POL4721 US Foreign PolicyBahçeşehir UniversityDegree Programs PSYCHOLOGYGeneral Information For StudentsDiploma SupplementErasmus Policy StatementNational QualificationsBologna Commission
PSYCHOLOGY
Bachelor TR-NQF-HE: Level 6 QF-EHEA: First Cycle EQF-LLL: Level 6

Course Introduction and Application Information

Course Code Course Name Semester Theoretical Practical Credit ECTS
POL4721 US Foreign Policy Fall 3 0 3 6
This catalog is for information purposes. Course status is determined by the relevant department at the beginning of semester.

Basic information

Language of instruction: English
Type of course: Non-Departmental Elective
Course Level: Bachelor’s Degree (First Cycle)
Mode of Delivery: Hybrid
Course Coordinator : Assoc. Prof. ESRA ALBAYRAKOĞLU
Recommended Optional Program Components: None
Course Objectives: The United States is the current most influential actor in the international arena. Its foreign policy contributes greatly to the ‘world’s domestic policy’. Therefore, exploring the U.S. governmental system and its foreign policy is crucial to understanding the dynamics of international relations. Foreign policy is influenced by both domestic politics and international influences, and it is determined by many political actors – from domestic interest groups, bureaucratic institutions to international institutions, economic markets, international alliances and distribution of power in the world.

Learning Outcomes

The students who have succeeded in this course;
The students who have succeeded in this course;

I. Explain American foreign policy
II. Define important actors of American foreign policy
III. Discuss continuity and change in American foreign policy
IV. Demonstrate the transformation of basic principles and institutions of American foreign policy
V. Recognize national and international factors in foreign policy making process
VI. Evaluate American foreign policy in a multidimensional way.

Course Content

This course will cover many important topics from the U.S. foreign policy. First and foremost, in order to understand the U.S. foreign policy one must first understand the U.S. political system and the balance of power, thus the U.S. Congress, Presidency and interest groups are covered in the first part of the course together with the foreign policy making process. The second part of the course covers the history of American foreign policy from the U.S. foundation to the post September 11 era. The third part of the course touches some of the important issues and contemporary challenges in U.S. foreign policy, like the relations with the U.S. relations with the Middle East and Turkey, U.S. National Security and Defense Policy and the future of U.S. foreign policy.

Weekly Detailed Course Contents

Week Subject Related Preparation
1) Foundation of the United States of America - (brief history of the U.S. foundation) Prereading
2) Congress (organization – Senate & HoR, congressional elections, the legislative process, voting procedures) Prereading
3) The Presidency (the presidency in the Constitution, presidential elections, contemporary presidential roles, limits of presidential power) Prereading
4) Interest Groups and Lobbies (kinds of interest groups, lobbying congress, election activities, Turkish interest groups in the U.S.) Prereading
5) Foreign Policy Making Process (understanding U.S. foreign policy, theory of U.S. foreign policy, policy making) Prereading
6) American Foreign Policy at the Foundation of the U.S. (U.S. foreign policy traditions, moral principles) Prereading
7) U.S. Foreign Policy from the Founding to the World War II: from Unilateralism to Engagement (unilateralism, the role of isolationism in U.S. foreign policy, Monroe Doctrine) Prereading
8) U.S. Foreign Policy during the Cold War (the origins of the Cold War, Containment, American global involvement, Truman Doctrine, The Marshall Plan) Prereading
9) Post Cold War Era in U.S. Foreign Policy (New World Order, The Clinton Administration, 1990’s U.S. intervention) Prereading
10) U.S. Foreign Policy after September 11 (terrorism, neoconservative ideology, Bush Doctrine) Prereading
11) National Security and Defense Policy (the foundation of strategy, justifying the use of force, the nuclear weapon, War on Terrorism, the Itelligence Agencies, Department of Homeland Security) Prereading
12) U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East (from Wilson to Trump – transformation in the U.S. foreign policy towards the Middle East, Cold War era, the U.S. and Israel, the U.S. and oil, the 2003 Iraq War) Prereading
13) U.S.-Turkish Relations (theory and history of the U.S.-Turkish relations, Cold War and post-Cold War era, current U.S.-Turkish relations) Prereading
14) The Future of U.S. Foreign Policy and Transnational Policy Problems (strengths and weaknesses of the U.S., future foreign policies, managing global commons, the immigration debate, dangers of weapon proliferation, promoting human rights and democracy) Prereading

Sources

Course Notes / Textbooks: - R. A. Heineman, S.A. Peterson, T. A. Rasmussen, American Government, 2nd Edition, 1995, Chapter 2: The Founding Fathers, pp.19-45.
- A. Gitelson, M.J. Dubnick, R.Dudley, American Government, 7th Edition, 2004, Chapter 2: Constitutional Foundations, pp.24-61.
- Karen O’Connor, Larry J. Sabato, American Government: Roots and Reform, 2009 Edition, Longman, New York 2009, Chapter 7: Congress, pp. 234-271
- Steven W. Hook, U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power,Second Edition, CQ Press, Washington D.C. 2008, Chapter 5: Congress Beyond the ‘Water’s Edge’, pp.128-161.
- James M. McCormick, American Foreign Policy & Process, Fifth Edition, Wadsworth, Boston, 2010, Chapter 8: Congressional prerogatives and the making of foreign policy, pp.307-357.
- Karen O’Connor, Larry J. Sabato, American Government: Roots and Reform, 2009 Edition, Longman, New York 2009, Chapter 8: The Presidency, pp. 272-305
- Steven W. Hook, U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power,Second Edition, CQ Press, Washington D.C. 2008, Chapter 4: Presidential Power, pp.98-127.
- James M. McCormick, American Foreign Policy & Process, Fifth Edition, Wadsworth, Boston, 2010, Chapter 7: The president and the making of foreign policy, pp.251-305.
- Karen O’Connor, Larry J. Sabato, American Government: Roots and Reform, 2009 Edition, Longman, New York 2009, Chapter 16: Interest Groups, pp.566-595
- Steven W. Hook, U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power,Second Edition, CQ Press, Washington D.C. 2008, Chapter 9: Social Movements and Interest Groups, pp.255-290.
- Joyce P. Kaufman, A Concise History of U.S. Foreign Policy, Second Edition, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc., Plymounth UK, 2010, Chapter 1: Setting the stage for understanding U.S. foreign policy, pp.1-29.
- Michael Cox, Doug Stokes, US Foreign Policy, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008, Chapter 1: Theories of US foreign relations, Chapter 2: American Exceptionalism, pp.1-42.
- Steven W. Hook, U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power, Second Edition, CQ Press, Washington D.C. 2008, Chapter 3:Dynamics of Decision Making, pp.64-97.
- Michael Cox, Doug Stokes, US Foreign Policy, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008, Chapter 3: The rise to world power, 1776-1945, pp.45-62.
- James M. McCormick, American Foreign Policy & Process, Fifth Edition, Wadsworth, Boston, 2010, Chapter 1: America’s traditions in foreign policy, pp.5-33.
- Steven W. Hook, U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power,Second Edition, CQ Press, Washington D.C. 2008, Chapter 2:The expansion of U.S. Power (Economic and Territorial Expansion), pp.26-34.
- James M. McCormick, American Foreign Policy & Process, Fifth Edition, Wadsworth, Boston, 2010, Chapter 1: America’s traditions in foreign policy, pp.12-17.
- Joyce P. Kaufman, A Concise History of U.S. Foreign Policy, Second Edition, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc., Plymounth UK, 2010, Chapter 2: Unilateralism to Engagement: The Founding to the end of World War I, pp.31-56.
- Steven W. Hook, U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power,Second Edition, CQ Press, Washington D.C. 2008, Chapter 2:The expansion of U.S. Power (Fighting Two World Wars), pp.34-37
- Steven H. Hook, John Spanier, American Foreign Policy since World War II, CQ Press, Washington D.C., 2010, Chapters 2-3, pp.21-72.
- James M. McCormick, American Foreign Policy & Process, Fifth Edition, Wadsworth, Boston, 2010, Chapter 2: America’s global involvement and the emergence of the Cold War, pp.35-67.
- Michael Cox, Doug Stokes, US Foreign Policy, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008, Chapter 4: American Foreign Policy during the Cold War,, pp.63-87.
- Joyce P. Kaufman, A Concise History of U.S. Foreign Policy, Second Edition, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc., Plymounth UK, 2010, Chapter 4: The Cold War, pp.77-113.
- Steven W. Hook, U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power,Second Edition, CQ Press, Washington D.C. 2008, Chapter 2:The expansion of U.S. Power (Global Premacy at the Cold War), pp.39-51.
- Joyce P. Kaufman, A Concise History of U.S. Foreign Policy, Second Edition, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc., Plymounth UK, 2010, Chapter 5: Beyond The Cold War: Reagan Through Clinton, pp.115-137.
- Steven W. Hook, U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power,Second Edition, CQ Press, Washington D.C. 2008, Chapter 2:The expansion of U.S. Power (New Challenges after the Cold War), pp. 51-61.
- James M. McCormick, American Foreign Policy & Process, Fifth Edition, Wadsworth, Boston, 2010, Chapter 5: Foreign Policy after the Cold War: The Bush and Clinton Administrations, pp.153-199.
- Joyce P. Kaufman, A Concise History of U.S. Foreign Policy, Second Edition, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc., Plymounth UK, 2010, Chapter 6: September 11 and After, pp.139-165.
- James M. McCormick, American Foreign Policy & Process, Fifth Edition, Wadsworth, Boston, 2010, Chapter 6: American foreign policy after September 11: The George W. Bush Administration, pp.201-249.
- Steven W. Hook, U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power, Second Edition, CQ Press, Washington D.C. 2008, Chapter 10:National Security and Defense Policy, pp. 291-328.
- James M. McCormick, American Foreign Policy & Process, Fifth Edition, Wadsworth, Boston, 2010, Chapter 10: The Military and Intelligence Bureaucracies: Pervasive or Accountable?, pp.411-472
- Michael Cox, Doug Stokes, US Foreign Policy, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008, Chapter 11: U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East,, pp.213-235.
- Steven H. Hook, John Spanier, American Foreign Policy since World War II, CQ Press, Washington D.C., 2010, Chapter 9, pp.212-221.
- Nasah Uslu, The Turkish-American Relationship: Between 1947-2003 The History of a Distinctive Alliance, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., New York, 2003, Chapters: 2,4,5,6,7,8,10,11.
- Steven W. Hook, U.S. Foreign Policy: The Paradox of World Power, Second Edition, CQ Press, Washington D.C. 2008, Chapter 12: Transnational Policy Problems, pp. 364-399.
- Michael Cox, Doug Stokes, US Foreign Policy, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008, Chapter 22: The future of U.S. foreign policy, pp.433-450.
References: Articles in Course Package

Evaluation System

Semester Requirements Number of Activities Level of Contribution
Attendance 14 % 20
Midterms 1 % 40
Final 1 % 40
Total % 100
PERCENTAGE OF SEMESTER WORK % 60
PERCENTAGE OF FINAL WORK % 40
Total % 100

ECTS / Workload Table

Activities Number of Activities Workload
Course Hours 14 42
Study Hours Out of Class 14 102
Midterms 1 2
Final 1 2
Total Workload 148

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

No Effect 1 Lowest 2 Low 3 Average 4 High 5 Highest
           
Program Outcomes Level of Contribution
1) To develop an interest in the human mind and behavior, to be able to evaluate theories using empirical findings, to understand that psychology is an evidence-based science by acquiring critical thinking skills.
2) To gain a biopsychosocial perspective on human behavior. To understand the biological, psychological, and social variables of behavior.
3) To learn the basic concepts in psychology and the theoretical and practical approaches used to study them (e.g. basic observation and interview techniques).
4) To acquire the methods and skills to access and write information using English as the dominant language in the psychological literature, to recognize and apply scientific research and data evaluation techniques (e.g. correlational, experimental, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, case studies).
5) To be against discrimination and prejudice; to have ethical concerns while working in research and practice areas.
6) To recognize the main subfields of psychology (experimental, developmental, clinical, cognitive, social and industrial/organizational psychology) and their related fields of study and specialization.
7) To acquire the skills necessary for analyzing, interpreting and presenting the findings as well as problem posing, hypothesizing and data collection, which are the basic elements of scientific studies.
8) To gain the basic knowledge and skills necessary for psychological assessment and evaluation.
9) To acquire basic knowledge of other disciplines (medicine, genetics, biology, economics, sociology, political science, communication, philosophy, anthropology, literature, law, art, etc.) that will contribute to psychology and to use this knowledge in the understanding and interpretation of psychological processes.
10) To develop sensitivity towards social problems; to take responsibility in activities that benefit the field of psychology and society.
11) To have problem solving skills and to be able to develop the necessary analytical approaches for this.
12) To be able to criticize any subject in business and academic life and to be able to express their thoughts.