American Power: Soft, Hard, or Smart
Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, turmoil in the Middle East, and Russian and Chinese expansionist tendencies have raised important questions about how the United States should use power to defend its interests. In this course we will survey historical, institutional, and theoretical factors as a prelude to consideration of how the United States has used its power since WWII. Using selected case studies, we will examine pro/con arguments for different approaches to the use of power (soft, hard, smart) with class debate and discussion, as well as reviews of relevant daily news reports written and presented by class members. (International Relations and Foreign Policy)/