Political Science

Constitutional development; national institutions, federalism, civil rights and liberties; instruments of popular control. Pre-requisite for 2100 and 5100-level courses and PSC 6900.

Theories and concepts in the study of international relations; important and enduring questions in world affairs; trends and changes in the post-Cold War and and post-9/11 world. Prerequisite for 2200 and 5200-level courses and PSC 6900.

Political dynamics of various countries and regions. Regime types and political institutions. Politics of inclusion and exclusion. Sources of political change and continuity. Pre-requisite for 2300 and 5300-level courses and PSC 6900.

A survey of early and modern political thought and its relevance to contemporary politics. Prereqisite for 2400 and 5400-level courses and PSC 6900.

Covers elements required for writing research paper on a problem in political science, including using the library, evaluating and properly citing sources, understanding appropriate research methods, and writing and redrafting a research paper. Prerequisite for PSC 6900.

Constitutions, institutions, instruments of popular control, and intergovernmental relations.

Congressional functions, structures, and procedures; distribution of power; elections, representation, parties, committees, and the legislative process. Relations with the President, executive bureaucracy, judiciary, and interest groups. Congress's role in the economy, budgeting, domestic policy, and national security policy.

The nature, functions, and development of the American presidency, including relations between the president and other Washington actors, the public and the press.

Historical overview of the Supreme Court; competing perspectives on judicial behavior; and patterns in the relationship between the Court and other branches of the federal government.

Major Supreme Court cases concerning the powers of Congress and the president, federalism, commerce taxing, and voting.

Major Supreme Court decisions, 1789 to the present, concerning provisions of the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment; emphasis on constitutional """literacy

The place of parties in national politics; the nature, organization, and functions of political parties; suffrage requirements and election methods; the activities of organized interests.

Development of strategic thought in the United States, arms control and disarmament, intelligence, technology, alliance policy, role of civilian and military branches of government, and related topics.

The normative and empirical roles of public opinion and civic involvement in American democrary; conceptual and measurement issues, individual-level and societal factors influencing public opinion and political behavior.

Transformation of international politics through diffusion of ideas, technology, migration, capital and markets. Globalization, diffusion, and interactions of ideas, technology and capital. Effects on domestic and international politics, economics, society.

The rules and principles of international law based on a study of treaties, diplomatic practice, and cases dealt with by international and national courts.

The development of international organization, the U.N., its principles, structure, and accomplishments; regional organizations; prospects for the future.

The origin, mission, structure, and current challenges of the United Nations. Analysis of the role of the UN in peace and security, human rights, humanitarian affairs, development, and environmental issues.

Interactions between domestic, comparative and international politics and economics. Institutions, ideas and power dynamics in trade, finance, and development. The movement of labor, goods, services, and capital across national boundaries.

Political economy of financial crises from both a domestic and international perspective. Topics covered include: (ir)rationality of financial markets and actors; consequences of global capital flows; sovereign debt crises; global imbalances and macroeconomic adjustment; vulnerability to banking crises; political causes and responses to global financial crises

Causes of interstate war, laws and norms of war, nuclear proliferation and deterrence, terrorism, civil war, territorial disputes, religion and conflict, and humanitarian and military intervention and peacekeeping.

Political change in the principal Arab States with emphasis on the diverse forms of rule and political movements. The impact of colonial rule and socioeconomic changes on political life, leadership, social structure, political culture, and modernization.

Politics and societies of contemporary Africa. Colonialism and its legacies. Postcolonial regimes; authoritarianism, neo-patrimonialism and """big man"""" rule; political reform and democratization. Theories of conflict and conflict resolution. Economic development: International and domestic explanations of poverty and underdevelopment; the HIV crisis

Politics and societies of contemporary Latin America. Legacies of social revolution and authoritarian rule; democratic transition and consolidation; market reforms and their consequences. Democratic representation; the resurgence of the political left; identity politics (race/ethnicity, inclusion and exclusion). US-Latin American relations: immigration, trade, energy, and security policies.

European political institutions, changes in party systems, and impact of European integration/globalization on domestic economies.

The relevance of the classics of political thought for understanding modern politics from the Greeks to the modern era.

The structure of modern political thought and developments of twentieth century political thought as an aid to understanding our age.

Why women traditionally have been marginal to political life; the efforts of women in the past and today to change that fact; the problems that must be solved before women can translate their numerical strength into political power.

The importance of race and ethnicity in American politics, and the politics (historical, legal, attitudinal, and behavioral) of four of the United States' principal racial and ethnic minority groups-blacks (African-Americans), Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans.

The interplay between politics and psychology; principles, terminology, and methods of psychological theories to understand how people think and feel about politics and how politics affects their thinking.

This course is designed to provide students with an overview of Black Politics and introduce several theories, approaches, and analyses. The course also examines the two of the most salient forms of Black Politics: protest activity and conventional electoral politics.

The Political Economy of Black America examines the complex interplay between race & economics and the principles, terminology, and methods of standard economics and Black political economy.

The institutions, processes, and ideas which shape contemporary American foreign policy; the major problem areas.

Intra-regional and international problems facing the Middle East: the struggle for independence; the impact of the Cold War; the protracted conflict between Israelis and Arabs; and the tensions in the oil-rich Persian Gulf.

Development and the role of official development assistance. Includes aid effectiveness, modalities, impact of globalization, conflation of aid with strategic purpose, and rising influence of non-traditional donors, such as China and oil-exporting countries.

The current situation and major themes and challenges for protecting and assisting the refugees and internally displaced persons. Global, comparative analysis of institutional and legal framework for both populations.

Uniqueness of previous and contemporary politics, economy, and cultural society of Japan. Study of modernization, the defeat of and recovery from World War ll, pacifism, legal and institutional developments, and current challenges of Japan.

Definitions of genocide and mass killing, causes of genocide and mass killing, contexts in which violence occurs, dynamics of violence, variations in violence, individual motivations of perpetrators, rescue and resistance, obstacles and opportunities for intervention and prevention, tribunals and truth commissions.

Global conflict and peace through gender lens; impact of war on women, men and non-binary genders and respective roles in peace and post-conflict politics. Topics include masculinity and war, sexual and gender-based violence, LGBT politics. Key focus on Northern Ireland.

Political factors that lead to pandemics, political outcomes of pandemics, how pandemics affect political development and international relations.

Course description: the politics of environmental movements, policy and voting, comparative and international relations factors driving environmental outcomes, civil society and its relationship to government.

The contemporary Russian political system; political transformation from the Communist system which preceded it.

Development of the British state; the powers of Parliament and other institutions; the British welfare state, public opinion, and policing; questions of union and devolution; major current topics in British politics.

Foundations of the Irish state; political system and party system development; conflict in Northern Ireland; relations within the divided island and between the Irish Republic and Britain; Irish social, political cultural and economic development; gender in Irish society and politics; Ireland in the international political system.

The relevance of the classics of political thought for understanding modern politics from the Greeks to the modern era.

The nature of religious and political identity; the possibility and desirability of keeping them apart; the relationship between religion and politics in a free society; religious pluralism, its requirements and consequences; the prospects for """civil religion."""""

Must enroll in (3-credit course) as co-requisite; required for embedded course.

Topical courses in American Government and Politics offered on occasional basis.

Topical courses in International Relations offered on occasional basis.

Topical courses in comparative politics offered on occasional basis.

Topical courses in political theory offered on an occasional basis.

Readings, research, and writing on topics in American government and politics under faculty supervision. Pre-requisite: permission of instructor and department chair.

Readings, research, and writing on topics in international relations under faculty supervision. Pre-requisite: permission of instructor and department chair.

Readings, research, and writing on topics in comparative politics under faculty supervision. Pre-requisite: permission of instructor and department chair.

Readings, research, and writing on topics in political theory under faculty supervision. Pre-requisite; permission of instructor and department chair.

A three-week program of seminars in Washington, D.C. with public officials, staff members, party leaders, and interest group representatives. Held annually in mid-May. Enrolls the previous fall. Limit: 15 students. Permission of instructor required.

Internship.

Capstone seminar on specialized topics in political science.