UNIT 1. The United States and the World: Strategic Choices 1. The New Rome Meets the New Barbarians, The Economist , March 23, 2002 Joseph Nye cautions that the new conventional wisdom that the United States is all-powerful is dangerous because it leads to a foreign policy that combines unilateralism, arrogance, and parochialism. In a global information age the United States cannot achieve its objectives by acting alone but must be prepared to pursue a multilateral foreign policy. 2. The Eagle Has Crash Landed, Immanuel Wallerstein, Foreign Policy , July/August 2002 The United States has become the powerless superpower, according to Immanuel Wallerstein. The same economic,… political, and military factors that gave rise to American hegemony are now leading to its inevitable decline. The key question today is, Can the United States devise a way to descend gracefully or will it crash-land in a rapid and dangerous fall? 3. The Lonely Superpower, Samuel P. Huntington, Foreign Affairs , March/April 1999 Samuel Huntington argues that while the world is not unipolar, the United States is acting as if it is. In doing so, the United States is becoming increasingly isolated from other states, and it is taking on the characteristics of a rogue superpower. 4. U.S. Foreign Policy After September 11, Craig Eisendrath, USA Today Magazine (Society for the Advancement of Education) , May 2002 The author presents the outlines of an alternative strategy in the war against terrorism that is multilateral and liberal internationalist in spirit. It builds upon the strategy embraced by the United States at the end of World War II. Craig Eisendrath calls for strengthening the United Nations, advancing human rights, creating an International Criminal Court, and promoting economic and social development. 5. Phony War, Mark Helprin, National Review , April 22, 2002 Mark Halperin is highly critical of the Bush administration’s approach to fighting a global war on terrorism. He faults Bush for failing to pursue a massive across-the-board buildup of American military power that would allow it to act unilateraly in combating terrorism. Halperin is also crticial of the administration’s failure to understand the dynamics of world politics by abandoning the two-war policy. 6. The Liberty Doctrine: Reclaiming the Purpose of American Power, Michael McFaul, Policy Review , April/May 2002 For Michael McFaul, the key question raised by the U.S. response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, does not center on winning battles in Afghanistan. It is what comes next. He proposes that a foreign policy dedicated to promoting individual freedoms abroad is the answer. McFaul presents a three-step program for accomplishing this goal. UNIT 2. The United States and the World: Regional and Bilateral Relations Part A. Russia 7. Realism About Russia, William E. Odom, The National Interest , Fall 2001 According to William Odom, Americans incorrectly view Russia as an emerging liberal democracy. Russia has become a “normal country.” It is weak, poor, and ambling along headed nowhere in particular. On the international scene, Russia is not acting constructively in international affairs because of how it views the West. Part B. Europe 8. Estranged Partners, Jessica T. Mathews, Foreign Policy , November/December 2001 The author reviews points of disagreement between the United States and its Eur