Harvard Kennedy School of Government Politics and Ethics of Statecraft (IGA 112) Fall 2012 T/TH 2:40-4:00 Littauer Building, L130 Professor: J. Bryan Hehir Faculty Assistant: Rosita Scarfo Office: Belfer 123 Office: Belfer 127B Telephone: 617-384-7776 Telephone: 617-496-1739 Other: 617-746-5733 Fax: 617-495-0996 Email: Bryan_Hehir@havard.edu Email: Rosita_Scarfo@harvard.edu Office Hours: Thursday (4:30-6:30pm) I. Course Description The course is designed to examine the possibilities and limits of statecraft from a political and ethical perspective. The class will analyze the setting for statecraft (the international system), the resources available to political leaders in a state, and the margin which exists for human choice and creativity the challenge of statecraft. The method of the course will involve an examination of basic issues in statecraft and then the study of seven political leaders, assessing how they understood the system and their state and how they shaped policy at the intersection of the system and state. II. Course Requirements (1.) Preparation of Readings and Participation in Class Discussion (2.) Essay: Portrait of a Leader ; (1000 words) due: Oct 16 (15 pts) (3.) Oral Exam: Based on Lectures and Readings (Sep. 6 thru Nov 13). Exam given (Nov 14-21); (25 pts) (4.) Research Paper (20-25 pages) due: Dec 21 (60 pts) (5.) Grading Policy: HKS guidelines for grading III. Required Text and Class Format (1.) Text: All readings in Course Sourcebook (HKS) (2.) Format: Class opens with 45 minutes of guided discussion led by professor; then formal lecture
IV. Course Outline Part One: Design and Resources (Sept 6 11) A. Introduction B. System, State and Statesmen C. Ethics and International Relations Part Two: Statesmen and Statecraft (Sept 13 Dec 4) A. Otto von Bismarck: Reshaping the European Order (Sept 13 25) B. Woodrow Wilson: Creating a Legacy in War and Peace (Sept 27 Oct 9) C. John F. Kennedy: Between Containment and Catastrophe (Oct 11 23) D. Charles degaulle: Maximal Goals and Minimal Means (Oct 25 Nov 6) E. Henry Kissinger: Theory and Practice of Diplomacy (Nov 8 20) F. Liberal Statecraft: Jimmy Carter and Tony Blair (Nov 27 Dec 4) Conclusion: Dec 6 IV. Required Readings Sept 6-11: 1. Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation, in H.H. Gerth and C.W. Mills, From Max Weber:Essays in Sociology (N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 1958) pp. 77-127. 2. S. Hoffmann, Duties Beyond Borders: On the Limits and Possibilities of Ethical International Politics (N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1981) pp. 1-43. 3. A. Wolfers, Discord and Collaboration: Essays on International Politics (Baltimore: The John Hopkins Press, 1962) pp. 47-66. Sept 13-18: 1. J.P.T. Bury, ed., New Cambridge Modern History, vol. X: The Zenith of European Power, 1830-1870, Ch. 10, G. Craig, The System of Alliances and the Balance of Power, pp.246-273. 2. H.A. Kissinger, The White Revolutionary: Reflections on Bismarck, in Dankwart A.
Rustow, ed., Philosophers and Kings: Studies in Leadership (N.Y.: George Braziller, 1970) pp. 317-353. 3. J. Steinberg, Bismark: A Life (NY: Oxford University Press, 2011) pp. 464-480. Sept 20-25: 1. O. von Bismarck, The Memoirs, vol. II (N.Y.: H. Fertig, 1966) pp. 36-86; 251-284. 2. D. Thompson, Europe Since Napoleon (N.Y.: A.A. Knopf, 1962) pp. 488-508. Sept 27 Oct 2: 1. A.S. Link, Woodrow Wilson and The Progressive Era 1910-1917 (NY: Harper and Bros. Publishers) pp. 25-80. 2. A.S. Link, Wilson Diplomatist: A look At His Major Foreign Policies (N.Y.:) pp. 3-29. 3. W. Wilson, The Messages and Papers of Woodrow Wilson (edited by Albert Shaw), (N.Y.: The Review of Reviews Corp., 1924) vols. I and II (Selected speeches) October 4-9: 1. J.M. Cooper, Jr., Woodrow Wilson: A Biography (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009) pp. 476-505 2. G. Kennan, American Diplomacy Expanded Edition, (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press,1984) pp.55-73 3. H.A. Kissinger, Diplomacy (N.Y.: Simon and Shuster, 1994) pp. 169-200. Oct 11-16: 1. R. Aron, Peace and War: A Theory of International Relations (N.Y.: Doubleday and Co., 1966) pp. 441-475; 536-574. 2. Kennedy Inaugural Address, T. Sorensen, Kennedy (N.Y.: Harper and Row, 1965) pp. 245-248. 3. R. Dalleck, An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy 1917-1963 (Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Co., 2003) pp. 328-372; 443-469. 4. T. Sorensen, Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History (NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 2008) pp. 270-285; 310-340.
Oct 18-23: 1. McGeorge, Bundy, Danger and Survival: Choices about the Bomb in the First Fifty Years (N.Y.: Random House, Inc., 1988) pp. 391-462. 2. L. Freedman, Kennedy s Wars: Berlin, Cuba, Laos and Vietnam (N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 2000) pp. 287-341 Oct 25-30: 1. Stanley and Inge Hoffmann, The Will to Grandeur: de Gaulle as Political Artist, in Dankwart A. Rustow, ed., Philosophers and Kings: Studies in Leadership (NY: George Braziller, 1970) pp. 248-316 2. C. de Gaulle, The Complete War Memoirs of Charles de Gaulle (N.Y.: Simon and Shuster, 1968) pp. 3-80. 3. Jean LaCouture, De Gaulle: The Ruler 1945-1970 (N.Y.: W.W. Norton, 1991) pp. 240-273. Nov 1-6: 1. R. Aron, The Great Debate: Theories of Nuclear Strategy (N.Y.: Doubleday Anchor, 1965) pp. 66-99; 144-193. 2. L. Freedman, The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy (Danvers: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) pp.298-314 Nov 8-13: 1. H.A. Kissinger, Nuclear Weapons and Foreign Policy (N.Y.: Doubleday Anchor, 1957) pp. 1-15; 224-252. 2. H.A. Kissinger, The White House Years (N.Y.: Little Brown and Co., 1979) pp. 54-70; 653-683. Nov 15-20: 1. W. Isaacson, Kissinger: A Biography (N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, 1992) pp. 653-672. 2. H.A. Kissinger, Diplomacy (N.Y.: Simon and Schuster 1994) pp. 804-835. 3. H.A. Kissinger, On China (NY: The Penguin Press, 2011) pp. 487-530
Nov 27 Dec 4: 1. Z. Brzezinski, Power and Principle: Memoirs of a National Security Advisor (N.Y.: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1983) pp. 48-79; 530-549. 2. J. Carter, Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President (N.Y.: Bantam Books, 1982) pp. 319-403. 3. Tony Blair, A Journey: My Political Life (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010) pp. 371-412; 438-475. 4. Lawrence Freedman, The Special Relationship: Then and Now Foreign Affairs (May- June 2006) vol. 85 #3, pp. 61-73 5. Tony Blair, Our Values and Theirs Foreign Affairs 86 (Jan Feb 2007) pp. 79-90 Conclusion: Dec. 6