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Course
Descriptions
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POLS-103:
Introduction to International Relations
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This
course, as the name suggests, is a broad introduction to the major issues,
themes, and debates in the study of international relations and global
politics. Among the topics we will be addressing are: the structure of
the international system and the role of various actors and events in shaping
it, different interpretations of and approaches to the problem of war,
the dynamics of imperialism and postcolonialism, the role of international
organizations and
international
law, the possibilities of and constraints upon ethical action in the international
sphere, and
the implications of several recent and contemporary trends for the future
course of international politics. One goal of the course is to enable students
to identify interconnections between various recurrent modes of thought
in international politics, and to place current debates in historical and
intellectual context. |
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POLS-275:
International Political Economy
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| The
U.S. and countries throughout the world have experimented widely in their
quest to address common environmental problems. This course undertakes
a comparative study of the development of domestic and international environmental
policies in three advanced industrial states (the U.S., U.K., and Germany),
as well as providing an overview of developing country environmental policies.
The focus of the course is on three questions. How do national differences
in institutions, political culture, regulatory style, and economic structure
shape domestic and international environmental policies? What impact do
these differences have on the ability of states to achieve cooperative
solutions to common environmental problems? What influence do international
environmental interactions have on domestic environmental policy? |
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POLS-286:
Comparative Environmental Policy
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course provides a detailed examination of environmental policymaking in
the United States, with comparison to environmental policies in Germany
and the United Kingdom. The courses focuses on key elements of the environmental
policy process including domestic institutions, political culture, regulatory
style, and economic structure, as well as the impact of international agreements,
scientific knowledge, and considerations of national power and interests. |
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POLS-324:
East Asian Development
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course examines the dramatic economic growth of the economies of East and
Southeast Asia and explores the social, political, and economic foundations
of East Asian economic development. The course provides a brief historical
overview of the region prior to World War II and then analyzes the post-World
War II ‘model’ of Japanese development. The remainder of the course examines
the attempts by other states in the region (with particular emphasis on
South Korea, Indonesia, and Malaysia) to adapt the Japanese model to the
specific circumstances of each country. The course pays
particular attention to the variation in national approaches to democratization,
ethnic relations, industrial organization, macroeconomic policy, and integration
into regional and world organizations. |
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