ONEONTA STATE COLLEGE

POLS 382 Fall, 2008 Professor Paul Conway
Mondays 6-8:30 Office: Fitzelle 410
Fitzelle 218

"The standard of justice depends on the equality of power to compel . . . " (Thucydides)

"The task of human rights advocacy is to speak truth to power..." (Jack Donnelly)

CATALOG COURSE DESCRIPTION
POLS 382 International Organization and Law 3 s.h.
Analysis of theory, development, and contemporary problems of international organizations and law. Focuses on the United Nations’ system of specialized agencies (emphasizing the International Atomic Energy Agency and the “World Bank” among others). Selected regional organizations and resource cartels are also considered. (This semester, efforts to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) global environmental issues, human rights politics such as the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) and the World Trade Organization, will be discussed.) (LA, S) Prerequisite: JrS or permission of instructor.

The conceptualization of this course begins with several assumptions: The political system we will study is comprised of over 190 increasingly interdependent states. The most important problems and conflicts in this world tend to be interrelated. Nonetheless because the system is very complex and we all tend to be somewhat ethnocentric it is difficult to analyze the system and its problems in an holistic and objective manner. But try we must.
Just consider some the developments since the 9/11/01 attacks on the United States: The US declared war on terrorism with wide support from many countries and peoples throughout the world. But despite the elimination of despotic regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US squandered much of that support and violent anti-American extremism has become more intense. Conflict within Iraq is likely to continue indefinitely. The world continues to depend upon oil resources from the Mid East and the conflict between Israel and Palestinians continues to undermine hopes for stability in the region. Political leaders with differing perspectives must address the related problems of terrorism, economic failure, environmental pollution, and warfare with urgency.

To what extent is international law and organization relevant? How much can we expect from the United Nations and the most important, specialized international agencies? Do US foreign policies promote a stronger and more effective global system? We can examine these issues with an open minded attitude and an inquisitive approach. We can learn some things from history and scholarly research. Because this subject of international politics is so complex and there is such indeterminacy to events, no one -- student or professor -- should pose as a know-it-all.

THIS COURSE:
This course encourages an analytic approach to international organization and law beginning with the notion that law and organization are intertwined, not separate subjects. The organizational centerpiece in the international political system is the United Nations and its dozens of specialized agencies that address various issues and problems. But there is no higher sovereign power than the powerful states that shape the international political system. In this course we will consider some threats to human civilization posed by the most dangerous and destructive weapons of warfare, overpopulation, pollution, and the waste of finite, natural resources. The readings and presentations will emphasizc politics in light of history, geography, and economics. You will be expected to explain and relate fundamental political concepts such as realism, deterrence, balance of power politics, bureaucracy, diplomacy and international law.

POLS 392 is structured as a small group seminar so attendance must be considered a requirement. If an emergency requires that you miss one class please inform me beforehand.

This instructor: I did most of my undergraduate work at Michigan State University and graduate studies at Montclair State in New Jersey and Purdue University in Indiana Much of my research and teaching has been in the subfield of international politics and U.S. foreign policy. OFFICE HOURS: My office is 410 Fitzelle Hall. I will be available on campus in my office from 2-4 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 2 to 3 on Mondays. If necessary, we can easily arrange to meet at other times that may be more convenient for you. My campus phone# is 3923. The local e-mail address is conwaypg.

J. Martin Rochester, Between Peril and Promise: The Politics of International Law (Washington: CQ Press, 2006)

Nicole Deller, Arjun Makhaijani, J. Borroughs, Rule of Power or Rule of Law? Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy and Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, 2003. (referred to as "RULE" below)

Recommended supplementary book
Gareth Porter, Janet Welsh Brown, and Pamela S. Chasek, Global Environmental Politics (Boulder: Westview, 3d edition, 2000) (referred to as GEP below)
We will also utilize the United Nations Charter http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/unchart.htm
and excerpts of periodical essays that will be distributed in class.

GRADES: Revised criteria:
The research/term paper will count for a minimum of 50% or a maximum of 75% of the course grade.
Class participation will count for 12-25% of the overall grade.
There will be two tests and two assignments;
the tests and assignments will count for 12-25% of the overall grade
The final grade will be averaged so as to maximize the highest grade that can be attained, depending upon how students do in two or three of the categories above.

Obviously the term paper will be a major consideration in the development of this course. Students are encouraged to select a topic of interest and begin research and writing as early in the semester as possible. A format and guidelines for the research paper are available via http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/format.shtml

PLAGIARISM (Policy statement suggested by college administration) "Academic dishonesty is defined as any act by a student that misrepresents or attempts to misrepresent to an instructor or any College official, the proficiency or achievement of that student or any student in any academic exercise for the purpose of influencing a grade on a piece of assigned work, on an examination or quiz or in a course as a whole, or that is intended to alter any record of a student’s academic performance by unauthorized mea ns." "A student deemed guilty of an act of academic dishonesty may, depending on the nature of the offense, be subject to one or more of the following measures: failure of the assignment or examination, failure of the course, or dismissal from the College. Furthermore, for a second offense, referral of the case to the Standing Disciplinary Board is mandatory. The penalties that may be assessed by the Board are listed under the Procedures of the Standing Disciplinary Board as published in this publication; however, the normal penalty is suspension or dismissal."

NOTE: The outline below may be modified for instructional purposes during the first two months. Changes will be announced in class.

September
1                      Introduction to the course: Nuts and bolts.
                        The seminar experience and expectations regarding the term paper (topic selection, comparisons, sources, etc.)
                        US foreign policy: Discussion of essay by Fareed Zakaria, "What Bush Got Right"

8 Genocide and the international political system: Why is intervention difficult? Assigned readings from Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal: Special Edition on the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Vol 2, No. 3 Fall,2007. (and video) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ghosts/video/

What questions are raised by the Rwanda catastrophe and subsequent research?

(( FYI: Conway's research in Rwanda and the concept of reconciliation http://rwanda.oneonta.edu ))
The concept of "reconciliation" in societies after mass violence has occurred: The example of South Africa after apartheid.

15 (A)            How, where, and why did the modern state system come into being?
                        The legacy of Westphalia and the international system prior to WW II -
                        Basic concepts: nations, states, nationalism;
                        sovereignty, realism, deterrence, and balance of power politics
                        IGO's, bureaucracy, NGO's, functionalist theory, international regimes                 Rochester 1-52
                        Sidebar: Russia's invasion of Georgia in August of 2008 http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21772

29                   The League of Nations and the ideal of collective security
                      The United Nations: Background and organizational structure
                      www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/un/unchart.htm                                            Rochester 75-108

Video on Ralph Bunche: Former Undersecretary General of the UN (In class and on reserve)

October
6  (T)              Concept: Collective security
                       International security and the UN: From Korea to Iraq
                       The "Uniting for Peace" resolution as an informal amendment to the Charter?
                        Humanitarian intervention (Case studies: Somalia in 1992
                        Bosnia(1993), and Kosovo(1999) -- NATO supercedes the UN?)
                        The first effective responses to mass murders in the post Cold War era?

13                International law and global security: Weapons of mass destruction:
                      What should the US and the UN do in response to the dangers?       RULE 1-91
                              Nuclear weapons and nonproliferation politics: The NPT, the IAEA and the CTB
                        One supplemental source, "Arms Control Today" is now online at <http://www.armscontrol.org>.
                      Chemical and Bacteriological weapons regimes: Do they deter or discourage the use of ABC weapons?

20 Arms control measures compared
Which treaty is most significant and important? Which is least useful? Which is most verifiable? Least?

                        Humanitarian (as distinct from human rights) law
                        The movement to ban military land mines and "CBUs"
                        The creation of the International Criminal Court                              RULE 92-100;
                        Arguments for and against: Can either work without US support?          113-140

27 (A) Global Warming and the Kyoto Treaty: Focus on US policy (handout plus RULE 101-108)

November 3 The concept of a global "commons" (G. Hardin) and "common heritage of mankind" ( Pardo)
The Oceans? Antarctica? the Stratosphere? Outer Space? (handouts plus Rochester 139-158)

(Submit introduction and background to the research paper with primary, secondary, periodical and internet sources cited)

10 ***                            Case studies in international regimes and agencies
                    The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and Social Affairs Office in NYC
                    Guest presentation by Mr. Barry Rigby

                    Overview and selective review of international regimes: Biodiversity, Desertification; Whaling;
                    African elephants; Antarctica; Ozone Layer Depletion; Global Warming; Concentrated toxic waste disposal

17                 Globalization and the WTO.                                                                        Rochester 109-138
                      Can the global economy be stabilized? Is the WTO dispute resolution effective?
                    What can and should be done about global poverty?
                         Who gets foreign aid and why?

BREAK


December
1      Critiques and oral presentations of topics being researched

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First Assignment Fall, 2008
POLITICAL SCIENCE 382 Prof P. Conway

Task: Do a critique of two scholarly, academic journal articles that deal with a topic you are interested in. One of the essays should be in a journal such as Foreign Affairs, the second can be in Foreign Policy, or a similar publication.

Objectives: (a.) To acquaint you with two academic journals as sources of data and ideas on international affairs. (b.) To encourage you to think critically about some research published in a scholarly journal in the field of international politics; (c.) to facilitate your writing a coherent critical essay (critique) in response to the journal article; (d) to encourage your selection of a possible research paper topic for this course.

Steps to follow:
1. Look at the list of periodicals below. Select two interesting, related articles dealing with an international problem that relates to international organization and law. (Choose a topic that is of interest to you.) Be sure to select the articles from the scholarly journals listed below. (Note: If you want to select from any other periodical sources you must get prior approval.)
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Policy
International Politics (UK)
International Security
Journal of Conflict Resolution
New York Review of Books
Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution (OJPCR)
World Politics

Sign up for the articles that you select. (Phone or email the instructor: I will bring the list to class and post it on my office door)
Provide full citations, with author, title, name of periodical, volume, date, pages. (if you use the internet to locate an article be sure to provide the complete web address as well)

2. Ask yourself why you are interested in the subject and what you expect to get from the articles you selected. Before you read the articles ask yourself: What do you know and what don’t you know about the subject? What questions do you start with? Then read carefully and take notes. At that point, after you have finished the articles ask yourself what you learned, what new questions you consider most important and why you have a positive or negative reaction to the articles. How did the articles differ in terms of focus, perspective, and content? Now what do you think?

3. Suggestions: The critique is a personal think piece or reaction paper. This one should be 3-4 pages (typed and double spaced), no longer. Don’t refer to the writing style of the authors or the readability of the articles. (You should have selected articles that you found readable in the first place.) Your only concern should be with the substance, i.e., the content of the articles. Do not summarize the articles (beyond perhaps two paragraphs). Share your reactions and thoughts about both articles Discuss how they influenced your thinking about the issue. The article should provide a point of departure or frame of reference for you to express your thoughts and questions about the topic. Remember to express your tentative understanding of the topic and how it relates to one or more of the concepts discussed in this course. Emphasize what you don’t know (new questions) even more than what you feel you do know about the subject.

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APPENDICES

Comparative perspectives on courts in the international legal system
The ICJ, the ICC and the WTO:
Political comparisons of courts in the international legal system?
One institution is coming to life, another is maturing, yet another is virtually moribund.

The International Court of Justice (affiliated with the United Nations) (ICJ) http://www.icj-cij.org/
Background – League’s Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) to UN

Objectives - Political conflict resolution and advisory opinions
Institutional framework based in the Hague (15 justices elected by concurrent vote of SC and GA
serve 9 year terms) Majority votes decides, 9 needed for quorum
Jurisdiction (over 162 states are parties to Statute and 49 adherents to compulsory jurisdiction
but commitments are easily broken)
Examples of cases include the Corfu Channel dispute(46), SWAfrica(66),
USA v Iran(1981), Nicaragua v USA(1984)

Limited number of cases (and acknowledgement of conflicts not adjudicated)
Prospects are gloomy for the development of the ICJ

The International Criminal Court (ICC) http://www.un.org/law/icc/
Background – Nuremburg, genocide conv, Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals, 1998 Rome Conference

Objectives – prosecution of those suspected of egregious political crimes such as
mass murders, genocide, "crimes against humanity"

(120 supported the ICC framework, 7 opposed - the US, Iraq, Libya, Israel, Yemen, Qatar, PRC
Jurisdiction over countries participating in the system
Prospects – 139 states have signed, 92 ratifications, Rome Statute went into effect in July, 2002.;
opposition from US and others limit the ICC’s potential usefulness and effectiveness

Justice vs Peace ? Political trade offs and compromised principles in (international) politics:
What happened in Sierra Leone and Liberia?

The World Trade Organization (WTO) http://www.wto.org/
Background – GATT, Uruguay Round, 1994 (148 members)
Objectives - Elimination of governmental barriers to trade; establish set of rules, forum for negotiations and resolution of disputes

Jurisdiction over member states engaged in economic disputes
Dispute resolution mechanisms:
"Good offices," mediation, and last, arbitration based upon Panels of 3 to 5 experts (representing different
nationalities) selected by the countries involved in the dispute. When necessary the Director General can appoint one of the panelists
Prospects - Potential for growth and development in resolving and managing economic conflicts are very good.
In recent cases the US has lost to the EU in disputes over US tariffs to protect steel companies and tax breaks for corporations'
offshore operations

Regimes" including treaties and international law related to Arms Control (Biological, Weapons,
Chemical Weapons, Nuclear Test Ban, Land Mines, Anti-Ballistic Missile treaties) and
Globalization and Environmental issues (Acid rain; Ozone depletion; African elephant ivory; Whaling;
Toxic waste trade; Antarctic environment; Straddling/highly migratory fish stocks; Biodiversity;
Climate change). What are US policies and how can they be explained?

Economic sanctions
Organizations:
IMO/International Maritime Organization?
IAEA
EU
ASEAN
NATO
WTO
IMF
World Bank/IBRD
OPEC?

Relatively inactive or insignificant organizations
Trusteeship Council
World Court/ICJ
AU (OAU)?
OAS?
Interpol?
OPEC?
ICC?

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Supplementary materials and links related to TORTURE and the CAT

The Abu Ghraib photos: cautionary warning - they are graphic: http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/iraqis_tortured/
The whistle blowers - what happens to them? Sp. Joseph Darby, General Taguba
The documents: - Geneva Protocol; UN Protocol; - Convention Against the Practice of Torture (CAT)
(Taguba Report)
QUESTIONS about torture -
Defining torture for political purposes How is, and how should, torture be defined?
Have US government officials promoted or condoned torture?
Does torture generate useful information?
- What are the political consequences given the widespread perception that the US has promoted torture of captives?
What happens if individuals go outside the chain of command to report perceived abuses?
Does domestic or international law matter in deciding on such practices or policies?

Excerpts from related international declarations and laws/treaties:

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

The Geneva Protocol on the treatment of prisoners of war (1929 and 1949)
. . . the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

(b) Taking of hostages;

The UN Protocol on Political and Civil Liberties (1976)
Article 7

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.

Article 8
No one shall be held in slavery; slavery and the slave-trade in all their forms shall be prohibited.
No one shall be held in servitude.
No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour

The International Convention Against Torture (1984/87)
PART I Article 1

1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "torture" means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.

Different views on the question of US policies (re Guantanemo)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15839964
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15843094
Perspective of a Marine lawyer http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15783244