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Unit 1: The Liberal International Order
Will the Liberal Order Survive? The History of an Idea, Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Foreign Affairs, 2017
The United States will, despite the rise of China, continue to be the dominant power in the international liberal order for decades to come. The international liberal order faces challenges from populism, the diffusion of power, and growing complexity as non-state actors increase their influence in the system.
The Geopolitics of Cyberspace after Snowden, Ron Deibert, Current History, 2015
The author discusses the environment in which the Internet functions and the “digital exhaust” emitted by mobile devices which provide vast quantities of metadata about each individual. The effect of Snowden’s revelations has raised the question of a free Internet as opposed to control and censorship by state governments as they seek to restore “technological sovereignty.”
The Myth of the Liberal Order: From Historical Accident to Conventional Wisdom, Graham Allison, Foreign Affairs, 2018
The “Long Peace” after the end of World War II was the result of the balance of power between the two superpowers. The United States should tolerate a diverse international order consisting of liberal and illiberal powers.
The Liberal International Economic Order on the Brink, Kristen Hopewell, Current History, 2017
America’s economic woes will not be solved through protectionism or attacks on America’s trading partners. If Washington wants to maintain its hegemony, it should be recommitted to the liberal global order.
The United Nations and Sovereignty in the Age of Trump, Thomas G. Weiss, Current History, 2018
The United Nations is still the logical place to deal with global problems. The UN’s inability to manage global problems will mean additional blowback for multilateralism.
The Players Change, but the Game Remains, Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 2018
China cannot transform its economic power into military power due to the technological gap with the United States. The authors conclude that the United States should not disengage from the world but can continue to pursue its grand strategy as the sole superpower for decades to come.
Trump and Russia: The Right Way to Manage Relations, Eugene Rumer, Richard Sokolsky, and Andrew S. Weiss, Foreign Affairs, 2017
The United States should make clear its commitment to defend its NATO allies, uphold the principles of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, should not recognize a Russian sphere of influence in its neighborhood, should support Ukrainian reform, and should support the democratization of Russia.
Russia as it Is: A Grand Strategy for Confronting Putin, Michael McFaul, Foreign Affairs, 2018
The United States should pursue a grand strategy of containing and isolating Russia, as long as Vladimir Putin is in power. At the same time, the United States must continue to develop ties with Russian society.
China’s South Asian Miscalculation, Raffaello Pantucci, Current History, 2018
Beijing’s Belt and Road Project forms a central element of Chinese foreign policy in Eurasia, but India views it as part of an overall policy of encirclement by Beijing. India sees itself as a strategic competitor of China in the Indian Ocean.
The Liberal World Order Loses Its Leader, Mlada Bukovansky, Current History, 2017
The Trump administration has voluntarily withdrawn the United States from its leadership position in the liberal world order. However, the international liberal order is the result of traditions and institutions which have been built over time and designed to reconcile order with justice and permit peaceful change.
The Rise of Illiberal Hegemony: Trump’s Surprising Grand Strategy, Barry R. Posen, Foreign Affairs, 2018
Trump has deviated from traditional bipartisan grand strategy of liberal hegemony, as the United States sought to transform the international system into a rules-based order regulated by multilateral institutions and transforming other states into market-oriented democracies freely trading with each other. Trump should pursue a grand strategy of restraint.
Time to Re-engage, S. Frederick Starr, The American Interest, 2017
The United States should re-engage toward Afghanistan and Central Asia as a region as a whole. Washington should coordinate its security, political, and economic interests through the State department, the Pentagon, and the Commerce department, to promote the “Stans” as models of secular Moslem government.
The Chinese Century, Hal Brands, The National Interest, 2018
U.S. policy toward China needs an intellectual reset, because China is not a status quo power, but seeks to realign the East Asian order.
Life in China’s Asia: What Regional Hegemony Would Look Like, Jennifer Lind, Foreign Affairs, 2018
Through its economic, military, political, and cultural policies, in the region, China is aspiring to be a regional hegemon in Asia. China is following the model of regional hegemony pursued by the United States in the Western hemisphere, the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe, and Japan’s Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere
Unit 2: Population, Natural Resources, and Climate Change
Here’s Looking At You, 2050, Paul Taylor, Foreign Policy, 2017
By 2050, the world’s population is expected to reach 9.7 billion; up from the 7.3 billion in 2015.There are sharp variances across regions and within countries beneath the broad umbrella of demographic change. Islam will challenge Christianity as one of the world’s largest religions.
The Timely Disappearance of Climate Change: Denial in China, Geoff Dembicki, Foreign Policy, 2017
Chinese skeptics believed that the West was trying to contain China’s industrial development. By 2012, however, the Chinese communist leadership came to a consensus that global warming merited required action as global warming was seen as a threat to domestic stability and as support for climate change advanced China’s global power.
Paris Isn’t Burning: Why the Climate Agreement Will Survive Trump, Brian Deese, Foreign Affairs, 2017
US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement hurts the US economy and its diplomatic standing. China and the European Union will step into the leadership vacuum left by the United States.
Why Climate Change Matters More Than Anything Else, Joshua Busby, Foreign Affairs, 2018
Climate change will have a great effect on the global economy and international relations. To deal with climate change, the United States will need to work with state and non-state actors in a multipolar system.
The Clean Energy Revolution: Fighting Climate Change with Innovation, Varun Sivaram and Teryn Norris, Foreign Affairs, 2016
The world, led by the United States, needs to develop clean energy innovative technology, such as solar, nuclear, wind, and hydroelectric to reduce its carbon emissions to 80 percent by the middle of this century to avoid a climate catastrophe. The key is more government investment in public/private partnerships in applied research and development both in the United States and internationally.
Can Planet Earth Feed 10 Billion People? Humanity Has 30 Years to Find Out, Charles C. Mann, The Atlantic, 2017
Wizards or scientists argue that technology such as the Green Revolution and genetic engineering can produce enough food for the growing global population. Prophets or environmentalists argue that increased food production will lead to environmental collapse.
The Next Energy Revolution: The Promise and Peril of High-Tech Innovation, David G. Victor and Kassia Yanosek, Foreign Affairs, 2017
Changes in the energy industry are resulting in profound changes in global economic politics and the environment. The revolution in energy technology, which is driven by smarter management of complex systems, sophisticated data analytics, and automation, can destabilize the traditional producers of energy such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria.
Unit 3: The Global Political Economy
Trade, Development, and Inequality, Uri Dadush, Current History, 2015
Skill-based technological change, not trade is the driving force behind increased inequality. The Obama administration pursued mega-regional trade deals in the Trans-Pacific region as well as between the United States and the European Union.
The Truth about Trade: What Critics Get Wrong about the Global Economy, Douglas A. Irwin, Foreign Affairs, 2016
Trade is not the most important factor behind the loss of US jobs. Automation and technology are the major reasons for the decline in US jobs, not free trade agreements. Workers without a college education who have not recovered from the Great Recession constitute the major opposition to free trade agreements.
Inequality and Globalization: How the Rich Get Richer as the Poor Catch Up, François Bourguignon, Foreign Affairs, 2016
Global inequality among states has decreased while income inequality within states has increased. To counter this trend, states need to end ethnic, gender, and social discrimination and promote the transparency of the international financial system.
Inequality and Modernization: Why Equality Is Likely to Make a Comeback, Ronald Inglehart, Foreign Affairs, 2016
The author states that the continued rise of inequality is pushing economic issues back to the top of the political agenda. The essence of modernization is the linkages between economic, social, ideational, and political issues.
How NAFTA has Changed Mexico, Kathleen Staudt, Current History, 2018
NAFTA has perpetuated historical patterns, especially Mexican dependency on the United States. This asymmetrical relationship has not benefitted most workers in both countries.
The Return of Europe’s Nation-States: The Upside to the EU’s Crisis, Jakub Grygiel, Foreign Affairs, 2016
Writing in the aftermath of the British decision to leave the European Union, the author concludes that a return to nation-states in Europe does not have to end in tragedy. Europe can only meet its security challenges when it abandons its fantasy of continental unity and embraces its geopolitical pluralism.
Europe After Brexit: A Less Perfect Union, Matthias Matthijs, Foreign Affairs, 2017
The roots of the European Union’s current crisis can be traced to the efforts by the organization’s technocrats to transform it into a more supranational organization, adopting a common currency and creating a single market without the proper structure. This resulted in a democratic deficit which failed to take into account the national sovereignty of its members.
What Brexit Means for Britain, Matthew Goodwin, Current History, 2017
The British vote on June 23, 2016, to leave the European Union was due to structural changes in the British electorate. The majority of the electorate that voted to leave were concerned about increased immigration from Eastern Europe, the democratic deficit, and the threat to national sovereignty and identity.
Can a Post-Crisis Country Survive in the Time of Ebola? Jordan Ryan, Harvard International Review, 2015
The author discusses his personal experiences in Liberia during the Ebola epidemic. Liberia already was a fragile, post-conflict society emerging from a violent civil war. The author concludes with the lessons learned on how to promote development in a post-conflict society that has experienced an epidemic.
How the Globalists Ceded the Field to Donald Trump, Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect, 2018
The free trade branch of globalization pursued by global elites in the West has allowed China to gain global economic predominance paving the way for Trump’s version of economic nationalism.
Unit 4: Women and Gender Equality
Let Women Work: The Economic Case for Feminism, Rachel Vogelstein, Foreign Affairs, 2018
There is a positive relationship between women’s participation in the labor force and overall economic power. Promoting change should be a priority for US foreign policy to eliminate legal barriers to women’s economic participation.
Is AI Sexist? Erika Hayasaki, Foreign Policy, 2017
Women are underrepresented in technology research, which reflects gender stereotyping in artificial intelligence work and robotics. There is concern about what will happen to women in a future filled with artificial intelligence without careful oversight.
Putin’s War on Women: Why #MeToo Skipped Russia, Amie Ferris-Rotman, Foreign Policy, 2018
The #MeToo movement has passed Russia by because of misogyny, gender stereotypes, and a new conservative patriarchy established by Putin with the backing of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Gender Hack: The Dearth of Women in the Tech World is Cultural and Therefore Entirely Reversible, Gillian Tett, Foreign Policy, 2017
The computer science bias is overwhelmingly cultural, not cognitive. Efforts are being made to reverse this pattern, as the gender ratio for computer science is shocking.
The Sometime Activist: Nikki Haley’s Occasional Fight for Human Rights, Colum Lynch, Foreign Policy, 2018
Nikki Haley’s position on human rights issues is sometimes calculated to promote the White House’s goals, enhance her own political fortunes, and protect key allies.
Unit 5: War and Peace
How to Start a Nuclear War: The Increasingly Direct Road to Ruin, Andrew Cockburn, Harper’s Magazine, 2018
The nuclear weapons system is based on the principle of launch on attack. Military leaders might challenge a President’s decision to launch nuclear missiles, especially in a first strike, as nuclear adversaries may not know what their opponent’s assessments of their intentions are.
A New Era for Nuclear Security, Martin B. Malin and Nickolas Roth, Arms Control Today, 2016
The last nuclear summit that met in Washington, DC, in 2016, covered a range of areas, such as inside threats, transparent security, the minimal use of highly enriched uranium and cybersecurity. The summit focused on the problem of protecting usable nuclear materials such as plutonium, from falling into the hands of terrorists and thieves.
The Thucydides Trap, Graham Allison, Foreign Policy, 2017
As China challenges America’s predominance, misunderstandings about each other’s actions and intentions could lead them into the Thucydides trap which could result in war.
Afghanistan’s Arduous Search for Stability, Thomas Barfield, Current History, 2016
The Bush administration supported the Karzai regime, but the Obama administration was critical of the corrupt nature of the regime. Relations between the United States and Afghanistan soured with the advent of the Obama administration, resulting in Karzai’s replacement by the dual executive regime of Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani which was plagued by disunity, as the reduction of US forces resulted in the resurgence of the Taliban.
ISIS’s Next Move, Daniel Byman, The National Interest, 2018
Defeating the Islamic State could be the marquee foreign policy accomplishment of the Trump administration. Doing so will require more than forcing the Caliphate underground.
Strategic Amnesia and ISIS, David V. Gioe, The National Interest, 2016
In attempting to degrade and destroy Isis, the United States has enjoyed tactical victories, but the author argues that a strategic victory has eluded it. The United States needs to apply the lessons learned from military history, ranging from the American Revolutionary War, to the Vietnam conflict.
Arabia Infelix: The War Devouring Yemen, Sheila Carapico, Current History, 2017
The feuding Presidents proved willing to destroy the country in order to restore dictatorship. The brutal war and humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen are the consequences of domestic and especially regional power struggles, and are not simply a battle between Sunni and Shia sects.
A Perfect Storm: American Media, Russian Propaganda, Sarah Oates, Current History, 2017
Russian propaganda hides in plain sight masquerading as just another point of view or an alternative source of information.
The New Russian Chill in the Baltic, Mark Kramer, Current History, 2015
Russia’s annexation of the Crimea and intervention in Eastern Ukraine has raised concerns about NATO’s commitment under article 5 of its Charter to defend the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. The year 2014 has seen an increase in the quantity and intensity of Russian military provocations against the Baltic States, which has also raised concerns in Poland, Finland, and Sweden. In reaction, Finland and Sweden are considering joining NATO.
Putin’s Foreign Policy: The Quest to Restore Russia’s Rightful Place, Fyodor Lukyanov, Foreign Affairs, 2016
Russia, especially Putin, believes that the West created a post–Cold War international order which threatens the core interests of Russia.Putin’s policy is designed to revise the post–Cold War order regionally and globally on terms more favorable to Russian interests.
How to Prevent an Iranian Bomb: The Case for Deterrence, Michael Mandelbaum, Foreign Affairs, 2015
Critics of the nuclear deal with Iran point out that it will not prevent from developing the bomb. The international verification regime is not effective. The United States should update the Cold War policy of deterrence to ensure that Iran does not violate the agreement.
Containing North Korea, Harry J. Kazianis, The National Interest, 2017
Millions of people could perish in a war with North Korea. The best solution is to follow the Cold War policy of containment.
Getting What We Need with North Korea, Leon V. Sigal, Arms Control Today, 2016
North Korea’s recent nuclear and missile tests are partly driven by internal Korean politics, as Kim Jong Un pursues a strategy which seeks to develop the economy simultaneously with the construction of a nuclear capability. North Korea seeks a peace treaty before meeting the US preconditions of democratization and will not be brought to the bargaining table by sanctions.
Unit 6: Ethics and Values
Xi’s Corruption Crackdown: How Bribery and Graft Threaten the Chinese Dream, James Leung, Foreign Affairs, 2015
Chinese President Xi Jinping has cast corruption as an existential threat. Corruption can lead to the collapse of the Chinese Communist party and the downfall of the state. Corruption is a deeply rooted cultural phenomenon.
Latin Americans Stand Up to Corruption: The Silver Lining in a Spate of Scandals, Jorge G. Castañeda, Foreign Affairs, 2016
Latin American states, such as Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Chile, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Argentina, are fighting corruption and kleptocracy, due to a growing middle class, democratization, and foreign involvement, and a decline in economic growth.
Race in the Modern World: The Problem of the Color Line, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Foreign Affairs, 2015
The author discusses various efforts that have been made over the years to define race, with a great deal of emphasis placed on the work of W. E. B. Du Bois. Du Bois discussed race as a transnational phenomenon as illustrated by demonstrations in Nigeria protesting the shooting by a police officer of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri.
The End of Human Rights? David Rieff, Foreign Policy, 2018
Human rights are threatened by the rise of populism. The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and the International Criminal Court are doctrines that are not in the world as it actually exists.
Where Myanmar Went Wrong: From Democratic Awakening to Ethnic Cleansing, Zoltan Barany, Foreign Affairs, 2018
Suu Kyi’s government has no power over the army and can do little to end the brutal military campaign against the Rohingya.
The Pyrrhic Victories of Venezuela’s President, Alejandro Velasco, Current History, 2018
There was a major shift in Venezuela’s political dynamics in 2017, as it has been subjected to a wave of unprecedented social unrest, just when President Maduro seems to have consolidated his power. The government’s success in consolidating political power is a Pyrrhic victory.
The Age of Insecurity: Can Democracy Save Itself? Ronald Inglehart, Foreign Affairs, 2018
The world has experienced the most severe decline in democracy with the rise of populism and authoritarianism since the emergence of fascism in the 1930s, due to rising income inequality, the clash between material and post-material values, the rise of an automated economy, and the reaction of older and less well-off people to growing numbers of immigrants and refugees.
Democracy and Its Discontents, John Shattuck, The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 2016
Illiberal democracy, which places more emphasis on national identity and centralization of power in the state, marks a regression from the values of pluralism of liberal democracy. East European states such as Poland and Hungary have rejected the values of liberal democracy as represented by the European Union.
The Global Challenge of the Refugee Exodus, Gallya Lahav, Current History, 2016
The author looks at the refugee crisis within the context of globalization and recommends that it be dealt with in a holistic fashion. Efforts to restrict the flow of refugees contradict the basic values of mobility of free movement, on which the European movement was founded.
Just and Unjust Leaks: When to Spill Secrets, Michael Walzer, Foreign Affairs, 2018
Citizens need to know the difference between just and unjust secrets and between just and unjust deception. The exposure of government secrets and lies may be in the public interest and democratic government.
