美國外交政策
This course is a one-semester elective, intended mainly for juniors and seniors in the Section of International Relations in the NTU’s Department of Political Science. It is conducted entirely in English, partly in order to strengthen the students’ ability to deliberate, speak, and write about international affairs in the language. Instead of providing an introductory overview of general issues in American foreign policy since the country’s birth, this course focuses on the U.S. foreign policy settings, designs, debates, and behaviors in the post-Cold War era. Therefore, this course does not encompass such specific topics as the decisionmaking processes and dynamics, analytical models and levels, theoretical perspectives, and explanatory approaches of foreign policy. Rather, this course places particular emphasis upon the changes and continuities before and after the ending of Cold War, and between discreet U.S. administrations after the ending, in terms of the overarching ideas and values, key objectives, core interests, major policy actions, available resources, and binding constraints. Accordingly, discussions along the dimensions of issues and geographical areas of American foreign policy since 1989 till now will make up the subject matter of this class.
Course Requirements
This is not completely a lecture course in nature. It stands somewhere between an undergraduate lecture course and a graduate seminar. Students are strongly expected to complete the weekly assigned readings and be fully prepared to participate heavily in class discussion. In addition, this class offers an opportunity for the students to sharpen their English writing skills in analyzing foreign policy issues and decision-making. To this end, the students will submit a short analytic essay on a topic of their own choice. An in-class final examination will be held during the last week of the semester. The final score will be evaluated as follows:
— class participation（60%）
— analytic essay（20%）
— in-class final examination（20%）
