Topic: American grand strategy in international affairs and the future of American power in the international system
Order Description
Paper Topic:

Making maximum use of relevant assigned course readings, write an analytical paper identifying/ summarizing/evaluating major contemporary debates about American grand strategy in international affairs and the future of American power in the international system. Discuss the implications of the arguments in these debates for American strategy towards rising/resurgent powers like China or Russia.

Paper Instructions:

Paper Guidelines
1. Paper length—about 20 pages including references.

2. Papers should be double spaced, using a font like Times New Roman, 12pt

3. Focus on the assigned course readings. If you want to use an outside source, please consult me first.

4. Avoid lengthy direct quotations. It is always better to put ideas/examples from the readings in your own words.

5. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. When you use ideas and examples from the readings, please make sure to cite your sources by:

a. Putting the name of the author, the year of publication of the book/article, and the page number immediately after the sentence that refers to the idea/example from the reading in question. (If you cannot determine the page number, do not include it.)
Example: (Mearsheimer 2014, 9)

or

b. Putting full name of the book/article and page number in the footnote following the sentence that refers to the idea/example from the reading in question:

Example: John S. Mearsheimer, “America Unhinged,” The National Interest No. 129 (January/February 2014), 9.

6. Include the alphabetical list of sources used at the end of the paper

7. Papers are due (hard copy), Thursday, May 19, 4 pm at the PAJ helpdesk (5th floor
PROCESS IN WHICH PAPER SHOULD BE EXPLORED: Notes from lecture on paper. Authors mentioned are in list of articles in course readings below.

Global dominance, offshore balancing,
1) Optimal Grand strategy (Theorectical Foundations can be discussed here Waltz, ): Authors- Mearsheimer contrast Layne, Posen/Ross list possibilities and then what is optimal: global dominance, real debate between offshore balancing and deep engagement.
2) Criteria for the use of force overseas: Authors- Powell Article La Faber Jervis, Fukuyama, Kaufman Powell Doctrine(realist), Bush Doctrine(neo conservative), Obama Doctrine, Mansfied/Snyder ,Benjamin Miller
3) Sustainability of Unipolarity: Author: Reading 5 Wilfork (Heavy Reading he says very theoretical) readings talk about if it is able to survive (linked with American primacy) Primacist vs declinists Author Brooks/Wohlforth
4) Future of American Primacy
5) Dealing with rising powers such as China and resurgent powers such as Russia (not really resurging).
6) Sources of American power (hard power or soft power) liberal theory and so forth.
7) Resistence to American power or how constrained is the United States in security choices or foreign policy choices. Waltz, Pape, Paul
Only articles to be used for reference:

1. Kay, Global Security, Chapters 1-3

2. *Kenneth N. Waltz, “Structural Realism after the Cold War,” International Security, Vol. 25, No. 1. (Summer 2000), pp. 5-41
3. *Christopher Layne, “The “Poster Child for Offensive Realism”: America as a Global Hegemon,” Security Studies Vol. 12, No. 2 (Winter 2002/2003), pp. 120-164.

4. *G. John Ikenberry, “Liberal Internationalism 3.0: America and the Dilemmas of Liberal World Order,” Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 7, No. 1 (March 2009), pp. 71-87

5. *Christopher Layne, “Kant or Cant: the Myth of Democratic Peace,” International Security, Vol. 19, no. 2, 1994, pp. 5-49.

6. *Edward D. Mansfield and Jack Snyder, “Democratization and the Danger of War,” International Security, vol. 20, no.1, 1995, pp. 5-38

7. *Barry R. Posen, Andrew L. Ross, “Competing Visions for U.S. Grand Strategy,” International Security, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Winter 1996-1997), pp. 5-53

8. *John J. Mearsheimer, “Imperial by Design,” National Interest (January—February 2011), pp. 16-34

9. *Stephen Sestanovich, “American Maximalism”, The National Interest, No.79 (Spring 2005), pp. 13-23
10. *Colin Dueck, “Hybrid Strategies: The American Experience,” Orbis, Vol. 55, No 1 (Winter 2011) , pp. 30-52

Weeks 6-9

(February 29—March 25)

*Please note that we will not meet March 8 due to my conference travel

Lessons of the Containment Strategy

Debating American Security Strategy after the Cold War and 9/11

Contemporary Security Threats

Paper Topic Assigned (March 24)

1. *X (George Kennan), “The Sources of Soviet Conduct,” Foreign Affairs, July 1947, pp. 566- 582

2. *Graham Allison, “The Cuban Missile Crisis at 50,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 91, No. 4 (July/August 2012), pp. 11-16
3. *Stephen G. Brooks and William C. Wohlforth, “Power, Globalization and the End of the Cold War,” International Security, Vol. 25 No. 3 (Winter 2000/01), pp. 5-53

4. *John Mueller, “What was the Cold War About? Evidence from Its Ending,” Political Science Quarterly vol. 119, No. 4, 2004/2005, pp. 601-631

5. *William C. Wohlforth, “The Stability of Unipolar World,” International Security, Vol. 24, No.1 (Summer 1999), pp. 5-41
6. *Walter LaFeber, “The Rise and Fall of Colin Powell and Powell Doctrine,” Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 124, No. 1, 2009, pp. 71-93.

7. *Benjamin Miller, “Explaining Changes in U.S. Grand Strategy: 9/11, the Rise
of Offensive Liberalism, and the War in Iraq”, Security Studies, Vol. 19, No.1, 2010

8. *Francis Fukuyama, “The Neoconservative Moment,” National Interest (Summer 2004), pp. 57-68.

9. *Robert Jervis “Why the Bush Doctrine Cannot Be Sustained,” Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 120 No. 3, 2005, pp. 351-377.

10. * Melvyn P. Leffler, “9/11 in Retrospect. George W. Bush’s Grand Strategy, Reconsidered,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 90, No. 5 (September/October 2011) , pp. 33-44

11. *Amy B. Zegart, “September 11 and the Adaptation Failure of U.S. Intelligence Agencies,” International Security, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Spring 2005), pp. 78–111

12. *John Mueller and Mark Stewart, “The Terrorism Delusion. America’s Overwrought response to September 11,” International Security, Vol. 37, No. 1 (Summer 2012), pp. 81–110
13. *Robert A. Pape, “Soft Balancing Against the United States,” International Security, vol. 30, no 1 (Summer 2005), pp. 7-45

14. *T.V. Paul, “Soft Balancing in the Age of U.S. Primacy,” International Security, vol. 30, no 1 (Summer 2005), pp. 46-71

15. *Stephen G. Brooks and William C. Wohlforth, “Hard Times for Soft Balancing,” International Security, vol. 30, no 1 (Summer 2005), pp. 72-110

16. *Stephen M. Walt, “Taming American Power” Foreign Affairs. Sep/Oct 2005. Vol. 84, No. 5 (September/October 2005)
17. * Robert G. Kaufman, “Prudence and the Obama Doctrine,” Orbis, Summer 2014, pp. 441-459

18. *Nuno P. Monteiro, “Unrest Assured. Why Unipolarity is Not Peaceful,” International Security, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Winter 2011/12), pp. 9-40.
19. * Nuno P. Monteiro and Alexandre Debs, “ The Strategic Logic of Nuclear Proliferation,” International Security, Volume 39, Number 2, Fall 2014, pp. 7-51

20. Kay, Global Security, Chapters 6-9
Spring Break

(March 28 -April 3)

Weeks 10–12

(April 4 -April 22)

*Please note that we will not meet April 7 due to my conference travel
National Security and Rising Great Powers
1. Kay, Global Security, Chapters 4-5

2. *Aaron L. Friedberg, “The Debate Over US China Strategy”, Survival,
57:3, 2015, 89-110.

3. *Jonathan Holslag, “The Smart Revisionist,” Survival, 56:5, 2014, 95-116.

.
4. *Michael Pillsbury, “The Sixteen Fears: China’s Strategic Psychology”, Survival, 54:5, 2012, 149-182.
5. *Randall L. Schweller and Xiaoyu Pu, “After Unipolarity: China’s Visions of an International Order in an Era of U.S. Decline,” International Security, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Summer 2011), pp. 41–72

6. *Andrew J. Nathan and Andrew Scobell, “How China Sees America. The Sum of Beijing’s Fears,” Foreign Affairs vol. 91 No. 5 (September/October 2012), 32-47
7. *Avery Goldstein, “China’s Real and Present Danger: Now Is the Time for Washington to Worry” Foreign Affairs Vol. 92. No. 5 (September/October 2013), pp. 136-144
8. *Ashley J. Tellis, “Balancing without Containment: A U.S. Strategy for Confronting China’s Rise, The Washington Quarterly, Vol. 36, No.4, 2013, 109-124

9. *Christopher Layne, “Sleepwalking With Beijing,” The National Interest No. 137 (May/June 2015), pp. 37-45.

10. *John S. Mearsheimer, “Taiwan’s Dire Straits,” The National Interest, No. 130 (March/April 2014), pp. 29-39.

11. *Evan Montgomery. “Contested Primacy in the Western Pacific: China’s Rise and the Future of the U.S. Power Projection,” International Security, Volume 38, Number 4, Spring 2014, pp. 115-149

12. *Adam P. Liff and G. John Ikenberry, “Racing toward Tragedy? China’s Rise, Military Competition in the Asia Pacific, and the Security Dilemma,” International Security, Vol. 39, No. 2 (Fall 2014), pp. 52–91

13. *Graham Allison and Dimitri K. Simes, “Stumbling to War,” The National Interest No. 137, (May/June 2015), pp. 9-2
14. *Thomas Graham, “The Sources of Russia’s Insecurity,” Survival, Vol. 52, No. 1 (February-March 2010), pp. 55-74
15. * John Mearsheimer, “Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault:
The Liberal Delusions That Provoked Putin,” Foreign Affairs, September/October 2014, pp. 77-89.
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Weeks 13-15

(April 25—May 13)

Debating Future National Security Strategy

1. *Stephen M. Walt, “The End of the American Era,” The National Interest, November/December 2011, pp. 6-16

2. *Christopher Layne, “This Time It’s Real: The End of Unipolarity and Pax Americana,” International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 56, No. 1, 2012, pp. 203-213

3. *John S. Mearsheimer, “America Unhinged,” The National Interest No. 129 (January/February 2014), pp. 9-30
4. *Paul K. MacDonald and Joseph M. Parent, “Graceful Decline? The Surprising Success of Great Power Retrenchment,” International Security, Vol. 35, No. 4 (Spring 2011), pp. 7–44
5. *Joseph M. Parent and Paul MacDonald, “The Wisdom of Retrenchment,” Foreign Affairs Vol. 90, No. 6 (November/December 2011), pp. 32-47
6. *Michael Beckley, “China’s Century? While America’s Edge Will Endure,” International Security, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Winter 2011/12), pp. 41–78

7. *Steven G. Brooks, G. John Ikenberry and William C. Wohlforth, “Don’t Come Home, America. The Case Against Retrenchment,” International Security, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Winter 2012/13), pp. 7–51

8. *Stephen Brooks, G. John Ikenberry, and William C. Wohlforth, “Lean Forward. In Defense of American Engagement,” Foreign Affairs Vol. 92 No. 1 (January/February 2013), 130-142

9. *Barry Posen, “Pull Back. The Case for a Less Activist Foreign Policy,” Foreign Affairs Vol. 92 No. 1 (January/February 2013), 116-128

10. *Daniel W. Drezner, “Military Primacy Doesn’t Pay” International Security, Volume 38, Number 1, Summer 2013, pp. 52-79

11. *James Goldgeier & Jeremi Suri, “Revitalizing the U.S. National Security Strategy”, The Washington Quarterly, 38:4, 2015, 35-55.