Just War Theory and U.S. Foreign Policy: Course Calendar
• In most cases the optional readings are usually recommended only if the topic touches directly on your term paper.
• I will also forward newspaper articles by e-mail from time to time to keep us up to date on events as they unfold. The on-line magazine, Slate (
www.slate.msn.com), offers a helpful digest of the major U.S. newspapers every day. You can find it on their web-site and/or subscribe to have it sent to you for free by e-mail.• The Tripp reading due on February 6th is a bit long. You should start on it early.
An Introduction to the Course
Tuesday, January 21st
Topics
• Preliminaries and introductions
• Just War Theory
• The confrontation in the Gulf: Some background
• Disclaimers and qualifications
• Why U.S. foreign policy?
• Objectivity and neutrality in the classroom
Unit One: An Introduction to Morality and War
I. Morality and Writing: Clarity and Commitment
Thursday, January 23rd
Topics
• Orwell on language
• Different genres: philosophical, polemical, literary, journalistic, etc.
• Philosophical Writing
Reading
• Orwell. ‘Politics and the English Language’ (Electronic Reserve)
• Strunk and White. ‘II. Elementary Principles of Composition’
II. A Case Study: Truman and Hiroshima
Thursday, January 28th
Reading
• Anscombe. ‘Mr. Truman’s Degree’ (Handout)
• Strunk and White. ‘III. A Few Matters of Form’
Assignment
• Assignment #1: ‘Outlining an Argument’
III. An Introduction to Moral Theory: Consequentialist and Deontological Approaches
Tuesday, January 30th
Topics
• Moral reasoning
• Consequentialist versus absolutist considerations about war
Reading
• Nagel. ‘War and Massacre’ (on JSTOR)
Optional
• Walzer. 'Supreme Emergency' (Chapter 16) in Just and Unjust Wars (Course Reserve)
Assignment
• Assignment #2: ‘Explicating an Argument’
Thursday, February 4th
Reading
• Norman, Chapter 3: ‘Killing and letting die’
IV. An Overview of Just War Theory
Tuesday, February 6th
Readings
• Aquinas. Excerpt from the Summa Theologica (Electronic Reserve)
• Coates, Chapter 4: ‘The just war’
• By this time you should have read Tripp, Chapter 6: ‘The Ba’th and the rule of Saddam Husain’
Optional
• Orend. ‘A Just-War Critique of Realism and Pacifism’ (Electronic Reserve)
Tuesday February 11th
Topic
• Discussion of your position papers.
Readings
• Strunk and White. ‘V. An Approach to Style’
Assignment
• Assignment #3: ‘Position paper’
Unit Two: Jus ad Bellum (Just Cause)
I. Just Cause
Thursday, February 13th
Topics
• Traditional just cause considerations
• The distinction between just causes and just aims
Readings
• Coates, Chapter 6: ‘Just cause’
• McMahan and McKim. ‘The Just War and the Gulf War’ (Electronic Reserve). You only need to read pages 501 to 506.
Optional
• Regan, Chapter 3: ‘The Just War Decision: Traditional Just-Cause Considerations’ in Just War: Principles and Cases (Course Reserve)
• Walzer. 'The Theory of Aggression' (Part Two) in Just and Unjust Wars (Course Reserve)
Tuesday, February 18th
Reading
• Norman, Chapter 4: ‘Killing in self-defence’
Date: __________
Topics
• Does the U.S. have just cause in Iraq?
• Preemption versus prevention
Readings
• Pollack. ‘Next Stop Baghdad?’ (Electronic Reserve)
• Matlock. ‘Deterring the Undeterrable’:
• Walzer. ‘Anticipations’ (Electronic Reserve)
• Mearsheimer and Walt. ‘An Unnecessary War’:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/wwwboard/walts.html
Optional
• The British Government’s Dossier on the threat posed by Iraq:
• Butler. Excerpt from The Greatest Threat (Electronic Reserve)
• Elend. ‘Ten Reasons Not to "Do" Iraq’:
http://www.cato.org/dailys/08-19-02.html• The British Government’s Report on Human Rights in Iraq:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/02/uk_human_rights_dossier_on_iraq/pdf/iraq_human_rights.pdf
II. Right Intention
Date: __________
Topics
• Does intention matter? Whose intentions?
• Does hypocrisy matter? How much, and when?
Reading
• Regan. ‘The Just War Decision: Right Intention’ (Handout)
• Hitchens. ‘Realpolitik in the Gulf: A Game Gone Tilt’ (Electronic Reserve)
• Does Hypocrisy Matter? (Handout)
• Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. ‘What a Difference Four Years Makes’:
• Human Rights Watch. 'Iraq'. This is an excerpt from Human Rights Watch’s 1990 Report, The Bush Administration’s Record on Human Rights in 1989. (Electronic Reserve)
Optional
• Human Rights Watch report on Turkey’s treatment of the Kurds, available at: http://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/Turkey.htm (especially summary)
• Dobbs. ‘U.S. Had Key Role in Iraq Buildup’:
• Hitchens. ‘Kissinger’s Green Light to Suharto’:
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020218&s=hitchens• Chomsky. ‘Who Are the Global Terrorists?’:
http://www.zmag.org/content/ForeignPolicy/chomskyglobeterr.cfm• Scheer. ‘Do As We Say, Not As We Do’:
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010709&s=20010626
Assignment
• Assignment #4: ‘Relevance Paper’
IV. Macro-Proportionality
Date: __________
Topic
• The costs of war: Part I.
Readings
• Coates, Chapter 7: ‘Proportionality and the recourse to war’
• Cheney on the dangers of war: www.slate.msn.com/?id=2072609
• Fallows. ‘The Fifty-First State?’:
www.theatlantic.com/issues/2002/11/fallows.htm• Human Rights Watch: ‘Iraq: Civilians Could Pay a High Price’:
http://hrw.org/editorials/2002/iraq_110302.htm
Optional
• Nordhaus. ‘Iraq: The Economic Consequences of War’:
Date: __________
Topic
• The costs of war: Part II
Readings
• McMahan and McKim. ‘The Just War and the Gulf War’ (Electronic Reserve). You only need to read pages 506 to 518.
• Human Rights Watch. ‘Dangerous Dealings: Changes to U.S. Military Assistance After September 11th : http://hrw.org/reports/2002/usmil/USass0202.pdf
Optional
• Human Rights Watch. ‘Uzbekistan: U.S. Rubber Stamps Human Rights’: http://hrw.org/press/2002/09/uzbek0909.htm
Assignment
Assignment #5: ‘Brainstorming for a paper’
V. Other Jus ad Bellum Criteria
Date: __________
Readings
• Coates, Chapter 5: ‘Legitimate authority’
• Coates, Chapter 8: ‘Last resort’
• U.N. Charter. You only need to read the Preamble, Articles 1 and 2 (especially Article 2(4) banning the unilateral use of force), Chapter V, Chapter VII (especially Articles 39-45 and Article 51): http://www.un.org/Overview/Charter/contents/html
Optional
• Regan, Chapter 2: ‘The Just War Decision: Legitimate Authority’ (Course Reserve)
Unit Three: Jus in Bello (Just Conduct)
I. Discrimination
Date: __________
Topics
• An introduction to the doctrine of double effect
• Distinguishing between combatants and non-combatants
Readings
• Zinn. ‘The Others’: www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020211&s=zinn&c=1
• Young. ‘Letter to the Nation’ (Handout)
Optional
• Regan, Chapter 6. ‘Just War Conduct’ (Course Reserve)
Assignment
Date: __________
Reading
• Anscombe. ‘War and Murder’ (Electronic Reserve)
• Coates, Chapter 10: ‘Noncombatant ‘immunity’
Assignment
• Assignment #6: ‘Relevance paper’
Date: __________
Readings
• Excerpt from Human Rights Watch Report, Needless Deaths in the Gulf War. (Electronic Reserve)
• Norman, Chapter 5: ‘Killing the innocent’
Optional
• A report on urban warfare produced by the U.S. military: http://www.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/international/021021dod_report.pdf
Assignment
• Assignment #7: ‘Outline and structure’
II. Micro-Proportionality
Date: __________
Topics
• Proportionality and fighting
• American military decisions: Balancing danger to U.S. troops against danger to Iraqi civilians
• Fighting fair
Reading
• Coates, Chapter 9: ‘Proportionality and the conduct of war’
• The Geneva Convention: http://www.hrweb.org/legal/geneva1.html
• Excerpt from Human Rights Watch Report, Needless Deaths in the Gulf War. (Electronic Reserve)
Optional
• Walzer. 'Winning and Fighting Well' (Chapter 14) in Just and Unjust Wars (Course Reserve)
Unit Four: Jus Post Bellum (Just Settlement)
Date: __________
Topics • Just settlement
• A closer look at unconditional surrender
• Rebuilding Iraq
Reading
• Orend. ‘Jus Post Bellum’ (Electronic Reserve)
• Coates, Chapter 11: ‘Peacemaking’
• Human Rights Watch. ‘Afghanistan: Torture and Political Repression in Herat: U.S. and U.N. Strategy Fails the Afghan People’:
Assignment
• First Draft of Term Papers due
Unit Five: A Case Study of Iraq
In this Unit, we will spend most of our time work-shopping your final papers. This will include Assignment #9, in which you take part in peer evaluations. We will also read a selection (yet to be determined) of papers from the list below:
•Johnson. ‘The Just War Tradition and the American Military’ (Electronic Reserve)
•Kavka. ‘Was the Gulf War a Just War?’ (Electronic Reserve)
•McMahan and McKim. ‘The Just War and the Gulf War’ (Electronic Reserve)
•Miller. ‘Terrorism, War and Empire’ (Electronic Reserve)
Note: Final drafts of your paper are due the last day of class.