POLS378 Requirements (Spr 2016)

Students are expected to comply with the standards of academic integrity prescribed by the University of San Diego. Grades will be distributed across these requirements as follows:

  • Office Visit (2 points): Students are required to visit the instructor’s office hours twice during the semester to check in, offer feedback, and address any concerns about the course. One visit must occur before the midterm exam, and one must occur after.
  • Participation (8 points): Students will be evaluated on the frequency and quality of contributions to in-class discussions. Students will lose 1 point of attendance for each class missed, each time they arrive late (i.e., after roll call) and each time that they leave class early. Students will be granted up to two exceptions. Additional instructional sessions will be arranged to account for any necessary class cancellations, but students will not be penalized for missing make-up sessions. Students will automatically lose .5 participation points for each class that they did not complete the assigned readings for that session.
  • Current Event Summary (10 points): Students will write one 300-word summary on recent events related to trans-national crime or terrorist activities occurring during their assigned week. Strong summaries will be well written, will provide in-text links to materials of interest, and will provide at least five references to credible sources at the conclusion of the summary. Students will be invited to register as contributors to the course website and will need to sign up for a WordPress account, which will enable them to post their summary directly to the course website.
  • Group Presentations (10 percent): Students will make a group presentation on recent organized crime and terrorist activities. Students will be divided into four teams, which will prepare presentations on: A) Drug trafficking in Colombia, B) Central American gangs, C) Post-9/11 attacks in the United States, and D) Terrorism in France. Presentations should provide both historical background and updates on their respective topics. Students will have 20-25 minutes to make their presentation, followed by in-class discussion.
  • Annotated Bibliography and Literature Review (20 points): Students will prepare an annotated bibliography of 30 scholarly and primary source materials focused on a specific trans-national criminal or terrorist organization of their choice, accompanied by a 1,500-2,000 word summary review of the sources compiled (i.e., a literature review). Students will rely on bibliographic sources as follows: 1) 5 scholarly books, 2) 10 scholarly articles, 3) 10 official sources (e.g., Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, agency reports, etc.), and 4) 5 open source documents (e.g., Wikileaks, the National Security Archive, etc.). The annotated bibliography is due on the last day of class.
  • Midterm Exam (25 points): Students will take an in-class written exam with multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short identification questions that test them on their knowledge of the readings and lecture material during the first half of the course.
  • Final Exam (25 points): Students will take an in-class written exam with multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short identification questions that test them on their knowledge of the readings and lecture material during the first half of the course. The final exam will take place at the time and place designated by the University of San Diego.
  • Extra Credit (3): Students may earn up to 3 extra credit points by writing a 250-300 word summary and reflection on special events identified by the instructor. Each summary is worth up to one point toward the student’s final grade. Students may not submit more than 3 extra credit summaries. Students may alternatively earn up to 3 extra credit points by gathering data on drug violence in Mexico for the Justice in Mexico program at USD.

 

DETAILED COURSE OUTLINE

COURSE INTRODUCTION

Week 1: Introduction — Contemplating Trans-National Threats 

MONDAY

  • Naim, Moises, “Chapter 1. The Wars We Are Losing,” in Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers, and Copycats are Hijacking the Global Economy, (New York: Anchor Books, 2006).

PART I: TRANS-NATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME

Defining and Categorizing Trans-National Organized Crime (TOCs) 

WEDNESDAY

  • Michael D. Maltz, “On Defining ‘Organized Crime’: The Development of a Definition and a Typology,” Crime & Delinquency 1976 22: 338. [E-RES]
  • Jerome P. Bjelopera and Kristin M. Finklea, “Organized Crime: An Evolving Challenge for U.S. Law Enforcement,” CRS Report for Congress. January 2012. (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service, 2012). http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41547.pdf [E-RES]

Recommended:

  • Dick Hobbs and Georgios A. Antonopoulos, “‘Endemic to the species’: ordering the ‘other’ via organized crime,” in Global Crime, Vol. 14, No. 1, 27–51.

 

Week 2: Early Forms of Organized Crime

MONDAY

  • Ethan A. Nadelmann, “Global Prohibition Regimes: The Evolution of Norms in International Society,” International Organization, Vol. 44, No. 4 (Autumn, 1990), pp. 479-526. [E-RES]

WEDNESDAY

  • Peter Andreas, “1. The Golden Era of Illicit Trade,” “3. The Smuggling War of Independence,” and “6. The Illicit Industrial Revolution,” in Smuggler Nation: How Illicit Trade Made America. Oxford University Press, 2013. [E-RES]

Week 3: Modern Organized Crime: Groups, Society, and Crime 

MONDAY: The Italian Mafia—Moral Panic, Alien Conspiracy, or Creation of the State?

  • Roberto Lombardo, “The Black Hand: A Study in Moral Panic,” Global Crime, Vol. 6, No. 3&4, August–November 2004, pp. 267–284.
  • Robert T. Anderson, “From Mafia to Cosa Nostra,” American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 71, No. 3 (Nov., 1965), pp. 302-310.
  • Dwight C. Smith, Jr., “Mafia: The Prototypical Alien Conspiracy,” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 423, Crime and Justice in America: 1776-1976 (Jan., 1976), pp. 75-88.
  • Raimondo Catanzaro, “Enforcers, Entrepreneurs, and Survivors: How the Mafia Has Adapted to Change,” The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Mar., 1985), pp. 34-57.

WEDNESDAY: Havana Nocturne—The Mafia in Cuba

  • J. English, Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba– And Then Lost It to the Revolution. New York: Harper, 2008. “Feeling Lucky,” “The Mob’s Playground,” “El Judio Maravilloso (The Marvelous Jew),” “Gambler’s Paradise,” “The Ghost of José Martí,” “Carnival of Flesh.”

Week 4: Contemporary Organized Crime 

MONDAY

  • Francis A. Ianni, “The New Mafia: Black, Hispanic, and Italian Styles,” Society, January/February, 1998.
  • David Skarbeck, “Governance and Prison Gangs,” The American Political Science Review, Vol. 105, No. 4 (November 2011), pp. 702-716.
  • Sonja Wolfe, “Maras Transnacionales: Origins and Transformations of Central American Street Gangs,” Latin American Research Review, Vol. 45, No. 1 (2010), pp. 256-265.

WEDNESDAY

  • Moises Naim, “Chapter 2. Global Smugglers Are Changing Your World,” in Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers, and Copycats are Hijacking the Global Economy, (New York: Anchor Books, 2006).
  • Moises Naim, “Chapter 6. The Global Trade in Stolen Ideas,” in Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers, and Copycats are Hijacking the Global Economy, (New York: Anchor Books, 2006).
  • Moises Naim, “Chapter 8. What Do Orangutans, Human Kidneys, Garbage, and Van Gogh Have in Common,” in Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers, and Copycats are Hijacking the Global Economy, (New York: Anchor Books, 2006).

Recommended:

  • Moises Naim, “Chapter 7. The Money Washers,” in Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers, and Copycats are Hijacking the Global Economy, (New York: Anchor Books, 2006).
  • Bruce Bagley, “Drug Trafficking and Organized Crime in the Americas: Major Trends in the Twenty-First Century,” Update on the Americas, (Washington, D.C.: Woodrow Wilson Center, August 2012). http://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/BB%20Final.pdf

Week 5: Mexican Drug Trafficking Networks 

MONDAY

  • Moises Naim, “Chapter 3. No Business Like Drug Business,” in Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers, and Copycats are Hijacking the Global Economy, (New York: Anchor Books, 2006).
  • David A. Shirk (2011), The Drug War in Mexico: Confronting a Shared Threat, Special Report, Center for Preventive Action. Washington, D.C.: Council on Foreign Relations, March 2011. http://www.cfr.org/mexico/drug-war-mexico/p24262

Recommended

  • Films: Traffic, Sicario

 WEDNESDAY

  • Carlos J. Vilalta & Juan M. Martinez (2012) “The Making of Narco Bosses: Hard Drug Dealing Crimes Among Mexican Students,” in Trends in Organized Crime, 15:47–63.
  • David A. Shirk & Joel Wallman (2015) “Understanding Mexico’s Drug Violence,” The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Volume 59, pp. 1-30.

Recommended:

  • Ami C. Carpenter, “Civilian Protection in Mexico & Guatemala: Humanitarian Engagement with Druglords & Gangs,” The Homeland Security Review, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Summer 2012).
  • Haydee Rojas and David Shirk, “U.S. Illicit Drug Trafficking Networks,” McNair Program Paper, August 2013.
  • Nancy Cortes, “The Mexican Heroin Trade,” MAIR Capstone Paper, 2015.
  • Rafik Mohamed and Erik D. Fritsvold, “1. Overlooked Illegal Markets: Dealing Dope, College Style,” “2. The Primary Market: Dealing Marijuana, Cocaine, and Party Drugs,” “3. Why Rich Kids Sell Street Drugs,” and “6. Perceived and Actual Risks for College Drug Dealers: Un-Risky Business,” in Dorm Room Dealers: Drugs & the Privileges of Race and Class, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publisher, 2011.

Week 6: Central & South America 

MONDAY

  • Group presentation.

WEDNESDAY

  • Group presentation.

Week 7: Midterm Exam Week 

MONDAY

  • Wrap up and review

WEDNESDAY

  • Midterm exam

PART II: TRANS-NATIONAL TERRORISM

Week 8: Definitions and Categories 

MONDAY

  • Bruce Hoffman, “What is Terrorism?” in Inside Terrorism, New York: Columbia University Press, 2006, p. 1-41.
  • Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin, “Chapter 1: Introduction” in The History of Terrorism from Antiquity to Al Qaeda, Berkeley: University of California Press, p. 1-11.

Recommended:

  • Joanne Esch, “Legitimizing the “War on Terror”: Political Myth in Official-Level Rhetoric,” Political Psychology, Vol. 31, No. 3, 2010.

WEDNESDAY

  • Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin, “Chapter 4: Manifestations of Terrorism through the Ages” in The History of Terrorism from Antiquity to Al Qaeda, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011, p. 79-94.

Recommended:

  • Reza Aslan, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth.

Week 9: SPRING BREAK 

MONDAY

  • Be good.

WEDNESDAY

  • Be good.

Week 10: Early & Modern Forms of Terrorism 

MONDAY

  • Be good.

WEDNESDAY

  • Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin, “Chapter 5: The Invention of Modern Terror” in The History of Terrorism from Antiquity to Al Qaeda, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011, p. 95-112.
  • Olivier Hubac-Occhipinti, “Chapter 6: Anarchist Terrorists of the Nineteenth Century” in The History of Terrorism from Antiquity to Al Qaeda, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011, p. 113-131.

 

 Week 11: 20th Century Terrorism 

MONDAY

  • Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin, “Chapter 8: The ‘Golden Age’ of Terrorism,” in The History of Terrorism from Antiquity to Al Qaeda, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011, p. 175-197.
  • Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin, “Chapter 9: “Lenin, Stalin, and State Terrorism,” in The History of Terrorism from Antiquity to Al Qaeda, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011, p. 175-197.

Recommended film:

  • Documentary Film: The Baader Meinhoff Complex

WEDNESDAY

  • Bruce Hoffman, “The Internationalization of Terrorism” in Inside Terrorism, New York: Columbia University Press, 2006, p. 63-80.
  • Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin, “Chapter 11: “From 1968 to Radical Islam,” in The History of Terrorism from Antiquity to Al Qaeda, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011, p. 221-221.

Recommended:

  • Clark McCauley and Sophia Moskalenko, “Mechanisms of Political Radicalization: Pathways Toward Terrorism,” Terrorism and Political Violence, 20:415–433, 2008.
  • Philippe Migaux, “Chapter 13: “Al Qaeda,” in Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin (eds.), The History of Terrorism from Antiquity to Al Qaeda, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011, p. 221-221.

  

Week 12: The 9/11 Attacks 

 MONDAY [Caution: Very Heavy Reading]

  • The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, “Chapter 1: We Have Some Planes,” in The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004), p. 1-46.
  • The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, “Chapter 7: The Attack Looms,” in The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004), p. 215-253.
  • The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, “Chapter 8: ‘The System Was Blinking Red,’” in The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004), p. 174-214.

Recommended:

  • Recommended Film: Inside the Twin Towers
  • The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, “Chapter 4: Responses to Al Qaeda’s Initial Assaults,” in The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004), p. 71-107.
  • The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, “Chapter 6: From Threat to Threat,” in The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004), p. 174-214.
  • The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, “Chapter 11: Foresight —and Hindsight,” in The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004), p. 339-360.
  • The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, “Chapter 10: Wartime,” in The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004), p. 325-338.
  • Eric Rosand, “Security Council Resolution 1373, the Counter-Terrorism Committee, and the Fight against Terrorism” The American Journal of International Law, Vol. 97, No. 2 (Apr., 2003), pp. 333-341.

WEDNESDAY

  • The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, “Chapter 2: The Foundation of the New Terrorism,” in The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004), p. 47-70.
  • The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, “Chapter 5: Al Qaeda Aims at the American Homeland,” in The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2004), p. 145-173.

Week 13: ISIS & Company

MONDAY

Recommended:

WEDNESDAY

Recommended:

Week 15: Homegrown Terrorism in Europe & the United States

MONDAY

  • Group A: Homegrown Terrorism in the United States

WEDNESDAY

  • Group B: Homegrown Terrorism in France

Week 15: The Crime-Terror Nexus & The Future

MONDAY

  • Michael Kenney, “From Pablo to Osama: Counter-terrorism Lessons From the War on Drugs,” Survival, Vol. 45, No. 3, Autumn 2003, pp. 187-206.
  • John T. Picarelli, “Osama bin Corleone? Vito the Jackal? Framing Threat Convergence Through an Examination of Transnational Organized Crime and International Terrorism,” Terrorism and Political Violence, 24:180–198, 2012.
  • Tamara Makarenko, “The Crime–Terror Continuum: Tracing the Interplay between Transnational Organised Crime and Terrorism,” Global Crime 6, No. 1, February 2004, pp. 129–145.

WEDNESDAY

  • Michael Stohl, “Cyber Terrorism: A Clear and Present Danger, the Sum of All Fears, Breaking Point or Patriot Games?,” Crime, Law, and Social Change, Volume 46, p. 223-238.
  • Lee Jarvis, Stuart McDonald, & Lella Nouri, “The Cyberterrorism Threat: Findings from a Survey of Researchers,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 37:68–90, 2014.
  • Aasha Bodhani, “Feeling Lucky?” Engineering & Technology, February 2015.

Week 16: Wrap Up and Final Exam Week 

MONDAY

  • Wrap up and review. Final exam date to be determined. Tentatively 2-4pm, 5/16.