Post Archives

This case examines the historical and present-day political debate around Scottish independence. Against the backdrop of Brexit, a volatile global economic and security climate, and 300 years of intimately shared history, Scotland’s independence movement had special salience in 2014 and again a decade later. The issue is whether the UK can survive as a geopolitical entity and whether Scotland can thrive as a sovereign state (or as part of the EU). How these questions are resolved could have implications for separatist drives everywhere. This case is well-suited to classes on democracy, constitutions (and concomitant distributions of power within nation-states), sovereignty,…

This case explores contentious debates surrounding the years preceding the outbreak of World War II in Europe. It closely tracks diplomatic machinations between allied powers and Hitler’s Germany as well as domestic political forces that shaped the most controversial 20th-century foreign policy: Appeasement. The Munich conference allows students to explore counterfactual history along a number of lines. Should Britain have “stood up” to Hitler before 1939? If so, how? What alternatives were open to the British prior to Munich? In this case, students also explore the constraints under which diplomats and politicians act. Given the economic, strategic and military conditions…

This case explores the minutiae of shuttle diplomacy conducted between the United States, Israel, and Egypt as a result of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, exploring the transformation of U.S.-Egypt relations after 1973. It dissects the impacts of Nixon, Kissinger, and Sadat’s personalities in their navigation of Cold War politics and holds important lessons for the past and present of the Arab-Israeli situation. This case study will enhance a range of political science and history courses. For international relations courses or political science and history courses on US foreign policy, the case study raises questions about the relative roles of domestic…

This case study examines U.S. oil diplomacy with Mexico between 1917-1918. This period immediately followed an American invasion of northern Mexico in 1916 in pursuit of bandits led by Francisco “Pancho” Villa. Over ten thousand U.S. troops were in Mexico, resulting in multiple clashes with the Mexican government and dozens killed on each side. The United States withdrew forces in early 1917 following a major war scare that saw the U.S. mobilize over 100,000 troops along its southern border, including the entire National Guard. Tensions remained high even following the withdrawal of forces. The case study also examines American threats…

This case study examines the implications of China and Russia’s decision in May 2022 to veto a draft UN Security Council resolution strengthening sanctions against North Korea in the wake of the DPRK’s intercontinental ballistic missile launches, which violated UNSC resolutions. It was the first time a draft resolution on North Korea had been vetoed in 64 years. The no votes marked a jarring end to almost two decades of P5 cooperation in trying to stem North Korea’s nuclear and missile activities. Two years later, in March 2024, Russia vetoed a Security Council text that would have extended the mission…