Session A

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

Women make up around 49.5% of the global population, yet they are strikingly underrepresented when it comes to political office. Looking at the global average, women only hold 24% of seats at the parliamentary level. The percent of women in office varies drastically between countries. For example, quota-based countries like Rwanda have 60% women in parliament, whereas countries with unique electoral systems like Lebanon only have 4.7%. This course looks to explain this variation, and further understand the consequences of it. We will focus on questions such as: How do electoral systems affect women’s access to elected office?  What, if any, are the negative effects of imposing gender quotas? If elected, do women promote greater substantive representation? We will look into the potential for gender-based discrimination among socialized gender roles, voters, political parties, campaign policies, and the media. Please be advised that this is not a course on feminist theory, but rather an investigation of the barriers to women’s representation and political participation.

Instructor: Melanie Phillips

For more than sixty years, the European Union has represented the world’s most advanced experiment in governance beyond the nation-state. More recently, however, this experiment has become mired in financial turbulence and growing social protest, and for the first time faces the withdrawal of a member. This course takes a broad view of the promise as well as the challenges of European integration. It looks at the EU’s institutional components, the events leading to the single currency in the 1990s, enlargement eastward into the post-socialist world, and the major crises that have been challenging Europe since 2008: the financial crisis, the rise of populism, and Brexit. These topics allow us to assess Europe’s ability to craft adequate responses to the challenges posed by economic transformation, terrorism, multiculturalism, and worldwide financial interdependence, and to come to a better understanding of the EU’s current and future role on the world stage.

Instructor: Matthew Stenberg

What is conservatism?  Is it distinct from liberalism—that is, is conservatism a body of ideas contrary to liberalism, or is it a branch of liberalism?  In other words, is conservatism in fact an “ism”?  What are the fundamental differences between conservative and liberal perspectives today?  Is conservatism the most significant challenge to the liberal idea today, or its erstwhile ally?

This course will explore these and related questions, such as the range of conservative perspectives on human nature, authority, religion, social change and progress, science and technology, race and ethnicity, economics and markets, equality, individual rights, the State and civil society, and ethics.  The first half of the course will explore the philosophical, historical, and trans-Atlantic roots of conservative philosophy and social thought before turning to the specifically American variants of conservatism. The subdivisions of modern conservatism—libertarianism, traditional/“paleo,” neoconservatism, religious conservatism, etc.—will be defined and contrasted with each other. 

The second half of the course will transition to contemporary issues of social policy, the debates over economics, “neoliberalism,” equality, race, sex, class, national identity, immigration, and social justice. Ultimately the course is about what it means to be a free human being, and what are the requirements and institutions of a free society that support a free human being.

Instructor: Steven F. Hayward

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history occurred in early 2019 in large part due to policy differences over how to secure the Southern border. Pundits debate rhetoric over migrant caravans, coast-to-coast walls, and the rights of asylum-seekers, while empirical facts seem to conflict.  Is there an immigration crisis, and to what extent have the actions of the United States fueled it?  What have U.S. policymakers tried to achieve in the hemisphere, and how successful have they been?  Conversely, what factors drive Latin Americans to the U.S., and how have they changed over time? In this course, we will examine U.S. foreign policy towards Latin America through the lens of migration.  Themes covered in lecture and class discussion will include major U.S. foreign policy objectives as well as the role of American business interests in the region, and their impact on migration, particularly economic development and human rights.  More specific topics will include the Monroe Doctrine, Roosevelt’s Corollary, Dollar Diplomacy, the Washington Consensus, the Iran-Contra affair, the Bracero program, NAFTA and its revisions, and the growth of MS-13 and other trafficking gangs.   Previous coursework in International Relations and/or Comparative Politics is recommended, but not necessary or required for success in the course.

Instructor: Dr. Wendy Sinek

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a basic framework for understanding howpsychological processes impact citizens’ political decision-making, attitudes, behaviors, and identities.
Over six weeks, we will look at theories and evidence from social, cognitive, behavioral, anddevelopmental psychology, which will we then apply to modern and historical political conflicts and
dilemmas. Throughout the course, we will also consider how well psychology explains various political phenomena, relative to approaches from economics and other fields.

Instructor: Sean Freeder

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a basic framework for understanding howpsychological processes impact citizens’ political decision-making, attitudes, behaviors, and identities.
Over six weeks, we will look at theories and evidence from social, cognitive, behavioral, anddevelopmental psychology, which will we then apply to modern and historical political conflicts and
dilemmas. Throughout the course, we will also consider how well psychology explains various political phenomena, relative to approaches from economics and other fields.

Instructor: Sean Freeder

This course explores the characteristics, causes, and consequences of insurgency wars. Irregular warfare between insurgent and state forces has been the dominant form of armed conflict since the end of World War II. Yet, international relations scholars paid little attention to these “small wars” before U.S.-led operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. This course provides an overview of the history behind insurgency wars and debates the primary theories that try to explain guerrilla and counterinsurgent behavior. We will explore the underlying political, social, economic, and cultural factors that lead to rebellion, the competing strategic approaches to conducting insurgency and counterinsurgency, the immediate and long-term consequences of this type of political violence, and policy options for intervention prior and during small wars. Our empirical focus will be on conflicts in the 19th and 20th centuries, with particular attention to the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. 

Instructor: Jason Klocek

This course is an introduction to the methods employed in empirical political science research. We will cover basic topics in research design, statistics, and formal modeling, considering many examples along the way. The two primary goals of the course are: (1) to provide students with analytic tools that will help them to understand how political scientists do empirical research, and (2) to improve students' ability to pose and answer research questions on their own. There are no prerequisites.

Instructor: ANUSTUBH AGNIHOTRI

Note: Course description is from Fall 2013

This course presents a broad introduction to contemporary politics and society in Russia. What was Soviet-type socialism and how is its legacy shaping post-Soviet Russia? Where is Russia headed: toward democracy as it is known in the West, a new form of authoritarianism, reversion to the old system, or something else? The political upheaval and social movements that swept Russia and the other Soviet republics during the Gorbachev period will be explored. We will then examine the Yeltsin and Putin periods and current problems of political change. The topics to be investigated include the transformation of political institutions, dilemmas of movement from a command economy to a market economy, struggles among emerging social interests, public opinion, social integration and disintegration, nationalism, and Russia’s place in the world. The course is recommended for juniors and seniors only but is open to all students.

Note: Course description is from Summer 2010