work? Assessing the Effectiveness of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.” International Studies Quarterly 60, 3 (2016), 530-539.
Week 9
Readings:
- Maoz, Zeev and Russett, Bruce. “Normative and Structural Causes of the Democratic Peace, 1946-1986.” American Political Science Review 87, 3 (1993), 624-638.
- Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce, Morrow, J., Siverson, R., Smith, A. “An Institutional Explanation of the Democratic Peace.” American Political Science Review 93,4 (1999), 791-807.
- Tomz, Michael and Weeks, Jessica. “Public Opinion and the Democratic Peace.” American Political Science Review 107, 4 (2013), 849-865.
- Reiter, Dan and Stam, Allen. “Democracy, War Initiation, and Victory.” American Political Science Review 92, 2 (1998), 377-389.
Week 10
Readings:
- Fearon, James. “Domestic Political Audiences and the Escalation of International Disputes.” American Political Science Review 88, 3 (1994), 577-592.
- Potter, Phillip and Baum, Matthew. “Looking for Audience Costs in all the Wrong Places: Electoral Institutions, Media Access, and Democratic Constraint.” Journal of Politics 76, 1 (2014), 167-181.
- Tomz, Michael. “Domestic Audience Costs in International Relations: An Experimental Approach.” International Organization 61, 4 (2007), 821-840.
Week 11
Readings:
- Lupton, Danielle. “Signaling Resolve: Leaders, Reputations, and the Importance of Early Interactions.” International Interactions 44,1 (2018), 59-87.
- Weisiger, Alex and Yarhi-Milo, Keren. “Revisiting Reputation: How Past Actions Matter in International Politics.” International Organization 69, 2 (2015), 473-495.
- Horowitz, Michael and Reiter, Dan. “When Does Aerial Bombing Work? Quantitative Empirical Tests, 1917-1999.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 45,2 (2001), 147-173.
- Allen, Susan. “Time Bombs: Estimating the Duration of Coercive Bombing Campaigns.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 51,1 (2007), 112-133.
Week 12
Readings:
- Vasquez, John. “Why do Neighbors Fight? Proximity, Interaction, or Territoriality.” Journal of Peace Research 32, 3 (1995), 277-293.
- Wright, Thorin and Diehl, Paul. “Unpacking Territorial Disputes: Domestic Political Influences and War.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 60, 4 (2016), 645-669.
- Johnson, Dominic and Toft, Monica. “Grounds for War: The Evolution of Territorial Conflict.” International Security 38, 3 (2014), 7-38.
- Manekin, Devorah, Grossman, Guy, and Mitts, Tamar. “Contested Ground: Disentangling Material and Symbolic Attachment to Disputed Territory.” Political Science Research and Methods 7, 4 (2019), 679-697.
Week 13
Readings:
- Pape, Robert. “The strategic logic of suicide terrorism.” American Political Science Review 97, 3 (2003): 343-361.
- Chenoweth, Erica. “Terrorism and democracy.” Annual Review of Political Science 16, (2013): 355-378.
- Getmansky, Anna and Zeitzoff, Thomas. “Terrorism and Voting: The Effect of Rocket Threat on Voting in Israeli Elections”, American Political Science Review 108, 3 (2014), 588-604.
- Mir, Asfandyar, & Moore, Dylan “Drones, surveillance, and violence: Theory and evidence from a us drone program.” International Studies Quarterly 63,4 (2019), 846-862.
Week 14
Readings:
- Horowitz, Michael. “Do Emerging Military Technologies Matter for International Politics?” Annual Review of Political Science 23, (2020), 385-400.
- Kostyuk, Nadiya, and Wayne, Carly. “The Microfoundations of State Cybersecurity: Cyber Risk Perceptions and the Mass Public.” Journal of Global Security Studies (2020).
- Poznansky, Michael. “Stasis or Decay? Reconciling Covert War and the Democratic Peace.” International Studies Quarterly 59,4 (2015), 815-826.
- Myrick, Rachel. “Why So Secretive? Unpacking Public Attitudes toward Secrecy and Success in US Foreign Policy,” The Journal of Politics 82, 3 (2020): 828-843.