2008-2009 Course Listing



	By the Numbers
	American Politics
	Comparative Politics
	International Relations
	Political Theory
	Research and Methods
	Related Courses

Where available, syllabi may be accessed by clicking on the NUMBER of the course. If the course number is not linked, please contact the instructor directly for a copy of the syllabus or check for the syllabus on Courseworks.

By the Numbers

The Department of Political Science offers courses in the fields of American Politics, Comparative Politics, Political Theory, and International Relations. We also offer courses in Methodology.

"X"-denominated courses (ie: G6601x) are courses being offered in the fall semester. "Y"-denominated courses (ie: G6403y) are courses being offered in the spring semester.

Undergraduate courses in Political Science are numbered 3999 and below. These courses are not open to graduate students.

Undergraduate seminars: You may not pre-register for these courses. You may enroll in them only with permission of the instructor on the first day of class. Please see here for detailed seminar registration guidelines.

all sections of 3911 and 3912 are seminars in Political Theory
all sections of 3921 and 3922 are seminars in American Politics
all sections of 3951 and 3952 are seminars in Comparative Politics
all sections of 3961 and 3962 are seminars in International Relations

Graduate courses in Political Science are numbered 4000 and above. However, 4000-level courses are mixed-level lectures, open to both undergraduates and graduate students.

Except where indicated graduate courses are numbered as follows:

x2xx courses are in the subfield of American Politics
x4xx courses are in the subfield of Comparative Politics
x6xx courses are in the subfield of Political Theory
x8xx courses are in the subfield of International Relations
Methodology courses do not follow this numbering system.

With one or two exceptions, courses at the 6000-level are graduate "field surveys." These courses are intended for PhD students in Political Science. Other students should obtain the permission of the instructor before registering

8000- and 9000-level courses are graduate colloquia and seminars; enrollment in these courses requires instructor permission.

If the course number begins with "8" (eg: 84145Y) rather than with a letter (eg: V1601, C3930, W4210, G4415, U8715, L9823, etc.), the course is cross-listed in another department. The second number will indicate the course level. Thus 84145Y is a 4000-level course cross-listed in the Philosophy Department, not a graduate colloquium (8000-level).

American Politics

W1201x

Introduction to American Government and Politics
Justin Phillips
MW 10:35-11:50am

Lecture and discussion.Dynamics of political institutions and processes, chiefly of the national government.Emphasis on the actual exercise of political power by interest groups, elites, political parties, and public opinion.Discussion section required.

W1201y

Introduction to American Government and Politics
Judith Russell
MW 10:35-11:50am

Lecture and discussion.Dynamics of political institutions and processes, chiefly of the national government.Emphasis on the actual exercise of political power by interest groups, elites, political parties, and public opinion.Discussion section required.

W3202y

Labor and American Politics
Dorian Warren
TR 1:10-2:25pm

This course examines the role and impact of organized labor in American politics. It will explore the history and development of the American labor movement; its significance as a central political actor in major social policy debates of the 20th century; as a mobilizing force in elections; its complex and often uneasy relationship with other political actors including business, urban political machines, and the civil rights movement; and contemporary dilemmas facing labor in a period of union decline and resurgence.

W3208y

State Politics
Justin Phillips
Day/Time TBA

This course is intended to provide students with a detailed understanding of politics in the American states. The topics covered are divided into four broad sections. The first explores the role of the states in America's federal system of government. Attention is given to the basic features of intergovernmental relations as well as the historic evolution of American federalism. The second part of the course focuses on state-level political institutions. The organization and processes associated with the legislative, executive, and judicial branches are discussed in depth. The third part examines state elections, political parties, and interest groups. Finally, the fourth section looks closely at various policy areas. Budgeting, welfare, education, gay marriage, and environmental policy are each considered.

W3210y

Judicial Politics
Jeffrey Lax
TR 9:10-10:25am

W3215x

Workshop in Media and Politics
Kathleen Knight

2-credit workshop. Permission of the instructor is required before signing-up for this course. Interested students should contact Professor Knight at kk552@columbia.edu. Prerequisite: POLS 3218 “Mass Media and American Democracy,” or equivalent. The Workshop in Media and Politics is the academic component of a media internship, and is available to both Barnard and Columbia students. Through it the student receives two units of academic credit while working in a media-related job. The internships themselves must be pre-arranged independently or through the Office of Career Services. Any kind of media-related internship (radio, television, magazines, the music industry, public relations firms, government agencies, political campaigns, and so on) is potentially acceptable, but only if the student can relate the internship to larger issues of the role/impact of the mass media in contemporary politics. It is advised that students download the application form, fill it out, and bring it with them to the first meeting with the professor. An appointment for the first meeting should be arranged with the professor via e-mail, or during office hours.

W3215y

Workshop in Media and Politics
Kathleen Knight

W3218y

Mass Media and American Democracy
Kathleen Knight
TR 1:10-2:25pm

The course considers the development and current practices of the mass media in the United States in terms of the expectations of democratic government.

W3220x

Logic of Collective Choice
Jeffrey Lax
MW 9:10-10:25am

W3245x

Race and Ethnicity in American Politics
Raymond Smith
TR 2:40-3:55pm

Historical and contemporary roles of various racial and ethnic groups; initiation, demands, leadership and organizational styles, orientation, benefits, and impact on the structures and outputs of governance in the United States.Major Cultures Requirement: African Civilization List Cor Latin American Civilization List C.

W3260y

Latino Political Experience
Carlos Vargas-Ramos
MW 5:40-6:55pm

Focuses on political incorporation of Latinos in the American polity. Topics include patterns of historical exclusion; the impact of the Voting Rights Act; organizational and electoral behavior; and the effects of immigration on the Latino national political agenda.

W3285x

Freedom of Speech and Press
Lee Bollinger
MW 4:10-5:25pm

Examines the constitutional right of freedom of speech and press in the US.Examines, in depth, various areas of law, including extremist or seditious speech, obscenity, libel, fighting course model, with readings focused on actual judicial decisions.

W3290x

Voting and American Politics
Robert Erikson
TR 9:10-10:25am

Elections and public opinion; history of U.S. electoral politics; the problem of voter participation; partisanship and voting; accounting for voting decisions; explaining and forecasting election outcomes; elections and divided government; money and elections; electoral politics and representative democracy.

W3322x

The American Congress
Gregory Wawro
TR 1:10-2:25pm

Inquiry into the dynamics, organization, and policy-making processes of the American Congress. Particular emphasis on the relationship of legislators to constituents, lobbyists, bureaucrats, the president, and with one another.

W3921x Section 001

Seminar in American Politics: Bill of Rights
Martha Zebrowski
T 6:10-8pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. Interested students should email mkz1@columbia.edu to be put on the waiting list. This seminar is an investigation of the nature and importance of the federal Bill of Rights in the American federal and state constitutional systems.Common readings, class discussions, and student seminar papers consider the social, political, and legal significance of the Bill of Rights in historical and contemporary American discourse and analysis, along with constitutional case law regarding specific rights.The first part of the course is devoted to a discussion of common, required readings that consider the Bill of Rights in historical and contemporary perspective.The second part of the course is devoted to students' presentations, in class, of their own research on individual topics relating to a particular rights grounded in the American federal and state bills of rights.

W3921x Section 002

Seminar in American Politics: Issues that Divide America
Irwin Gertzog
T 11am-12:50pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. Seminar focuses on four political issues so contentious that they have produced enduring cultural, socio-economic, and political divisions throughout the United States.The four issues are slavery and efforts to end it; the use of alcoholic beverages and the struggle to curtail it; abortion and attempts to prohibit it; and lesbian and gay rights and the battle to impede them.

W3921x Section 003

Seminar in American Politics: Policy Making
Judith Russell
M 11am-12:50pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. This seminar directs readings and research on public policymaking in the American federal government..It is designed to help students think analytically about the ways in which the structures, processes and actors at the heart of public policymaking interact.It examines how political institutions--the executive and legislative branches--are organized and motivated to produce policy, the politics of government organization, bureaucratic operation and survival, how the budget process drives policymaking processes, policy structures and relationships that have emerged out of custom and practice, theories and models of decision making, concepts of rationality and choice, agenda-setting, political innovation, interest groups' role in policy formation as well as that of the judiciary.Specific policy areas we will engage as case studies are: economic and employment policy, energy and environmental policy, and policy responses to terrorism and disaster.Some policy investigations we will engage are evolving as we study them during the semester.

W3921x Section 004

Seminar in American Politics: Equality and the Law
Robert Amdur
R 2:10-4pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor’s permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines.

W3921x Section 005

Seminar in American Politics: Bureaucratic Politics
Michael Ting
W 4:10-6pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. This course is a comprehensive, high-level introduction to American bureaucracies and their study.It is appropriate for any student with an interest in American political institutions and a background in political science and economics.Topics include the working environment of bureaucrats, the external institutional environment, and the roles played by various agencies in the American political system.

W3921x Section 006

Seminar in American Politics: African American Politics
Fredrick Harris
T 2:10-4pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. The course considers the struggle of African Americans for inclusion in the American political system.Primary topics will include the historical development of black activism, the role of black leadership, the transformation from protest to mainstream politics since the civil rights movement, and the consequences of blacks' incorporation into the channels of mainstream political institutions.

W3921x Section 007

Seminar in American Politics: Terrorism and Counterterrorism
Brigitte Nacos
W 11am-12:50pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, W3335, W4220 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. Interested students should contact instructor at bn1@columbia.edu to be put on the waiting list. See here for seminar registration guidelines. Interested students should email bn1@columbia.edu to be put on the waiting list. The seminar is designed to illuminate students' understanding of the most important aspects of domestic and international terrorism with an emphasis on the United States as target of and responder to this sort of political violence.

W3921x Section 008

Seminar in American Politics: Media and American Politics
Kathleen Knight
Day/Time TBA

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor’s permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines.

W3921x Section 009

Seminar in American Politics: Quantitative Analysis of American Politics
Shigeo Hirano
Day/Time TBA

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor’s permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines.

W3922y Section 001

Seminar in American Politics: Executive Leadership in the US: Public, Private & Non-Profit
Martha Zebrowski
T 6:10-8pm

Note: Interested students should email the instructor ASAP at mkz1@columbia.edu to be put on the waiting list for the course.
Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. This seminar is an examination of the nature and practice of executive leadership in public, private (i.e., for profit, business), and non-profit institutions in the United States. The course does not begin with a theory of executive leadership. Rather, the goal of the course is to develop such a theory, a theory that takes into account the similarities and differences among the very different institutional sectors in American life, and a theory that distinguishes authentic leadership from three related matters, the effective exercise of power, effective management, and celebrity. The first half of the term is devoted to a discussion of common, required readings that consider the nature and practice of executive leadership in public, private, and non-profit institutions, and to a discussion of problems associated with research and with organizing and analyzing data on leadership. During the first half of the term, each student prepares a research prospectus (approximately 12 pages) for a major research paper (approximately 35 pages) on a particular public, private, or non-profit executive leader or problem in executive leadership. The second half of the term is devoted to students' oral presentations, in class, of their own research and to class discussions of their research (each presentation approximately 50 minutes). The seminar research paper is due at the beginning of exam week; there is also a final quiz during exam week.

W3922y Section 002

Seminar in American Politics: First Amendment
Robert Amdur
R 2:10-4pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor’s permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines.

W3922y Section 003

Seminar in American Politics: Issues that Divide America
Irwin Gertzog
T 11am-12:50pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. Seminar focuses on four political issues so contentious that they have produced enduring cultural, socio-economic, and political divisions throughout the United States. The four issues are slavery and efforts to end it; the use of alcoholic beverages and the struggle to curtail it; abortion and attempts to prohibit it; and lesbian and gay rights and the battle to impede them.

W3922y Section 004

Seminar in American Politics: Majority Rule and Minority Rights
Raymond Smith
T 2:10-4pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. This course will examine one of the central challenges to both the theory and the practice of democracy: the reconciliation of majority rule with minority rights in a way that neither sacrifices popular sovereignty nor oppresses small or disfavored groups. This course will draw upon both "classics" of political science regarding the role of minority groups in American politics as well as upon contemporary scholarship focused largely on ethnoracial and other minority groups.

W3922y Section 005

Seminar in American Politics: Direct Democracy
Justin Phillips
T 2:10-4pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor’s permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines.

W3922y Section 006

Seminar in American Politics: The Aftermath of the 2008 Election
Robert Erikson
T 11am-12:50pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor’s permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines.

W3922y Section 007

Seminar in American Politics: The South in American Politics
Ira Katznelson
F 10-11:50am

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor’s permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines.

W3922y Section 008

Seminar in American Politics: Political Psychology
Kathleen Knight
W 4:10-6pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor’s permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. The seminar is designed to examine some major psychological concept useful in politics. These include: rationality & emotion, socialization, ideology, persuasion, tolerance, authoritarianism, racism and terrorism.

W3922y Section 009

Seminar in American Politics: 20th Century African American Political Theory
Fredrick Harris
R 2:10-4pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor’s permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines.

C3930x

Constitutional Law Workshop
Jay Topkis
T 4:10-6pm

Two-credit workshop; cannot be used to replace a 3-credit lecture course towards POLS major.Preference given to seniors.Juniors will be permitted to register after the first class session if space permits.Using Supreme Court cases, this workshop studies the development of several areas of constitutional law, how our judicial system works, and how judges and lawyers think, argue and write.

W4226x

American Politics and Social Welfare Policy
Robert Lieberman
MW 9:10-10:25am

The politics and development of the American welfare state.Study and analysis of the origins and growth of domestic social programs that provide income support (welfare and Social Security), employment opportunities, health care, and protection against poverty.

G6210x

Theories and Debates in American Politics (Field Survey)
Robert Erikson & Jeffrey Lax
W 2:10-4pm

A survey of a broad range of important contemporary debates in the field of American politics.

G8219y

Elections
Robert Erikson
T 2:10-4pm

Instructor permission required.

G8223x

Legislative Behavior & Institutionalism
Sharyn O'Halloran
T 2:10-4pm

Instructor permission required. Examination of the interactions between individual incentives and political institutions in shaping policy. The course presents an approach to the study of politics that emphasizes individual incentives in an electoral system, examines how reelection-minded legislators organize to solve collection dilemmas, and focuses on the effects of these political institutions on policy choice.

G8234x

Urban Politics
Justin Phillips
M 2:10-4pm

Instructor permission required. This seminar is designed as an overview of the major debates in Urban Politics.The primary goals of the course are to familiarize students with the principal questions being asked by scholars in this subfield, the methodological approaches employed, and the avenues available for future research.Methodological diversity will be emphasized.

G8236x - G8237y

Themes in American Political Development
Ira Katznelson
R 4:10-6pm

Instructor permission required. The colloquium audits work achieved under the rubric of 'American Political Development' and looks ahead to possibilities for future research. APD's concepts, premises, substantive themes, and silences will be considered, including the subfield's engagement with history and temporality, its attempts to place the United States in comparative and international perspective, and its approaches to ideas, institutions, regimes, interests, and preferences.

G8247y

Mass Mediated American and Global Politics
Brigitte Nacos
W 11am-12:50pm

Instructor permission required. Readings and class discussions explore the domestic and global news media at the beginning of the 21st century as they relate to and impact on mass-mediated domestic and international politics. The focus is on post-World War II and post-9/11 conditions and changes in terms of ownership, audience, technology, organizational and individual values and imperatives, and, especially, on the media's role during conflicts--in particular the ongoing "war on terrorism."

G8281x

Political Participation
Fredrick Harris
R 2:10-4pm

Instructor permission required.

G82**y

Racial and Ethnic Policy
Rodolfo de la Garza and Dorian Warren
W 2:10-4pm

Instructor permission required.

G82**y

Modeling American Political Institutions
Michael Ting
R 2:10-4pm

Instructor permission required.

G9290y

Qualitative Methods in Political Science
Dorian Warren
W 4:10-6pm

Instructor permission required.

Comparative Politics

V1501x

Introduction to Comparative Politics
Mona El-Ghobashy
TR 10:35-11:50am

Lecture and discussion. Introduction to some of the major approaches and issues in the contemporary study of politics within nations, including the causes of revolution, the roots of democracy, and the nature of nationalism, through systematic study of politics in selected countries.

V1501y

Introduction to Comparative Politics
John Huber
MW 9:10-10:25am

Lecture and discussion. Introduction to some of the major approaches and issues in the contemporary study of politics within nations, including the causes of revolution, the roots of democracy, and the nature of nationalism, through systematic study of politics in selected countries.

W3514y

European Union: Politics and Institutions
Lucy Goodhart
Day/Time TBA

Examines the kinds of polity is emerging at the European level. The path of European integration and whether it is the end of the nation state, or the result of national interests and negotiations. The role of member states, EU institutions, NGO's, interest groups and citizens in the future development of the EU.

W35**y

Political Economy of China in the Comparative Perspective
Kay Shimizu
Days/Time TBA

W3951x Section 001

Seminar in Comparative Politics: Latin American Political Economy
M. Victoria Murillo
M 4:10-6pm

Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. This class focuses on the transformation of Latin American Political Economy since the 1980s as a result of the processes of democratization and economic liberalization. The class reviews the debates on the relationship between both processes, focusing on the impact of political dynamics on economic policymaking in the first part of the course and on the political consequences of these economic reforms in the second part of the course. The seminar assumes a basic background on Latin American politics and history. Class discussion will combine theoretical concepts and their application to Latin American politics since the 1980s. Additionally, the seminar provides a forum to develop your writing skills in presenting cogent arguments within the framework of social science.

W3951x Section 002

Seminar in Comparative Politics: Varieties of Capitalism
Isabela Mares
W 4:10-6pm

Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines.

W3952y Section 001

Seminar in Comparative Politics: TBA
Instructor TBA
Day/Time TBA

Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines.

W3952y Section 002

Seminar in Comparative Politics: TBA
Instructor TBA
Day/Time TBA

Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines.

W4445y

Politics of the Middle East and North Africa
Mona El-Ghobashy
Days/Time TBA

Comparative analysis of regime types, political development and political decay, nation-state building, and the role of political groups in the Middle East and North Africa. Major Cultures Requirement: Middle Eastern Civilization List B.

W4471x

Chinese Politics
Kay Shimizu
TR 10:35-11:50am

Selected aspects of contemporary Chinese politics, including the causes and character of the Chinese revolution, the transformation worked in Chinese society by the revolutionary government, political conflict, and the goals of government policies and the policies of carrying them out.

G4472x

Japanese Politics
Gerald Curtis
R 4:10-6pm

Analysis of contemporary Japanese politics and government policy making.Topics include patterns of political leadership and popular political participation, political party organization and behavior, public policy decision-making processes, and the domestic politics of foreign and defense policies.

W4496x

Contemporary African Politics
Kimuli Kasara
TR 11am-12:15pm

This course aims to teach students what, if any, answers social scientists have to the questions that trouble the lay observer of African politics: 1) Why do venal leaders remain in power? 2) Can the adoption of Western-style political institutions enhance accountability in Africa? 3) What explains poor economic growth on the continent? 4) Why does politically motivated violence seem so common? and 5) To what extent are political and economic outcomes in contemporary Africa the inescapable consequence of its unique history, culture, and geography?

As political scientists, we seek to address these questions by constructing causal theories to explain political events and by evaluating those theories using a variety of evidence. An important part of that exercise involves explaining why African countries or regions have differed from each other. Because many developments in African politics cannot be understood in isolation from African societies or their historical context, this course augments research by political scientists with the work of historians, economists, and anthropologists.

W44**y

Social Protection Around the World
Isabela Mares
Days/Time TBA

G6403x

Issues in Comparative Politics (Field Survey)
Kimuli Kasara & M. Victoria Murillo
T 4:10-6pm

Instructor permission required.This seminar surveys major questions that motivate contemporary research in comparative politics.The course is specifically designed to introduce PhD students to the modern subfield, and to help prepare them for success on the comparative comprehensive exam.The course should also help students to develop skills that are necessary to become successful teachers and scholars in the comparative subfield.

G8414y

Comparative Political Economy
Lucy Goodhart
Day/Time TBA

Instructor permission required. Examines the interaction between capitalism and democracy. Focus on the major theories of the interaction between politics and markets and the ways in which the economy affects politics, and politics shapes economic outcomes. Looks at both developed and developing countries. The relative significance of domestic and international economic pressures and political institutions is also a main theme.

G8427y

Comparative Ethnic Politics
David Epstein and Macartan Humphreys
Day/Time TBA

Instructor permission required.

G8428y

Democracy, Autocracy and Regime Change
Kimuli Kasara
Day/Time TBA

Instructor permission required.

G8432y

Issues in Comparative Secularism and Democracy
Alfred Stepan
Day/Time TBA

Instructor permission required. Empirical predictions and normative prescriptions about secularism once dominated many of the foundational works in social science, particularly in modernization theory. However, recently scholars as diverse as Jürgen Habermas and Charles Taylor in political theory, Peter Katzenstein in international relations,and Stathis Kalyvas , Ronald Inglehart, and José Casanova in their comparative work have been engaged in a fundamental rethinking of religion, secularism, and desecularization. Some of the issues we will explore in the seminar are the following. In a lecture series organized by Jack Snyder and myself in Lindsay Rodgers that immediately follows this seminar, five scholars over the course of the semester, will argue that some of the fundamental categories used in IR theory and in comparative politics make religion almost impossible to study. Are they right? If so, what new approaches might be called for?How can social science survey analysis help us explore issues of religion and politics? Most religions have been at times restrictive of full women’s rights. What can we learn from successful patterns of contestation in this area? Can we identify, from the perspective of democratic theory, what the minimal degree of freedom democracy needs from religion to function, and the minimal degree of freedom that religion must be allowed if the polity is to be a democracy.If so, what do these “twin tolerations” say about secularism?Finally, just as we now understand that there are “multiple modernities” does it make more analytic sense to speak of the “multiple secularisms of modern democracies”?We will explore this last question by exploring at least four different patterns of state-society relations that actually exist in contemporary democracies;“freedom of the state from religion separatism ” (France and Turkey), “freedom of religion from the state separatism” (USA), “ a state with an established religion” ( most of the Scandinavian countries, UK, and Greece), and the under-theorizedpattern that Rajeev Bhargava (who will participate in the seminar) calls the“ respect –all, support-all, principled distance” model for India. Are two of the more successful new democracies in Islamic majority states, Indonesia and Senegal, close to this model?For any given polity can we say anything about what conditions are most, and least, supportive for each model if the goal is democracy and relative peace in a specific polity? Do Holland, Germany, and Switzerland have more in common with the Indian model than they do with “separatist” or one “established religion”: model?

G8454x

Formal Comparative Politics and Constitutional Design
Massimo Morelli
W 4:10-6pm

This course covers recent models of democratic policy making, with particular emphasis on the comparison of institutional systems used across liberal democracies.

G8492y

Comparing Institutions
Timothy Frye
R 2:10-4pm

Instructor permission required. Survey of the theoretical literature on the origin and structure of political and economic institutions. Special emphasis on the new institutional economics and other rational actor theories, with particular attention to the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches as tools for comparative analysis.

G84**y

The Comparative Politics of the Welfare State
Isabela Mares
Day/Time TBA

Instructor permission required.

G84**y

Political Economy of Japan in the Comparative Perspective
Kay Shimizu
Day/Time TBA

Instructor permission required.

International Relations

V1601x

Introduction to International Politics
Kimberly Marten
MW 2:40-3:55pm

Lecture and discussion.The basic setting and dynamics of global politics, with emphasis on contemporary problems and processes.

V1601y

Introduction to International Politics
Robert Jervis
MW 10:35-11:50am

Lecture and discussion. The basic setting and dynamics of global politics, with emphasis on contemporary problems and processes.

HRTS V3001x

Introduction to Human Rights
Andrew Nathan
MW 10:35-11:50am

Assesses the meaning and impact of human rights in principle and practice by tracing the evolution of its theory and content; the ideology and impact of human rights movements; national and international laws and institutions, with attention to universality and relevance of human rights for U.S. policy.

V3604x

Civil Wars & International Intervention in Africa
Severine Autesserre
TR 10:35-11:50am

Why does violent conflict persist in post-independence Africa? Why do nearly half of the countries that emerge from war lapse back into violence after five years? Why do most international interventions fail to bring peace to affected populations? This class focuses on recent conflict and post-conflict situations in Africa as background against which to understand the distinct dynamics of violence and international interventions in civil wars.

V3615x

Globalization
Alexander Cooley
MW 2:40-3:55pm

W3619y

Nationalism and Contemporary World Politics
Jack Snyder
MW 10:35-11:50am

Nationalism as a cause of conflict in contemporary world politics. Strategies for mitigating nationalist and ethnic conflict.

W3961x Section 001

Seminar in International Relations: National Security Policy
Richard Betts
M 4:10-6pm

Prerequisites: POLS V1601 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines.

W3961x Section 002

Seminar in International Relations: Security Topics
Jack Snyder
T 2:10-4pm

Prerequisites: POLS V1601 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines.

W3961x Section 003

Seminar in International Relations: Foreign Policy and Decision Making
Barbara Farnham
R 4:10-6pm

Prerequisites: POLS V1601 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. How can we account for the foreign policies of states in the international system?Why do they behave the way they do?This seminar focuses on a critical examination of the major explanations for foreign policy outcomes.Our main emphasis is on decision-making.However, we will begin with explanations operating at other levels of analysis, such as the international system and domestic politics.We then explore decision-making explanations, including those derived from cognitive and social psychology, theories of motivation and personality, the impact of the political context, and the role of group dynamics.Throughout, we will be looking at these different approaches in the light of actual episodes taken largely, but not exclusively, from American foreign policy.

W3961x Section 004

Seminar in International Relations: International Law and the Use of Force
Bruce Cronin
Day/Time TBA

Prerequisites: POLS V1601 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. This seminar examines the development and implementation of human rights norms in the international system. It explores the debates surrounding the concept of human rights in world politics and investigates legal, political and military efforts to implement these at the national, regional and international levels. Throughout the course we consider the tension between international human rights and the principle of state sovereignty and whether there is a right and/or obligation for states and international institutions to intervene when human rights are violated. Finally, we examine the degree to which human rights concerns are incorporated into foreign policies and in particular how they fit within traditional conceptions of "national interest." In this context, we discuss the question of human rights in the current "war on terrorism."

W3961x Section 005

Seminar in International Relations: Political Economy of Trade and Investment
Pablo Pinto
Day/Time TBA

Prerequisites: POLS V1601 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. This seminar examines the politics of several major issues in international trade and direct investment. It analyzes the distributional impact of globalization, and explores why and how governments regulate the flow of goods and capital across national borders. The course is divided into four blocs that look at the patterns and distributive consequences of trade, the political economy of trade politics, the political economy of trade reform, and the political economy of investment, respectively. Students are required to actively participate in weekly discussions, to write two review papers during the course of the semester, and submit a final research paper on one of the topics of the seminar.

W3962y Section 001

Seminar in International Relations: Ending Wars and Keeping Peace
Page Fortna
R 2:10-4pm

Prerequisites: POLS V1601 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. The study of war in international relations has traditionally focused on its causes, but less attention has been paid to ending wars once they begin, and to keeping peace in their aftermath. This course will address: the process by which belligerents in international and civil wars reach cease-fires and negotiate peace; why peace sometimes lasts and sometimes falls apart; and the prospects for reconciliation among adversaries and for rebuilding after war. We will examine both international and civil conflicts. Students write a research paper and present their research to the class.

W3962y Section 002

Seminar in International Relations: Political Economy of Trade and Investment
Pablo Pinto
T 9-10:50am

Prerequisites: POLS V1601 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. This seminar examines the politics of several major issues in international trade and direct investment. It analyzes the distributional impact of globalization, and explores why and how governments regulate the flow of goods and capital across national borders. The course is divided into four blocs that look at the patterns and distributive consequences of trade, the political economy of trade politics, the political economy of trade reform, and the political economy of investment, respectively. Students are required to actively participate in weekly discussions, to write two review papers during the course of the semester, and submit a final research paper on one of the topics of the seminar.

W3962y Section 003

Seminar in International Relations: Foreign Policy and Decision Making
Barbara Farnham
R 4:10-6pm

W4808y

Weapons, Strategy and War
Warner Schilling
MW 4:10-5:25pm

An examination of how the interrelationships among military technology, strategy, foreign policy, and the cultural ethos have shaped warfare from the introduction of gunpowder to the present; special attention to selected cases from World Wars I and II and the development of U.S. strategy for nuclear weapons.

W4871y

Chinese Foreign Policy
Andrew Nathan
MW 10:35-11:50am

The international politics of China - its foreign relations, its intentions, capabilities and strategies in world affairs; and the major instruments of its foreign policy - with primary emphasis on the People's Republic.

W4895x

War, Peace and Strategy
Richard Betts
MW 11am-12:15pm

Survey of the causes of war and peace, functions of military strategy, interaction of political ends and military means.Emphasis on 20th-century conflicts; nuclear deterrence; economic, technological and moral aspects of strategy; crisis management; and institutional norms and mechanisms for promoting stability.

G6801x (Field Survey)

Theories of International Relations
Robert Jervis
M 2:10-4pm

Issues and problems in theory in international politics; systems theories and the current international system; the domestic sources of foreign policy and theories of decision-making; transnational forces, the balance of power, and alliances.

G6820y

Theories of International Political Economy
Instructor TBA
Day/Time TBA

Political aspects of international economic phenomena, including international monetary system, trade and investment, North-South relations, and East-West economic relations.

G8821y

Topics in IR and Rational Choice: Conflict, Bargaining and International Organizations
Massimo Morelli
R 9-10:50am

Instructor permission required. The first part of the course will be on the rationalist explanations of bargaining breakdown and bilateral conflict, including the analysis of leaders’ selection, strategic militarization, and other variables at the boundary between domestic and international choices. The second part of the course will focus on alliance formation and multilateral conflict. Then we will bring the insights from bilateral and multilateral conflict together and will study the open problems in conflict resolution mechanism design. The final part will be on cooperation, as opposed to conflict. We will present models and useful frameworks to study the functioning of international organizations and their development in an anarchic system.

G8826y

Political Economy of Trade and Investment
Pablo Pinto
M 2:10-4pm

Instructor permission required. This course examines the politics of several major issues in international trade and investment. It explores why and how governments regulate the flow of goods and capital across national borders. The course is divided into four blocs that look at the distributive consequences of trade, the political economy of trade politics, the political economy of trade reform, and the political economy of foreign direct investment and multinational corporations, respectively. The course presumes some familiarity with international economics. Economic theory will help us identify the welfare and distributional implications of alternative policies. We will also make extensive use of the insights from the positive political economy tradition to analyze how political actors (voters, interest groups, political parties, and politicians) interact within political institutions to shape policy outcomes. Students are required to actively participate in weekly discussions, write two review papers during the semester, and submit an original research paper on one of the topics of the seminar at the end of the semester.

G8833x

Law of War
Tanisha Fazal
T 2:10-4pm

G8844x

Nationalism
Jack Snyder
T 2:10-4pm

Instructor permission required. Theory and history of nationalism and international conflict. Nationalism as a cause of conflict in contemporary world politics, especially in Eastern Europe and the former USSR. Role of the international community in promoting or containing nationalism.

G8861y

Change in the International System
Jack Snyder
T 2:10-4pm

Instructor permission required.

G8864x

Cooperation and Security
Page Fortna
R 2:10-4pm

Instructor permission required.

G8865y

United States Foreign Policy
Richard Betts
M 9-10:50am

Application Required. Please contact instructor for further details. This course is a topical review, emphasizing historical continuity and change, and current concerns, organized in terms of several principal functions and regions. Emphasis is on the national security component of foreign policy. Enrollment is limited and the instructor accepts only students who promise to honor all requirements.

G8870x

US Relations with East Asia
Gerald Curtis
W 4:10-6pm

Instructor permission required. Examination of key developments in East Asian international relations and their implications for United States foreign policy.Students should have knowledge about at least one East Asian country (China, Japan, Korea and the countries in ASEAN).

G88**y

Civil Wars
Tanisha Fazal
T 2:10-4pm

Instructor permission required.

G9801x

Seminar in International Politics
Robert Jervis
T 9-10:50am

Instructor permission required.

G9802y

Seminar in International Politics II
Kenneth Waltz
R 2:10-4pm

Application Required. Please contact instructor for further details.

Political Theory

V3020x

Democracy and Its Critics
Instructor: Nadia Urbinati
MW 6:10-7:25pm

W3140x

Animal Rights: Theory and Practice
Instructor: Julian Franklin
TR 9:10-10:25am

The course will be divided into two parts.The first part of the course will deal with the moral theory of animal rights with special emphasis on Kant.The second part will take up animal issues in environmentalism, bio-medical research and practice, and jurisprudence.

W3420y

Democratic Theory
Melissa Schwartzberg
Days/Time TBA

W3911x Section 001

Seminar in Political Theory: Marx
Jon Elster
M 2:10-4pm

Prerequisites: POLS W1002, W4133, W4134 or Contemporary Civilization, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines. The seminar will discuss the following works by Karl Marx:
Economic-Philosophical Manuscripts;
Theses on Feuerbach;
Selections from The German Ideology;
Preface to A Critique of Political Economy;
Critique of the Gotha Program;
The Class Struggles in France;
The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte;
The Civil War in France;
Capital (vol.I).
The focus will be on a close reading of the texts and their relevance for social and political theory.

W3912y Section 001

Seminar in Political Theory
Instructor TBA
Day/Time TBA

Prerequisites: POLS W1002, W4133, W4134 or Contemporary Civilization, and instructor's permission. See here for seminar registration guidelines.

W4133x

Political Thought: Classical & Medieval
Melissa Schwartzberg
Days/Time TBA

W4134y

Modern Political Thought
Nadia Urbinati
MW 6:10-7:25pm

Interpretations of civil society and the foundations of political order according to the two main traditions of political thought--contraction and Aristotelian. Readings include works by Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Montesquieu, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Saint-Simon, Tocqueville, Marx, and Mill.

W4610y

Recent Continental Political Thought
Jean Cohen
Day/Time TBA

This course will compare and contrast the theories of the political, the state,freedom, democracy, sovereignty and law, in the works of the following key 20th and 21st century continental theorists: Arendt, Castoriadis, Foucault, Habermas, Kelsen, Lefort, Schmitt, and Weber.It will be taught in seminar format.

G4626x

Global Justice and Democracy
Jean Cohen
M 4:10-6pm

G6601x (Field Survey)

Issues in Political Theory
David Johnston
R 2:10-4pm

A survey of selected issues and debates in political theory.Areas of the field discussed include normative political philosophy, history of political thought, and the design of political and social institutions.

G8606y

Liberalism
David Johnston
R 2:10-4pm

Instructor permission required. Examines the way in which writers in the liberal tradition of political thought have grappled with major institutional questions from the 17th through 19th centuries. Works by Hobbes, Locke, Smith and Mill. Writings considered as reflections on and responses to three major historical events: the development of the modern state, the emergence of market systems, and the growth of national identities.

G86**y

Theories of the State
Jean Cohen
Day/Time TBA

G8665x

Sovereignty and Constitutionalism
Jean Cohen
W 2:10-4pm

G8685x

Microfoundations of Civil Wars
Jon Elster
T 2:10-4pm

Research and Methods

C3998x - C3999y

Senior Honors Seminar
Tanisha Fazal
W 2:10-4pm

W4209y

Game Theory and Political Theory
Macartan Humphreys
TR 4:10-5:25pm

Application of noncooperative game theory to strategic situations in politics. Solution concepts, asymmetric information, incomplete information, signaling, repeated games, and folk theorems. Models drawn from elections, legislative strategy, interest group politics, regulation, nuclear deterrence, international relations, and tariff policy.

G4210x

Research Topics in Game Theory
David Epstein
MW 9:10-10:25am

Prerequisite: W4209 or instructor permission.Advanced topics in game theory will cover the study of repeated games, games of incomplete information and principal-agent models with applications in the fields of voting, bargaining, lobbying and violent conflict.Results from the study of social choice theory, mechanism design and auction theory will also be treated.The course will concentrate on mathematical techniques for constructing and solving games.Students will be required to develop a topic relating political science and game theory and to write a formal research paper.

W4291x

Advanced Topics in Quantitative Research
Gregory Wawro
TR 9:10-10:25am

Instruction in methods for models that have dependent variables that are not continuous, including dichotomous and polychotomous response models, models for censored and truncated data, sample selection models and duration models.

W4360x

Math Methods for Political Science
John Huber
MW 9:10-10:25am

Provides students of political science with a basic set of tools needed to read, evaluate, and contribute in research areas that increasingly utilize sophisticated mathematical techniques.

W4910x

Principles of Quantitative Political Research
Robert Shapiro
TR 10:35-11:50am

Introduction to the use of quantitative techniques in political science and public policy.Topics include descriptive statistics and principles of statistical inference and probability through analysis of variance and ordinary least-squares regression.Computer applications are emphasized.

W4911y

Analysis of Political Data
Robert Shapiro
TR 10:35-11:50am

Prerequisite: W4910 or the equivalent. Multivariate and time-series analysis of political data. Topics include time-series regression, structural equation models, factor analysis, and other special topics. Computer applications are emphasized.

W4912y

Multivariate Political Economy
Shigeo Hirano
Days/Time TBA

Prerequisite: basic data analysis through multiple regression (e.g., W4910) and knowledge of basic calculus and matrix algebra (e.g., W4360). More mathematical treatment of topics covered in W4911. Examines problems encountered in multivariate analysis of cross-sectional and time-series data.

STAT G6101x

Statistical Modeling and Data Analysis
Andrew Gelman
WF 9-10:30am

PSST G8990x – G8991y

Workshop in Quantitative Political Science
Andrew Gelman
R 11am-12:50pm

Instructor permission required.

G9901x - G9902y

Dissertation Seminar
Instructor TBA
Day/Time TBA

This seminar is for students in all fields working on any and all topics in political science.Students will have the opportunity to present draft dissertation proposals and draft dissertation chapters.Enrollment is limited to advanced students in the Political Science PhD program except by permission of the instructor.

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INAF U6295y

Democracy and the World's Religions
Alfred Stepan
T 9-10:50am

The course will be devoted to a set of questions and problems that are now central to modern political debates about the role of religion in modern politics, especially to questions of democracy, and intolerance and tolerance within, and between, the major religions of the world.

INAF U6570y

Challenging Sovereignty
Alexander Cooley
T 4:10-6pm

INAF U8561y

War Termination and the Stability of Peace
Page Fortna
Day/Time TBA