Superpower, hyper-power, indispensable power, declining power all four of these terms have been used recently to describe the role and behavior of the United States in both international political relations and finance. The image of America as a “beacon of democracy” (phare de la démocratie) is a term of hope and aspiration as well as point of contention. There have also been other words attached to the United States which are certainly not flattering. A short list would include: hegemonic, (neo)imperialist, warmongering (les fauteur de guerre) and hypocritical. Suffice it to say, since the early 20th century the United States has been on the forefront of the world stage. One cannot even imagine what the world would look like today if the United States did not take a lead role, intervene and/or interfere in international relations.
The title of the course seeks to understand the behavior of the United States in foreign relations.
Readings: all readings are embedded in this syllabus and are available on-line.
Grading: Attendance and class participation: 30%.
Written assignments/Oral presentation 70%.
Weekly themes and readings:
Week 1: Introducing the course. Why America is a rejection of Europe
Reading: http://www.thucydide.com/realisations/comprendre/usa/usa2.htm
Week 2: Explaining the concept of American exceptionalism.
Week 3: Between realism and idealism or why Woodrow Wilson was and is dangerous.
Decoding Obama’s Nobel Prize Speech.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFsoMhvkNRE
Week 4 and 5: Demonizing the enemy: An American Approach to Violence and Conflict.
Waging total war. The bombings of Japan, Germany and France in WW2 as well as Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Also, Rambo as an object lesson in constructing a convenient conspiracy of why the US lost in Vietnam. Bush’s “axis of evil” as an American approach to war. Was Trump such an anomaly? America and neo-isolationism.
Week 6: Counterinsurgency: is winning hearts and minds possible? Can democracy be exported?
From Vietnam to Afghanistan to Iraq.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFIemKduYdI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xpmpkgNCgh8
Week 7: US Financial Power: Sources and Mechanisms
The dollar, the World Bank, trade policy.
Weeks 8 and 9 : oral presentations.
Possible oral presentation topics:
The World Bank and US policy
Trade policy as foreign policy: tariffs and sanctions: US-China; US-EU; US-France.
US policy on Iran
America first: isolationism vs globalism
Racism in America
How the world sees America (see Pew)
Poverty in the US
Exploring the values gap between America and Europe: see https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2011/11/17/the-american-western-european-values-gap/
Containment explained
A case studies of Doctrines: Truman, Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden
The cost of war – examining Iraq and Afghanistan
