Course Syllabus

 

Houchang E. Chehabi                                                                                      Autumn 2015

 

 

GOVT E-1830: Introduction to Public International Law

 

 

            This course is an introduction to Public International Law for Students of International Relations. Emphasis throughout the course is both on the substantive rules of the law and on historical episodes that illustrate the various issues. By the end of the course, students should have a good understanding of the legal structures underpinning international relations.

 

            Undergraduate requirements for the course are a midterm (33%) and a final (67%) exam. Students taking the course for graduate credit also have to write a 10-12 page paper whose topic they choose after consultation with the instructor. For graduate students the final grade will be calculated according thus: midterm 30%, paper 30%, final exam 40%.   The term paper is due on December 1, and no delays will be granted. Students are required to hand in a hardcopy on that day and send an electronic copy as an attachment to hchehabi@hotmail.com. Arrangements for make-up final exams have to be made with the Extension School.

 

 

           Students are expected to do the readings of each week prior to the class for which they are listed. The textbooks will be available for purchase at the Harvard Coop, and will also be on reserve at Grossman Library. They are David J. Bederman, International Law Frameworks, 3nd edition (New York: Foundation Press, 2010) and Martin Rochester, Between Peril and Promise: The Politics of International Law (Washington, DC: CG Press, 2006). There will also be a reader containing shorter articles.

 

            The instructor can be reached by telephone at 617 358 0193, or by e-mail at hchehabi@hotmail.com. For routine questions please do not call or e-mail but contact the instructor before or after class. Office hours will be announced after the start of the course and will take place at 154 Bay State Road, in Boston, but it is preferable to make an appointment.

 

The Extension School is committed to providing an accessible academic community. The Disability Services Office offers a variety of accommodations and services to students with documented disabilities. Please visit www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/resources/disability-services-accessibility for more information.

 

You are responsible for understanding Harvard Extension School policies on academic integrity (www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/student-conduct/academic-integrity) and how to use sources responsibly. Not knowing the rules, misunderstanding the rules, running out of time, submitting "the wrong draft", or being overwhelmed with multiple demands are not acceptable excuses. There are no excuses for failure to uphold academic integrity. To support your learning about academic citation rules, please visit the Harvard Extension School Tips to Avoid Plagiarism (www.extension.harvard.edu/resources-policies/resources/tips-avoid-plagiarism), where you'll find links to the Harvard Guide to Using Sources and two, free, online 15-minute tutorials to test your knowledge of academic citation policy. The tutorials are anonymous open-learning tools.

 

 

Schedule of Meetings

 

 

September 1: The Origins and Nature of International Law

 

                       Bederman, chapter 1.

Rochester, chapters 1 and 2, and pp. 32-35.

 

September 8: The Sources of International Law and its Relation with Municipal Law

 

                       Bederman, chapters 2, 4, and 14.

                        Rochester, pp. 35-47.

                       

September 15: States and their Recognition

 

                        Bederman, chapters 5, 8, and 14.

Barry Bartmann, “Political Realities and Legal Anomalies: Revisiting the Politics of International Recognition,” in Tozun Bahcheli, Barry Bartmann, and Henry Srebrenik, eds., De Facto States: The Quest for Sovereignty (London: Routledge, 2004), pp. 12-31.

 

September 22: Territorial Sovereignty and Borders

 

                       Bederman, chapters 7, 10, and 17.

                       Rochester, pp. 146-147.

Steven R. Ratner, “Drawing a Better Line: Uti Possidetis and the Borders of News States,” both in Robert J. Beck and Thomas Ambrosio, eds., International Law and the Rise of Nations.    

                       

September 29: Treaties

 

                        Bederman, chapters 3 and 15.

                                              

October 6: International Organizations and the United Nations

 

                       Bederman, Chapter 6.

                       Cassese, International Law, chapter 16 and pp. 135-140.

 

October 13: Midterm exam

 

 

 

October 20: The Law of the Sea

           

                        Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye, Power and Interdependence, pp. 86-98.

                       Bederman, chapter 11.

                       Rochester, pp. 90-103.

 

October 27: The Peaceful Settlement of Disputes and the International Court of Justice

                      

                         Bederman, chapter 21.

                         Rochester, pp. 47-52.

 

November 3: The Laws of War, the International Criminal Court

 

                         Bederman, chapters 18, 19, and 20.

                       Rochester, chapter 5.

 

November 10: Self-Determination and Human Rights

                       

                         Bederman, chapter 9.

                         Rochester, chapter 4.

Hurst Hanum, “Rethinking Self-Determination,” in Robert J. Beck and Thomas    

Ambrosio, eds., International Law and the Rise of Nations. 

 

November 17: Environmental Law and International Economic Law

 

                        Bederman, chapters 12 and 13.

                        Rochester, chapter 7 and 8.

 

November 24: Case Study: The Three Gulf Wars

 

                        Rochester, Chapter 9.

Ian Williams, “The Role of the United Nations,” in Rick Fawn and Raymond Hinnebusch, eds., The Iraq War: Causes and Consequences.

Anthony F. Lang Jr.” in Rick Fawn and Raymond Hinnebusch, eds., The Iraq            War: Causes and Consequences.

Ove Bring and Per Broström, “The Iraq War and International Law,” in Jan       Hallenberg and Håkan Karlsson, The Iraq War: European perspectives on politics, strategy and operations.

 

December 1: Case Study Continued: The Three Gulf Wars

 

December 15: Final Exam

 

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due