Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po)

This course introduces the enterprise of comparative constitutional law as a judicial practice and as a field of academic study. It compares, across various constitutional systems, issues of constitutional structure, judicial review, separation of powers, constitutional interpretation, constitutional amendments, and individual rights. Additionally, the course considers various approaches that have been used to solve similar constitutional problems, with special attention given to equality, freedom of expression, religious freedom, and the recognition and adjudication of social and economic rights.

Using case studies from various domains (environment, health, technological and industrial accidents, security, new technologies) and countries, this course explores how social sciences have conceptualized risk over time and how risk has become a central object of political attention. It considers how the notion of risk has become a central concern of today's societies, as Ulrich Beck predicted in the 1990s; and how the language and techniques of risk analysis, first developed in the realm of insurance, have become key to modern governance and to the operation of contemporary states. The course explores how global crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, have further reinforced a perception that risks are essential components of our daily lives and major concerns for governments. 

This course provides an overview of international law and its approach to several burning security issues of global scope, including terrorism, forced displacement, cyberwarfare, pandemics, and disinformation. This thematic overview imparts a basic understanding of the international legal landscape surrounding current security policy conversations, while reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of international law. In the process, the course also exposes most branches of international law, including the law regulating armed conflict and the use of force, human rights law, refugee law, and international criminal law.

This course introduces the main currents of thinking on capitalism in recent social theory. It provides an understanding of global capitalism's institutional diversity and dynamics and the historical transformations of the global economic order since the 1970s. The course navigates the complexity of today's economic world using structured theoretical thinking.

This course investigates key debates and unresolved questions within the field of international relations. The beginning of the course is based on a theoretical foundation. Then, it diverges from the conventional structuring around overarching and traditional approaches such as realism, liberalism, and constructivism. Instead, it acquaints students with some of the field's crucial concepts and middle-range theories within the discipline. Each session is dedicated to analyzing a specific question that has sparked significant controversy. The course scrutinizes both the historical and academic context in which each examined notions and propositions arose, determining whether their content has evolved over time, and if so, why. It explores the interrelation between these debates and their utility in comprehending contemporary world politics.

Comparative politics is a subfield of political science that seeks to explain variation in political outcomes, across or within counties. What explain the emergence of the modern state? Why are some countries more democratic than others? What explains regime transitions? What are the conditions under which government represent interests of the voters? Why do some countries have more internal conflict than others? This course discusses how the scientific method is used to answer these questions, paying attention to the strengths and weaknesses of various methodological approaches.