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Institutions and Foreign Policy of the United States of America
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:3.00
Study Course Accepted:05.02.2024 11:28:00
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | PZK_076 | LQF level: | Level 6 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 2.00 | ECTS: | 3.00 | ||||||
| Branch of Science: | Political Science | Target Audience: | Political Science | ||||||
| Study Course Supervisor | |||||||||
| Course Supervisor: | Edijs Bošs | ||||||||
| Study Course Implementer | |||||||||
| Structural Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences | ||||||||
| The Head of Structural Unit: | |||||||||
| Contacts: | Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szf rsu[pnkts]lv | ||||||||
| Study Course Planning | |||||||||
| Full-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 8 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 16 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 4 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 8 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 24 | ||||||||
| Study course description | |||||||||
| Preliminary Knowledge: | Fluent English. | ||||||||
| Objective: | The objective of the course is to provide an overview of the institutional landscape of U.S. politics and to introduce students to the main ideas and actors that have defined the U.S. role in the international system. | ||||||||
| Topic Layout (Full-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Introduction to the course and concepts. The political setup of the United States. Democracy and Federalism. Dominant political ideologies. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 2 | The main American political parties and their ideological characterisation. Functions and prerogatives of the U.S. Congress. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 3 | Public opinion and political socialization. Socio-economic determinants of political choices. Interest groups and their influence on American politics. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 4 | Presidential power and leadership in American domestic policy and foreign affairs. Management of the bureaucracy; foreign policy role of the National Security Council. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 5 | The Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, the Congress and their respective roles in the making of American foreign policy. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 6 | Inter-agency process in U.S. foreign-policy making. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 7 | Donald Trump: the persona and his foreign policy doctrine. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||||
| 8 | The United States as a global power: policies and role in Europe. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 9 | The United States as a global power: policies and role in the Middle East. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 10 | The United States as a global power: policies and role in East Asia. | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 11 | Overview of American regional roles in Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. | Classes | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| Assessment | |||||||||
| Unaided Work: | Final paper, review papers. | ||||||||
| Assessment Criteria: | At the end of the course students will receive a mark on a 10-mark scale. The final result will be made up of five components: (1) informed participation in the four seminars (4x5%=20%); (2) four review papers (4x5%=20%); (3) final paper (15%); (2) ten pop-quizzes (10x1%=10%); (5) exam (35%). | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Full-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | |||||||||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||
| Knowledge: | We will review the U.S.’s federal structure, the functioning of the main political parties and interest groups, the constitutional prerogatives of the Congress and the Presidency. We will also outline U.S. regional roles in Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. | ||||||||
| Skills: | Students will develop analytical tools necessary for the analysis of U.S. foreign policy. | ||||||||
| Competencies: | Develop a more acute perception of developments in foreign policy and international relations. | ||||||||
| Bibliography | |||||||||
| No. | Reference | ||||||||
| Required Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Mack C. Shelley, Barbara A. Bardes, Steffen W. Schmidt, American Government and Politics Today: The Essentials 2013-2014 Edition (Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2014) | ||||||||
| 2 | Jarel A. Rosati, James M. Scott, The Politics of the United States Foreign Policy (Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011). | ||||||||
