Interventionism in the History of American Foreign Policy 4219-SG104
This course examines military and political actions undertaken by various American administrations against nations with which the U.S. was not at war at the time. In every such case the aim was to compel the states in question to change their position radically in accordance with United States' interest. Such actions, known as interventions in international law, were and are typical for the foreign policy of Great Powers since the Antiquity. The U.S.A. from its very beginning was believed by Americans to be one of those Powers. And so, as early as the end of the 18th Century, the right and duty to intervene when and where the American rights or interests were in danger was accepted by leaders in Washington. Almost all the history of U.S. foreign policy is marked by various kinds of interventions in the other countries' affairs. Sometimes they were peaceful, and sometimes took form of classical military operations or even regular wars. They were marked with successes or failures. Their times were those of great or local wars or of peace. The list of places where Americans intervened, or are intervening now, is long and contains both North and Latin American, as well as African, Asian and European local names. Political and military aspects of such events will be studied on the basis of specific cases in a chronological arrangement. From the beginning of the American nationhood until today the chosen cases of intervention will be analyzed against their political, diplomatic, ideological, and military background.
Subjects discussed:
- Interventions in American foreign policy up to the Monroe Dopctrine, 1823
- The Splendid Little Wa of 1898r with Spain and her effects
- The Big Stick Policy and Dollar Diplomacy: US interventions in Latin America, 1900-1917
- Guarding the Open Door: the USA and China, 1899-1928
- The Good Neighborhood: New Latin American Policy of the USA, 1933-1945
- The Containment: Fighting Communist Expansion, 1948-1991
- The post-Cold War interventions
Type of course
Learning outcomes
On comletion of this course student:
1. KNOWLEDGE
a/ Has an in-depth knowledge of the history of US foreign policy
b/ Analyzes the various forms of interventionism in ointernational relations
c/ Recognizes the complex relations of the USA with weaker partners and their changes in history
2.SKILLS
a/ Idetifies and recognizes the connections between the domestic situation of the USA and methods used in its foreign policy
b/ Is able to explain, using the primary sources, the reasons for concrete interventionist steps of the American Administrations in the history of their foreign policies
c/ Formulates his/her own opinions on American understandings of interventionism in history
3. SOCIAL COMPETENCES
a/ Understands and appreciates the role of interventions in the history of American and other Powers' policy versus given regions and nations
b/ Is able to formulate his/her own opinion about the highly controversial issues in international politics
c/ Completes and improves his/her own knowledge of history of the specific forms of US foreign policy
Assessment criteria
Active participation in the classes (60%); at least one presentation on the subject connected with the topic discussed - or paper on it (20%), a 5-page end of semester essay on a subject accepted by teacher (20%). Presence at most of the meetings.
Bibliography
Suggested literature:
- Richard N. Haass "Intervention. The Use of American Military Force in the Post-Cold War World" Washington 1994
- Gary R. Hess "Presidential Decisions for War. Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf" Baltimore and London 2001
- Karl R. DeRouen et al. (ed.) "Historical Encyclopedia of U.S. Presidential Use of Force, 1789-2000" Westport, Conn. and London 2001
Sources:
- "The Annals of America" Chicago 1976 ("Annals"/vol.)
- Henry S. Commager (ed.) "Documents of American History" vol.1-2, 9th ed., Englewood Cliffs, N.Jersey 1973 (Commger/vol)
- Michael D. Gambone (ed.) "Documents of American Diplomacy. From the American Revolution to the Present" Westport, Conn. and London 2002 (Gambone)
- James Nathan (ed.) "Cuban Missile Crisis Revisited" N.York 1992 (Nathan)
- Michał Rozbicki et al. (ed.) "A Selection of Sources on the History and Culture of the United States of America" Warszawa 1994 ("Selection")
- "Treaties and Agreements with and Concerning China 1919-1928" Washington, D.C. 1929 ("Treaties")
Additional information
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