Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Sciences Po)

At a time when liberal democracies are weakened by ideological polarization and the rise of populist movements challenging institutional checks and balances as well as the foundations of rational debate (Trumpism, the Bolsonaro episode, the AfD, etc.), it is becoming vital for future political, administrative, and academic leaders—who are often unfamiliar with scientific fundamentals, particularly in statistics—to acquire a basic grasp of such tools in order to define a framework for contributing to informed debate and evidence-based decision-making. This course provides them with that foundation through the lens of mathematical modeling. Concretely, it offers a rigorous methodology and a practical introduction to statistical modeling, taught through its logical application in structuring arguments and fostering debate. The objective is to equip students with practical tools that will allow them to analyze, interpret, and critically assess the use of data in their future professional environments, whether in strategy, economics, consulting, or public affairs management. With the help of AI-assisted applications, students learn to build, and interpret simple economic models, while developing a critical stance on the limitations and biases inherent in these models. The econometric article by Daron Acemoglu, recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize, serves as one of the course's central threads, alongside more operational examples drawn from the corporate world and public sector. Through these applications, the course also offers students keys to understanding the mathematical foundations behind how artificial intelligence operates. The overarching ambition of this course is to enable students to become autonomous, clear-sighted, and critical actors in the use of data—capable of shaping the framework of public debate and decision-making at a time when perceptions of reality are increasingly influenced and polarized by the subjective interpretations of both populist opinion leaders and the prophets of artificial intelligence and big data.

This course analyzes the structures and functions of international public law using the methodological and theoretical tools of political economy. Rather than treating law as an autonomous system of norms, the course interrogates how legal regimes emerge, operate, and evolve in relation to power, interests, and material structures at the international level. We examine how legal frameworks reflect and institutionalize global distributions of power, economic interdependence, and the strategic behavior of states and non-state actors. Topics include sovereignty, trade, development, human rights, investment law, and environmental regimes, with a focus on power asymmetries, institutional design, and enforcement. Adopting a political economy approach to analyzing law - and public international law in particular - has a number of analytical, critical and empirical advantages. It highlights underlying power relationships; the political economy approach enables one to understand who writes law, for whose benefit, and in what structural context (imperialism, capitalism, inter-state rivalry).

What is Zionism and in what context did it emerge as an ideology? Who promoted and who opposed it within Jewish communities before the creation of the State of Israel? What are the political, diplomatic, religious and cultural dimensions of Zionism? Is a study of the plurality of Zionism and its internal conflicts possible? Do Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism have anything in common? What happened to Zionism after the creation of Israel? What does it mean to label oneself a Zionist or Anti-Zionist in 1917, 1948 or 1967? What approaches and strategies did Palestinians adopt regarding Zionism? This course is at the intersection of history and political science. It addresses these impassioned and complex questions by reading and discussing primary documents (manifestos, leaflets, diaries, international declarations) and secondary sources each week.

This course examines the emergence, institutionalization, and electoral dynamics of Green parties in Europe, from their roots in protest movements to their current place in national and European party systems. It explores their organizational models and electoral strategies through a combination of historical, sociological, and comparative approaches. The course analyzes the diversity of Green parties and their interactions with voters, social movements, and other parties. Particular attention is paid to the sociology and geography of the Green vote, as well as to methodological tools from comparative politics and electoral analysis. Students work with data from elections and surveys, conduct comparative research, and engage with case studies to understand how Green parties operate and evolve within contemporary democracies marked by climate urgency and political transformation.

This course questions the place of researchers in the 21st century and law through the ethnographer's field. Is there such a field? The course introduces basic concepts of law and anthropology, human sciences, its colonial background and methodological critiques to further how lawyers can lean in and explore anthropology's paradigm of alterity to further critical legal thinking and how anthropologists and other social scientists can look at law as a cultural technique. The course discusses why using empirical work, sometimes uncomfortable for a researcher, similar to looking in the mirror, can contribute to better addressing today's ethical and political challenges. Through the revision of diverse examples, old and new, students learn about the method of “explorers."

This course traces the evolution of political ecological thought by linking major philosophical and political theories with the social movements and concrete practices that have emerged from them. It considers how ideas transform reality, how critiques of productivism have given rise to new forms of collective action, and how political ecology has attempted to construct a response to current economic, social, and environmental impasses. Drawing on theoretical texts, case studies, contemporary controversies, and experiences of engagement, the course emphasizes the connection between academic knowledge and practical experience in the field.

This interdisciplinary course is divided into two parts. The first part explores the history, theories, and realities of democracy. If, from Ancient Athens to the Modern Revolutions, democracy was associated with direct self-rule, the invention of the representative government puts elections at the core of politics. The theory of representation is complex, and its concrete practices are plagued by crisis: elitism, corruption, and backsliding. The second part of the course analyzes, from a comparative perspective, the role of democratic innovations in renewing democracy and shaping public policy. It focuses on five types: referendum, participatory budgeting, e-democracy, collaborative governance, and deliberative mini-publics.

This introductory course explores the current role and relevance of international negotiation and examines its interaction with global governance. It is an invitation to enhance the use of certain analytical and investigative methods while deepening key concepts and theoretical approaches of political science. Combining theory, practice, experienced negotiators' insights and case studies, the course delves into the everyday reality of the international negotiations to grasp their diversity and coherence. Grounded in current international affairs, it invites students to engage in debates on the present and future use of international negotiation.

This course examines key international relations (IR) theories—Westphalian and Asian Global International Society (GIS)—questioning their relevance to Central and South Asia. It critically assesses whether traditional theories like Realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism, alongside non-Western perspectives (Chinese, Indian, and Islamic), adequately explain the region's geopolitical and security challenges. The course analyzes China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), shifting security architectures, and post-NATO Afghanistan, highlighting tensions between theory and reality. Through problem-driven analysis, it challenges assumptions about how Western and Asian GIS traditions interpret state behavior and power shifts. The course explores whether regionalism and security complexes shape international interactions in ways overlooked by mainstream IR. Can existing theories fully capture China's strategic ambitions and evolving security dynamics? Engaging with these debates, students gain a broad understanding of IR across different GIS traditions and critically examine the gaps between theory and practice in this geopolitically significant region.

Climate change is a global policy challenge whose solutions need to transcend national borders to address its multilayered causes and courses of action. This course reflects on transnational climate governance through the case of the EU Green Deal by exploring case by case its relevant stakeholders: in-house policymakers, member states, civil society, private and international actors. These stakeholders are viewed in parallel to climate policy domains (social and intergenerational justice, carbon markets, sustainable finance), and its tools (lobbying, negotiations and legislative procedures). This course provides a comprehensive approach to studying climate governance, combining theoretical concepts with practical examples, engaging students with real-life policy developments.