Intro to International Relations (WEEK - 4, OCTOBER 11): Readings, Newspaper articles, and Presentations

Dear all,

For the Week 4 (OCTOBER 11), you should read the following chapters before you come to the class  

7 Transnationalism.

25 Transnational Practices (Leslie Sklair).

26 Social Theory and Globalization: The Rise of a Transnational State (William I. Robinson).

27 Revisiting the Question of the Transnational State: A Comment on William Robinson's "Social Theory and Globalization" (Philip McMichael).

8 World Systems.

28 The Modern World-System: Theoretical Reprise (Immanuel Wallerstein).

29 Competing Conceptions of Globalization (Leslie Sklair).

DOCUMENTARY:

BBC Masters of Money |Karl Marx

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyrhoHtSkzg

BBC Masters Of Money | John Maynard Keynes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkHooEp3vRE

BBC Masters Of Money | Friedrich Hayek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIYqTj402PE

This week, we will have two presentations on Wednesday. YOU SHOULD PREPARE POWER POINTS and EMAIL IT TO ME A DAY BEFORE THE CLASS.
This week, two students will have presentations:

LE THI DIEM HUONG

7 Transnationalism. 

25 Transnational Practices (Leslie Sklair). 

26 Social Theory and Globalization: The Rise of a Transnational State (William I. Robinson). 

27 Revisiting the Question of the Transnational State: A Comment on William Robinson's "Social Theory and Globalization" (Philip McMichael).  

MIRAS TOLEPBERGEN

8 World Systems. 

28 The Modern World-System: Theoretical Reprise (Immanuel Wallerstein). 

29 Competing Conceptions of Globalization (Leslie Sklair).

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE PRESENTATION: Please bring RECENT newspaper articles. Articles SHOULD BE related with TRANSNATIONAL PRACTICES OR TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS. Other subjects will not be accepted. PLEASE VERY BRIEFLY SUMMARIZE YOUR ARTICLE IN THE CLASS!     

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.     

Best to all,

Tugrul

Orientalism Documentary and Animated Videos

 EDWARD SAID - Framed: The Politics of Stereotypes in News

Orientalism Explained

 Edward Said - An Introduction to Orientalism

Slavoj Zizek - The Nature of Orientalism

Orientalism in Film

Persepolis and orientalism

Edward Said On Orientalism

German Election 2017 and Racism

Germany: Confronting the colonial roots of racism 'The Nazis didn't fall out of the sky, there is a deeper racist, xenophobic mindset in German history.'
By Gouri Sharma
Al-Jazeera - 17 August 2017

German right-wing populists AfD launch ‘racist’ attack on one of Angela Merkel’s ministers  Alexander Gauland said integration minister Aydan Özoguz should be ‘disposed of’ to Turkey 
Jon Stone
The Independent - Tuesday 29 August 2017

Chapter 9: Beyond Two Identities: Turkish Immigrants in Germany
Tugrul Keskin
Sociology and Human Rights: A Bill of Rights for the Twenty-First Century  Edited by: Judith Blau & Mark Frezzo
http://sk.sagepub.com/books/sociology-and-human-rights/n9.xml

Far-Right German Party Could Lead Opposition After Sunday's Election 
By Simon Schuetz
NPR - September 22, 2017
http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/09/22/552362370/far-right-german-party-could-lead-opposition-after-sundays-election

Statistically speaking, black people in Germany don’t exist
By Aamna Mohdin
Quarzt - September 23, 2017
https://qz.com/1078032/can-germany-combat-inequality-when-it-has-no-data-on-race/

Islamophobic U.S. Mega-Donor Fuels German Far-Right Party With Viral Fake News
Lee Fang
The Intercept - September 22 2017
https://theintercept.com/2017/09/22/german-election-afd-gatestone-institute/

Who are Germany's far-right AfD?
Alternative for Germany looks set to become the first far right nationalist party to enter parliament since WWII.By David Child
Al-Jazeera - 21 September 2017
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/09/german-election-afd-170921080912611.html

In the Centre of the Centre
Thomas Meaney writes about Angela Merkel’s kingdom
London Review of Books - Vol. 39 No. 18 · 21 September 2017 pages 8-10 | 4275 words
https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n18/thomas-meaney/in-the-centre-of-the-centre

Far-right German party uses ‘modern marketplace’ of the Web to breach cultural taboo
By Isaac Stanley-Becker
The Washington Post - September 23, 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/09/23/far-right-german-party-uses-modern-marketplace-of-the-web-to-breach-cultural-taboo/?utm_term=.756593f29f5c

German election 2017: polls open amid fears over surge of far-right AfD
The chancellor is on course for a fourth term but the emergence of the anti-immigrant party promises a bittersweet outcome
By Philip Oltermann
The Guardian - September 24, 2017
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/24/german-election-merkel-polls-open-amid-fears-over-far-right-afd-surge

Islamic Movements (Week-3): Reflection Paper-1, Readings, Newspaper Articles and Presentation

Dear all,

For the next week, (3rd Week) you should read the following articles:

Between Yesterday and Today by Hasan Al-Banna 
Islam and Politics in the New Egypt By Nathan J. Brown
http://carnegieendowment.org/files/islam_politics.pdf
The Power of the Jama‘A: The Role of Hasan Al-Banna in Constructing the Muslim Brotherhood’s Collective Identity By Khalil al-Anani 
The Rise and Fall of the Salafi al-Nour Party in Egypt By Jonathan AC Brown (D2L) or http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/15113/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-salafi-al-nour-party-in-en
The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt http://www.ikhwanweb.com/

DOCUMENTARY:
Muslim Brotherhood National Geographic Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kphQWUJEUWk

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE PRESENTATION: Please bring the newspaper articles. Articles SHOULD BE related with MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD. Other subjects will not be accepted. PLEASE VERY BRIEFLY SUMMARIZE YOUR ARTICLE IN THE CLASS! I need a print copy (First page) of your article, and please include your full name on it. 

REFLECTION PAPER -1
Please read the following instructions carefully:
In this reflection paper, you have two options:

FIRST OPTION:
1) According to the booklet, Enjoining Right and Forbidding Wrong by Ibn Taymiyya, how would Taymiyya define Political Islam and Islamic Political Parties and movements? Do you think his understanding of Political Islam is different than the “Capitalist Western” definition of Political Islam? Briefly explain and give specific examples from the Enjoining Right and Forbidding Wrong and our class discussions. Your answer should be at least 600 words.
2) According to the booklet, MILESTONE by Sayyid Qutb, how does Sayyid Qutb define freedom against Jahiliyyah? Do you think his understanding of freedom is different than the “Capitalist Western” definition of freedom? What is Jahiliyyah in modern times, according to Qutb? Briefly explain and give specific examples from Between “The Milestone” and our class discussions. Your answer should be at least 600 words.

SECOND OPTION:
Please summarize the following readings and USE YOUR OWN WORDS. Your SUMMARY should be at least 1200 words in length for an each reading.
Enjoining Right and Forbidding Wrong by Ibn Taymiyy (at least 400 words)
MILESTONE by Sayyid Qutb (at least 400 words)
Islam Brochure: Introduction to Islam  (at least 400 words) posted on google drive.

In your answer, please do not use citation; use your own words, and do not copy from the Internet, the books conclusion, or from Wikipedia.   Email your paper to me as MS Word attachments by 12:00 Midnight, on next Tuesday night. PLEASE include Islamic Movements – Reflection Paper 1 in the subject line of your email, and send it to tugrulkeskin (at) t.shu.edu.cn
The reflection papers should be at least 1200 words. Font size should be Times New Roman, 12 point. You need to email me your reflection papers with Word document.
Criteria: If your paper is less than 1200 words, or late, you will loose 4 points.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Best to all,

Tugrul Keskin

Introduction to International Relations (WEEK -3): Quiz, Readings, Newspaper articles, and Presentations

Dear all,       

For the third Week, you should read the following chapters before you come to the class     

6 Nation-State. 
20 Sociology and the Nation-State in an Era of Shifting Boundaries (Donald N. Levine). 
21 The Westfailure System (Susan Strange). 
22 Globalization and the Myth of the Powerless State (Linda Weiss). 
23 Globalization and the Resilience of State Power (Daniel Béland). 
24 Beyond Nation-State Paradigms: Globalization, Sociology, and the Challenge of Transnational Studies (William I. Robinson).     

DOCUMENTARY:
Nasser and Arab Nationalism in the Middle East
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaJogPC9ACI 
Strictly Kosher (Jewish Culture Documentary) - Real Stories
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvkz6UEmi4Y

This week, we will have two presentations on Wednesday. YOU SHOULD PREPARE POWER POINTS and EMAIL IT TO ME A DAY BEFORE THE CLASS.  
This week, two students will have presentations: 

ZEYNEP OZGULEC 
6 Nation-State. 
20 Sociology and the Nation-State in an Era of Shifting Boundaries (Donald N. Levine). 
21 The Westfailure System (Susan Strange). 
22 Globalization and the Myth of the Powerless State (Linda Weiss).  

DAVID PEREZ-DES ROSIERS
23 Globalization and the Resilience of State Power (Daniel Béland). 
24 Beyond Nation-State Paradigms: Globalization, Sociology, and the Challenge of Transnational Studies (William I. Robinson). 

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE PRESENTATION: Please bring RECENT newspaper articles. Articles SHOULD BE related with NATION STATE AND NATIONALISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST. Other subjects will not be accepted. PLEASE VERY BRIEFLY SUMMARIZE YOUR ARTICLE IN THE CLASS!       

QUIZ-1: You will take your first quiz on Wednesday and the quiz covers the following chapters:
1 Introduction to Globalization Debates. 
1 Is Globalization Civilizing, Destructive or Feeble? A Critique of Five Key Debates in the Social Science Literature (Mauro F. Guillén).  Part I Political Economy. 
2 Civilizations.  2 The Clash of Civilizations? (Samuel P. Huntington). 
3 Global Utopias and Clashing Civilizations: Misunderstanding the Present (John Gray). 
4 Can Civilizations Clash? (Jack F. Matlock, Jr). 
5 History Ends, Worlds Collide (Chris Brown). 
6 If Not Civilizations, What? Paradigms of the Post-Cold War World (Samuel P. Huntington).
3 Orientalism, Colonialism, and Postcolonialism. 
7 Orientalism: Introduction (Edward W. Said). 
8 Orientalism and Orientalism in Reverse (Sadik Jalal al-'Azm). 
9 Postcolonialism and Its Discontents (Ali Rattansi). 
10 Said’s Orientalism: A Vital Contribution Today (Peter Marcuse). 

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.        

Best to all,

Tugrul

How British colonialism ruined a perfect cup of tea

On the colonial colouring of the culinary calamity the British call a cup of tea.

Hamid Dabashi

Al-Jazeera – September 18, 2017

Recently my colleague Ilan Pappe and I were in Mexico City attending a conference on Palestine. In the course of the memorable few days we spent together catching up with the latest atrocities around the globe (in between our respective talks on the habitual shenanigans of the Zionist settler colony in Palestine), perhaps the most memorable phrase I remember is when Ilan cited our mutual friend the eminent Indian Marxist Aijaz Ahmed who had once told him "our singular historical failure as a nation was after 200 years of British colonialism we failed to teach them how to cook!"
Soon after that memorable phrase I came across a typically blase BBC report headlined "The true story behind England's tea obsession", celebrating British and other European aristocracies, this time about the culinary calamity the British call "tea".

READ MORE......

Donald Trump's full United Nations speech

Erdogan raises questions about U.S. partnership over weapons deal

The case for colonialism By Bruce Gilley

Bruce Gilley: Department of Political Science, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA
THIRD WORLD QUARTERLY
Pages 1-17 | Received 24 Apr 2017, Accepted 15 Aug 2017, Published online: 08 Sep 2017

ABSTRACT 
For the last 100 years, Western colonialism has had a bad name. It is high time to question this orthodoxy. Western colonialism was, as a general rule, both objectively beneficial and subjectively legitimate in most of the places where it was found, using realistic measures of those concepts. The countries that embraced their colonial inheritance, by and large, did better than those that spurned it. Anti-colonial ideology imposed grave harms on subject peoples and continues to thwart sustained development and a fruitful encounter with modernity in many places. Colonialism can be recovered by weak and fragile states today in three ways: by reclaiming colonial modes of governance; by recolonising some areas; and by creating new Western colonies from scratch.

READ MORE....

Decolonizing IR: A Response to Gilley

Dillon Tatum

Duck of Minerva - 2017-09-18

The past week has seen a boiling-over of controversy regarding a publication by Bruce Gilley entitled “The Case for Colonialism,” appearing in the journal Third World Quarterly, leading some to even begin petitions to the journal to retract. As of the writing of this post, the journal has not retracted the article.
In this post, I would like to reflect on this piece as both a part of a scholarly conversation: showing how its claims are the result of poor methodology, a bad reading of the existing literature on colonialism in political science and other fields, and a general glossing-over of a wide literature on post-colonial theory. If I had reviewed this piece, it would have received a hard “reject” recommendation. Perhaps more importantly, I’d like to reflect briefly at the end of this post on what this piece as a textual artifact tells us about political science’s—and particularly IR’s—colonial present. This is certainly, in my view, the most disturbing aspect of the article.

READ MORE....

An American Hero in China

Ian Johnson

CHINA FILE - April 29, 2015

One night in September, three hundred people crowded into the basement auditorium of an office tower in Beijing to hear a discussion between two of China’s most popular writers. One was Liu Yu, a thirty-eight-year-old political scientist and blogger who has written a best seller explaining how American democracy works. Her fans call her “goddess”—for her writings and her stylish looks.¹

But this evening, Liu was just a foil for the other writer: Peter Hessler, a low-key New Yorker journalist. Based in China until 2007, he later wrote on the American West and now lives in Egypt. Hessler has written three books on China and a collection of essays, all published in the U.S., and been recognized with a MacArthur fellowship.

READ MORE....

The Credible Think Tank Is Dead

The ousting of a Google critic at the New America Foundation shows how donors have corrupted Washington's policy and research institutes.

By John B. Judis

New Republic - September 15, 2017

The New America Foundation is reeling from controversy after its decision late last month to “part ways”—in the words of the group’s president, Anne-Marie Slaughter—with anti-monopoly crusader Barry Lynn and his Open Markets project. It’s a complicated story with diverging accounts, but The New York Times summed it up neatly: “Google Critic Ousted From Think Tank Funded by the Tech Giant.”
In a nutshell, according to the Times and correspondence released by New America: Google and Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, are major donors to New America, and Schmidt served as New America’s chairman. Lynn and his project have been critical of the tech giants, and in June published an endorsement of the European Union’s antitrust judgment against Google. Company representatives expressed their displeasure to Slaughter, and she accused Lynn of “imperiling the institution as a whole.” Slaughter asked Lynn and Open Markets to leave.

READ MORE....

Trump versus "Deep State" Articles

1.     Anatomy of the Deep State: Beneath Veneer of Democracy, The Permanent Ruling Class
By Mike Lofgren
Common Dreams - Monday, February 24, 2014
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2014/02/24/anatomy-deep-state-beneath-veneer-democracy-permanent-ruling-class

2.     The Deep State Goes to War With President-Elect, Using Unverified Claims, as Democrats Cheer Glenn Greenwald
The Intercept - January 11 2017,
https://theintercept.com/2017/01/11/the-deep-state-goes-to-war-with-president-elect-using-unverified-claims-as-dems-cheer/

3.     The Deep State
By Adam Shatz
London Review of Books - 14 February 2017
https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2017/02/14/adam-shatz/the-deep-state/ 

4.     The Deep State, Explained 
America's Deep State is harder to find than those abroad, but could get stronger under Trump.
By John Light
Common Dreams - April 2, 2017
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/04/02/deep-state-explained

5.     THE MEMO: Is Trump a victim of the 'deep state'?
By Niall Stanage
The Hill - 06/05/17
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/336178-the-memo-is-trump-a-victim-of-the-deep-state#

6.     Trump Lawyer Hints Comey Part of ‘Deep State’ Conspiracy
By Ed Kilgore
NYMag - June 8, 2017
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/06/trump-lawyer-hints-comey-part-of-deep-state-conspiracy.html

7.     Trump vs. the Deep State
By Roger Kimball
PJ Media - June 18, 2017
https://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2017/06/18/trump-vs-the-deep-state/ 

8.     Bannon's White House exit signifies victory for 'Deep State
Gary Olson
Morning Call - August 29, 2017
http://www.mcall.com/opinion/yourview/mc-steve-bannon-trump-white-house-olson-yv-0830-20170829-story.html

9.     Can the Deep State and the Media Survive Trump?
The FBI and the Department of Justice must not overreact to leaks. 
By Jeffrey H. Smith
Foreign Policy - August 30, 2017
http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/08/30/can-the-deep-state-and-the-media-survive-trump/

10.  Trump and the “Deep State” The Government Strikes Back
By Jon D. Michaels
Foreign Affairs -  September/October 2017 Issue
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2017-08-15/trump-and-deep-state

11.  A hidden world, growing beyond control
The Washington Post - Monday, July 19, 2010
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/articles/a-hidden-world-growing-beyond-control/print/

12.  High-Ranking CIA Agent Blows Whistle On Deep State, Shadow Govt
NSA and CIA at the top of the shadow government apparatus
By Zero Hedge
InfoWars - September 16, 2017
https://www.infowars.com/high-ranking-cia-agent-blows-whistle-on-deep-state-shadow-govt/

13.  Gorka Criticizes Insidious ‘Deep State’ Influence At The White House [VIDEO]
By Liam Clancy
Daily Caller - 09/15/2017
http://dailycaller.com/2017/09/15/gorka-criticizes-insidious-deep-state-influence-at-the-white-house-video/

14.  A new warning about the ‘Deep State’
By Jennifer Harper
The Washington Times - Wednesday, September 13, 2017
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/sep/13/inside-the-beltway-a-new-warning-about-the-deep-st/

15.  Deconstructing the deep state
Donald Trump isn’t the first president to be deeply skeptical of the institutions and people he now leads
By Charles S. Clark
Govexec - September 2017
http://www.govexec.com/feature/gov-exec-deconstructing-deep-state/

16.  What exactly is the ‘deep state,’ and is it even real?
By Amrita Khalid
Daily Dot — 2017-08-20
http://www.govexec.com/feature/gov-exec-deconstructing-deep-state/

17.  ‘Deep State’ Exposed in New Report
Unelected officials use corruption, propaganda, and secrecy to form alternative government not responsible to voters
By Joshua Philipp
The Epoch Times |  September 7, 2017
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/2293459-deep-state-exposed-in-new-report/

18.  Has the Deep State Won?
By William F. Marshall
The American Thinker - August 23, 2017
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2017/08/has_the_deep_state_won.html

19.  The Deep State Is Real But it might not be what you think.

By MICHAEL CROWLEY

Politico| September/October 2017

http://www.politico.com/magazine/table-of-contents/2017/09

20.  Shadow Government Is at Work in Secret       

By Barton Gellman and Susan Schmidt

The Washington Post - Friday, March 1, 2002

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/09/AR2006060900891.html

21.  The Deep State: The Unelected Shadow Government Is Here to Stay

By John W. Whitehead

The Blaze - Nov 10, 2015

http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/the-deep-state-the-unelected-shadow-government-is-here-to-stay/

22.  Deep State: How a Conspiracy Theory Went From Political Fringe to Mainstream

By Tom Porter

Newsweek - 8/2/17

http://www.newsweek.com/deep-state-conspiracy-theory-trump-645376

23.  Former Democratic Rep: Trump Presidency Is Under Attack By 'Deep State' Intelligence Community By Leah Barkoukis
TownHall - May 18, 2017 
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2017/05/18/kucinich-trump-is-under-attack-by-deep-state-intelligence-community-n2328841

24.  Former Mueller Deputy on Trump: Deep State, "Government Is Going To Kill This Guy" Posted By Ian Schwartz
Real Clear Politics - August 12, 2017
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/08/12/former_mueller_deputy_phil_mudd_trump_deep_state_government_kill_this_guy.html

'Kill the Messenger' - Interview with Nick Schou

Roger Waters: Congress Shouldn’t Silence Human Rights Advocates

By ROGER WATERS

THE NEW YORK TIMES - September 7, 2017

Members of Congress are currently considering a bill that threatens to silence the growing support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement for Palestinian freedom and human rights, known as B.D.S. This draconian bill, the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, threatens individuals and businesses who actively participate in boycott campaigns in support of Palestinian rights conducted by international governmental organizations with up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.

By endorsing this McCarthyite bill, senators would take away Americans’ First Amendment rights in order to protect Israel from nonviolent pressure to end its 50-year-old occupation of Palestinian territory and other abuses of Palestinian rights.

READ MORE.....

How a shifting definition of ‘white’ helped shape U.S. immigration policy

BY Kamala Kelkar 

PBS - September 16, 2017

After Israel Bosak’s tailor shop was destroyed in 1906 in an outbreak of violence against Jewish people in Russia, he fled to America with a respectable $65, more money than most immigrants brought at the time. But the U.S. government criticized Bosak for his small physique, claiming he would not be an asset to the workforce, and sent him back.
It was one of many racially-tinged institutional practices that empowered immigration officials to deny people of certain ethnicities or appearances — often people from South and Eastern Europe who were not considered “purely” white — by speculating about their ability to work. People with “poor physiques,” which was often said of Jewish immigrants, were “illy adapted” and would procreate “defectives,” a letter from a commissioner had warned the immigration and labor departments that year.

READ MORE....

H.R. McMaster Served 11 Years on Think Tank Financed by Boeing, Which Inked Billions in Iran Deals

Aaron Klein

BREITBART NEWS - 15 Sep 2017

NEW YORK — Congressional and U.S. court moves have put the Trump administration at the center of a debate about the Boeing firm’s multi-billion dollar deals to sell airplanes to two companies partially owned by the Iranian government.  Amid the controversy over the business deals, it is instrumental to take a closer look at White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster’s role at a UK-based think tank that, as Breitbart News reported, is bankrolled by Boeing as well as other conglomerates pursuing major business deals in Iran.  The past affiliation may raise conflict-of-interest issues for McMaster, who is serving in a position of direct influence over U.S. policy with regard to Iran. Already, McMaster has been accused of purging the National Security Council of hardliners on Iran, and he is seen as a proponent of the Iran nuclear accord.

READ MORE.....

US weighs dropping Pakistan as an ally

Trump administration accuses country of housing militants as relations hit new low

FINANCIAL TIMES  September 16, 2017  by Katrina Manson in Washington

The Trump administration is considering dropping Pakistan as an ally as it examines tough measures to quell more than 20 terrorist groups it says are based in the country. Officials familiar with the Pakistan prong of Washington’s new “AfPak” strategy — which involves an open-ended commitment in Afghanistan and praise for India — say it has yet to be fleshed out. But they have plenty of levers. President Donald Trump last month promised to get tough on Pakistan, accusing it of “housing the very terrorists that we are fighting”. It was the most public breach yet in an often rocky relationship. “No US president has come out on American national television and said such things about Pakistan,” said Husain Haqqani, former Pakistan ambassador to the US. “US policymakers are at the end of their tethers about what they see as Pakistan not helping them while promising to help them.”

READ MORE....

Why Isn't There a Debate about America's Grand Strategy?

Christopher A. Preble

THE NATIONAL INTEREST - September 16, 2017

“The United States needs a new set of ideas and principles to justify its worthwhile international commitments, and curtail ineffective obligations where necessary,” argue Jeremi Suri and Benjamin Valentino, in the introduction to their edited volume Sustainable Security: Rethinking American National Security.
“Balancing our means and ends requires a deep reevaluation of U.S. strategy, as the choices made today will shape the direction of U.S. security policy for decades to come.”
Though rarely spelled out in such stark terms, this question would appear to be at the core of America’s grand strategy debate—if such a debate were actually occurring. We should ponder why it isn’t, and therefore why an arguably “unsustainable” strategy persists. (As the economist Herb Stein famously said, “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.”)
I foresaw this problem not quite two years ago. “U.S. foreign policy is crippled,” I warned in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee:
by a dramatic disconnect between what Americans expect of it and what the nation’s leaders are giving them. If U.S. policymakers don’t address this gap, they risk pursuing a policy whose ends don’t match with the means the American people are willing to provide.

READ MORE....

An Era of Authoritarian Influence?

 How Democracies Should Respond 

By Thorsten Benner 

Foreign Affairs - September 15, 2017

For two decades after the end of the Cold War, the direction of international influence was clear: it radiated from liberal democracies outward, as the West sought to spread its model of governance around the world. With the help of Western-led democracy promotion, the thinking went, authoritarian states would be relegated to the dustbin of history.

That has changed. In recent years, authoritarian states have boldly sought to influence Western democracies. They have done so to strengthen their own regimes, to weaken Western states’ ability to challenge authoritarianism, and to push the world toward illiberalism.

Russia’s brazen attempt to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election thus fits a broader pattern, even though much of the analysis of that operation has presented it as an anomaly. Authoritarian influencing, as it might be called, involves actions not just by Russia but also by China and other states Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. It has affected many Western democracies. And it involves not just political meddling and propaganda programs but lower-profile work through political parties, nongovernmental organizations, and businesses.

READ MORE.......

Islamic Movements (Week-2): Readings and Newspaper Articles

Dear all,

For this week, (Second Week you should read the following articles:

Milestone by Sayyid Qutb (posted on google drive)
Islamic Government (Vilayat-e Faqih) By Ayatollah Khomeini (posted on google drive)
What is Post-Islamism? By Asef Bayat (posted on google drive)

DOCUMENTARY:
·       Iranian Revolution 1979 Fall of a Shah - BBC Documentary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s5pRsCWW9k

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE PRESENTATION: Please bring the newspaper articles. Articles SHOULD BE related with ISLAM AND CAPITALISM/NEOLIBERALISM. Other subjects will not be accepted. PLEASE VERY BRIEFLY SUMMARIZE YOUR ARTICLE IN THE CLASS!

I need a print copy (First page) of your article, and please include your full name on it. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Best to all,

Tugrul Keskin

Introduction to International Relations (WEEK -2): Readings, Newspaper articles, and Presentations

Dear all, 
For the next week, (Week 2) you should read the following articles before the class:

4 Neoliberalism.

11 Freedom versus Collectivism in Foreign Aid (William Easterly).

12 The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time (Karl Polanyi).

13 Freedom’s Just Another Word . . . (David Harvey).

14 Neoliberalism as Exception, Exception to Neoliberalism (Aihwa Ong).

5 Structural Adjustment.

15 Structural Adjustment in East and Southeast Asia: Lessons from Latin America (Jim Glassman and Pádraig Carmody).

16 The Social Consequences of Structural Adjustment: Recent Evidence and Current Debates (Sarah Babb).

17 The Human Rights Effects of World Bank Structural Adjustment, 1981–2000 (M. Rodwan Abouharb and David L. Cingranelli).

18 How International Monetary Fund and World Bank Policies Undermine Labor Power and Rights (Vincent Lloyd and Robert Weissman).

19 Who Has Failed Africa?: IMF Measures or the African Leadership? (Gerald Scott).

DOCUMENTARY:

The Shock Doctrine [2009] Documentary by Naomi Klein
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3B5qt6gsxY

This week, we will have two presentations on Wednesday. YOU SHOULD PREPARE POWER POINTS and EMAIL IT TO ME A DAY BEFORE THE CLASS. 

This week, two students will have presentations:

HILAL NUR HALDAN

4 Neoliberalism.

11 Freedom versus Collectivism in Foreign Aid (William Easterly).

12 The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time (Karl Polanyi).

13 Freedom’s Just Another Word . . . (David Harvey).

14 Neoliberalism as Exception, Exception to Neoliberalism (Aihwa Ong).

 

 

ANDREW ALEXANDER

 

5 Structural Adjustment.

15 Structural Adjustment in East and Southeast Asia: Lessons from Latin America (Jim Glassman and Pádraig Carmody).

16 The Social Consequences of Structural Adjustment: Recent Evidence and Current Debates (Sarah Babb).

17 The Human Rights Effects of World Bank Structural Adjustment, 1981–2000 (M. Rodwan Abouharb and David L. Cingranelli).

18 How International Monetary Fund and World Bank Policies Undermine Labor Power and Rights (Vincent Lloyd and Robert Weissman).

19 Who Has Failed Africa?: IMF Measures or the African Leadership? (Gerald Scott).

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE PRESENTATION: Please bring RECENT newspaper articles. Articles SHOULD BE related with NEOLIBERALISM IN LATIN AMERICA. Other subjects will not be accepted. PLEASE VERY BRIEFLY SUMMARIZE YOUR ARTICLE IN THE CLASS!

I need a print copy (First page) of your article, and please include your full name on it. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Best to all,

Tugrul Keskin
 

Shanghai University Edward Said Lecture Series

The Pentagon Is Spending $2 Billion Running Soviet-Era Guns to Syrian Rebels

By Rhys Dubin

Foreign Policy - September 12, 2017

The U.S. Department of Defense is reportedly still funneling billions of dollars’ worth of Soviet-era weaponry to anti-Islamic State groups in Syria, with questionable oversight.
In a joint report published Tuesday, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) allege that the Pentagon has given up to $2.2 billion worth of weapons to groups like the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG.
The program sidesteps long-established checks on international weapons trafficking, the report alleges, and appears to be turbocharging a shadowy world of Eastern European arms dealers.
In particular, the Pentagon is reportedly removing documentary evidence about just who will ultimately be using the weapons, potentially weakening one of the bulwarks of international protocols against illicit arms dealing.

READ MORE.....

Deconstructing Deglobalization

Harold James 

PROJECT SYNDICATE - Sep 12, 2017 

US President Donald Trump and his advisers’ fierce rhetoric on trade and immigration has led some to wonder if our current era of globalization is now at risk. If it is, an even more pertinent question is whether the end will be accompanied by violence. 
PRINCETON – US President Donald Trump and his advisers’ fierce rhetoric on trade and immigration has led some to wonder if our current era of globalization is now at risk. If it is, an even more pertinent question is whether the end will be accompanied by violence. Stock markets have become increasingly jittery, owing to recollections of past moments when international economic integration was thrown into reverse. New trade wars or military conflicts could conceivably unravel the complex commercial interrelationships that have delivered prosperity since World War II.  In previous episodes of deglobalization, catastrophic events such as World War I or the financial crash of 1929 disrupted the flows of commerce, finance, and people that had previously linked countries together. One result of these crises was that nationality and citizenship became the key components of political and social life.

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My Beijing: The Sacred City

This metropolis was once a total work of art, epitomizing the religious and political system that ran China for millennia. The remnants of that time are being restored anew.

点击查看本文中文版  By IAN JOHNSON

THE NEW YORK TIMES - MAY 1, 2017

When I first came to Beijing in 1984, the city felt dusty and forgotten, a onetime capital of temples and palaces that Mao had vowed — successfully, it seemed — to transform into a landscape of factories and chimneys. Soot penetrated every windowsill and every layer of clothing, while people rode simple steel bicycles or diesel-belching buses through the windy old streets.

Then, as now, it was hard to imagine this sprawling city as the sacred center of China’s spiritual universe. But for most of its history, it was exactly that.

It wasn’t a holy city like Jerusalem, Mecca or Banaras, locations whose very soil was hallowed, making them destinations for pilgrims. Yet Beijing’s streets, walls, temples, gardens and alleys were part of a carefully woven tapestry that reflected the constellations above, geomantic forces below and an invisible overlay of holy mountains and gods. It was a total work of art, epitomizing the political-religious system that ran traditional China for millenniums. It was Chinese belief incarnate.

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Lawrence of Arabia: Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1935) - Hero for some, enemy for the others......

Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1935)

Thomas Edward Lawrence

The Taking of Akaba - 1917

TE Lawrence on a motorbike in army uniform

Then-Prince Faisal stands with his delegation at the Versailles peace conference after World War I in France. Faisal went on to become king of Iraq.

T.E. Lawrence in Wadi Rum, 1917

T.E. Lawrence (right) at Akaba with Damascene Nesib el Bekri (center), who was part of the original band that set forth to capture the strategic port.

This Day in History: Oct 1, 1918: Lawrence of Arabia captures Damascus

T.E. Lawrence and Lowell Thomas.

A rare signed photograph of T.E. Lawrence. You can see his signature in the bottom left-hand corner. The photograph was taken in October 1917

T.E. Lawrence

T.E. Lawrence, Prince Feisal, and others pose after taking Aqaba in July 1917.

T.E. Lawrence with Auda abu Tayi, leader of the Howeitat tribe.

British Heroes vignette stamps featuring T.E. Lawrence.

Colonel Lawrence at the Arab Bureau in Cairo

Churchill challenged Lawrence of Arabia (third from left) to a camel race in Egypt in 1921. Lawrence, of course, won

T.E. Lawrence by B.E. Leeson 1917

Thomas Edward Lawrence (1888-1935)
http://www.telstudies.org/