Harvard Kennedy School of Government Politics and Ethics of Statecraft (IGA 112) Fall 2015 M/W 4:15-5:30 Littauer Building, L280 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 selected 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 19 (3.) Oral Exam: Based on Lectures and Readings (Sep 4 thru Nov 12); Exam Given (Nov 13 25); (25 pts) (4.) Research Paper (20-25 pages) due: Dec 19 (5.) Grading Policy: HKS guidelines for grading III. Required Text and Class Format (1.) Text: All readings ON LINE (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 4 9) A. Introduction B. System, State and Statesmen C. Ethics and International Relations Part Two: Statesmen and Statecraft (Sept 14 Nov 30) A. Otto von Bismarck: Reshaping the European Order (Sept 14 21) B. Woodrow Wilson: Creating a Legacy in War and Peace (Sept 23 30) C. John F. Kennedy: Between Containment and Catastrophe (Oct 5 7) D. Charles degaulle: Maximal Goals and Minimal Means (Oct 14 21) E. Henry Kissinger: Theory and Practice of Diplomacy (Oct 26 Nov 2) F. Liberal Statecraft: Blair, Mandela, Obama (Nov 4 30) Conclusion: Dec 2 IV. Required Readings Sept 4-9: 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. Sept 14-16: 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 16-21: 1. O. von Bismarck, The Memoirs, vol. II (N.Y.: H. Fertig, 1966) pp. 251-284; 285-296. 2. D. Thompson, Europe Since Napoleon (N.Y.: A.A. Knopf, 1962) pp.488-508. 3. James Sheehan, The Bloody Details: Who Was to Blame for World War I Commonweal 141 (May 2, 2014) pp. 20-22. Sept 23: 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) Sept 28-30: 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 5: 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 7: 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 W ars: Berlin, Cuba, Laos and Vietnam (N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 2000) pp. 287-341 3. John F. Kennedy, Commencement Address at American University (June 10, 1963) Oct 14-19: 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 21: 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 Oct 26: 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. Oct 28 Nov 2: 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 4. H.A. Kissinger, World Order (N.Y.: Penguin Press, 2014) pp. 170-211
Nov 4-9: 1. Stanley Hoffmann, World Disorders: Troubled Peace in the Post-Cold War Era (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 1998) pp. 70-86 2. Tony Blair, A Journey: My Political Life (N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010) pp. 371-412; 438-475 3. Tony Blair, Our Values and Theirs, Foreign Affairs 86 (Jan-Feb. 2007) pp. 79-90. Nov 16-18: 1. Anthony Sampson, Mandela: The Authorized Biography (N.Y: Vintage Books 1999) pp. 401-405,; 547-559: 560-570 2. Nelson Mandela in His Own Words (N.Y.: Little Brown and Company, 2003) pp. 18-26; 68-70; 133-136; 148-151; 507-510; 511-516; 517-523 Nov 23-30: 1. Barack Obama, Nobel Address (Oslo 2009) 2. Barack Obama, Prague Address (April 15, 2009) 3. Barack Obama, Cairo Address (June 4, 2009) 4. Barack Obama, U.S. Military Academy (May 28, 2014) All Obama Addresses on White House website.