Outside Resources
Click below to explore a carefully curated set of external links including video resources, primary sources, news artcles and games and activities related to each chapter to extend your learning beyond the book.
Chapter 2: The Emergence of a Global System of States, 1500-today
Chapter 3: Theories of International Relations
Chapter 4: The Analysis of Foreign Policy
Chapter 5: Framing International Relations: The Role of Law and Organizations
Chapter 6: War and Its Causes
Chapter 7: Pathways to Interstate Peace
Chapter 8: Weapons of Mass Destruction
Chapter 9: International Economics: Basic Theory and Core Institutions
Chapter 10: States and Markets in the World Economy
Chapter 11: Dilemmas of Development
Chapter 12: Non-State Actors and Challenges to Sovereignty
Chapter 13: The Environment and International Relations
Chapter 14: Facing the Future: Six Visions of an Emerging International Order
Chapter 2: The Emergence of a Global System of States, 1500-today
Video resources:
- Check out a helpful Allen Sens video on imperialism here.
- To see a time-lapse video of the world’s major wars from 1500 until today, click here.
- For a crash course video about the history of the Cold War, click here.
- For a brief video about climate change as a collective action problem in the international state system today, click here.
- To hear Richard Haass, President of the influential Council on Foreign Relations, talk briefly about great power competition through a historical lens, click here.
- For a website containing several videos and simulations about the Cold War, click here.
Primary sources and further learning:
- Read an interesting discussion about Game Theory and the Cold War and learn the basics of game theory! Click here.
- To read the actual text of the Treaty of Westphalia, click here.
- To read British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s brief “A Peace for Our Time” speech upon his return to the UK after the Munich Agreement was signed, click here.
Relevant news articles:
- For an article about Iran and the dangers of the Munich analogy in politics today, click here.
- To read an article about the international system today and thinking beyond a Westphalian system, click here.
- To read an article from the BBC outlining recent populist movements around the globe, click here.
- To read a piece about the phenomenon of vaccine nationalism, click here.
Games and activities:
- To play a game simulating the dismal trench warfare of World War I, click here. [Warning: violence]
- Try this Sporcle quiz on the timeline of events of World War II.
- Try this Sporcle quiz on various aspects of the Cold War.
Chapter 3: Theories of International Relations
Video resources:
- A Realist Walks into a Bar: To see a brief video explaining realism, click here.
- To see a similar video on liberalism, click here.
- To see a similar one on constructivism (and to learn how it pertains to The Matrix), click here.
- To see a video about critical theory, click here.
- To see a video about feminism as an international relations theory, click here.
- To see an interesting video from the Economist titled “Was Karl Marx right?” click here.
Primary sources and further learning:
- Take a look at this article on token women in positions of power, and make sure to take a look at the paper to which it links! Click here.
- To see the Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx, click here.
Relevant news articles:
- To read an article in Foreign Affairs titled “The Pandemic and the Limits of Realism,” click here.
- To read an opinion piece in the Atlantic problematizing the notion that countries will behave differently if they have female foreign leaders, click here (think about whether or not you agree with the argument, and what the best counterarguments are).
- To read an article titled “Why Race Matters in International Relations: Western dominance and white privilege permeate the field. It’s time to change that,” click here. To read a follow-up titled “Did America’s Racial Awakening Reach IR Professors?” click here.
- To read a brief article in the Washington Post reflecting on advances in international relations theory over the last 30 years, click here.
- For an article outlining an economic case for states to support feminism that was published in the January 2018 issue of Foreign Affairs in the wake of Saudi Arabia’s lifting of the female drivers ban, click here.
- For a piece about Marxism’s impact by a professor of philosophy on the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, click here.
Chapter 4: The Analysis of Foreign Policy
Video resources:
- To watch a CNBC video titled “Do economic sanctions work?” click here. This video was published around the time that western nations imposed sanctions on Myanmar following a coup d’etat in 2021.
- To watch a career diplomat in the United States talk about his work during a talk titled “What Diplomats Really Do,” click here.
- To watch a video from 60 Minutes about the Stuxnet cyberattack against Iran, click here.
Primary sources and further learning:
- Check out this online exhibit from the US National Archives about propaganda during World War II.
- Read the US law which instituted sanctions against South Africa in 1986 as well as President Ronald Reagan’s message when he vetoed the bill.
- To watch a video of a portion of a speech Boris Johnson gave in support of Brexit prior to the British referendum, click here. Boris Johnson later became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Relevant news articles:
- To read about direct use of military force by Kenya in Somalia, click here.
- Check out this piece on US historical covert operations in Cuba.
- For a piece analyzing how the US’ “pivot to asia” has played out, showing the effects that (even perceived) shifts in relative power can have, click here.
- To read a news article about the circumstances that led to a recent foreign policy change in the Philippines, click here.
- For a podcast entitled “How China makes foreign policy” click here.
- To read an article about India’s foreign policy strategy, click here.
Chapter 5: Framing International Relations: The Role of Law and Organizations
Video resources:
- To learn about the debate surrounding the European Union, one of the largest intergovernmental and supranational organizations on the planet, click here.
- To learn about the structure of the EU in more detail, click here.
- To see a video from the UN itself highlighting its work over 75 years, click here.
- To watch a video from the Kenya Parliament debating whether or not to withdraw from the agreement that created the International Criminal Court, click here. Click here to see a video which explains why Kenya (and other African countries) ended up not withdrawing.
- To watch a video explaining the Prisoner’s Dilemma, click here.
- To watch a video about Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa, click here.
Primary sources and further learning:
- Read the text of the UN Charter here.
- To read the charter of the Shanghai Cooperation Agreement, click here.
- To read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, click here.
- To read the text of the UN Security Council Resolution which authorized war to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait, click here.
Relevant news articles:
- For an article discussing the United States’ withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Commission, and some of the controversy surrounding the body, click here.
- For an article discussing the rise of the rules-based international order and its proscription on aggressive armed conflict, and the challenges it faces today, click here.
- To read an American perspective on the South China Sea conflict, click here.
- To read about the June 2021 final verdict in the trial of Ratko Mladic, a war criminal involved in the Srebrenica Massacre, click here.
Chapter 6: War and Its Causes
Video resources:
- For an Allen Sens video on refugees and migrants, click here.
- For a detailed but brief history of the Rwandan genocide, one of the most tragic internal wars in world history, check out this video and information sheet.
- Watch this video discussing what a war between the United States and its Allies against North Korea could occur and play out.
- Watch this video detailing the war in Iraq, and ISIS’ rise in the region.
- Watch this video explaining the Crimean crisis of 2014.
Primary sources and further learning:
- Take a look at these American primary sources from the lead-up to the Iraq War.
- To read a BBC article explaining and weighing Russia’s territorial claim to Crimea, click here.
- To read a Council on Foreign Relations report on the Arab Spring after ten years, click here.
Relevant news articles:
- To read a story about US concerns that Russia could encroach on Ukraine’s territory again, click here.
- For an NPR article in the midst of the Tigray Civil War in Ethiopia expressing concern over Ethiopa’s capital being captured by rebels, click here.
- To read a BBC overview article about the war in Yemen, click here.
- To read about a coup and ensuing conflict in Myanmar, read this BBC overview and this article explaining how the UN envoy has declared it a civil war.
Activities:
- Listen to this Guns N’ Roses song, “Civil War,” one of many songs that have been written to decry the tragedies of war, both internal and external.
- Try this ‘activity' in which you can explore the tragedies and atrocities that come with living in a refugee camp in Sudan, hiding from the Janjaweed.
Chapter 7: Pathways to Interstate Peace
Video resources:
- For an interesting Allen Sens video on economic interdependence (and liberalism), click here.
- Listen to this video in which Edward Luck (an IR scholar and United Nations official) discuss whether international institutions matter.
- To see an interview with Steven Pinker about his answer involving “inner demons” and “better angels of our nature,” (discussed in box 7.6) click here. To read about Bill Gates’s reaction to reading the book, click here.
Primary sources and further learning:
- To learn more about the origins of the League of Nations and the UN, their differences, and the challenges the UN faces today, read this piece from the BBC.
- For the full text of one of former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley’s speeches on the moving of the American embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, click here.
Relevant news articles:
- To see a real policy debate unfold in the pages of Foreign Affairs and the World Politics Review on the idea of the United States organizing a Summit of Democracies (similar to the community of democracies idea discussed in this chapter), take a look at these links. Bruce Jentleson and James Goldgeier wrote this and this opposing the idea. Then, Frances Brown, Thomas Carother, and Alex Pascal responded to Jentleson and Goldgeier here. Stewart Patrick also tried to rebut Jentleson and Goldgier here.
- To read a somewhat amusing news story about diplomatic immunity and parking tickets, click here. Also, click here for a fascinating political science paper which used this situation to quantitatively study corruption norms.
- To read a news article discussing peace in the Tigray War (see ch. 6 for a link about the conflict general), click here.
- To read a news article about peacekeeping in Bosnia from a time when tensions were mounting, click here.
- For an article discussing prospects of peace between the two Koreas, click here.
- Here is an article discussing the advantages -- and disadvantages facing the United Nations today.
Chapter 8: Weapons of Mass Destruction
Video resources:
Check out this time-lapse map of every nuclear test since 1945. To watch a video from a project at Stanford Law about the effects of drone strikes on civilians in Pakistan, click here. To watch a 1984 TV news story about fallout after President Reagan joked about “outlaw[ing] Russia forever” by “begin[ning] bombing in five minutes,” click here. The video speaks to the precariousness of nuclear weapons. To watch a video about President Reagan speaking about nuclear arms reduction, mutually assured destruction, and Strategic Defense Initiative, click here. For a new story video which highlights the challenges of holding countries like Syria accountable to their promises not to use chemical weapons, click here. Primary sources and further learning:
- To read a political science paper which problematizes the notion of the nuclear taboo, click here.
- Read the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) on the United Nation’s website here.
- Read the full text of the Chemical Weapons Convention here.
- For the full text of the Biological Weapons Convention, click here.
- Read this piece about the 2011 Fukushima disaster, the worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster.
- Check out this thorough, day-by-day log of the JFK administration during the Cuban Missile Crisis, including numerous primary sources in different media.
Relevant news articles:
- During the Syrian civil war, the international community worked together to eliminate the Syrian governments chemical weapons stockpile so chemical weapons could not be used on rebel forces. To read more about the destruction of those weapons, click here.
- To read piece from CSIS about the initial deal struck between Iran and world powers on Iran’s nuclear program, click here. To read a news article from amidst negotiations for the United States to rejoin the nuclear deal after withdrawing during the presidency of Donald Trump, click here.
- For an article about the first “cyber-weapon”, a computer virus called Stuxnet, click here.
- For a gallery of some of the prototype UAVs in the United States military, click here.
- To read an opinion piece by Thomas Wright about actions taken by Russian President Vladimir Putin in late 2021 with regard to Ukraine, click here.
Games and activities:
- Check out this simulation that checks your knowledge of and teaches you about nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.
- Can you name all the members of the nuclear club? Try it!
Chapter 9: International Economics: Basic Theory and Core Institutions
Video resources:
- To see video that explains MNEs (called multinational corporations, or MNCs, in the video) clearly and in detail and outlines some criticisms of MNEs, click here.
- For an Allen Sens video explaining dependencia, a concept associated with neo-Marxist theory, go here.
- Check out another Allen Sens video, this time on free trade. At the end of this video, there’s an interesting bit about the impact of free trade on peace. Enjoy!
- To watch a succinct video explaining the concept of comparative advantage, click here.
- To watch a portion of the speech in which US President Richard Nixon announced the “Nixon Shock,” click here.
- To watch a (US-focused) video from CNBC titled “How do tariffs work?” click here.
- To watch a video about the International Monetary Fund, click here.
Primary sources and further learning:
- For an article covering the history of the Bretton Woods Summit and its results, click here.
- To access a variety of primary source documents from the Bretton Woods Conference, click here.
- To read the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, click here.
Relevant news articles:
- For an article covering the protectionist moves and escalating ‘trade war’ between the United States and China in 2018, click here.
- To read a short article about the 2021 15% global minimum tax proposal intended to make it harder for MNEs to avoid taxes, click here.
- To read an article about US President Donald Trump and protectionism, click here.
- To read a piece from the Council on Foreign Relations about the murky future of the WTO, click here.
- For an article explaining the full timeline of the Greece debt crisis and IMF involvement, click here.
Chapter 10: States and Markets in the World Economy
Video resources:
- To watch a video explaining the views of and differences between Adam Smith and Karl Marx, click here.
- Check out this helpful video discussing absolute and relative gains.
- To watch a 2012 pre-pandemic Crash Course video discussing the pros and cons of globalization (which includes the ironic phrase “lack of global pandemics”), click here.
- To watch a PBS newscast explaining the “elephant curve” of inequality and globalization, click here. For a lengthier video from CUNY which features a conversation among three experts about inequality and globalization, click here.
Primary sources and further learning:
- If you have access to JStor through your college (contact your college’s library if you are unsure), check out this journal article by Robert Powell, titled “Absolute and Relative Gains in International Relations Theory.” Also check out Farrell and Newman’s paper on weaponized interdependence here.
Relevant news articles:
- Read this article about a dispute between the EU and China over China’s actions toward MNEs.
- Take a look at this article from Forbes on China’s declining ownership of US debt.
- For an article comparing the 2018 backlash to globalization to the one that occurred in the early 20th century, click here.
- To read an article about the 2020-2021 “global container crunch” brought about in part by COVID-19, click here. To read an article about the global sand shortage, click here. To read an article about the 2021 global computer chip shortage, click here. These links together show the issues that can arise when a pandemic attacks a highly globalized world.
- To read a news article covering a report which purports to show that “reports of the demise of globalization due to COVID-19 have proved premature,” click here.
- To read an overview of China’s control over rare earth minerals, click here. And click here to read about China’s plan to create a state-owned large company.
Chapter 11: Dilemmas of Development
Video resources:
- Listen to the former Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg, discuss the resource curse for oil and how it relates to his country in this video.
- To watch a video which compares how to calculate GDP, HDI, and GNI (a measure somewhat similar to the GDP that is beyond the scope of chapter 11), as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each measure, click here.
- To see a CNBC news story titled “What happened to the BRICS?” click here. It reflects on the progress of BRICS countries over the two decades since the term was coined in 2001.
Primary sources and further learning:
- Check out this discussion from the IMF website on moral hazard and IMF loans (NOTE: Piece is from 2002).
- Take a look at this report from the Center for Global Development about some of the controversies surrounding foreign aid.
- To explore the UN Millennium Development Goals in more detail, visit the site here.
- To explore the UN Sustainable Development Goals in more detail, visit the site here.
- You can view OPEC’s own website here.
- Google “Sachs Easterly Debate.” You will find a rich set of videos, academic articles, and news articles which feature the debate over whether or not foreign aid is effective, including videos from both William Easterly and Jeffrey Sachs rebutting each other’s points.
Relevant news articles:
- Check out this article from Bloomberg about the BRICS’ accelerating plan to create a development bank.
- To read an article from the Council on Foreign Relations about what it calls OPEC’s waning influence, click here.
- To read a (somewhat dated but still insightful) article in the Atlantic about the Beijing Consensus, click here. For a more recent article related to China, click here for an article in Foreign Affairs.
- To read an article about BRICS and COVID-19, click here.
Games and activities:
Chapter 12: Non-State Actors and Challenges to Sovereignty
Video resources:
- Take a look at this video summarizing the 25 most ‘failed states’ in the world.
- For a video about the rise of surveillance technology after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, click here.
- To listen to a Harvard Business Review podcast about the United Fruit Company (known as Chiquita Brands today) and the overthrow of President Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala in 1954, click here.
- To watch a video critical of the idea of narco-terrorism called “How the DEA invented ‘narco-terrorism’” from Vox, click here. Alternatively, to watch a video from the U.S. Department of Justice announcing narco-terrorism charges for 14 Venezuelan officials, click here.
Primary sources and further learning:
-
-
- For two different academic papers which attempt to explain the rapid growth in the number of NGOs in the second half of the twentieth century, click here and here.
- To read a brief encyclopedia entry about the 1997 Asian financial crisis, click here.
- To read a timeline called “the Rise, Spread, and Fall of the Islamic State” from the Wilson Center, click here.
Relevant news articles:
-
-
-
-
-
-
Chapter 13: The Environment and International Relations
Video resources:
- Watch this video on dolphin slaughter in Japan, narrated by Matt Damon.
- To hear a discussion on the impact of climate change on global food security, visit here.
- For a video about plastic pollution, click here.
Primary sources and further learning:
- To read the original text of MARPOL 1973, an environment-related agreement not discussed in the text, click here.
- To read the original text of the US-Canada Air Quality Agreement and subsequent progress reports, click here.
- To read the pact reached by the Council of Parties 26 (which is the first of a series of meetings every five years after the 2015 Paris Agreement), click here.
Relevant news articles:
- Read this article about the Council of Parties 26 in Glasgow.
- Read this article from the BBC titled “CFC ban bought us time to fight climate change, say scientists.”
- Read this article on the dangers of overfishing in the Mediterranean Sea.
- Read this story about deforestation in Indonesia.
- Check out this study that aims to debunk denials of climate change.
- Read this story about the impact of China’s energy sector on climate change.
- To read a fascinating story about how overfishing and marine population are turning the oceans into a “failed state” of sorts (connecting Chapters 11 and 12), check this out.
Games and activities:
- Check out how the climate has changed over time. This interactive tool from NASA allows you to examine how sea ice, sea levels, carbon emissions, and temperature have changed over time.
- Play a game, either by yourself or with friends, that shows some of the basic effects of weather. Brought to you by NASA. Check it out!
Chapter 14: Facing the Future: Six Visions of an Emerging International Order
Video resources:
- Check out this video on the future of the liberal world order featuring one of the authors of this book, John Ikenberry.
- For a video discussing the end of war potentially caused by the spread of democracy, click here.
- To watch a video of the illiberal Hungarian leader Viktor Orban giving a speech to the European Parliament (with English subtitles), click here.
Primary sources and further learning:
- Read this piece from the Carnegie Endowment on the likelihood of a future bipolar system, the rise of China, and the importance of balancing and alliances.
- Check out this story on the 2014 Ukraine crisis and what it means for the Clash of Civilizations thesis.
- To see the text of the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, click here.
- To read a Council on Foreign Relations backgrounder on the Belt and Road Initiative, click here.
News articles:
- To read a piece titled “Vaccine Nationalism and the WTO,” click here.
- Read this article from NBC news titled “China and 14 other countries agree to set up world’s largest trading bloc.”
- To read a 1990 Washington Post opinion piece that coined the term “unipolar moment,” click here.
- To read an opinion piece which discusses the author’s perceived need for soft balancing by Vietnam against China, click here.
- To read a news piece marking the one year anniversary of the US January 6 insurrection, click here.
- To read a New York Times piece titled “How the E.U. Allowed Hungary to Become an Illiberal Model,” click here.
- To read a piece about the Chinese company Huawei and American responses to it, click here.
Games and activities:
Facebook
