Results for IPS

Is international relations theory valuable for policy makers? The first half of the course will provide students with a foundation in theory by introducing the dominant theoretical traditions and insights in international relations. The second half of the course focuses on several complex global problems that cut across policy specializations and impact multiple policy dimensions. Students will assess the value of major theories and concepts in international relations for analyzing and addressing such complex global policy issues.

This class provides the economic and institutional background necessary to use "cost-benefit analysis" or CBA to evaluate public policy. We will examine the economic justification for government intervention and apply these concepts in different policy contexts. We will also examine the theoretical foundations and the practical challenges of implementing CBA. The goal of the course is to provide you with the conceptual foundations and practical skills you will need to be thoughtful consumers or producers of CBA. Prerequisites: ECON 102B or PUBLPOL 303D.

The role of governance in the growth and development experience of countries with a focus on the economics of corruption. Topics covered: the concept and measurement of governance; theory and evidence on the impact of corruption on growth and development outcomes, including investment, financial flows, human capital accumulation, poverty and income inequality; the link between governance and financial crises with a focus on the recent global crisis; the cultural, economic, and political determinants of corruption; and policy implications for improving governance. Prerequisite: ECON 50.

Theories, insights, and concerns of social psychology relevant to how people perceive issues, events, and each other, and links between beliefs and individual and collective behavior will be discussed with reference to a range of public policy issues including education, public health, income and wealth inequalities, and climate change, Specific topics include: situationist and subjectivist traditions of applied and theoretical social psychology; social comparison, dissonance, and attribution theories; stereotyping and stereotype threat, and sources of intergroup conflict and misunderstanding; challenges to universality assumptions regarding human motivation, emotion, and perception of self and others; also the general problem of producing individual and collective changes in norms and behavior.

How to find sustainable solutions to intractable internal conflicts that lead to peace settlements. How institutions such as the UN, regional organizations, and international financial agencies attempt to support a peace process. Case studies include Bosnia, East Timor, Kosovo, Burundi, Liberia, and Afghanistan.

This course explores economic growth and development in East Asia and the region¿s current economic policy issues. For the purpose of this course, we will largely focus on China, Japan, and Korea. However, we will incorporate Southeast Asia when relevant. The first part of the course examines economic growth in East Asia and the development strategies pursued. Cross country comparisons will help draw similarities but also differences in the development processes. We will also discuss the validity of an East Asian model for economic growth. The second part of the course focuses on the specific factors relating to economic development, e.g., human capital, firms, infrastructure, institutions, democracy, political leaders, etc. We will also discuss the current challenges and policy issues. Readings will come from books, journal articles, reports, news articles, and case studies. Many of the readings will have an empirical component and students will be able to develop their understanding of how empirical evidence is presented in articles.

Innovation is essential for the growth of a matured economy. An important reason for Japan's economic stagnation over the past two decades was its failure to transform its economic system from one suited for catch-up growth to one that supports innovation-based economic growth. This course examines the institutional factors that support innovation-based economic growth and explores policies that may encourage innovation-based growth in Japan. The course is a part of a bigger policy implementation project that aims to examine the institutional foundations of innovation-based economic growth, to suggest government policies that encourage innovation-based growth in Japan, and to help implement such policies. The central part of the course will be several group research projects conducted by the students. Each student research project evaluates a concrete innovation policy idea. Each student research group is to report the findings to the class and prepare the final paper.

Case study approach to the study of contemporary U.S. policy towards Japan, Korea, and China. Historical evolution of U.S. foreign policy and the impact of issues such as democratization, human rights, trade, security relations, military modernization, and rising nationalism on U.S. policy. Case studies include U.S.-Japan trade tensions, anti-Americanism in Korea, and cross-straits relations between China and Taiwan.

China's reemergence as a global player is transforming both China and the international system. Other nations view China's rise with a mixture of admiration, anxiety, and opportunism. Some welcome China's rise as a potential counterweight to US preeminence; others fear the potential consequences of Sino-American rivalry and erosion of the US-led international system that has fostered unprecedented peace and prosperity. This course provides an overview of China's engagement with countries in all regions and on a wide range of issues since it launched the policy of opening and reform in 1978. The goal is to provide a broad overview and systematic comparisons across regions and issues, and to examine how China's global engagement has changed over time.

Establishing clear and consistent political-military objectives when waging limited wars is an essential but difficult task. Efforts to develop coherent campaign strategies are complicated by competing interests among US government actors (diplomatic, development, military and intelligence), members of the coalition intervention force, and relevant international organizations. This course will examine post-9/11 efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and stabilize Afghanistan from the perspectives of key US, international, and Afghan actors including the White House, State Department, Defense Department, Central Intelligence Agency, United Nations, NATO, Pakistan, and Afghan political elite and civil society. Classes will include presentations by individuals with firsthand diplomatic and military experience in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Seminar will explore the post-1994 conflicts in the Great Lakes Region from the perspective of the former US Special Envoy to the region. Particular emphasis will be placed on the intensified regional and international efforts to resolve these conflicts since the M23 rebellion of 2012. It will consider the implications these activities have for the region, legal accountability, international peacekeeping and the conduct of American foreign policy. The seminar will include the following segments: 1) the origins and nature of the post-1994 conflicts and recent efforts to resolve them with particular attention to the relationship between modern Congolese history and the Rwandan genocide and the peace-making efforts initiated by the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework agreement of February 2013; 2) accountability for conflict-related crimes committed in the region including sex and gender-based crimes and the legal and other regimes established to address conflict minerals; and 3) the broader implications of the conflict for American foreign policy in Africa (in particular and in general, and lessons learned about the way in which such policy is formulated) as well as the implications of this conflict for international peace-making and peace-keeping efforts. The course is cross-listed for IPS and law school students.

Historical backdrop of the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals. The creation and operation of the Yugoslav and Rwanda Tribunals (ICTY and ICTR). The development of hybrid tribunals in East Timor, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia, including evaluation of their success in addressing perceived shortcomings of the ICTY and ICTR. Examination of the role of the International Criminal Court and the extent to which it will succeed in supplanting all other ad hoc international justice mechanisms and fulfill its goals. Analysis focuses on the politics of creating such courts, their interaction with the states in which the conflicts took place, the process of establishing prosecutorial priorities, the body of law they have produced, and their effectiveness in addressing the needs of victims in post-conflict societies.

Students obtain internship in a relevant research or industrial activity to enhance their professional experience consistent with their degree program and area of concentration. Prior to enrolling students must get internship approved by associate director. At the end of the quarter, a three page final report must be supplied documenting work done and relevance to degree program. Meets the requirements for Curricular Practical Training for students on F-1 visas. Student is responsible for arranging own internship. Limited to International Policy Studies students only. May be repeated for credit.

IPS students only. May be repeated for credit.

Formal and informal processes involved in U.S. foreign policy decision making. The formation, conduct, and implementation of policy, emphasizing the role of the President and executive branch agencies. Theoretical and analytical perspectives; case studies. Interested students should attend the first day of class. Admission will be by permission of the instructor. Priority to IPS students.