Spring 2021  |  POL 1026 Section 001: U.S. Foreign Policy (51478)

Instructor(s)
Class Component:
Lecture
Credits:
3 Credits
Grading Basis:
Student Option
Instructor Consent:
No Special Consent Required
Instruction Mode:
Completely Online
Class Attributes:
Online Course
Times and Locations:
Regular Academic Session
 
01/19/2021 - 05/03/2021
Tue, Thu 11:15AM - 12:30PM
Off Campus
UMN REMOTE
Enrollment Status:
Closed (84 of 83 seats filled)
Also Offered:
Course Catalog Description:
The United States is the most powerful country in the world. This makes the question of what the role in the U.S. is in the world and how the United States interacts with other countries, international organizations, and other actors in international politics a question of real importance. US foreign policy will play a crucial role in determining the world we live in four, ten, and fifty years time. As a result, we should all try to better understand how the United States behaves in international politics, why it behaves in that way, how it should behave, and how it has behaved in the past. These are the questions that this class tackles. For example, we'll ask: why does the United States play such an active role in world politics? Might this change in the future and how has US foreign policy varied in the past? What do past conflicts in which the United States has been involved tell us about current U.S. foreign policy? Why is the United States so often at war despite being so militarily secure? Does the rise of China pose a threat to the United States and if so, what should the United States do about it? How serious is the threat of cyber war? Why does the United States care so much about stopping other countries from getting nuclear weapons?
Class Notes:
This course is completely online in a synchronous format. The course will meet online at the scheduled times. http://classinfo.umn.edu/?msbell+POL1026+Spring2021
Class Description:
The United States is the most powerful country in the world. This makes the question of the U.S. role in the world--how the United States interacts with other countries, international organizations, and other actors in international politics--a question of real importance. As a new presidential administration comes into power promising to shake up US foreign policy, US foreign policy will play a crucial role in determining the world we live in four, ten, and fifty years time. As a result, we should all try to better understand how the United States behaves in international politics, why it behaves in that way, how it should behave, and how it has behaved in the past.

These are the questions that this class tackles. For example, we'll ask: why does the United States play such an active role in world politics? Might this change in the future and how has US foreign policy varied in the past? What do past conflicts in which the United States has been involved tell us about current U.S. foreign policy? Why is the United States so often at war despite being so militarily secure? Does the rise of China pose a threat to the United States and if so, what should the United States do about it? How serious is the threat of cyber war? Why does the United States care so much about stopping other countries from getting nuclear weapons? How unusual is Donald Trump's foreign policy?

The course begins by introducing a number of theories that help shed light on different American foreign policies. We will then examine how U.S. foreign policies have evolved over time with particular attention to the ideas that have motivated broad currents in American foreign policy. We will conclude by examining a series of current foreign policy issues that the United States faces. Although the class is separated into these three sections, this distinction is somewhat artificial. In examining the theories, we will discuss whether historical events seem to validate or disconfirm those theories. When we discuss historical events we will ask which theories seem to explain these events best. And when analyzing current policy issues we will ask what the different theories suggest that the United States will do in response to these challenges and which policy options are in line with the ways in which the United States has conducted foreign policy in the past.

Students who complete this course will be able to critically analyze the major dynamics shaping U.S. foreign policy today, understand the theories that help shed light on U.S. actions in the world, and understand how U.S. foreign policy today has changed (or stayed the same) over time. This class is ambitious: we are going to cover a lot of ground and many of the topics we will spend a week on are topics that you could take an entire semester-long class studying. The goal is to whet your appetite for future classes on international politics and U.S. foreign policy--this is just an introduction to the subject!
Who Should Take This Class?:
This is an introductory class and all students are welcome to enroll
Textbooks:
https://bookstores.umn.edu/course-lookup/51478/1213
Instructor Supplied Information Last Updated:
15 October 2019

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