Undergraduate

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.

This data intensive seminar is for students interested in research on any aspect of contemporary Indian politics.  Enrolled students will be expected to write a research paper using data from election and other surveys carried out in India. Basic instruction on how to use R will be provided at the start of the class.  

This course surveys some of the canonical texts and major themes of European political theory in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The texts we will study are by Alexis de Tocqueville, Karl Marx, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, and Max Weber. We will consider a range of problems, including the nature of modern power; the contested character of democracy, equality and liberty; the relationship between political, social, and economic life; the problem of the emancipation and enfranchisement of marginal or subordinated groups; and some of the subterranean forces that contour political life and motivate its inhabitants. We will also be attentive to the ways these texts etch a relationship between democracy, empire and colonialism. Still, these texts are so intellectually rich and vast that you will undoubtedly be drawn to themes in addition to those listed above, and you are welcome to raise and develop these interests during the course.

Note: This description is from Fall 2011.

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

This course focuses on understanding the causes and consequences of state fragility in different parts of the world. Students who enroll in the course will examine a variety of policy options for helping fragile or failing states to build state capacity in areas such as security and public services. The course will afford students a unique opportunity to participate in international collaboration. The course will be prepared by faculty from University of California, Berkeley, National University of Singapore, and University of Tokyo. The three universities will collaborate in sharing a core syllabus, common course materials, and lectures across campuses. Students will also have the opportunity to work with colleagues from the other universities across the globe on group projects that lead to policy recommendations.

In this course, students will learn to explore, discuss, and better understand the relationship between racial/ethnic group formation, group-based beliefs and behavior, and politics. Our focus is on the US today, but with an appreciation of how the racial politics of the here and now is rooted in history and human psychology. We cover Black Politics, Latinx Politics, Asian American Politics, Native American Politics and White Politics, as well as general concepts of identity, immigration, citizenship, class, and intersectionality. We examine both how race and ethnicity affect politics, as well as how politics can shape the boundaries, definitions and behaviors of groups. These behaviors include voting, elite decisions, civic engagement, protests, and media content and usage.

Subfield: American Politics

Instructor: Kristine Kay

This course will study the foundational texts of modern political thought, including Machiavelli’s Prince, Hobbes’ Leviathan, Locke’s Two Treatises of Government, and Rousseau’s Social Contract.  Topics for study and examination will include the theory of the modern sovereign state; the origin of the state (especially the theory of the social contract); the concept of natural rights; theories of political liberty and equality; the permissibility of political resistance and revolution; early modern ideas of democratic and non-democratic forms of rule; religion and politics. 

Instructor: Rosemarie Wagner

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

The Middle East seems plagued by endless strife:  wars, civil wars, insurgencies, terrorism.  Is that perception true?  If so, why is this region so conflict-prone?   What factors motivate, constrain, and shape these conflicts?  How can policy makers influence war in the Middle East?  This undergraduate lecture class takes on these and other thorny questions.  It is a sequel to PS124A (“War!”) and builds on insights from that class to explore war in a particular part of the world.

This is not a class on Middle East politics.  It is an IR class focused less on the politics of particular states and more on relations between states, especially violent relations.  This is not a class on the Arab-Israeli conflict or on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  Both are important cases of war in the Middle East and will be explored alongside other significant conflicts in the region. 

Most importantly:  This is not a class designed to defend a specific claim or theory about conflict in the Middle East.  On the contrary, this is a social science class:   My goal is to teach the importance of exploring pressing policy questions by testing the strengths and weaknesses of competing and often contradictory theories in an even-handed manner.  At the same time, students will be expected to reach their own conclusions and produce pragmatic recommendations in the form of policy memoranda.

This class begins, like its counterpart, with a historical overview of war in the region.  The second part of the class introduces theories that complement and elaborate on theories from PS124A:  arguments about the relationship between war and resources, religion, authoritarianism, civil-military relations, territorial disputes, sovereignty, and power.  In the third part of the course, we will explore current policy concerns related to conflict in the region:  Nuclear proliferation, terrorism, the civil war in Syria, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, drone warfare, and the U.S. role in the region.