91 courses with the subject POSC, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
POSC 150Introduction to American Politics
While most Americans take it for granted that our political system is a democracy and that it serves as an ideal by which other systems might be measured, the United States is only one of many stable democratic polities in existence today. In our analysis of American democracy, this course places an emphasis on how the U.S. government fits within the multicultural and global world of the 21st century. To this end, students compare America's democracy with other forms of democratic government across the globe. Students also consider how the growing racial-ethnic, class, sexuality, and gender diversity of the American population may impact the future of American politics. In our analysis of American democracy, this course places an emphasis on how the U.S. government fits within the multicultural and global world of the 21st century. To this end, we will compare America's democracy with other forms of democratic government across the globe. We will also consider how the growing racial-ethnic, class, sexuality, and gender diversity of the American population may impact the future of American politics. (AM)
This introduction to political theory addresses the ways in which personal morality and ideas of human flourishing determine one's perceptions and responses to political institutions that shape the life and culture of one's nation. Using a wide variety of texts, the moral underpinnings of different political systems are discussed in terms of fundamental normative concepts such as right, duty, virtue, liberty, and equality. Other essential terms, basic to building a foundational political vocabulary, such as liberalism, conservatism, individualism, communalism, and modernity are also explored. This introduction to normative political theory gives special emphasis to the genesis and development of liberal democracy and the tensions between its component parts, particularly as they relate to visions of a well-lived, moral life. This course is designed to enrich one's perceptions of the evening news and the political discourse of our times. (TH) Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No Senior Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Designed to provide students with an understanding of how international politics - politics between governments - differs from politics within a state. Students consider how the international system has evolved and currently operates, and examines some of the enduring questions of international relations: Why is there war? How can war be avoided? Is international equality a prerequisite for order? Can order, justice, and cooperation be achieved in a non-institutionalized and non-hierarchical system? (IR) Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Nearly 200 independent states coexist in the world today. Although they are all unique, political scientists study them in systematic ways, comparing them to discover fundamental political patterns that can help produce broadly applicable generalizations across different cultures and geographies. Themes such as
Offers a comparative examination of the social bases of democracy and of different forms of constitutional government and competitive politics in both advanced industrial and developing countries in regions including Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Students explore questions about the causes of democratic stability and instability across countries and the effectiveness of their democratic government in delivering goods to their citizens. Students examine key conditions that appeared conducive to producing democratic transitions across the three "waves" of democratization. Finally, students consider the process of democratic consolidations, considering topics such as civil society, civil-military relations, institutional design, and international influences. (CO) Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No Senior Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Analyzes the legislative process with a special emphasis on the relationship between Congress and the presidency. Students examine the historical development and structural attributes of Congress that determine its role in the executive-legislative relationship. Since the decision-making process varies enormously by issue area, students focus on several distinct policy areas. Course materials include classics of congressional scholarship as well as results from some of the latest research in the field. (AM) Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No Senior Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
POSC 212The Politics of Race and Ethnicity (AM)1.00
Examines the political dynamics of race in American society, focusing primarily on the experience of blacks as a socio-political group and to a lesser degree on that of other racial and ethnic minorities. The overriding theme is how race has influenced American politics and, conversely, how certain political phenomena have shaped the development of race. The specific topics around which the course is organized include the following: the most enduring and predominant racial issue - racial inequality; competing explanations for the origins and continuance of racial inequality; leadership approaches and ideologies for redressing the race problem; mass political strategies for dealing with the problem; majority attitudes and opinions regarding racial issues (including racial inequality); and the comparative experience of non-black minorities. These topics, individually and collectively, represent the essence of racial politics. (AM) Crosslisted: ALST 212 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
POSC 214Comparative Politics: East and Southeast Asia (CO)1.00
This course introduces students to the politics of countries in East and Southeast Asia. It examines similarities and differences in the evolution of their political societies from the end of World War II to the present time. Students will learn about the historical development of the state, regimes, and political parties and the interactions across these institutions that informed political and economic development in these countries. The course will cover the experiences of the East Asian early developers (Japan, Korea, and Taiwan), Southeast Asian countries (Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore) and the emergence of China as an economic and political power. (CO) Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None
An introduction to Middle Eastern politics, including historical foundations of the modern Middle East, competing strategies of state building, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Gulf War, the rise of political Islam, and American policy toward the region. (CO) Crosslisted: MIST 215 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No Senior Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Today Latin America is one of the most democratic regions of the developing world, although it faces problems of inequality, gridlock, and economic growth. Latin America's 20th-century experiences of coups, revolutions, and instability also present important lessons for comparative politics. This course introduces students to the countries of Latin America and the important patterns of similarity and difference that can help them understand political development and elucidate comparative trends. Regime type is one prism through which students examine the region's countries, including democracy, semi-democracy, and various authoritarian regimes, especially bureaucratic authoritarianism. Another important topic is the United States' relationship with the region's polities, on issues like the Cold War, drug wars, and economic policies. In addition to big countries like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela, the course also focuses on countries of particular student interest. (CO) Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No Senior Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
POSC 232Fundamentals of International Relations (IR)1.00
An introduction to the basic approaches to international relations, such as realism, idealism, and the interdependence school. Students also consider fundamental problems of national security, the uses of power, the causes of war, the nature of international institutions, the relationships among security, deterrence, conflict escalation, and nuclear proliferation. (IR)
This introduction to political thought explores the questions: What is a just society? What is the best way of life? The course examines major alternatives from Plato to Nietzsche, as well as recent critics and defenders of American liberal democracy. (TH) Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No Senior Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty. Credits: variable Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: None Core Component: None
Intended for students accepted to the Geneva Study Group the following spring. It has three purposes: to prepare students for life in Geneva through readings on the history and culture of Switzerland and discussion of the practical aspects of living in the city; to introduce students to the international organizations that the group will visit in Brussels at the beginning of the spring program; and to prepare students for their internships at international organizations and NGOs in Geneva. When Offered: Fall semester only Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None
Studies the impact of the Islamic resurgence on international and intra-national politics. The course begins with an introduction to the Islamic faith. Students explore the origins of the Islamic resurgence, the ideas of influential Islamic political thinkers, and Islamic movements in comparative perspective (Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, the United States, and France). The class concludes by examining two issues of great contemporary importance: the impact of Islam on democracy and the future relationship between the Islamic world and the West. Crosslisted: MIST 304 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: None Core Component: None
POSC 305From Coconuts to iPhones: the Politics of Economic Development in1.00
East and Southeast Asia Studies the role of political institutions in shaping economic development in countries across East and Southeast Asia such as Japan, Korea, the Philippines, China, and Thailand. Students engage with a variety of topics such as the varied challenges of industrialization that different countries across the region faced; the role of the state in fostering markets; the relationship between economic growth and regime types; the impact of global financial markets upon political stability; and the political effects of developmental outcomes such as demographic change and rapid urbanization. The course is intended to give students a deeper understanding of the factors that led to the region's trajectory of rapid economic growth and the different ways in which these countries are integrated with other economies of the world.
Examines China's complex relations with the world mainly since the 1990s. It begins with a brief consideration of traditional Chinese understandings of international relations, historical legacies, geopolitical predicaments, and China's foreign policymaking process. Students examine the recent reorientation of Chinese foreign policy as a result of China's post-Mao economic reforms. Students assess China's grand strategy of "Peaceful Development," Chinese integration into "international institutions," and China's partial participation in an emergent Asian regionalism. Geographically, students examine China's relations with its Pacific neighbors, other developing countries (especially in Africa), and with advanced countries (Europe and the USA). Students also evaluate the prospects for military conflicts over Taiwan, the Senkaku/Diaoyu, and the South China Seas. The problem of nationalism in foreign policy is assessed through an analysis of the "interactive nationalisms" driving the triangular US-China-Japan relationship. Students investigate China's foreign policies on major international issues in an age of globalization. Specifically, with regard to the global economy, climate change and international human rights are examined. Concludes by assessing the prospects for Chinese foreign policy in the 21st Century. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
POSC 309On the Edges of Sovereignty: Microstates, Unrecognized Territories1.0
and Non-Territorial Actors Territorially defined sovereignty is one of the central elements of International Relations (IR), both as an academic endeavor and as a political arena. Yet a surprisingly large number of entities, while maintaining active roles in global politics and international diplomacy, do not satisfy the generally accepted definitions of sovereign states. Students examine four categories of such actors: microstates, such as Andorra and San Marino; "associated states" such as Palau (US) and the Cook Islands (NZ); unrecognized territories, such as Palestine, Northern Cyprus and Somaliland; and non-territorial "juridical actors" such as the Holy See and the Order of Malta (both of which maintain formal diplomatic relations with many traditionally defined states.) Students are introduced to the significant roles played in global politics by these anomalies, while also inviting discussion about how these roles challenge and question the very definition and significance of sovereignty itself as an agreed upon norm in International Relations. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: Only Sophomore Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
The contemporary global economy gives rise to critical moral issues. Students begin by studying how international economic institutions work and assessing the degree to which they contribute to global inequality. After that, students confront some ethical questions. For example, is development aid the best response to global poverty, and if not, what might better responses look like? Should liberal democracies purchase resources from authoritarian regimes? What might a just financial system look like? At the end of the semester, students identify a question about global economic justice and conduct independent research to pursue its answer. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
Data is ubiquitous in the current political world: from polls, to policy proposals, to economic forecasts. Professionals in non-technical fields; including lawyers, journalists, and policy experts; are increasingly involved in interpreting and engaging with data in their work. Students are provided a foundation for understanding and engaging with political data. Some coding and analysis is required, but the focus is on clear conceptual understanding of what we can and can't learn from data. No advanced math background is required, and no familiarity with statistics is assumed. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Quantitative and Algorithmic Reasoning Core Component: None
An introduction to the political science subfield of American Political Development, which traces the historical development of political institutions and the evolution of state/society relations in this country. How "exceptional" is the trajectory of state-building in the United States compared with other long-term democracies? What is the role of culture in shaping American politics and explaining change over time? How has race figured historically in the articulation of state power? Course readings tackle these and other questions from the perspective of political scientists, sociologists, and historians working on a broad empirical terrain spanning several centuries.
Public opinion provides students with information about the nature and origins of Americans' political belief systems. Students will center their investigations around the following concepts and their importance for understanding variation in public opinion: (1) ideology, (2) partisanship, (3) race and racial attitudes, (4) political knowledge and information and (5) various approaches and challenges to studying public opinion. In addition to relying on analyses that use the public opinion survey as a tool for investigating the political attitudes and beliefs of the American population, students will also consider and try to wrestle with the limits of the public opinion survey. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges or Quantitative and Algorithmic Reasoning Core Component: None
Examines the politics of identity in comparative perspectives. Introduces students to a variety of theoretical approaches concerning the origin, transformation, and mobilization of national, ethnic, and other forms of collective identity. Students consider empirical applications of these theories: students identify processes through which identity becomes politicized, explore why some identity conflicts manifest as violence, and analyze the various ways - ranging from electoral solutions to genocide - in which states manage difference. Case studies are drawn from Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, the Asian sub-continent, and the United States. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Political parties are some of the most influential entities in politics, and this course examines them as they pursue pork, policy, and power in the arenas of elections and elected institutions. After providing a strong background in party theory and the American party system, the remainder of the course highlights important commonalities by comparing party activity and party system development in other countries that straddle the developed and developing world.
Focuses closely on the US party system and the electoral area in which the parties struggle for power. In order to develop a strong conception of American parties, students combine scrutiny of the day-to-day media representations of political parties with important comparative perspectives to understand how American parties and elections fit into broader political science frameworks, as well as their long-term and global implications. Students compare the current US party system in three directions: back through history (especially the 20th century) to understand the roots of today's parties; out to the rest of the world, comparing party systems in other highly democratic countries; and also down to the state level, where students examine to what degree New York State parties and elections reflect national trends. Important topics covered include the effects of redistricting and campaign finance. Students also investigate the importance of issue-framing with units on contrasting party strategies of presenting a "war on women" and
Focuses on governing processes and institutions at the state and local level. Special attention is given to inter-governmental relations, municipal finance, and proposals for reform of local government. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No First-year Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Religion and politics influence each other--pervasively and controversially--in almost every political system across the globe. This course examines this fundamentally important relationship in a variety of national settings through a comparative assessment of issues and controversies such as constitutional relations
Examines post-Mao China's socioeconomic development and post-socialist transition in an age of economic globalization. It analyzes the evolution of Chinese economic market reforms and China's uneven integration into the Liberal World Order since 1978. This two-pronged developmental trajectory, however, encounters major challenges such as socioeconomic problems, ecological degradations, political dysfunctions, ideational crises, and international impediments. With varying efficacy, the Chinese government has attempted to redress these daunting problems through administrative reforms, economic rebalancing, anti- corruption campaigns, and international institutions. These major challenges and their attempted ameliorations are analyzed in-depth. The course concludes by examining the practical and discursive ramifications of China's development model for Chinese society, world politics, and the philosophical search for alternative modernities. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
Provides an understanding of politics in 48 countries that constitute sub-Saharan Africa. Following the independence era of the early 1960s and 1970s, much of the sub-continent exploded into a seemingly endless cycle of violence underscored by military coups d'état and civil wars. Over the last decade, various conflicts subsided enough for some states to institute political and market reforms. Others remained stuck in the throes of economic stagnation, on the verge of disintegration and vulnerable to terrorist groups and drug runners who exploit their vast ungovernable territories. What explains the various transitions that some states have experienced in sub-Saharan Africa? Why did most states disintegrate in violence following the end of colonial rule? Drawing upon pre-colonial accounts and histories of state formation and the theoretical, methodological, and conceptual tools that various Africanists have used to analyze key events, this course offers answers to these and other important questions about political and socio-economic developments on the continent of Africa. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Public policies to protect the environment are among the most important and controversial issues in local, state, and national government. This course analyzes the politics of environmental protection in the United States through the use of social science theory and a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods. The course introduces frameworks for understanding environmental policy problems and reviews several important American environmental laws. Readings include social science "classics" on the environment, as well as recent scholarship on environmental politics and emerging environmental issues. Topics covered in the course include the politics of environmental science, environmentalism as a social movement, environmental lawmaking in Congress, bureaucracy and environmental regulation, federalism, environmental law, and environmental justice. Crosslisted: ENST 335 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Examines political campaigns and voting behavior in American elections. The course will focus on both the broad theoretical literature surrounding campaigns and voter behavior as well as in-depth coverage of
POSC 338Sex, Law, and the American Culture Wars1.00
Explores the American church-state debate through the lens of abortion and same-sex marriage. These sexual freedom and reproductive rights issues raise questions that reach to the very heart of the American political project. What is the scope of our right to engage in private behavior? Do longstanding religious and moral traditions have a place within a secular legal system? Are there limits to the Constitution's guarantee of religious free exercise, and, if so, how do we determine these limits? These issues have generated intense social and political conflict, and are at the center of today's "culture wars" in the U.S. This course will provide students with a robust background in the legal history of these issues, and will furnish students with a framework for making sense of some of today's most contentious political battles in the U.S. Crosslisted: RELG 338 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
POSC 341War and the Shaping of American Politics1.00
Examines the impact of warfare, expansion, and national security policy on the development of domestic American institutions and politics since the Revolution. War's impact has been multifaceted and contradictory, fueling a politics of reaction and repression in many contexts while serving as a catalyst for advances in political, racial, and economic equality and inclusion in others. Students will explore those contradictions by connecting war mobilization and security politics to the trajectory of American political development and state/society relations over time. Topics include: the role of the putatively weak American state in shaping 19th century territorial expansion; the effect of wartime mobilization and participation on racial politics; the interplay of warfare and the welfare state in American history; the postwar politics of the "military-industrial complex;" and the impact of foreign policy and national security on the American party system. Readings will engage such topics from the perspective of political scientists, sociologists, and historians working on a broad empirical terrain ranging over several centuries. Crosslisted: PCON 341 Major/Minor Restrictions: None
POSC 343Left, Right, and Center: The Philosophical Roots of Modern Politics1.0
Most of the great debates and battles of modern politics have revolved around three broad political theories and movements: "the Left" (including socialism, communism, and 'cultural' Marxism); "the Center" (including classical liberalism, liberal democracy, and 'progressive' liberalism); and "the Right" (including conservatism or traditionalism, religious and theocratic politics, the radical right, and fascism). Students study selected thinkers from each of the three political theories and compare the strengths and weaknesses of their views as guiding principles for modern politics. No prerequisites are required for the course, but POSC 260 or 151 would be helpful as an introduction. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Examines the nature and extent of poverty in the United States, with particular emphasis on public policies designed to alleviate poverty and recent proposals for reform. Political factors affecting the formulation and implementation of poverty policies are examined, drawing on case studies of selected issues such as the war on poverty, Medicare, food stamps, aid to families with dependent children, and negative income tax proposals. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Politics is a distant and dimly understood process for most people; still, they must somehow come to terms with the threats and reassurances it offers, and reach assessments of personalities and policies about which they often know little. This course is an analysis of politics and the media from the inside out, beginning with the ways people receive, interpret, or ignore the media messages directed at them. News reporting and questions of bias are treated in the context of a group analysis of important stories. The class also considers the evolution and refinement of media campaigning techniques. Those who cannot purchase time or space in the mass media may resort to protest, terror, and violence in order to air their views. The class discusses these cases along with the ethical issues they pose. (PG)
Focuses on the causal dynamics of judicial behavior. Introduces students to the study of courts as political institutions and, in doing so, provides some understanding of the political nature of the role of courts in American society. Departs from the view that landmark national decisions such as Roe v. Wade, Baker v. Carr, and Brown v. Bd. of Education, along with their more recent conservative corollaries, are solely the product of adherence to constitutional standards of interpretation. Instead, it posits that these controversial rulings and judicial policy in general can be explained through careful examination of certain political factors. In short, the course is based on the premise that the judiciary is a permeable structure that is responsive to democratic processes and that, in turn, exerts influence upon those processes. Two major theoretical concerns integrate the lectures and materials covered: 1) the dynamic relationship between court decision- making processes and major features of the larger American political arena, and 2) the inherent tensions between judicial independence and democratic politics. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
Looks at the historical and theoretical development of the international political economy. Some of the major topics include the interaction between politics and economics in trade and protectionism, capital flows, exchange rates, debt, globalization, and problems in development. (IR) Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Examines relations between African states and between African and foreign states. Major topics include the effects of the international system on economic and political development, African states' use of foreign policy to achieve development goals, the role of the major outside powers, intra-African conflicts, African
This course is a survey of East Asian international relations from the breakdown of the traditional Chinese world order to the emergence of the Pacific Rim system. Emphasis is on foreign policies of East Asian nations, security, and trade issues. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: None Core Component: None
Discusses and analyzes the idea of national security in theory and practice, as well as the impact of nuclear weapons on contemporary statecraft topics including deterrence theory, arms control and disarmament, nuclear proliferation, and recent strategic developments. An optional three-week extended study in New York City, POSC 383, deepens students' understanding of several issues that are treated in class during the term. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
POSC 354Capitalism, the State, and Development in Latin America
The developmental trajectories of Latin American countries contain a double conundrum: first, in spite of being a region endowed with a considerable amount of natural resources and having enjoyed privileged access to Western European and North American markets, the overall economic performance of the region during the 20th century lagged considerably behind that of the rest of the Western world. Second, even when these countries all share a past of colonial rule and a "peripheral" location in the international system, the economic differences within the countries of the region are staggering. Seeking to shed light on this puzzle, this course surveys existing theories on the relationship between political institutions and economic
POSC 356Red Tape: Politics, Power, and Policy in the US Bureaucracy1
How does the US government get stuff done? While Congress passes the laws, interpreting and implementing those laws falls to bureaucrats in the executive branch. By some estimates, as much as 90% of new policy in the United States today is the product of choices made not in Congress, but in the executive branch. Who those bureaucrats are, how they make those decisions, and the elected politicians who try to influence them are the focus of this course. Students gain a deeper understanding of the US policy making process, and of the critical role of a professionalized bureaucracy in our democracy. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: None Core Component: None
Examines how international institutions shape states' behavior and why some institutions are more effective than others. Students focus on institutions such as the United Nations, World Trade Organization, and NATO, and on issues such as development, human rights, climate change, and arms control. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Examines the segment of world politics that includes interactions and transactions between actors who are not representatives of governments or intergovernmental institutions. Non-state actors as diverse as global social movements, multinational corporations, religious communities, and even terrorist networks are now recognized as playing crucial roles on the world's political stage. This course focuses on a variety of these transnational actors to stretch the limits of state-based approaches, and emphasize the rich variety of relationships and interactions that characterizes contemporary world politics.
POSC 359Power in Russia from Gorbachev to Putin1.00
Examines the domestic and international politics of the world's largest country. Students track the weakness and disorder of the chaotic 1990s under Boris Yeltsin, and the birth of a new system on the ashes of Communism. Students examine the rise of Russian power and prestige under Vladimir Putin and his centralizing innovations to strengthen political and economic institutions. The course also considers dissent and protest movements, the national conflicts with internal minorities, as in Chechnya, and projection of power over the post-Soviet "Near Abroad" and the construction of a corporatist-style system that presents new challenges to the global dominance of ideas about democracy and capitalism. Crosslisted: REST 359 Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Peace operations have been widely deployed to contain and promote resolution of conflicts. This course focuses primarily on humanitarian intervention and probes the different contexts in which peacekeepers have been introduced: interstate conflicts, civil conflicts, and humanitarian emergencies. Students consider how humanitarian interventions differ in practical terms from other types of peace operations, considering questions of strategy, mandates, and political will. Students also analyze the ethical implications of humanitarian intervention, particularly questions of responsibility, legitimacy, sovereignty, and unintended consequences. Theoretical readings are combined with comparative case studies are drawn from Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans, and elsewhere. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Examines the trajectory of European integration since World War II. Introduces theories to explain this trajectory, and to explain why the EU is more deeply integrated in some areas (e.g., economy) than others (e.g., defense). The traumas of the past decade, including the euro crisis, democratic decay, and Brexit are also addressed. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Examines the major sources, dominant theories, and primary policy options in American foreign relations with China. Begins by examining some key determinants of this bilateral relationship and proceeds to investigate "realist," "liberal," and "cultural" approaches to understanding international relations in general and US China policy in particular. Particular attention is paid to the so-called "Thucydides Trap" and the actual consequences of a potential US-China war. Concludes by examining the effects of "American Exceptionalism" and the "China threat" on US foreign policy towards China. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Examines how the executive and legislative branches of government interact to formulate public policies. The influence of political parties, interest groups, business organizations, and public opinion on these institutions is explored in depth. Also highlights the impact of federalism within the American political system, pointing both to intergovernmental implementation of national policies and to policy innovation at the state level. An overarching theme is the inevitable tension between oligarchy and democracy in a system where only a few actors wield direct influence over policy decisions. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Introduces students to public international law through an examination of the key concepts and principles that underlie the foundations of international law, as well as through the legal norms that regulate relations between states. Although states are considered the central actors in international law, the involvement of nonstate actors, intergovernmental organizations, and other participants is also examined. Substantive areas of international law, humanitarian law, and international law and the environment are also analyzed. Concludes with a discussion of the future role of international law in world politics. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
Though the state is now the standard form of political organization, this was not always the case. For centuries, political organization was dominated by city-states, feudal relations, and tribal or clan organizations. This course examines the emergence of the modern state as the predominant form of political organization. It explores various arguments for state sovereignty and examines several challenges to it as well. Finally, it considers the state of the state in today's globalized world. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
Examines the claims of reason and revelation as sources of ultimate truth and as guides for the political world. Readings are from the great theologians of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
This study of the principles of American government as articulated by leading statesmen and political thinkers gives particular attention to the founding period and the Constitution and to their relationship to later periods of reform.
The extended study in New York City explores four topics covered in POSC 353: conflict in the Middle East, conflict in the Balkans, NATO and European security, and the UN peacekeeping system. The class meets with academics and representatives of roughly a dozen countries who deal with these issues. The study includes panels of military scholars from the US Army War College and the United States Military Academy at West Point. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: None Liberal Arts Practices: None Core Component: None
POSC 385Modernity and its Conservative Critics1.00
What is wrong with the modern world, especially with the political culture of liberal and progressive intellectual elites? Such questions are explored by studying the radical critique of modernity offered by philosophical, classical, and Christian conservatives. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
POSC 386Enlightenment Political and Social Thought1.00
Important Enlightenment-era political treatises are explored in this course. The bourgeois sensibilities of Montesquieu, Hume, Smith, and Voltaire are compared — culminating in the tenets of classical liberalism — to the more radical and perfectionist aspirations of Rousseau, Diderot, and Condorcet. For both schools of thought, the focus is on those aspects and ideas that cast light on matters of continuing concern and that help explain the 19th–century emergence of liberalism, romanticism, and radicalism.
POSC 387Reason and Power in Social and Political Thought1.00
How can one understand human beings when they seem to have such a complicated variety of interests and motives? The intent of this course is to look at the controversies that divide social and political theorists in their effort to understand human beings and the human condition. In the process students discover that beneath conflicting theories are recurring themes concerning subjectivity and objectivity, the nature of human beings, theories of self and other, as well as a debate over rationality, irrationality, truth, and knowledge. By better understanding these controversies students gain new insights into human nature, human knowledge, and the human condition. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
POSC 388Constitutional Law: Civil Rights and Liberties1.00
Students examine the nature of civil rights and liberties under the Constitution; such include freedom of speech and the press, religious freedom, equal protection (with major attention to race and gender), due process, property, and privacy/autonomy (abortion, right to die, sexual orientation). Students also explore the role of the Supreme Court in the definition and protection of these rights and engage the several controversies surrounding the larger enterprise of constitutional interpretation, such as originalism v. nonoriginalism, natural law v. positivism, judicial activism v. judicial restraint, and so forth. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
The focus of this course is what Aristotle identified as the central question of political science, the character of regime--the organization of offices and the distribution of power that is designed to achieve an understanding of justice and the human good. More specifically, students focus on the structural characteristics of the American regime, or Constitution--separation of powers, federalism, emergency powers, property rights; but students are equally concerned with the politics of interpretation itself--the complex process by which people determine what is the Constitution, how it is to be understood, and who
Opportunity for individual study in areas not covered by formal course offerings, under the guidance of a member of the faculty. Credits: variable Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: None Core Component: None
POSC 404Seminar: Political Polarization and American Democracy1.0
The embittered state of contemporary American politics has occasioned widespread popular and scholarly consternation. In recent years, moreover, such worries have moved beyond a concern about popular rancor and dysfunctional governance to encompass serious contemplation of the prospect of "democratic backsliding" or even outright system collapse in the United States. This seminar is designed to familiarize students with major scholarly debates concerning political polarization in the United States—its historical origins and contemporary drivers, its workings at both the mass and elite level of political activity, and its impact on both political culture and governance. Students put that literature in dialogue with research in both American and comparative politics on democratic backsliding and constitutional stability. And, through a service-learning component that brings students into local voluntary civic and political organizations, they also consider the connection between community-level civic life and national political dynamics. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: No First-year Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: None Core Component: None
POSC 406Seminar: The State and Political Violence1.00
Examines the causes and consequences of different forms of political violence and how they are related to the state. Among the issues that it covers are: the role of conflict in the formation and consolidation of states, the relationship between regime type and violence, the conditions under which revolutionary movements emerge and succeed, the determinants of varying levels of state repression, and the recent rise of criminal violence associated with illicit trade. While coursework is particularly focused on the Latin American region, it explores questions of broader theoretical relevance and also studies episodes of political violence in other regions of the world. Finally, students also explore the implications of violence for political and economic development. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
POSC 407Seminar: Media and International Relations1.00
Examines the theories, paradigms and methods used for understanding the role of media and public opinion in international politics. Students explore the triangular relationship between the state, the media, and the public when it comes to foreign policy, specifically, how state influences media, how media shapes public opinion, and how public opinion impacts foreign policy, in the context of both democracies and authoritarian states. Topics include the role of both traditional and digital media on international issues of conflicts, trade wars, public health crises, terrorism, anti- foreign nationalism, censorship, cyber wars, and social media, with case studies from countries around the world, particularly the United States and China. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: Only Junior, Senior Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
POSC 410Our Constitutional Order: Continuity and Change (Study Group)1.00
An inquiry into the enduring principles and changing features of our constitutional order. Topics include the design of the founders (their underlying propositions about human nature and the common good, expectations for institutional performance, and hopes for the way of life fostered by this constitutional order), significant changes within this order (as marked by shifts in the underlying premises of the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution and parallel realignments of the political party system), and contemporary features of institutions and political mores. The class meets as a daily seminar for the first two weeks of the program, then in weekly seminars for the following six weeks. Taught on the Washington DC study group. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
POSC 412Readings and Research on American Government (Study Group)1.00
Combines common readings pertaining to the internship (focusing on organization theory) and individualized readings on an independent research project. For the latter, students are encouraged to select topics that further enhance and complement the experiential learning of their internships. Taught on the Washington DC study group. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges Core Component: None
POSC 414Seminar: Contemporary Policy Process (Study Group)1.00
An inquiry into the contemporary process by which policy is developed and enacted, with special attention to a case study of a subject currently under consideration in Washington. Previous topics have included reforms of welfare, Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, and campaign finance. Questions include a) the role of interest groups, parties, political action committees, and the press; b) the impact of constitutional and contemporary structures and processes of decision making; and c) the desirability of reform of the constitutional system itself. This class meets as a daily seminar for the first two weeks after the term break, then in semi-weekly seminars for the next five weeks. Taught on the Washington DC study group. Major/Minor Restrictions: None
POSC 416Seminar: Democracy, Capitalism, and the Changing World Order1.00
This seminar explores the process of democratic transitions – the removal of repressive regimes and the establishment of new democratic institutions – and democratic consolidation, the process of "deepening" democracy and making it sustainable. The course compares theories about democratic transition and consolidation that were generated by cases that took place across different regions and periods, such as the Western European examples of the 19th century and the Latin American and East Asian cases of the 20th century. Major topics include the role of political parties, political elites, and grassroots organizations, the design of electoral rules and other institutional arrangements, the effect of capitalist development, and the influence of international actors upon patterns of democratization and prospects for democratic stability. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
In the American criminal justice policy process the people are represented by two separate, but equally important groups: the politicians who enact anti-crime laws and criminal justice officials who are empowered to enforce them. Students investigate "Law & Order" politics and policymaking in the U.S. by way of probing the extent to which the adoption of criminal justice policies by lawmakers and the administration of criminal law are driven and chiefly so by democratic pressures. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None Formerly: POSC 337
POSC 419Seminar: Conspiracy Theories and Fake News
The social and political world increasingly seems to be overrun by conspiracy theories and "fake news." From American political campaigns to international conflicts, the world is rife with false claims, misleading arguments, and assertions of hidden forces seeking and exerting power. Where do these beliefs come from? Who is susceptible to holding these opinions? What is the role of social media in spreading these beliefs? What can be done to stop their spread? Can democracy coexist with an electorate filled with false beliefs?
Misinformation, disinformation, fake news — the political world around us is full of claims about the use and abuse of information. Students explore some of the key questions surrounding information warfare in international relations. Is information warfare a new sort of war — or the continuation of traditional conflict by other means? How do states and non-state actors use and manipulate information to achieve their goals on the international stage? How can states best protect themselves? And can it ever be ethical to engage in information warfare? Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
Addresses the causes and implications of globalization from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including political science, economics, sociology, and philosophy. Aims to sharpen students' skills as critical readers and thinkers, and directs them in producing a capstone research project in their seminar paper. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
POSC 434Seminar: Immigrants, Refugees, and the Politics of Borders
This seminar examines themes in migration, citizenship, and belonging, in the context of South Asian migration world-wide, with special emphasis on the United States. The liberalization of American immigration law in the 1960s provides the basis for the discussion of push-pull factors of migration of South Asians from various states in the subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal). Today South Asians are deemed to be a model minority, a label that at the same time extols and dehumanizes South Asians depending on their class position and their country of origin. To counter the stereotypical narratives of doctors and engineers on the one hand and cab drivers and convenience-store clerks on the other, students are encouraged to engage with various texts to recognize ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity of South Asian migrants, and to consider the challenges of acculturation and assimilation as immigrants become
POSC 436Seminar: Continuity and Change in International Politics1.00
An analysis of contemporary conceptual approaches to international politics and of the trends and developments that are altering some traditional assumptions about the nature of the international arena. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Recommended: Recommended for all international relations honors students and for students going to graduate school. Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
POSC 437Seminar: Democratization and Prospects for Peace and Prosperity1.00
This seminar examines the politics of democratic transition and the political and economic performance of existing democracies, with a focus on the developing world. The class pays particular attention to the distinctive challenges of democratizing amidst globalization and resurgent nationalism, and analyzes the effects of democratization on international and internal conflict, economic development, equity, and political stability. Students evaluate the current debate over how the US can aid democratization. Countries studied include Russia, Mexico, Turkey, and South Korea. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
Due to the lingering legacy of colonialism, the economic effects of globalization, and the growth of transnational movements, the dominance of the state as the only form of political organization is in question today. The course will examine the revival of the theory of the state that has followed these developments and has yielded a rich and sophisticated literature. Topics may include: sovereignty, legitimation, and power.
POSC 451Seminar: Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa1.00
More than 50 years after formal independence, what is the contemporary condition of African countries? What has been the impact of economic and political reforms and the changing world order? What is the influence of foreign powers on African politics and development? This seminar discusses how Africa has featured in world politics since the advent of colonialism to the present. Topics include: slave trade, European exploration of Africa, and the establishment of the colonial trade. The majority of the course, however, focuses on the post-colonial period. Students examine the phenomenon of neo-colonialism, the involvement of Western and Asian powers in Africa, and the international aid regime. The course also focuses on some of the most important conflicts that took place on the continent, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, and Mali. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
This seminar considers the interrelationships between two great land-based nations, the US and Russia, which expanded territorially, developed economically, and emerged to strategic dominance at much the same time. It examines the competition between those two states, looks at the prospects for their cooperation, and how the end of the Cold War has created new opportunities and problems for each of them. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
Theories of warfare and explanations of the outbreak of war are the focus of this course. Explanations of warfare as a general characteristic of the international system and case studies are examined, as is the evidence on the economic, political, and social consequences of war. The course deals both with general
POSC 464Seminar: Freedom and Authority in Modern Political Philosophy1.00
What is freedom and how much freedom is good for society? What kind of justification do political theorists offer in defense of freedom? The course will examine the great debates about the nature of freedom and the conditions of a free society. Students will also discuss the relation between freedom or liberty and other competing values, such as equality, security, and virtue to understand the balance of ideals in practical political life. Readings will be selected from liberal thinkers such as Mill, Kant, Adam Smith, and Isaiah Berlin as well as from critics of classical liberalism such as Marx and Nietzsche. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: None Core Component: None
POSC 475Seminar: Philosophies of Law: Theory and Practice1.00
Introduces students to philosophies of law as found in theories of natural law, international law, and positive law. Students examine the question of whether there are universal norms of morality and justice that transcend the diversity of cultures and the claims of multiculturalism. Students also examine the 'higher law' background of constitutions, legal systems, social movements, and international organizations. Readings will be selected from writings of classical Greek and Roman philosophers, medieval scholastics, modern creators of international law, the American founders, and contemporary philosophers of human rights and cultural relativism. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
This course sequence is designed to provide the training and supervision for a select group of students to write honors theses in political science. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
This course sequence is designed to provide the training and supervision for a select group of students to write honors theses in political science. Major/Minor Restrictions: None Class Restriction: None Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents Liberal Arts Practices: Confronting Collective Challenges and The Process of Writing Core Component: None
