Professor

Stephanie Hofmann

 

Description

The number and scope of international organisations continues to expand so that there are few areas of international politics that are not regulated in some way by an international institution. Why do states establish institutions and what determines their design and evolution? Do these institutions merely reflect underlying power and interests? These are some of the questions we will be asking in this course. This seminar will introduce theories of international institutions, evaluate critical perspectives, and examine applications in security, economic, and environmental policy areas.

 

Syllabus

Requirements

Students are required to serve as authors’ defendant as well as prepare one “memo” and a polished research paper that they will present on the last day of class. The grade will be based on the memo, authors’ defendant performance, student participation and the research paper according to the following breakdown:

Participation - 20%

I expect the readings to provoke questions that we can discuss in class. Of course, this requires completing the readings before class. Needless to say, one cannot participate if absent.

Discussion paper - 15%

Once during the semester each student will write a discussion paper or “memo.” The memo should discuss the empirical evidence in relation to the argument of the articles, evaluate whether the author succeeds in his/her goals, and draw connections to other seminar themes.

The memo writers will serve as “resident experts,” opening up the issues for the class. You can be called on to explain or clarify questions other students or the instructor may have about the readings.

Discussion papers should be send to the TA two days before the class meets. They should be the equivalent of 2-3 double-spaced pages. Students are required to read their colleagues’ papers before the seminar meets. Reading the papers in advance is essential for the seminar to function properly. This system precludes the acceptance of any late papers.

        Authors’ defendant – 15%

Once during the semester each student will be assigned the role of “authors’ defendant” and should be able to defend the merits of the week’s readings in class.

Long Paper - 50% (15% for presentation, 35% for paper)

The format is 20-25 pages including references and bibliography, using both course materials and other sources. The paper written for this course will address explicit theories of international organization. The paper may be in the form of review essay of a few recent books (World Politics style) and present an original argument with help of reviewing recent literature or a research paper. The research paper should clearly state the research question and argument and will be evaluated based on the ability to use evidence, counter-arguments, counterfactuals, etc. to support the main thesis. Evidence of plagiarism (including copying and pasting of text from the web) will result in a failing grade for the course.

In the last two weeks of class, students will present their papers to the class. The presentation can be based on a draft version of the paper. The expectation is that the class provides useful comments on how to improve the paper. Presentations should be no more than 10 minutes long.

 

Week 1: Introduction (21^st September 2010)

No readings

Part I. Theoretical Tools and Concepts

Week 2: Organization of International Politics (28^th September 2010)

Waltz, Kenneth. 1979. Theory of International Politics. Boston: McGraw Hill. Chapters 5 and 6, pp. 79-128.

Hurrell, Andrew. 2007. On Global Order: Power, Values, and the Constitution of International Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapters 2 and 3, pp. 25-94.

Ruggie, John. 1998. “What Makes the World Hang Together?” International Organization 54, 4: 855-885.

Week 3: IOs as Instruments and Reflections of Power (5^th October 2010)

Gilpin, Robert. 1981. War and Change in World Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 1, pp. 9-49.

Krasner, Stephen. 1976. “State Power and the Structure of International Trade.” World Politics 28, 3: 317-347.

Thompson, Alexander. 2006. “Coercion Through IOs: The Security Council and the Logic of Information Transmission.” International Organization 60, 1: 1-34

Mearsheimer, John. 1994/95. “The False Promise of International Institutions” International Security 19, 3: 5-49.

Week 4: IOs in Terms of Efficiency and Socialization (12^th October 2010)

Keohane, Robert. 1984. After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, chps. 4-6.

Martin, Lisa. 1992. “Interests, Power, and Multilateralism” International Organization 46, 4: 765-792.

Johnston, Alastair Iain. 2001. “Treating International Institutions as Social Environments.” International Studies Quarterly 45, 4: 487-515

Week 5: Theories of Institutional Design, Compliance, and International Law(19^th October 2010)

Simmons, Beth. 1998. “Compliance with International Agreements.” Annual Review of Political Science 1: 75-93.

Downs, George W., David M. Rocke, and Peter N. Barsoom. 1996. “Is the Good News about Compliance Good News about Cooperation?” International Organization 50: 379-406.

Koremenos, Barbara, Charles Lipson, and Duncan Snidal. 2001. “The Rational Design of International Institutions.” International Organization 55, 4: 761-799.

Abbott, Kenneth and Duncan Snidal. 2000. “Hard and Soft Law in International Governance.” International Organization 54, 3: 421-456.

Week 6: International Secretariats as Independent Actors (26^th October 2010)

Barnett, Michael N. and Martha Finnemore. 1999. “The Politics, Power, and Pathologies of International Organizations.” International Organization 53: 699-732.

Beach, Derek. 2004. “The unseen hand in treaty reform negotiations: the role and influence of the Council Secretariat.” Journal of European Public Policy 11, 3: 408–439

Johnston, Ian. 2007. “The Secretary-General as Norm Entrepreneur.” In Simon Chesterman (ed.), Secretary or General? The UN Secretary-General in World Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 123-138

 

Week 7: The Nexus Between Domestic and International Institutions (2^nd November 2010)

Kelley, Judith. 2004. “International Actors on the Domestic Scene: Membership Conditionality and Socialization by International Institutions.” International Organization 58, 3: 425-457.

Mansfield, Edward and Jon Pevehouse. 2006. “Democratization and International Organizations.” International Organization 60, 1: 137-167.

Grigorescu, Alexandru. 2003. “International Organizations and Government Transparency: Linking the International and Domestic Realms.” International Studies Quarterly 47: 643-667.

 

Assignment: Please submit to the TA a 2-page summary of your research idea. The summary should include: i) main question and puzzle; ii) one paragraph justification of the importance of this question (from a conceptual and/or policy perspective); iii) your argument and at least 3 references to relevant literature that support your choice; and iv) research design.

 

Part II. Institutionalized Regions and Issue Areas

Week 8: The European Union (9^th November 2010)

Tsebelis, George and Geoffrey Garrett. 2001. “The Institutional Foundations of Intergovernmentalism and Supranationalism in the European Union.” International Organization 55, 2: 357-390.

Burley, Anne-Marie and Mattli, Walter. 1993. “Europe Before the Court: A Political Theory of Legal Integration” International Organization 47, 1: 41-76.

Parsons, Craig. 2002. “Showing Ideas as Causes: Origins of the European Union.” International Organization 56, 1: 47-84.

 

Week 9: International Trade and Monetary Policy Institutions (16^th November 2010)

International Trade

Goldstein, Judith, Douglas Rivers, and Michael Tomz. 2007. “Institutions in International Relations: Understanding the Effects of the GATT and the WTO on World Trade.” International Organization 61, 1: 37-67.

Gowa, Joanne and Soo Yeon Kim. 2005. “An Exclusive Country Club: The Effects of GATT 1950-94.” World Politics 57, 4: 453-478.

Monetary Institutions

Simmons, Beth. 2000. “International Law and State Behavior: Commitment and Compliance in International Monetary Affairs.” American Political Science Review 94, 4: 819-835.

 

Week 10: Environment (23^rd November 2010)

Haas, Peter M. 1989. “Do Regimes Matter? Epistemic Communities and Mediterranean Pollution Control.” International Organization 43, 3: 377-403.

Young, Oran and Marc Levy. 1999. “The Effectiveness of International Environmental Regimes.” In Oran Young ed., The Effectiveness of International Environmental Regimes: Causal Connections and Behavioral Mechanisms. Cambridge: MIT Press, pp. 1-32.

Mitchell, Ronald. 1994. “Regime Design Matters: Intentional Oil Pollution and Treaty Compliance.” International Organization 48: 425-458.

Week 11: Sanctions and Human Rights (30^th November 2010)

Drezner, Daniel. 2000. “Bargaining, Enforcement, and Multilateral Sanctions: When Is Cooperation Counterproductive?” International Organization 54, 1: 73-102.

Moravcsik, Andrew. 1995. “Explaining International Human Rights Regimes: Liberal Theory and Western Europe.” European Journal of International Relations. 1, 2: 157-189.

Hathaway, Oona. 2002. “Do Human Rights Treaties Make a Difference?” The Yale Law Journal 111: 1935-2041.

Week 12: Security Institutions and Alliances (7^th December 2010)

Barnett, Michael N. and Jack S. Levy. 1991. “Domestic Sources of Alliances and Alignments: The Case of Egypt, 1962-73.” International Organization 45, 3: 369-395.

Wallander, Celeste A. 2000. “Institutional Assets and Adaptability: NATO after the Cold War.” International Organization 54, 4: 705-35

Posen, Barry R. 2006. “European Union Security and Defense Policy: Response to Unipolarity?” Security Studies 15, 2: 149-186

 

Week 13 & 14: Paper presentations (14th December 2010)

Draft papers will be circulated at least two days before the class meets so that everyone has a chance to read them and comment on them.