Evolution of the International Order (Virtual)
The virtual seminar on the "Evolution of the International Order" provides AHS members with a historical perspective on contemporary international affairs as well as an appreciation of what American leadership has achieved. Part I runs during the fall semester and, through 5 sessions, examines the major historical ideas and events — the Peace of Westphalia; Congress of Vienna; and the Treaty of Versailles — out of which today's international order was born. The sessions revolve around one of foreign policy’s classic works: Diplomacy by Henry Kissinger. The first session is the notable exception: it draws on Thinking in Time by Ernest May and Richard Neustadt to underscore history’s use and misuse by decision-makers. Part II runs during the spring semester and building on Robert Zoellick’s America in the World examines the ideas and people behind American statecraft and diplomacy. Admitted students receive complimentary copies of Thinking in Time, Diplomacy, and America in the World.
The seminar is taught by Valerian Sikhuashvili, senior advisor for Academic Programs, and the readings are selected to enable participants to meaningfully participate in question-driven discussions. You can learn more details about reading assignments and schedule below.
Session Dates: Part II (Spring 2025) - Monday’s, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. ET: Feb. 24, March 10, March 24, April 7, April 21
The applications for Part II (below) will open December 10, 2024 and close February 3, 2025.
Part II (Spring 2025)
Session I: Hamilton: Architect of American Power
Date: Monday, February 24, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. (ET)
Topics: Hamilton’s economic strategy; a policy of neutrality; economic statecraft; American realism.
Required Reading: Robert Zoellick, America in the World. pp. 1-93.
Recommended Reading: Robert Kagan, Dangerous Nation, pp. 71–129; Publius, Federalist Paper No. 8.
SESSION 2: The United States and the Global Power
Date: Monday, March 10, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. (ET)
Topics: The open door; Roosevelt and the global balance of power; A war to make the world safe for democracy.
Required Reading: Zoellick, pp. 97-165.
Recommended Reading: Colin Dueck, Reluctant Crusaders, pp. 44–81: Walter Russell Mead, Special Providence, pp. 132-174.
SESSION 3: Interwar Internationalists
Date: Monday, March 24, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. (ET)
Topics: Arms control and the Washington conference; The American international law tradition; Reciprocal trade/trade and foreign policy.
Required Reading: Zoellick, pp. 168-237.
Session 4: Nationalism and Realpolitik
Date: Monday, April 7, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. (ET)
Topics: Nationalism in the 19th century; Realpolitik as a foreign policy.
Required Reading: Kissinger, Diplomacy, pp. 103-167 (ch. 5 and 6).
Recommended Reading: Katja Hoyer, Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871-1918, Pegasus, 2021.
SESSION 5: Order of American Alliances
Date: Monday, April 21, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. (ET)
Topics: American Realpolitik; Reagan’s diplomacy; George H.W. Bush and leading alliances.
Required Reading: Zoellick, pp. 364-442.
Recommended Reading: Ronald Reagan, “Westminster Address",” Anthony Lake, “From Containment to Enlargement.”
Further Reading
Acheson, Dean. Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department.
Hal Brands, What Good Is Grand Strategy?: Power and Purpose in American Statecraft from Harry S. Truman to George W. Bush.
Robert Kagan, Dangerous Nation: America's Foreign Policy from Its Earliest Days to the Dawn of the Twentieth Century.
Part I (Fall 2024)
Session 1: Historical Analysis
Date: Monday, September 30, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. (ET)
Topics: The relevance of history; the uses and abuses of history.
Required Reading: Neustadt, Richard E, and Ernest R May, Thinking In Time, pp. xi-16; 232-270.
Recommended Reading: Margaret MacMillan, Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History, Random House, 2010.
Session 2: Classical State System
Date: Monday, October 14, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. (ET)
Topics: Key characteristics of the Westphalian state system; Raison d’etat; the balance of power.
Required Reading: Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy, Simon & Schuster, 1994, pp. 56-77 (ch. 3).
Recommended Reading: Peter Wilson, The Thirty Years War: Europe’s Tragedy, Belknap, 2011.
Session 3: Congress of Vienna
Date: Monday, October 28, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. (ET)
Topics: The political principles underlying the Vienna peace settlement.
Required Reading: Kissinger, Diplomacy, pp. 78-102 (ch. 4).
Recommended Reading: Henry Kissinger, A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh and the Problems of Peace, 1812-22, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1999.
SESSION 4: Architects of the American AllianceS
Date: Monday, November 11, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. (ET)
Topics: Winning the peace; The making of the Truman Doctrine; The Marshall Plan.
Required Reading: Zoellick, pp. 240-314.
Recommended Reading: Hal Brands, What Good is Grand Strategy, pp. 17-59; Dean Acheson, Present at Creation, pp. 249-354.
Session 5: The Treaty of Versailles
Date: Monday, November 25, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. (ET)
Topics: Origins of World War I; Wilsonianism and negotiating the peace at Versailles.
Required Reading: Kissinger, Diplomacy, pp. 218-265 (ch. 9 and 10).
Recommended Reading: Margaret MacMillan, The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914, Random House, 2014.
Further Reading
Kennedy, Paul M. The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict From 1500 to 2000.
Bobbitt, Philip. The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Course of History.