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This seminar will examine the tension in American foreign policy between pursuing U.S. security and economic interests and promoting American values abroad. The course will retrace the theoretical and ideological debates about values versus interests, with a particular focus on realism versus liberalism. The course will examine the evolution of these debates over time, starting with the French revolution, but with special attention given to the Cold War, American foreign policy after September 11th, and the Obama administration. The course also will examine how these contending theories and ideologies are mediated through the U.S. bureaucracy that shapes the making of foreign policy. ** NOTE: The enrollment of the class is by application only. Please provide a one page double-spaced document outlining previous associated coursework and why you want to enroll in the seminar to Anna Coll (acoll@stanford.edu) by February 22nd. Any questions related to this course can be directed to Anna Coll.

Analyzing the international aspects of democratization involves understanding at least the following: (1) what is democracy (2) what domestic-level processes increase or decrease the level of democracy (3) what kind of influences from the outside world work, and do not work, in furthering democracy, and in what ways. This course spans all subfields of political science, and spills over into law, economics, and sociology. A complicating factor is the geographical expanse of democratic institutions and efforts to promote them. Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, post-civil war El Salvador and Cambodia, are only some of the regions and countries that have been impacted. Their vastly different backgrounds challenge anyone attempting the puzzle. A further complication is the variety of ways in which the outside world may affect the scope and quality of democracy. These ways include but are not limited to: pressures exercised by regional economic institutions and alliances, the power of ideas and socialization, transfers of wealth, demands for trade liberalization, the training of civic activists, reports issued by foreign election observers.

The theories of democratic peace are among the most salient theories in the discipline of International Relations. The academic discussions surrounding their validity have been quite fierce as they concern also the inter-paradigmatic debates so prevalent in IR. No less interestingly, though, is the theories' migration outside of the halls of academia into the political arena in countries such as the United States and Israel. Noteworthy is the impact those theories had on public discussions and on the shaping of foreign policies of the US following the Cold War. This phenomenon raises important meta-theoretical questions about the nature of theory, its powers, and the responsibilities of academia to society. The course will follow the political biography of the theories of democratic peace: their academic origins, migration into the public and political spheres, the politicization process they underwent, the political and rhetorical uses and misuses of the theories (including the Iraq War), and the outcomes of this charged meeting of academia and politics. No less importantly, the course will discuss the responsibility theorists bear for the real-world ramifications of their theories, and the way they should act to discharge their responsibilities.

The domestic politics, political economy, and international relations of contemporary Japan. The role of political parties, the bureaucracy, and private actors. Economic development and challenges. Relations with the United States and East Asia.

How domestic and international politics influence the economic relations between countries. Why do governments promote or oppose globalization? Why do countries cooperate economically in some situations but not others? Why do countries adopt bad economic policies? Focus on the politics of international trade and investment. Course approaches each topic by examining alternative theoretical approaches and evaluate these theories using historical and contemporary evidence from many geographical regions around the world. Prerequisites: ECON 1A, ECON 1B, and a statistics course.

The course is primarily concerned with variation in terrorist group behavior and therefore concentrates on issues on the organizational level of analysis. We address questions such as: Why and how do terrorist groups emerge? Who joins terrorist groups? Which organizational challenges do terrorists face and how do they solve them? Why are some groups more lethal than others? Why has suicide terrorism increased in the 2000s? How and why do groups decline? Topics such as counterterrorism, macrostructural determinants of terrorism, or the effects of terrorism will be treated only peripherally.

May be repeated for credit. Requires a petition that can be found on our Political Science website.

This course provides students with a comprehensive perspective on the American presidency and covers a range of topics: elections, policy making, control of the bureaucracy, unilateral action, war-making, and much more. But throughout, the goal is to understand why presidents behave as they do, and why the presidency as an institution has developed as it has¿with special attention to the dynamics of the American political system and how they condition incentives, opportunities, and power.