This document was created to serve as a major networking tool of the National Clearinghouse on Development Education (NCoDE). The purpose of the document is to share state of the art practices and common concerns among the expanding development education community. Among the items in the publication is an interview with Elizabeth Hogan,…

Presents an exercise that can help students understand the concept of national interest and deal better with foreign policy issues. Students use a chart with information about the United States and 10 other countries to answer questions such as what criteria the United States should use to select allies. (SR)

One of a series of booklets on world issues examines the sharpened differences between those nations that have declared sovereignty over parts of Antarctica and those that have not; between those nations that have arbitrarily assumed responsibility for the administration of Antarctica and the smaller, more numerous nations that believe their…

The roots of American involvement in Vietnam, which stem from the ending of World War II, are examined. (RM)

This document, a curriculum guide, grew out of a symposium on the role of secrecy in U.S. foreign policy. The curriculum examines ways in which citizens get information about the government and how government secrecy influences that information. Students analyze covert U.S. involvement in such places as Iran, Guatemala, and Cuba, and consider the…

According to this essay by a visiting scholar from Great Britain, there will always be a debate in democratic societies, about the proper role of morality in fashioning and articulating foreign policy. This ambivalence has been reflected in the uneven approach to the problem exhibited by successive United States administrations. There are two…

Human rights issues need to be taught in the context of Western civilization values, using literature and history sources, and not as separate courses based on newsworthy events. Students need to appreciate the desirability of democratic governments and the complexities of introducing democracy to nations lacking political and legal traditions. (9…

In October 2002 North Korea admitted that it had been operating a secret nuclear weapons program in violation of international treaties and the 1994 Agreed Framework with the United States. North Korea also appeared to be taking steps to begin production of nuclear weapons and, according to U.S. officials, may have a missile that can hit…

Since the end of the Cold War, and more recently since September 11, 2001, relations between the United States and Russia have reached new levels of cooperation and accommodation. At the same time, many important developments in Russia remain cloaked by government intrigue or obscured by the complexity of Russia's political and cultural past. This…

Describes a college course which uses a national approach to the teaching of international politics. Students are grouped into "country teams." Each country team publishes an analysis of its nation's foreign policy. Country teams participate in other activities including press conference simulations and an inter-nation simulation. (RM)

Describes a simulation based on strategic arms limitation talks. The simulation was successfully used in a freshman-level introductory political science course to help students understand the importance of negotiating and understanding other points of view in international relations. (DB)

Disagrees with the tone and conclusions of the special section on United States-Japan relations in the November-December, 1991 issue. Contends that the national interests of the United States were ignored to avoid "Japan Bashing" over trade and other economic issues. Calls for a more realistic view of Japan's trade policies toward the…

The United States fulfilled its desire to be the country that reopened trade with Japan through the Kanagawa Treaty (1854). Japan reluctantly rejoined the world community at a time when their culture and economy were in disorder. While grappling with the changes within their borders they tried to keep the ways of the "barbarians" from…

Clearly, the United States cannot respond to every crisis, but what is meant precisely by the phrase "American interests"? How is the U.S. national interest defined and by whom? Does its definition affect the decision of how to respond to a crisis? This lesson deals with these complex and intertwined questions. By defining the national interest…

Since the end of the Cold War, the international community has been called upon with increasing frequency to intervene in the world's hot spots. The United States has taken up its share of responsibilities. U.S. military forces have bombed targets in Serbia, waded ashore in Haiti, patrolled cease-fire lines in Bosnia, skirmished over the skies of…