Spring 2005
Fully Enrolled

SOCS 625
International Organization in the Modern Age: Managing International Relations in a Complex World

Gallarotti,Giulio

01/27/2005 - 05/05/2005
Thursday 06:00 PM - 08:30 PM

Public Affairs Center 421

In the modern world of the global village, nations can no longer use their boundaries to isolate themselves from problems in the world at large. Technology and globalization have made the planet a very intimate place indeed. In such an environment, solving global problems has become ever more crucial as the spreading web of interdependence ties the fate of nations closely together. Nations have increasingly attempted to manage this interdependence collectively through the use of international organizations. In some cases, these organizations have been hailed as the very foundation for building an international system based on law and order (the United Nations), while in other cases these organizations have been vilified as the instruments of imperialism (International Monetary Fund and World Bank). This course represents a systematic study of these organizations: their structures, impact, successes, and failures. Emphasis will be placed on analyzing competing theories of international organization and evaluating the performance of these institutions in today's most important international issue-areas: security, trade, money, economic development, food aid, human rights, and the environment. In addition, the class will participate in a simulated diplomatic bargaining session on current international issues.



Since this course meets over the dinner hour, we will make an effort to eat together during class. Professor Gallarotti will provide food on the first night of class, then students will divide into small groups and select one or two class meetings for which they will provide food for the group. Contributions are strictly voluntary, and people who volunteer to bring food should bring whatever amount and kind of food they feel comfortable with.

Course materials include several documentary films, a photocopied packet of readings, and the following books: Ziring, Riggs, Plano, THE UNITED NATIONS; UNA-USA, A GLOBAL AGENDA: ISSUES BEFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY; Jacobson, NETWORKS OF INTERDEPENDENCE.

Class participation and two research papers are required.

A syllabus for this course is available at:
Course Syllabus


Giulio Gallarotti (B.A. Hunter College; M.I.A., Ph.D. Columbia University) is professor of Government and Tutor in the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan University. He has also been a visiting professor in the Department of Economic Theory at the University of Rome.

He is the author of The Anatomy of an International Monetary Regime: The Classical Gold Standard 1880-1914 (Oxford University Press, 1995), The Power Curse: Influence and Illusion in World Politics (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2010), and Cosmopolitan Power in International Relations: A Synthesis of Realism, Neoliberalism, and Constructivism (Cambridge University Press, 2010). In addition, he has published numerous articles in leading journals across five disciplines: economics, politics, law, history, and business. In 2010 and 2011 his biography was published in Marquis Who's Who in America.

ENROLLMENT INFORMATION

Consent of Instructor Required: No

Format: Seminar

Level: GLSP Credits: 3 Enrollment Limit: 18

Texts to purchase for this course:
UNA:USA, A GLOBAL AGENDA, 2004-2005 (United Nations), Paperback

Lawrence Ziring, THE UNITED NATIONS (Wadsworth), Paperback

READING MATERIALS AVAILABLE AT BROAD STREET BOOKS, 45 BROAD STREET, MIDDLETOWN, 860-685-7323

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