American Power: Use and Abuse

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have raised many important questions about how the United States chooses to use its power on behalf of its national interests. In this course we will survey historical, institutional, and theoretical factors as a prelude to consideration of how the United States has used its power since the 2nd World War, with a special focus on the post-Cold War period. Based on selected case studies, including Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia/Kosovo, Iraq (1+2), Afghanistan, and Libya, we will examine pro and con arguments for different approaches to the use of power with extensive class debate and discussion. This course counts as elective credit towards the Political Science major. (International Relations and Foreign Policy)/