Undergraduate

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

War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Is this necessarily true? Wars are brutal and horrific events, but are they all necessarily the result of miscalculation, accident or fanaticism? Can war serve a rational purpose? Are wars governed by rules and do states care about these rules? Are some periods in history, particular parts of the world or certain types of states, more war prone than others? What are tribal, ethnic, religious or national groups actually fighting over? Can their conflicts be prevented, moderated or halted? Are democracies more peaceful than dictatorships? Are Protestants more peaceful than Catholics? Are women more peaceful than men? Is terrorism on the rise and why has it developed a unique relationship with religious fundamentalism? Have nuclear weapons changed the face of modern war? How do nuclear weapons work anyway?

This course seeks to answer these and other questions surrounding the phenomenon of war. We begin with a four-week survey of the history of war in the Western Hemisphere to examine the relationship between societies, the manner in which they fought and the weapons they used. We will then seek answers to riddle of war from a variety of disciplines: What can soldiers, philosophers, economists, psychologists and sociologists teach us about war?

The core of the course seeks to introduce students to theories of war from within International Relations theory. We will utilize in-class exercises, movies and discussion sections to get at some of the most challenging questions surrounding war. Finally, we will examine several pressing issues relating to modern warfare: the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, civil wars, genocide, religiously motivated violence, nonviolence, terrorism, and the future of war.

Subfield: International Relations

Please note the description is from Spring 2012

The goal of this class is to familiarize students with the various ways in which actors can manage and resolve their conflicts. We will talk about conflict management in both international and civil conflicts. We will examine the various strategies that the belligerents themselves can employ to address their differences and the conflict management techniques of third parties. Students will learn about strategies such as negotiation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication, sanctions, humanitarian intervention, peacekeeping, nation-building, and the design of peace agreements. We will also talk about the role of the United Nations, regional organizations, and major powers like the U.S. in conflict management. While the main goal of the class is to familiarize students with central concepts and theories of conflict management, we will also take a look at cases that illustrate when and how different strategies work or when and why they might not be successful.

Subfield: International Relations

Note: This description is from Fall 2013

The course will explore some of the many intersections of the public and private sectors in "public-private partnerships."  These partnerships between government and business have become a common device of American urban politics; one that bears little relationship to traditional government contracts.  Through case studies—some successful, some not, and some for which the outcome is uncertain—the class will look at competing public policy, legal, political and financial challenges in these transactions.  The cases will focus on sports stadiums/arenas, frequent occupants of this space (including the SF Giants, Oakland A's, Warriors), and the 49ers' facilities.  It will also consider other uses on public land such as the Exploratorium Museum, housing and perhaps even an oyster farm.

Instructor Name:  Pamela Duffy

Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP , Partner

Email: pduffy@coblentzlaw.com

This lecture class entails extensive, careful consideration of issues regarding politics and public policies in the (50) states of the U.S. The approach is comparative; i.e., we focus across the states, considering a host of prominent substantive, theoretical, and normative questions. Major topics examined include: federalism and the legal/constitutional framework; the social and political environment of states; major ‘mediating’ institutions (such as interest groups, political parties, ‘direct democracy’); the formal institutions of state governments; and public policies in the states. A guiding premise is that state governments are fundamentally important in and of themselves within the American federal system, and they are also significant in how they shape national politics and governance through their own political orientations as well as in their influence on and implementation of “national” domestic policies.

Students who took PS 191 "JUNIOR SEMINAR: POLITICS IN THE STATES OF THE USA – A COMPARATIVE APPROACH" with Professor Hero cannot take this course due to the substantial similarity in course content.

This course is an exercise in practical politics, designed to teach the different elements of political campaigns. The class will provide you with the tools to understand, analyze, and assess political campaigns at the national, state, and local level. In addition, you will learn some of the skills needed to work in a political campaign and other persuasion and advocacy careers.

Participation in this class is through the lens of analysis, not advocacy. Although we each walk into the room with opinions on candidates and issues, this class is not a place for partisan advocacy or ideology. Instead, it is a place where we will learn the strategies and tactics used in campaigns and use that knowledge to analyze and assess the decisions made by campaign professionals to get candidates elected and
measures passed on the ballot. The course will draw on a host of sources and expertise for the class material, including campaign practitioners and professionals, journalists, and political scientists. The class
will examine the impact of key campaign events and strategies from the different perspectives of decision-makers within the the campaigns and political science research conducted outside of the campaigns.

Subfield: American Politics

Instructor: Ms. Katie Merrill

Email: kamerrill@berkeley.edu 

“What Is Freedom?”

Is freedom about doing what you want as long as you don=t hurt anyone else, as modern liberals claim? Is it about collectivizing power, as a left tradition of political thought has long argued? Or is it about actively participating in rule, as a classical republican tradition argues? Is freedom an inherently individual practice or a necessarily social and collective one? What is the relationship of freedom to equality, to capitalism, to identity? Do all human beings, in all times and places, want to be free? If not, what then? In this course, we will pursue these and other questions through considering classical and contemporary works of Western political theory. We will neither settle the question of what freedom is nor the question of how to produce it. Rather, the course aims to deepen your appreciation of freedom’s importance, complexity and variety, introduce you to the field of political theory, and hone your reading, analytic and writing abilities. Readings include Aristotle, Socrates, Mill, Rousseau, Marx, Friedman, Dostoyevsky, Berlin, Foucault, and several contemporary authors. Required lecture and discussion. Two papers, a midterm and a final.

Note: This description is from Spring 2015

This course will introduce students to some key concepts used in contemporary comparative political analysis. It will do so through an examination of the reasons for why some modern nation states provide better living conditions for their citizens. Are these differences due to factors such as political institutions, legislative arrangements, parties and party systems, or social forces such as culture and ethnicity? Class lectures will focus on developing an understanding of how political scientists use these terms and whether they provide adequate explanations for why states vary so substantially in their performance. There will be two lectures per week and one required discussion section.

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

Please note the description is from Summer 2013

This class is an introduction to the American political system. The course is designed to make you think about the logic of our government's institutions, and the consequences - both intended and unintended - of these institutions for the political behavior of citizens, legislators, and other political leaders and activists. Topics to be covered include the Constitution, American political culture, civil rights, the presidency, Congress, Supreme Court, political parties, elections, public opinion, and interest groups.

Please note the description is from Spring 2014

This course focuses on understanding the causes and consequences of state fragility in different parts of the world.  Students who enroll in the course should be able to propose policy options that can help fragile or failing states work on building capacity including the option of peace-building and use of foreign aid. 

The course is a hybrid of on-line and instructor led discussions. It is also a truly international collaboration. The course will be prepared faculty from four institutions, The University of California, Berkeley, Cambridge University, National University of Singapore, and the University of Tokyo.  The four universities, will collaborate in sharing a (1) a core syllabus, (2) common course materials (video, powerpoint, assignment and questions), and also prepare for (3) cross-national student groups, two from each universities to work together. The final paper will require students to work with their colleagues from these universities across the globe on group projects, possibly in a form of policy paper / recommendations that may either take form of a website presentation, power point, written paper, or a combination of the above.