London School of Economics

How can we design, build, and sustain "democracies" in places that have been engaged in sustained conflict? The course explores societies torn apart by political violence and ethnic conflict. The main purpose is to diagnose the central problems, and examine what political responses are most appropriate using multiple case studies. The first part of the course mostly looks at the problems. The course begins with an examination of Iraq as an example of armed intervention and regime change. The second part of the course shifts the focus of attention to "solutions" and policy responses to divided societies and failing states. The course looks at which are the most appropriate electoral systems for divided places (and which should be avoided). The course ends by analyzing the "Arab Springs" and the resilience of authoritarianism in the Middle East.

This course is about philosophical and ethical issues related to the conduct of business. Some tough-minded people believe that business is like a game where winning means making as much money as possible. They believe that "business ethics" does not exist, that it is a contradiction in terms, and that whoever thinks otherwise -- whoever thinks that business is also about treating others respectfully -- is either naive, or deluded, or both. What these tough-minded people do not realise is that they are, in fact, making an ethical claim. They claim that, while we generally have ethical obligations towards others in society, when it comes to the game of business everyone is permitted to pay attention only to their personal gain. This statement may be correct, or it may be false. But it is definitely an ethical statement, simply because it makes claims about how people may permissibly behave. So, inadvertently, they are doing business ethics. In this introductory course to business ethics, we look at different types of ethical theories, and we apply them to problems that tend to arise in business contexts. The primary aim of the course is not to present you with ethical solutions or dogmatic responses, but to practice ethical reasoning, analytical skills, and critical thinking, so that towards the end of the course, you will no longer be satisfied with simple answers to difficult problems. You will also practice argumentative and writing skills that will help you express your thoughts clearly and concisely.

This course is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on government and politics: the EU as a political system; the Council, the Commission, and the Parliament in the policy process; Court of Justice and judicial politics; public opinion and EP elections; parties and Europe, and interest representation. The second part includes public policy: the policy-making process, policy implementation, the single market, social and environmental policies, budgetary policies, EMU, migration policies, and external relations policies.

In this hands-on course, students are introduced to the models and theory necessary to develop computational skills in the field of financial mathematics. Covering topics such as the Monte Carlo method, stochastic models, the binomial tree model, the theory of risk-neutral pricing, derivative pricing and the interpretation of random variables, students learn how computational methods can be used to evaluate different financial scenarios. During supervised programming sessions, which include an introduction to programming in Python, students have the opportunity to implement the computational methods introduced to students using relevant examples. 

This course provides students with a sound knowledge and understanding of the major results of environmental economics. It delivers the fundamentals of rigorous economic analysis for continued undergraduate studies at a higher level, or graduate studies of environmental economics. 

The topics in this course are critical to people management in contemporary organizations, for example, leadership and team processes that enhance individual, team, and organizational performance. This course also seeks to understand atypical forms organizational phenomena. Alternative forms of organizations and unique individual circumstances have become more commonplace in recent years; however, theories about organizational behavior (OB)—designed to apply to “typical” workplace behavior and contexts—have not kept pace. The emphasis in this course is on critically evaluating existing OB theories as they relate to extreme forms of workplace behavior (e.g., workaholism, pro- and antisocial behavior) and contexts (e.g., poverty, military, hospital, and artist culture). Weekly topics include isolated and high-pressure work environments, passion work, and compliance and proactivity. In general, this course examines the central issues of organizational behavior by applying primarily sociological and social psychological theories and methods.

This course gives students an understanding of the full range of leading topics and areas of debate and research relevant to the analysis of political institutions and politics in Europe. The course focuses on both traditional fields of comparative inquiry, such as the study of party competition and voting behavior, and emerging fields of interest, such as national and European identities, immigration, and Europeanization. The course places particular emphasis on the diverse experiences of liberal democracy in different parts of Europe. The course covers not only long-established democracies in Western Europe, but also the relatively new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, the course studies in depth a number of European countries, such as Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, analyzing the main developments in the country concerned in the last 20 years (elections, parties, governments). The course then examines issues of particular interest related to that country.