21 - 30 of 66 results for: POLISCI 1: The Science of Politics

We usually think about democratic citizenship in terms of rights and opportunities, but are these benefits of democracy accompanied by special obligations? Do citizens of a democracy have an obligation to take an interest in politics and to actively influence political decision making? How should citizens respond when a democracy¿s laws become especially burdensome? Do citizens of a democracy have a special obligation to obey the law? In this course, we will read classical and contemporary political philosophy including Plato's Crito and King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" to explore how political thinkers have understood and argued for the ethics of citizenship. Students in this course will draw on these materials to construct their own arguments, and to identify and assess implicit appeals to the ethics of citizenship in popular culture and contemporary public discourse, from The Simpsons to President Obama's speeches.

This course provides an overview of core ethical problems in international politics, with special emphasis on the question of what demands justice imposes on institutions and agents acting in a global context. The course is divided into three sections. The first investigates the content of global justice, and comprises of readings from contemporary political theorists and philosophers who write within the liberal contractualist, utilitarian, cosmopolitan, and nationalist traditions. The second part of the course looks at the obligations which global justice generates in relation to five issues of international concern ¿ global poverty, climate change, immigration, warfare, and well-being of women. The final section of the course asks whether a democratic international order is necessary for global justice to be realized.

Causes, effects, and solutions to various forms of corruption in business and politics in both developing regions (e.g. Asia, E. Europe) and developed ones (the US and the EU).

Africa has lagged the rest of the developing world in terms of economic development, the establishment of social order, and the consolidation of democracy. This course seeks to identify the historical and political sources accounting for this lag, and to provide extensive case study and statistical material to understand what sustains it, and how it might be overcome.

Overview of the reforms in China since 1978 that have made its economy one of the fastest growing in the world yet it still has the Chinese Communist Party at the helm wielding one party rule. Key questions addressed include the following: What has been the process and challenges of reform that have reshaped China¿s economic landscape? What are the political consequences of these dramatic economic changes? Why has the CCP remained strong while other communist regimes have failed? Markets have spread but what is the role of the state? What are the opportunities for political participation and prospects for political change? Materials will include readings, lectures, and selected films. This course has no prerequisites. (Graduate students register for 348.) This fulfills the Writing in the Major requirement for PoliSci majors.

Data science is quickly changing the way we understand and and engage in the political process. In this course we will develop fundamental techniques of data science and apply them to large political datasets on elections, campaign finance, lobbying, and more. The objective is to give students the skills to carry out cutting edge quantitative political studies in both academia and the private sector. Students with technical backgrounds looking to study politics quantitatively are encouraged to enroll.

This course provides an introduction to strategic reasoning. We discuss ideas such as the commitment problem, credibility in signaling, cheap talk, moral hazard and adverse selection. Concepts are developed through games played in class, and applied to politics, business and everyday life.

New challenges in Asia, the Middle-East, Europe's Eastern and Southern periphery, and even within Europe itself, are making the Transatlantic relationship more central and more critical in world politics than is usually thought. Is there a new dawn in Transatlantic relations? How are the foundations, objectives and "rules of the game" of US-Europe relations being redefined in the context of an emerging new international dis(order)? What will it take for the US and Europe to successfully defend their joint interests and values in an increasingly unstable and dangerous world? The course will discuss the main political, strategic, economic and cultural dynamics and issues at the heart of this new US-Europe relationship.

This course offers an introduction to major topics in the study of historical and contemporary Europe. We focus on European politics, economics and culture. First, we study what makes Europe special, and how its distinct identity has been influenced by its history. Next, we analyze Europe's politics. We study parliamentary government and proportional representation electoral systems, and how they affect policy. Subsequently, we examine the challenges the European economy faces. We further study the European Union and transatlantic relations.