BSS 186/486 NATO and European Security Faculty Prof Dr Schuyler Foerster, DPhil Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Social Studies, Department of Political Science 240648@mail.muni.cz skyfoerster@gmail.com Course Schedule When: Every Thursday 9:45 am–11:15 am & 11:30 am–1:00 pm (double session) Note: This course only runs from 2 March through 13 April Where: FSS Room PC-25 (0945-1115) & FSS U-34 (1130-1300) Course Objective This course examines the past, present, and future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a unique peacetime security alliance that has been a cornerstone of European security for almost 70 years. Through lectures, seminar discussions, case studies, and simulations, we will examine the following main topics: · The historical challenge of finding peace and security in Europe. · The formation of NATO and America’s unique peacetime security guarantee · NATO during the Cold War: strategic debates in a bipolar world · NATO after the Cold War: enlargement and new missions in the Balkans & Afghanistan · NATO’s future: prospects for sustained adaptability in a changing world Course Requirements This course focuses on understanding and communicating complex concepts and applying them to the real world of policy. There is no midterm or final examination. Students are expected to complete a reasonable—but not excessive—amount of reading; to engage intellectually with the course material; to participate actively in seminar discussions that will take place during the second block each week; to write clearly in short essays addressing seminar discussion topics; and to conduct research on a selected NATO country and represent that country as part of a country team engaged in a final crisis simulation. Students will receive a final letter grade for the semester based on the following components, with a total possible of 100 points: · Written essays (75 points): Throughout the course, there will be five essays—each described in the syllabus—based on the previous week’s seminar discussion question. Each essay will be worth a maximum of 15 points. Each essay should be approximately 500 words, typed, double-spaced. · Crisis Simulation point paper (10 points): At the end of the course, students will participate on a country team in a crisis simulation, details of which will be distributed in class. Each team will prepare a joint “point paper” (worth a maximum of 10 points for each team member) outlining its goals, to be submitted at the beginning of class before the start of the simulation. · Seminar preparation, engagement and participation (15 points): This course is a combination of lecture, discussion, and role-playing simulation; it requires your active participation. The classroom is an environment of academic freedom. You should feel free to challenge the ideas set forth by faculty members and your peers in a respectful and well-mannered fashion. Support your positions with sound analysis, evidence, and reason. Focus on developing better arguments; policy is a domain in which there are few “correct” answers. To succeed, students should: ü Prepare beforehand by completing (and digesting) the assigned readings; ü Engage in class, by actively paying attention to lecture and discussion, taking comprehensive notes on the class, and asking questions if you need assistance in understanding the course material; ü Participate in class discussions by offering thoughtful insights in a courteous manner; by asking good questions during class that aid the discussion or out of class with your professor; and by active participation in the simulation. In this category, each student can earn up to 15 points, which your professor will determine using the following rubric: ü 14-15 points: Regular and courteous engagement and participation; asking good questions; answering questions intelligently and thoughtfully; contributing insight; clearly keeping up with the readings. ü 10-13 points: Clear engagement in class discussion by taking good notes, even if only occasionally participating actively in discussion; generally able to answer questions; keeping up with most of the reading; asking questions—either in or out of class—to help with understanding of the course material. ü 7-9 points: Some engagement or participation in class; only occasional evidence of having understood the reading material; argumentative with little reason or evidence of one’s position ü 4-6 points: Little or no participation; little or no evidence of having done the reading; passive demeanor or uncivil behavior in class ü 0-3 points: No engagement in the course or evidence of preparation for class. Grading Based on 100 possible points in the course, I will assign final letter grades as follows: A: 90-100 B: 80-89 C: 70-79 D: 60-69 E: 50-59 F: 0-49 Resources We will draw principally on four textbooks, all of which are available in the MU Faculty of Social Sciences library: Gülur AYBET & Rebecca MOORE (eds). NATO: In Search of a Vision (Washington: Georgetown University Press, 2010) Brian J. COLLINS. NATO: A Guide to the Issues (New York: Praeger, 2011) Stan SLOAN. Permanent Alliance? NATO and the Transatlantic Bargain from Truman to Obama (Continuum International Publishing Group, Inc, 2010) David YOST. NATO’s Balancing Act (Washington: US Institute of Peace, 2014) All other reading assignments will be available to you electronically as .pdf documents or as links from the NATO website, www.nato.int. You should also familiarize yourself with the resources available on the NATO website, since we will use them extensively. Please alert your professor if you have trouble accessing any of these materials. Assignments Specific assignments for each session of the course are on the following two pages. Date Subject & Assignment 2.3 0945 The Genesis of NATO ü The NATO Treaty, www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_17120.htm ü Collins, Chapters 1 & 2 (pp. 1-23) ü Sloan, Chapters 1 & 2 (pp. 3-30) 1130 Seminar Discussion: Was NATO the “right answer” for post-World War II security in Europe? 9.3 0945 NATO in the Cold War ü Essay #1 Due in Class: To what extent is NATO a unique security alliance, and was it the “right answer” for post-World War II security in Europe? ü Collins, Chapters 4 & 5 (pp. 41-87) ü Sloan, Chapters 3 & 4 (pp. 31-73) ü Finalize selection of NATO Country Team for Crisis Simulation 1130 Seminar Discussion: What issues plagued NATO strategy during the Cold War and how were they resolved? 16.3 0945 NATO After the Cold War: The Dilemmas of Enlargement ü Essay #2 Due in Class: Explain why NATO strategy throughout the Cold War remained ambiguous about the role of nuclear weapons? ü Sloan, Chapters 5, 6, & 10 (pp. 74-128, pp. 212-240) ü Yost, Chapter 8 (pp. 281-303) ü Kanet, “New Members & Future Enlargement,” in Aybet & Moore, Chapter 7 (pp. 153-174) ü NATO’s Strategic Concept (1991), www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_23847.htm ü NATO’s Strategic Concept (1999), www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/official_texts_27433.htm 1130 Seminar Discussion: Are there limits to NATO Enlargement? What and Why? 23.3 0945 NATO & Post-Cold War Conflicts: The Balkans ü Essay #3 Due in Class: Has NATO enlargement increased European security? ü Sloan, Chapter 8 (pp. 147-186) ü Webber, “The Kosovo War: A Recapitulation,” International Affairs (2009) ü Cascone, “NATO Enlargement & the Western Balkans,” in Aybet & Moore, Chapter 8 (pp. 175-197) 1130 Seminar Discussion: How should we assess NATO’s actions in the Balkans? 30.3 0945 NATO & Post-9.11 Conflicts: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria ü Essay #4 Due in Class: How can NATO ensure peace in the Balkans? ü Sloan, Chapters 9 & 11 (pp. 187-211, 241-266) ü Yost, Chapters 4 & 5 (pp. 123-154, 163-183) 1130 Seminar Discussion: How should NATO address conflict in the Middle East? 6.4 0945 NATO, Russia, & Ukraine ü Essay #5 Due in Class: What should NATO’s priorities be going forward? ü Foerster, “NATO’s Return: Implications for NATO Extended Deterrence” ü Sloan, Chapter 7 (pp. 129-146) ü Smith, “NATO-Russian Relations,” in Aybet & Moore, Chapter 5 (pp. 99-129) ü NATO-Russia Founding Act, www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_25468.htm ü NATO-Russia Council, www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_50091.htm ü NATO-Ukraine Charter, www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_25457.htm ü NATO-Ukraine Commission, www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_50319.htm ü Cecire, “Russia’s Art of War: State Branding by Other Means,” Foreign Affairs, 7 Feb 2017 1130 Seminar Discussion: How does NATO ensure a future peace in Europe? 13.4 0945 NATO’s Future: How Will it Respond to the Next Crisis? ü Crisis Simulation Team Point Paper Due in Class ü Shea, “NATO at Sixty-and Beyond,” in Aybet & Moore, Chapter 1 (pp. 11-34) ü NATO Strategic Concept (2010), www.nato.int/strategic-concept/pdf/Strat_Concept_web_en.pdf * * * Crisis Simulation Part I * * * 1130 * * * Crisis Simulation Part I I * * *