International Organization and Law
 
 
  University of Hartford 
Politics 331
Fall, 1999
Phone: 768-4284
 Michael Clancy 
Office: 123A Hillyer
Office Hours: T, W
1:30-2:30
     Email me 
 
 Introduction
     Although the most dominant images of international politics involve war and conflict, most global interactions among states, peoples and groups are peaceful. Indeed, even when war does break out, certain rules, such as humane treatment of prisoners, appear to govern many aspects of the conflict. In part this is because nation-states and other actors have developed a series of rules, practices, laws, and even institutions to help facilitate cooperation. These efforts to promote cooperation are the subject of this course. Students are introduced to the most basic rules, laws and organizations that mitigate international anarchy.
     Among the issues taken up during the semester are why do international actors cooperate and what circumstances facilitate or inhibit that cooperation? What is the history of efforts at creating world order? What are the sources of international law? How effective are international organizations at carrying out their functions and why? Who has power in such organizations? These questions will be investigated through examining a series of  historical and contemporary substantive cases. A significant portion of the course will be devoted, for instance, to the United Nations. In addition, we will address issue areas surrounding security, political economy, human rights and the environment.

Learning Objectives
    Substantively, students are expected to gain a working knowledge of  the institutions and political processes surrounding efforts at facilitating global cooperation. Through readings and class discussion they should develop general knowledge regarding such topics as the United Nations, the World Bank, the Montreal Protocol on substances that cause ozone depletion, NATO, and the role of human rights in international politics. Students will also work on critical thinking skills in the sense that they will be expected to identify, analyze, and critique arguments made by various authors as well as develop their own arguments. Finally, students will sharpen their research and writing skills by both writing short response assignments to readings and cases, as well as through putting together a term research project.

Student Conduct and Evaluation
    This is an upper level course and because it is likely to be rather small, I will treat it somewhat like a seminar. First and foremost this means that students must attend classes regularly and arrive on time (more than five absences will severely affect your grade) and they must come prepared to discuss the assigned reading material. In addition students are expected to treat one another and the professor with every respect.
 Students will be evaluated in the following manner:
 

 
 
 
 Class Project 
30%
 Case Paper
10%
 Student Participation
20%
 Final Exam
10%
 
Note: Written assignments are due in class. Extensions are rarely granted. Late work will be penalized 1/3 of one grade per day (e.g. from B to B-). After 10 days the student will receive a zero for the assignment.

Reading Material 

Two books and four cases are required for this course and are available at the bookstore. They are:
 

*In addition to these books and  cases , required articles have been placed on reserve in the library or on the internet.
 


 
 
Class Schedule
 
Week 1 T, Aug 31

Introduction

            (R) Armstrong and Redmond, From Versaille to Maastricht, Introduction
 
Weeks 2-3 T, Sept. 7

Introduction (cont'd) and Theory

 
  Case 1: Bunn and Blaney, "To Trade or not to Trade: The Basel Convertion and the Export of Transboundary Waste"

           
             (R) Claude, Swords into Plowshares, ch. 1
             (R) Greico, "Anarchy and the Limits of Cooperation"
          (R) Walt, "International Relations: One World, Many Theories," Foreign Policy, Spring, 1998
             (R) Keohane, “International Institutions: Two Approaches,” in Kratochwil and Mansfield, eds.,
                        International Organization, A Reader

 
 
Multilaterialism: The UN
Week 3 Th, Sept. 16

UN—history, precursors

                Weiss, et al, introduction, ch. 1

Week 4 T, Sept. 21

Structure, The UN and Security

                Goldstein, International Relations, 3d. Ed., pp. 308-14
            Weiss, chs. 2-3
             Annan article: "UN Chief Wants Faster Action to Halt Civil Wars and Killing," New York Times, 9/21/99
 
Week 5 T, Sept. 28

The U.S. and the U.N.

  Case 2: Rosenthal, "The Withdrawal from UNESCO: International Organizations and the U.S. Role"

            Boutros-Ghali,  Unvanquished: A U.S.-U.N Saga
 

Week 6 T, Oct. 5

The UN, Development, and Human Rights

                Weiss, chs. 8, 5-7
 

Week 7 T, Oct. 12

Peacekeeping and Peacemaking

                Reiff, Slaughterhouse

                (R) Michael Barnett, "The Politics of Indifference at the United Nations and Genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia," in
                    Thomas Cushman and Stjepan G. Mestrovic, This Time We Knew: Western Responses to Genocide in Bosnia.
                    New York: NYU Press.
 

Week 8 T., Oct. 19

International Law:

(R) Franck, The Power of Legitimacy Among Nations
(R) Chopra and Weiss, "Sovereignty is No Longer Sacrosanct: Codifying Humanitarian Intervention," in Ku and Diehl,
        eds., International Law: Classic and Contemporary Readings
Fromkin,  "International Law at the Frontiers"
 World Court (ICJ) link
 International Criminal Court call to action
 
 
IOs, IL, NGOs and Issue Areas
Week 9 T, Oct. 26

Broadening World Politics: Regionalism and the rise of NGOs

(R) Goldstein, International Relations, 3d. Ed., pp. 431-46
(R) Keck and Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders, Ch. 1
 
 Lawyers Committee for Human Rights link
 

Week 10 T, Nov. 2

Security

            Perkovich, "Nuclear Proliferation"  
            Daalder: NATO at 50: The Summit and Beyond
            International Campaign to Ban Landmines
                Arms Control link

 
Week 11-12 T, Nov. 9

Economic Relations

                (R) Catherine Caufield, Masters of Illusion: The World Bank and the Poverty of Nations, ch. 1
            Video: "The Money Lenders"

                Campus Sweatshop Watch link
            Krugman: In Praise of Cheap Labor
 

  Case 3: Weiss and Lu, "International Negotiations on the Code of Conduct for Transnational Corporations"
 

Week 12-13 Th, Nov. 18

Environment

                Weiss, chs. 9-10

 Case 4: Goodman, "The Negotiations Leading to the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer"
 

Week 14 T, Nov. 30

Human Rights

             Roth, "Sidelined on Human Rights" 
             Pinochet and human rights law link
 

December 7: No Class

Conclusions

Week 15 Th, Dec. 9

Wrap-up
 


 
Selected Links