October 22, 2001

UNDER CONSTRUCTION:
Examining the United States' Role in Nation Building

Grades:  6-8,9-12

Subjects:  American History, Civics, Current Events, Global History, Language Arts, Social Studies

Related  New York Times Article
After the War, Rebuild a Nation. If It's a Nation., By SERGE SCHMEMANN, October 22, 2001

Overview of Lesson Plan: In this lesson, students examine the concept of "nation building," focusing initially on the potential outcomes of United States involvement in nation building efforts in Afghanistan. Students then explore past and present United States involvement in nation building in various countries, and evaluate how the United States should go about the exercise of "nation building" in the aftermath of the war against terrorism.

SUGGESTED TIME ALLOWANCE:
1 hour

OBJECTIVES:
Students will:

  1. Articulate what they believe constitutes a nation.
  2. Examine the concept of nation building and possible ramifications of nation building through reading and discussing "After the War, Rebuild a Nation. If It's a Nation."
  3. Define "nation building"; explore the potential outcomes of United States involvement in nation building efforts in Afghanistan.
  4. Investigate United States involvement in helping rebuild a number of nations in the past and present; create graphic organizers to illustrate research.
  5. Synthesize research and discussion in a reflective essay exploring how the United States should go about the exercise of "nation building" in the aftermath of the war against terrorism.

RESOURCES / MATERIALS:

ACTIVITIES / PROCEDURES:

  1. WARM UP/DO NOW: Students respond to the following questions in their journal, written on the board prior to class: "What are the elements that make a nation a nation? In other words, what constitutes a nation, rather than just a group of people who live in the same place?" After five minutes, ask students to share their responses. Create a class list on the board.
  2. As a class, read and discuss "After the War, Rebuild a Nation. If It's a Nation.," focusing on the following questions:
    1. What does "nation building" mean?
    2. Why did George W. Bush express skepticism about "nation building"?
    3. According to the article, what do many of the 189 members of the United Nations have in common?
    4. What has getting involved in conflicts in Somalia, Congo, the Balkans, Haiti and Israel taught the United States?
    5. Why will the nation builders be "working from scratch" in Afghanistan?
    6. What did Lakhdar Brahmi, the United Nations official assigned to Afghanistan, warn the Security Council?
    7. According to the article, Arab states with potent radical Islamic movements become more anxious every day that the bombing in Afghanistan continues. How is the bombing of Afghanistan mobilizing radical groups in Arab states and beyond?
    8. The government in Pakistan, already shaky, has pledged to support the United States, resulting in progressively larger anti-American protests. The Pakistani police have opened fire several times at the protesters. How might this affect Pakistan's relationship with the United States and the anti-American movement within Pakistan?
    9. How has India reacted to Washington's attempts to "woo" Pakistan? Why has India reacted this way?
    10. How has Israel reacted to the American outreach to Arabs? How might this affect United States-Israel policy?
    11. Why has Yasir Arafat, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, felt "compelled to shoot and kill" anti-American Palestinian demonstrators? How might this affect his standing among Palestinians?
    12. Why does Barnett Rubin, an expert in Central Asia, feel that the United States could be "getting into a lot of trouble" in Central Asia?
    13. Why doesn't Mr. Bush have the option of "staying out" of world and regional problems? What has forced him to involve the United States in "nation building"?
    14. What is the overreaching priority of United States foreign and military policy in Afghanistan?
    15. If the United States succeeds in finding Osama Bin Laden and destroying the Al Qaeda network, and "routing" the Taliban that give him safe harbor, what are some of the options for leadership in Afghanistan?
    16. What are some of the possible ramifications of supporting the Northern Alliance in their bid to control Afghanistan?
    17. Why would United States policy not back a leader of the dominant Pashtun ethnic group?
    18. A tribal council is a popular but difficult option for the "nation builders" to make viable. What are some of the reasons cited for the difficulty of instituting a tribal council under Mohammad Zahir Shah, the former king of Afghanistan?
    19. What does the C.I.A mean by "blowback"?
    20. What is a rogues gallery? Why has the United States supported a whole "rogues gallery of dictators" in the past?
    21. Why was the Marshall Plan successful in rebuilding much of Europe?
    22. What does the author mean by "staying out does not keep it out"?
  3. Look back at the list on the board of elements that comprise a nation and develop a class definition of "nation building" using the New York Times article just read as a reference. When does it seem "nation building" often takes place? What are some possible ramifications, as alluded to in the article, of the United States becoming involved in nation building in Afghanistan? (Answers may include increasing anti-American sentiment, violent intra-nation conflicts that escalate outside of the borders, intractable external conflicts, etc.) What are some possible ramifications of the United States not getting involved in nation building? (Answers may include further destabilization of the area, continuation of human rights issues that currently exist, etc.)
  4. Divide students into six groups, and assign each group one of the following nations or areas to research: Congo, Somalia, Israel/Palestine, Haiti, the Balkans, Afghanistan. Explain to students that they will be investigating the involvement of the United States in the rebuilding of each of these nations and illustrating their findings in a graphic organizer, which will allow students to see the complex relationship of the United States to each of these nations. A concept map might be the most appropriate graphic organizer to diagram the conflicts in the region. Good examples of graphic organizers can be found at http://www.graphic.org/goindex.html and http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr1grorg.htm. (You may want to review different techniques before moving on with the lesson). Using all available resources, each group researches the answers to the following questions (written on the board for easier student access):
    • What conflict exists in this nation and region? What is the history of this conflict?
    • What has past United States involvement in this nation included?
    • What is the current United States involvement in this nation?
    • How has United States involvement created or thwarted new conflicts?
    • What kind of leadership is in place in the nation now, and how is this leadership
    • Who are the key players or stakeholders?
  5. HOMEWORK/WRAP-UP: In their groups, students complete their research-based graphic organizers, to be displayed in the classroom and discussed in a future class. Individually, in a reflective essay informed by class discussion and their research, each student shares how he or she believes the United States should go about the exercise of "nation building" in the aftermath of the war against terrorism. Students should share their essays in a future class, either by displaying or presenting them.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

EVALUATION / ASSESSMENT:
Students will be evaluated based on initial journal response, participation in class discussions, thoughtfully-developed group graphic organizers based on research, and thoughtfully written essay.

VOCABULARY:
skepticism, urgency, disparate, intervene, confounded, ramifications, potent, mobilize, dictatorial, staked, fealty, jihad, autocratic, stridently, spinoff, blowback, reintegrated, intractable

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

  1. Aristotle wrote of the city-state. Research Aristotle's three forms of government: democracy, oligarchy and autocracy. Chart Aristotle's concepts as they are evidenced in the United States, Afghanistan, Great Britain, Somalia, Israel, the Balkans, Congo and Haiti.
  2. Research a country that the United States helped to rebuild after World War II. Create a graphic organizer diagramming United States involvement in that country. Compare the graphic organizer to the graphic organizer you created in class.
  3. Research the history of Afghanistan in the last century. Why and how were the United States and the Soviet Union involved in Afghanistan? Create an illustrated timeline reflecting your research.
  4. What is the role of the United Nations in international conflicts? What sort of mechanisms does it have to enforce its mandates? Create a brochure about the United Nations, concentrating particularly on its role as peace-keeper and conflict negotiator.
  5. Read English language newspapers from a nation in the Middle East, in Europe, in Asia and South America. [Ecola Newsstand (http://www.ecola.com) offers links to English-language newspapers from around the world.] How is the United States presence in Afghanistan covered? Do you find evidence of anti-American sentiment? Write a reflective essay about the coverage and whether you believe the United States is being covered fairly.
  6. How does the United States become involved internationally? Create a chart of the process that the national leaders must go through to wage war, give foreign aid and "build nations".

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:
Economics- Where does the United States get its money to enter conflicts and to rebuild nations? Make a graph of the United States' budget, indicating the amount of money that the United States has dedicated to foreign and military policies.

Fine Arts- Create a drawing or painting that expresses your feelings about the United States' role in nation building. Explain your art in a piece of narrative writing.

Teaching with The Times- Keep a journal of articles from The New York Times about nation building in Afghanistan. For each article, briefly note what you believe will be the results, positive or negative, of United States policy.

Copyright 2001
The New York Times Company

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