HU Credits: 4

Degree/Cycle: 1st degree (Bachelor)

Responsible Department: International Relations

Semester: Yearly

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Dr. Korina Kagan

Coordinator Email: korina.kagan@mail.huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours:

Teaching Staff:
Dr. Korina Kagan

Course/Module description:
The course discusses war and peace among the major powers in the international system, and is divided into three parts. In the first part, we will analyze the major approaches and theories toward war and peace among the major powers. In the second part, we will apply these approaches to a range of historical cases of great power war and peace in the last 200 years. In the third part, we will discuss the expectations concerning great power war and peace in the current era.

Course/Module aims:
The course aims to develop a deep and critical understanding of the major competing approaches and theories to international war and peace, as well as the ability to apply them to analyzing both historical and current processes and events in the international system in the area of war and peace.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
To gain a deep knowledge of the major approaches and theories in International Relations in the field of war and peace; to be able to compare and contrast the various theoretical approaches to the study of war and peace; to criticize the various approaches in the light of competing approaches; to apply the approaches to the analysis of historical and current processes and events in the fields of war and peace; and to assess the relative success of the various theoretical approaches in explaining past and present cases of war and peace among the major powers in International Relations.

Attendance requirements(%):
80% of the classes

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: Lecture

Course/Module Content:
The Course Plan

Part 1: Theoretical Approaches to Great Power War and Peace

1. Introduction: the great powers and major wars
2. The major competing theoretical perspectives to the study of war and peace in International Relations
3. The various realist explanations of great power war and peace
4. The types of international systems and their influence on war and peace
5. Democratic Peace Theory and its critics
6. Commercial Peace Theory and its critics
7. The role of norms and culture in war and peace
8. The debate over the role of international institutions in war and peace

Part 2: Great Power War and Peace since 1815

9. The “Long Peace” of the 19th century: the Concert of Europe and its end
10. The causes of the First World War
11. The interwar period, the Western policy of appeasement, and the causes of the Second World War
12. The causes of the outbreak of the Cold War
13. The “Long Peace” of the Cold War: why has there been no World War 3?
14. The surprisingly peaceful end of the Cold War

Part 3: War and Peace in the Current Era and in the Future

15. The Unipolar peace? The US as a global hegemon
16. Toward a systemic change: the US decline and the rise of China
17. The future US – China relations: Is conflict inevitable? Is major war possible?
18. Have major wars finally become obsolete?

Required Reading:
The Reading List


Part 1: Theoretical Approaches to Great Power War and Peace


Introduction

Stephen Walt, “International Relations: One World, Many Theories”, Foreign Policy, no. 110 (1998), pp. 29-46.

Jack Snyder, “One World, Rival Theories”, Foreign Policy, no. 145 (2004), pp. 52-62.


Competing Realist Explanations of Great Power War and Peace

Kenneth Waltz, “The Origins of War in Neorealist Theory”, Journal of Interdisciplinary History, vol. 18, no. 4 (1988), pp. 615-628.

John Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (New York: Norton, 2001), pp. 1-54.


Types of International Systems and Their Influence on War and Peace

Kenneth Waltz, “The Stability of a Bipolar World”, Daedalus, vol. 93, no. 3 (1964), pp. 881-909.

Karl Deutsch and David Singer, “Multipolar Power Systems and International Stability”, World Politics, vol. 16, no. 3 (1964), pp. 390-406.






Democratic Peace Theory

Francis Fukuyama, “The End of History?” The National Interest, no. 16, summer 1989, pp. 3-18.

Zeev Maoz and Bruce Russett, “Structural and Normative Causes of Peace between Democracies”, American Political Science Review, vol. 87, no. 3 (1993), pp. 624-638.



Commercial Peace Theory

Dale Copeland, “Economic Interdependence and War: A Theory of Trade Expectations”, International Security, vol. 20, no. 4 (1996), pp. 5-41.



The Influence of Strategic Culture and International Norms on War and Peace

Michael Desch, “Culture Clash: Assessing the Importance of Ideas in Security Studies”, International Security, vol. 23, no. 1 (1998), pp. 141-170.



The Debate on the Influence of International Institutions on War and Peace


John Mearsheimer, “The False Promise of International Institutions”, International Security, vol. 19, no. 3 (1994/95), pp. 5-49.









Part 2: Great Power War and Peace since 1815


The Causes of the First World War

Keir Lieber, “The New History of Word War 1 and What It Means for International Relations
Theory”, International Security, vol. 32, no. 2 (Fall 2007), pp. 107-146.

Jack Snyder and Keir Lieber, “Defensive Realism and the ‘New’ History of World War 1”, International Security, vol. 33, no. 1 (Summer 2008), pp. 174-194.


The Interwar Period, the Policy of Appeasement, and the Causes of the Second World War

Norrin Ripsman and Jack Levy, “Wishful Thinking or Buying Time? The Logic of British Appeasement in the 1930s”, International Security, vol. 33, no. 2 (Fall 2008), pp. 148-181.


The Causes of the Cold War

John Lewis Gaddis, “The Emerging Post-Revisionist Synthesis on the Origins of the Cold War”, Diplomatic History, vol. 7, no. 3 (1983), pp. 171-190.


Why Was There No World War 3? The Cold War Becoming the “Long Peace”

John Gaddis, “The Long Peace: Elements of Stability in the Postwar International System”, International Security, vol. 10, no.4 (1986), pp. 99-142.




The Surprisingly Peaceful End of the Cold War

Richard Ned Lebow, “The Long Peace, the End of the Cold War, and the Failure of Realism”, International Organization, vol. 48, no.2 (1994), pp. 249-278.


Stephen Brooks and William Wohlforth, “Power, Globalization and the End of the Cold War: Reevaluating a Landmark Case for Ideas”, International Security, vol. 25, no.3 (2000/01), pp. 5-53.


Part 3: The Current Era and the Future

The Unipolar Peace? The US as a Global Hegemon

William Wohlforth, “The Stability of a Unipolar World”, International Security, vol. 24, no.1 (Summer 1999), pp. 5-41.

Charles Kegley, “The Neoidealist Moment in International Studies? Realist Myths and the New International Realities”, International Studies Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 2 (1993), pp. 131-146.

Robert Jervis, “Theories of War in an Era of Leading-Power Peace”, American Political Science Review, vol. 96, no. 1 (2002), pp. 1-14.


Toward a Systemic Change: US Decline and the Rise of China

Josef Joffe, “The Default Power: The False Prophecy of America’s Decline”, Foreign Affairs, vol. 88, no. 5 (2009), pp. 21-35.

Arvind Subramanian, “The Inevitable Superpower: Why China’s Dominance Is a Sure Thing,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 90, No. 5 (September/October 2011), pp. 66–78.

Christopher Layne, “This Time It’s Real: The End of Unipolarity and the Pax Americana”, International Studies Quarterly, vol. 56 (2012), pp. 203-213

Michael Beckley, “China's Century? Why America's Edge Will Endure”, International Security, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Winter 2011/12), pp. 41–78;

Joseph Nye, “The Twenty-First Century Will Not Be a ‘Post-American’ World”, International Studies Quarterly, vol. 56 (2012), pp. 215-217.

Salvatore Babones, “The Middling Kingdom: The Hype and Reality of China’s Rise”, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 90, No. 5 (September/October 2011), pp. 79–88.

Future US – China Relations: Is Conflict Inevitable? Is a Major War Possible?

Aaron Friedberg, “The Future of US – China Relations: Is Conflict Inevitable?” International Security, vol. 30, no. 2 (2005), pp. 7-45.

John Mearsheimer, “The Gathering Storm: China’s Challenge to US Power in Asia”, Chinese Journal of International Politics, vol. 3, no. 4 (2010), pp. 381-96.


Avery Goldstein, “First Things First: The Pressing Danger of Crisis Instability in US – China Relations”, International Security, vol. 37, no. 4 (2013), pp. 49-89.

Ja Chong and Todd Hall, “The Lessons of 1914 for East Asia Today: Missing the Trees for the Forest”, International Security, vol. 39, no. 1 (Summer 2014), pp. 7-43.

Adam Liff and 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.

Charles Glaser, “A US – China Grand Bargain? The Hard Choice between Military Competition and Accommodation”, International Security, vol. 39, no. 4 (Spring 2015), pp. 49-90.


Have Major Wars Become Obsolete?

Michael Mandelbaum, “Is Major War Obsolete?” Survival, vol. 40, no. 4 (1998/99), pp. 20-38.

Mark Haas, “A Geriatric Peace? The Future of US Power in a World of Aging Populations”, International Security, vol. 32, no. 1 (Summer 2007), pp. 112-147.

Azar Gat, “The Return of Authoritarian Great Powers”, Foreign Affairs, vol. 86, no. 4 (July-August 2007), pp. 59-69.

James Ray, “The Abolition of Slavery and the End of International War”, International Organization, vol. 43, no.3 (1989), pp. 405-440.

Michael Mandelbaum at al., “Is Major War Obsolete? An Exchange”, Survival, vol. 41, no. 2 (1999), pp.139-152.


Carl Kaysen, “Is War Obsolete? A Review Essay”, International Security, vol. 14, no.4 (1990), pp. 42-64.

Christopher Fettweis, “A Revolution in International Relations Theory: Or, What If Mueller Is Right?” International Studies Review, vol. 8, no. 4 (2006), pp. 677-697.

Daniel Deudney and John Ikenberry, “The Myth of the Autocratic Revival: Why Liberal Democracy Will Prevail”, Foreign Affairs, vol. 88, no. 1 (January-February 2009), pp. 77-93.


Azar Gat et al., “Which Way Is History Marching? Debating the Authoritarian Revival”, Foreign Affairs, vol. 88, no. 4 (July-August 2009), pp. 150-159.

Azar Gat, “Review Essay: Is War Declining – and Why?” Journal of Peace Research, vol. 50, no. 2 (March 2013), pp. 149-157.

Additional Reading Material:

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 75 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 25 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information: