An American territory since 1900 and a state since 1959, Hawaii is a cornerstone of U.S. political, military, and diplomatic policy in the Pacific. Prior to 1898, Hawaii was an independent kingdom that pursued its own foreign policy. The Hawaiian Kingdom was a force in the Eastern Pacific and at one time even proposed the formation of a Polynesian confederation to serve as a bulwark against foreign encroachment. Yet, as an archipelago strategically located in the center of the Pacific, Hawaii would inevitably become a target of British, Russian, Japanese, and American strategic aspirations. Hawaii played a role in the history of Western exploration of the Pacific, the U.S. Civil War, Japanese overseas territorial ambitions, World War II, the Cold War, and now the geopolitical frictions of the twenty-first century. In this course, we will study the history of the Hawaiian Islands through the lenses of international relations and diplomatic history. This course will be of interest to students studying international relations, comparative politics, Pacific Island Studies, American Studies, and history. Learning Outcomes: by the end of the course, students will: 1.Have a better understanding of how geopolitical factors influence international relations 2.Understand Hawaii’s importance to the Pacific, in both a historical and contemporary sense 3.Understand some of the basic concepts of international relations as an academic discipline