Harvard Kennedy School of Government Politics and Ethics of Statecraft (IGA 206) Fall 2010 T/TH 1:10-2:30pm Weil Town Hall, Belfer Building 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 (3:00-5:00pm) 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 26 (15 pts) (3.) Oral Exam (Mid-Term): Based on Lectures and Readings (Sep. 7 thru Nov 9). Given Nov 16 thru 25 (25 pts) (4.) Research Paper (20-25 pages) due: Dec 22 nd (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 2 14) A. Introduction B. System, State and Statesmen C. Ethics and International Relations Part Two: Statesmen and Statecraft (Sept 16 Nov 30) A. Otto von Bismarck: Reshaping the European Order (Sept 16 23) B. Woodrow Wilson: Creating a Legacy in War and Peace (Sept 28 Oct 5) C. John F. Kennedy: Between Containment and Catastrophe (Oct 7-19) D. Charles degaulle: Maximal Goals and Minimal Means (Oct 21-28) E. Henry Kissinger: Theory and Practice of Diplomacy (Nov 2-9) F. Liberal Statecraft: Jimmy Carter and Tony Blair (Nov 16-30) Conclusion: Dec 2 IV. Required Readings Sept 2-14: 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 16-21: 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. Sept 21-23: 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 28 30: 1. A.S. Link, Woodrow Wilson and The Progressive Era 1910-1917 (NY: Harper and Bros. Publishers) pp. 25-80. 2. J.M. Mulder, A Gospel of Order: Woodrow Wilson s Religion and Politics, in J.M. Cooper, Jr. and C.E. Neu, eds., The Wilson Era: Essays in Honor of Arthur S. Link (Arlington Heights, ILL: Harlan Davidson, Inc. 1991) pp. 223-247. 3. A.S. Link, Wilson Diplomatist: A look At His Major Foreign Policies (N.Y.:) pp. 3-29. Sept 30 Oct 5: 1. 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) 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 7-12: 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 12-19: 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 21-26: 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. Oct 26-28: 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 2-4: 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 4-9: 1. H.A. Kissinger, Years of Upheaval (N.Y.: Little Brown and Co., 1982), pp. 979-1031. 2. W. Isaacson, Kissinger: A Biography (N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, 1992), pp. 653-672. 3. H.A. Kissinger, Diplomacy (N.Y.: Simon and Schuster 1994), pp. 804-835.
Nov 16-30: 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. J. Kampfner, Blair s Wars (N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, 2003), pp. 36-61; 129-151; 329-351. 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. 2