Undergraduate

In today’s world, many of the most pressing threats, such as Covid-19 and global climate change, cannot be managed by countries acting on their own; international cooperation between states is required. Yet, it is also difficult to achieve.

This class examines the scholarly literature on international cooperation and what it has to say about when, why, and how international cooperation occurs, and with what level of success. We will discuss when international cooperation is most urgent, what the obstacles to cooperation are, how international organizations can help states overcome these obstacles, the level of compliance international institutions evoke, why and when states comply with their commitments, and how international institutions might sometimes prove more influential than expected. The class does not focus on any specific area of cooperation and instead draws from a broad theoretical literature that covers cooperation on a diverse set of economic, security, environmental, and human rights issues. We will read articles on such diverse topics as the laws of war, military alliances, election monitoring, the international criminal court, oil pollution of the seas, the IMF and World Bank, and monetary cooperation, among others.

The class will not only introduce you to classical and cutting-edge scholarly research on the topic of international cooperation, but is also designed to foster your ability to pursue original research on international cooperation, by learning to ask novel and interesting questions, to formulate compelling arguments, and to devise systematic empirical tests.

This one-unit course will feature a guest speaker each week discussing an issue currently in the news. The class is open to all students, and there are no prerequisites. The class is offered Pass/Not Pass, based on a final examination. May be repeated for credit.

This course does not count as an upper division Political Science requirement.

This course provides an overview of California politics, with a focus on contemporary issues and an analysis of who wields power and why. Specifically, the course will focus on : the demographic, social and economic forces that shape the State's politics- the three official branches of state government (executive, legislative and judicial)- the three unofficial branches (the media, lobbyists and interest groups)- campaigns (candidates, initiatives, consultants, pollsters, political parties and money), local government, the state budget and education policies.

Subfield:   American Politics

Please note this description is from Fall 2013

In many ways, the story of Germany in the 20th century is really the story of the 20th Century as a whole. Germany lies at the center of communism and capitalism, of militarism and consumerism, of nationalism and fascism, of two World Wars and the Cold War. Moreover, the emergence of a new, reunified Germany after 1989 set forth an optimistic view for a global 21st Century. While that optimism may have faded, Germany’s role in the world has not. As Angela Merkel’s 16 years as Chancellor come to a conclusion in 2021, she is widely considered to have taken the mantle as leader of the free world: unthinkable thirty years before. 

This course looks at contemporary German politics, but with historical context. First, we briefly explore the tumult of German history in the 19th and 20th centuries, to understand many of the historical dynamics that shape German political institutions, policies, and culture. Then we look at German political institutions and policy domains, to understand contemporary politics and policymaking in Europe’s largest economy and strongest power. 

This course will focus on the transformative process through which the nations of contemporary Southeast Asia have confronted political crises and instability and the various levels of success with which they have attempted to implement comprehensive programs of reform.  This course will analyze several different areas of political activity, such as:  state-led initiatives (political economy) regarding development and resource distribution; citizen and opposition movements both within and outside formal state institutions which seek to influence, alter, or overturn state action and policy; institution-building and the cultivation of social capital; and regional and transnational flows of capital and labor which act in alliance with or in opposition to national economic institutions.  Specific topics will include a comparative analysis of state policy; the relationship between illicit economies (such as narcotics) and ethnic insurgency; the nascent political voice of religion and ethnicity as nationalist or opposition ideologies; the expansion and influence of local NGOs (legal aid, human rights, women’s rights, etc.); political violence and alternative paths to the expression of discontent; and corruption.  After a general overview of Southeast Asia as a regional political theater, we will turn our attention to a series of in-depth case studies.  

Please note that this course description is from Spring 2015

Subfield: Comparative Politics

This course examines patterns of political and economic change in Latin America over the course of the twentieth century.  Readings focus on industrialization and the advent of populism, the collapse of democracy and the rise of bureaucratic authoritarian regimes during the 1960s and 1970s, democratization, democratic consolidation, as well as economic liberalization and its aftermath. Readings focus on five country cases: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Venezuela.  Discussions frame the Latin American cases in terms of broader debates in comparative politics. 

Subfield:   Comparative Politics 

Students who took PS 191 "JUNIOR SEMINAR: LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS" with Professor Post in Spring 2014 cannot take this course due to the substantial similarity in course content. Students who took PS 191 "JUNIOR SEMINAR: The Latin American City: Politics and Policy" with Professor Post in Spring 2018 can take this course as there is no significant overlap in course content.

This course introduces students to modern African politics, focusing on the region’s political trends and trajectories from the colonial era to the present. We begin by studying the region’s political experiences through the turn of the 21^st century before turning to current dilemmas and questions in African politics. Particular attention is paid to the prospects for and constraints on economic development and democratic consolidation and contemporary challenges, such as the rise of new forms of political participation and political challenges to the state. Reoccurring themes include the interaction of formal and informal institutions in African societies, Africa’s position in the global economy and the nature of the state in Africa, highlighting throughout both what is specific to Africa and its sub-regions and where the continent’s politics find broader comparability with other world regions.

Subfield: Comparative Politics

Instructor: Melanie Phillips

This course is an introduction to theories and issues in international political economy. Our emphasis will be on understanding bargaining between rich and poor countries. In particular, we will examine the political and economic conditions conducive to the development of cooperative international economic behavior among countries. The first part of the course will consider three analytical approaches to interpret economic interaction among countries - liberalism, dependency, and mercantilism. This part of the course also will consider theories used to explain the evolution of international arrangements - regimes - in the international system. The second part of the course will focus on four issue areas of key significance for North-South relations: trade, money, multinationals, and commodities. Our emphasis will be on the post-World War II transformation of rules and behavior in these issue-areas. The third and concluding part of the course will review the theoretical ideas and examine the prospects of the less-developed countries in the international system and the future of international economic cooperation. PS 126A is a prerequisite for PS 126B, which examines foreign economic policy.

Subfield: International Relations

Please note the description is from Spring 2013

Discussion Sections will be Asynchronous.

Should nations intervene in other countries to prevent human rights abuses or famine? On what principles should immigration be based? Should wealthy states aid poorer states, and if so, how much? Is it ever right to go to war? And if so, when, and with what means? We will examine different traditions in moral thought and use these tools to make reasoned judgments about these and similar difficult moral problems such as these in world politics.

This course falls within the International Relations subfield.

Please note the description is from Spring 2013