INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AND US FOREIGN POLICY Boston University Summer Challenge Program Session 2 (2015) Instructor: Claire Leavitt

INTRODUCTORY STUFF  Introductions  Syllabus  Group assignments  Current events (preliminary discussion)

US FOREIGN POLICY: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY  Which do you think best describes US foreign policy in the 21st century?  What is America’s “global image?” What is responsible for this image?  Why was the world hopeful about the Obama presidency and the possibility of a “new” American foreign policy?

US FOREIGN POLICY: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY  President Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”  Did Obama deserve this prize?  Why did the Nobel Committee award it to him?

OBAMA’S VISION  Peace Prize acceptance speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AORo-YEXxNQ  How does President Obama characterize and describe US foreign policy?  How does President Obama feel about war? Does he believe the world will someday eradicate war?

THE 21st CENTURY WORLD  What do you think are the biggest problems facing the world today? How do you think the US should respond? Should the US respond?

WHY DO WARS OCCUR?  “Why do countries go to war with one another?” is the foundational question of international politics  Every facet of international politics—international law, diplomacy, negotiations—is dedicated toward this goal

 Three “images” for explaining why wars occur: WHY DO WARS OCCUR?  Three “images” for explaining why wars occur: 1) Man (who makes decisions?) 2) The state (how is a nation internally organized?) 3) The international environment (what kind of arena do nations operate within?)

FIRST IMAGE  The flaws of individual leaders are responsible for wars—e.g., Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin  Humans are fallible creatures who are motivated by power; they cannot be trusted to always do the right thing  Obama’s view of the cause of war?

SECOND IMAGE  Wars are caused not by flawed individuals but by imperfect states  How have nation-states decided to structure themselves? Internal organization determines whether countries wage war  Are non-democratic states, or capitalist states, more likely to wage war?

THIRD IMAGE  Wars are caused by the features of the international environment in which they operate  The international environment is anarchic—there is no enforcer of international law (countries can convince others to follow international law, but there is no way to enforce that law)  Thus, countries wage war because they can