Session D

This course will study the major texts of political theory in Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages, including (but not limited to) Plato’s Republic, Aristotle’s Politics, Cicero’s De Re Publica and De Legibus, Augustine’s De Civitate Dei, Aquinas’ Summa, and Marsilius’ Defensor Pacis.  Topics for study and examination will include the theory of the state in Antiquity and the Middle Ages; the concept of law and its relation to justice; theories concerning the source and scope of legitimate political authority; pre-modern ideas of democratic and non-democratic forms of rule; the nature of citizenship; pre-modern systems of political values.

Who has the right to hold power in society?  Is there a “recipe” for economic development, and can it be applied to all countries, everywhere?  Is it possible to build democracy in places like North Korea, Iran, and China—or is democracy inappropriate, or impossible, within some cultural contexts?   What can ordinary people do to bring about political change?  These are some of the fundamental questions in comparative politics, and we will be wrestling with these issues over the course of the semester.  This course is designed to give you an introduction to dynamics of political and economic development, both within and across countries around the world.  In the process, the issues raised will challenge us to think, analyze, and write with creativity and rigor.  Attendance and lecture and discussion section required.

This course can satisfy either the Social & Behavioral Sciences or International Studies breadth requirement.

Instructor: Wendy Sinek, PhD

This course provides an overview of the U.S. political system from the nation's founding to the present. In addition to examining the core structures of our federal system, we will also explore a number of
special topics, such as the evolution of civil rights and the causes of partisan gridlock. The course will pay particular attention to the role institutions play in shaping political conflict and, ultimately,in determining who wins and who loses.

Instructor: Sean Freeder

Why are some post-communist countries more politically and economically successful than others? What underlies the many conflicts in this region? What can happen in the future, and what can we learn from the East European experience? This course is designed to help you answer these and similar questions. Topics include state-socialism and its collapse, the emergence of ethnic and religious conflict, the transitions to democracy and market economics, entry into NATO and the European Union, democratic backsliding, and Russia's conflict with Ukraine.

The overwhelming majority of governments throughout history have been dictatorial. Even the recent spread of democracy has not extirpated authoritarian rule: as of 2012 roughly one quarter of all countries are considered full-blown autocracies. Whatever the benefits of democracy, it seems dictatorship is here to stay. This course explores the characteristics and dynamics of non-democratic regimes: how and why they come about, what sustains them, why some people resist them and others do not, and how and why they decline and fall. We will explore a variety of examples from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Using films and novels in addition to political science literature, we will investigate how dictators maintain their power, how ordinary people react to repression, and the links between dictatorship and security and economic development.

Subfield: Comparative Politics

Note: Course description is from Summer 2014

This course aims to study sovereignty, widely regarded the core concept constitutive of modern state-centric politics and international law.  The first part of the course will study the origins of the concept in medieval legal and political thought and its later development in major texts by Bodin, Grotius, Hobbes, Pufendorf, Rousseau, Schmitt, Arendt.  The second part of the course will then focus on major interpretive themes associated with the politics of sovereignty, such as territoriality, constitutionalism, and sovereignty in international law.  Readings may include studies by Agamben, Grimm, Kantorowicz, Krasner, Kalyvas, Loughlin, Skinner, Stilz, and Tierney.  This is an upper-level undergraduate Theory course.  It is highly recommended that students will have already completed EITHER PS 112a or 112b or an equivalent course in the history of political thought.  

**Note: Course ID changed from 116A.

We say justice is blind. Does this mean treating everyone in the same way? As if they are equals? As if there are no differences among them? But what if some people are marginalized, subordinated, or stigmatized? Could pretending these stratifications don't exist actually be unjust? What if different people or groups need different things for justice to be done? Would that mean a "one-size fits all" approach is fundamentally unjust? But then, how would we know who needs what? Who would be obligated? To whom? And what if there are conflicting definitions of justice? Could securing justice for some simultaneously cause others injustice? How would we mediate between these competing definitions? How would we do justice for all? Can we?

This course explores what justice might entail through contemporary Western political theory. We will begin with liberal democratic theories of justice. Then we will study texts by feminist, critical-race, queer, and other theorists to understand justice from the perspectives of marginalized, subordinated, or stigmatized groups. We will not search for definitive answers or hard-and-fast conclusions about what justice is or should be. Rather, we are interested in getting a better sense of justice's many dimensions and tensions.

Course Instructor: Dr. Paul Martorelli

This course begins with a brief historical review of the demise of the Ottoman Empire, followed by the British and French mandate over the Middle East region, the anti-colonialist revolt, the emergence of Israel, Arab-Israeli conflicts, the rise of secular nationalism, and the resurgence of Islamism in all its populist, revolutionary, conservative, and revivalist forms. We will then shift our focus to new modes of thinking about the region grounded in political economy, economic insecurity, youth bulge, and the burgeoning revolts against authoritarianism and the status quo. After examining a myriad of reasons behind social protests and movements in the region, this course will turn to comparative as well as case study approaches by focusing primarily on important changes in the Middle East landscape. We will pay special attention in the second half of the semester to the following cases: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Syria, and Tunisia, as well as Israeli-Palestinian front.  We also take a thematic approach to examining causes of social unrest, human rights and democratic struggles, identity formation, and sectarian divide/tensions in the region.

Please note the course description is from Summer 2014

Instructor:Mahmood Monshipouri 

Email: mmonship@berkeley.edu

This course aims to furnish students with the tools needed to study politics and society in comparative perspective. The first part of the course introduces concepts and methods of comparative analysis and examines core assumptions about human nature that underpin social scientists’ (and all of our) thinking. The second part investigates the variety of political regimes under which people live around the world. Third, we will consider the factors that influence which type of political regime prevails in particular national settings. Why do some countries get democracy while others do not? The fourth section focuses on economic development. Why are some countries able to break out of poverty while others are not? Attendance at lecture and discussion section required.

This course can satisfy either the Social & Behavioral Sciences or International Studies breadth requirement.