Isolationism and interventionism as forms of defining American view of the world 4219-SF062

Here is a list of major issues we will be dealing with:

1. religious foundations of the American vision of the world

2. neutrality as a reaction to conflicts during the revolution - Washington's message to posterity

3. a sense of mission in American foreign policy - manifest destiny as a justification for American presence in the international arena

4. the US entering the central place in world politics at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries

5. a review of the most important doctrines in American foreign policy

6. searching for the foundations of lasting peace - American idealism

7. economic and social sources of withdrawal from the world in the interwar period as a pattern of selfish thinking about the world

8. just (and unjust) wars as a source of reflection

9. legitimizing foreign policy

10. forms of US involvement in the international arena - America as an enemy and as an ally

11. the relationship between values and interests as a driving force of the American role in the world

12. the end of the Cold War as a time of redefinition of the American role in the world: obligations, opportunities, doubts,

13. America's weariness with the world and the advent of the post-American world

14. America First as a Manifestation of the Isolationist American Soul

Type of course

elective courses

Mode

Classroom
Blended learning

Prerequisites (description)

The aim of the course is to make students aware of the fact that American foreign policy is always a choice between engagement and withdrawal. The decision on the choice of strategy belongs to elites and citizens, depending on their perspective on the world, the socio-economic situation and events in the US environment. The course is to allow students to understand that the clash of isolationist tendencies with the desire to engage in world politics is a constant element creating the dynamics of American politics. The course will also show that isolationism as a constant element of the "American soul" is subject to fluctuations.

Course coordinators

Bohdan Szklarski

Learning outcomes

KNOWLEDGE: the student will know the basic events in the history of American foreign policy
The student will learn the most important ways in which American foreign policy was created
The student will understand the factors influencing American foreign policy, especially in terms of decisions to intervene or withdraw
The student will learn how the world is perceived by political elites in the USA
SKILLS: the student will be able to recognize important information about American foreign policy from the flood of information in the modern world
The student will be able to recognize and analyze the causes and effects of US decisions and behaviors in the international arena
The student will be able to search for and organize materials from the archives of institutions that decide on US foreign policy and from organizations such as think tanks and pressure groups that influence this policy
The student will be able to apply theories and models of foreign policy to explain current events in the international arena
COMPETENCIES: the student will be able to independently organize collected materials
The student will learn the value of working in a group
the student will present his/her thoughts in a public forum, learn to respond to criticism and incorporate selected proposals into his/her own research
the student will be able to write short analyses/reports on US foreign policy

Assessment criteria

The final assessment will consist of four elements:
1. A group presentation on a specific decision/policy illustrating the worldview of the actors involved in its creation and implementation (30%)
2. Written accreditation essays during the last class in the form of Open Book (students use their own notes and texts, but not the Internet). The response will be in the form of short analytical essay(s) (40%).
3. Doing some homework related to current events on the international stage and in Washington (15%)
4. Active participation in class discussions and commenting on the presentations of groupmates (15%)

Bibliography

We will read chapters from the following books and on top of it relevant articles from academic journals
Charles Kupchan, Isolationism. A history of America's efforts to shield itself from the World, Oxford University Press, 2020
Robert Kagan, Dangerous Nation. America and the World 1600-1898, Atlantic Books, 2006
David Sylvan, Steven Majeski, U.S. Foreign Policy in Perspective. Clients, enemies and empire, Routledge, 2009
Roger Hillsman, The Politics of Policy making in Defense and Foreign Affairs. Conceptual Models and Bureaucratic Politics, Prentice Hall 1990 or later edition
Steven Hook, John Spanier, American Foreign Policy after World War II, CQ Press, 2000 or later edition

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 4219-SF062 in USOSweb