Foreign Policy of the US

Paper Code: 
MIR 323- B
Credits: 
4
Contact Hours: 
60.00
Max. Marks: 
100.00
Objective: 

Notwithstanding the diffusion of power since the end of the Cold War, the United States and its role in shaping the 21st century global order, continues to assume significance.

  • The objectives of this course are to:

    • The course aims to analyses the crucial determinants which formulate and influence the external relations of the US.
    • It tries to acquaint and familiarize the nature and scope of US Foreign Policy, in its evolutionary trajectory.
    • It intends to introduce students to the changing contours of a dynamic external-policy framework, vis-à-vis different regions of the globe, not to mention its policy-response to mutating thematic challenges manifesting themselves on the horizon and delineate the undercurrents, which underpin the American policy in the global realm, highlighting the forces, institutions and actors.

    Course

    Learning outcomes (at course level)

    Learning and teaching strategies

    Assessment Strategies

    Paper Code

    Paper Title

    MIR 323-B

    Foreign Policy of the US

    Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

    CO57:   demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of key elements of political analysis of US power and hegemony.

    CO58:  demonstrate a critical understanding of historical development of the US within the state system and related questions of power and governance.

    CO59: get a clear and comprehensive understanding of the role played by the United States in world affairs 

    Approach in teaching:

    Interactive Lectures, Discussion, Tutorials, Reading assignments, Power Point Presentation

    Learning activities for the students:

    Self-learning assignments, Effective questions, Seminar presentation, Giving tasks.

    Class test, Semester end examinations, Quiz, Solving problems in tutorials, Assignments, Presentation, Individual and group projects

    Course Objectives (CO)

     

12.00
Unit I: 
Unit- I

Determinants and Process: Constitutional and Institutional Actors; Geographical, Economical and Technological Factors; Domestic Context (Political Parties, Lobbies, Mass Media)

 

12.00
Unit II: 
Unit- II

Evolution of the US Foreign Policy: Pre War, Post War and Post Cold War

 

12.00
Unit III: 
Unit- III

US and International Institutions

United Nations, NATO, OAS, G7, G20, IMF/World Bank

 

12.00
Unit IV: 
Unit- IV

US Engagement with Major and Regional Powers

China, Russia, India, Israel, Iran, Afghanistan and North Korea

 

12.00
Unit V: 
Unit- V

US Responses to Global Challenges

International Terrorism, NPT and Environmental Issues

 

Essential Readings: 

Essential Readings:

  • Kalu, K and and Kieh, G. (2013) Eds. United States-Africa Security Relations: Terrorism, Regional Security and National Interests. London:  Routledge.
  • Brzezinski, Z. (2013) Strategic Vision: America and the Crisis of Global Power. New York: Perseus Books Group
  • Cha, V.D. (2016) Power-Play: The Origins of the American Alliance System in Asia. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Leffler, M. P. (2017) Safeguarding Democratic Capitalism: US Foreign Policy and National Security (1990-2015). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Ikenberry, J. (2012) Liberal Leviathan: The Origins, Crisis, and Transformation of the American World Order. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

 

References: 

Reference Books:

  • Bucklin, S. (2001) Realism and the American Foreign Policy: Wilsonians and the Kennan-Morgenthau Thesis.  Westport: Praeger
  • Cameron, F. (2002) US Foreign Policy after the Cold War: Global Hegemon or Reluctant Sherif ?. New York: Routledge
  • Chittick, W. (2006)  American Foreign Policy: A Framework for Analysis:  Washington D.C.: CQ Press
  • Cameron, F. (2007) US Foreign Policy after the Cold War: Global Hegemon or Reluctant Sherif ?. Washington DC: CQ Press
  • Mead, W. R. (2001) Special Providence: American Foreign Policy and How it Changed the World.  New York: Knopf
  • McEvoy-Levy, S. (2001) American Exceptionalism and US Foreign Policy: Public Diplomacy at the end of the Cold War. New York: Palgrave
  • Pillar, P. (2001) Terrorism and US Foreign Policy. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press
  • Steil, B. and Litan, R. (2006) Financial Statecraft: The Role of Financial Markets in American Foreign Policy,  New Haven:  Yale University Press
  •  Bacevich, A. (2018) Ideas and American Foreign Policy: A Reader. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  •  Haas, R. (2017) A World in Disarray: American Foreign Policy and the Crisis of the Old Order. New York: Penguin Books.
  • Tow,W. and Stuart,D. ( 2017) The New US Strategy Towards Asia :  Adapting to the American Pivot. London: Routledge
  • Jentleson, B. (2013) American Foreign Policy: The Dynamics of Choice in the 21st Century. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
  •   Holsti, O. (2006) Making American Foreign Policy. London: Routledge.

 

Academic Year: 
2020-21
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