Leiden University College

This course takes a fresh look at European integration and recent developments in the European Union (EU). It focuses on the following: recent dynamics of European integration and the EU's response to various crises; changes in the European Union's institutions after the ratification of the Lisbon treaty (2009); the Union's policies and their (potential) impact; public opinion and support for future integration. At the beginning of the course, insights from several major streams of academic studies of European integration, EU institutions and policies, are introduced. The main features of EU institutions post Lisbon are discussed. Next, the course focuses on policies and policy outputs to understand what impact the EU might have on the lives of citizens. The course explores a range of policy areas such as the internal market, recent developments in European economic and financial governance, developments in security and the global role of the EU. The course also analyzes and discusses the responses of the EU's member states to challenges such as the post 2008 financial and economic crisis. The third part of the course, addresses the key challenges for the EU today: Brexit, the effects of enlargement, citizen responses to European integration, scenarios for future development.

In this class, students explore the impact of colonies on Europe, more specifically Britain and The Netherlands. Students research the interactions of 19th and 20th century European citizens and colonial subjects by looking at anti-colonial writings to show how these not only influenced the former colonies, but also European countries. Students look at decolonization as a cultural and political phenomenon in both the colonies and Europe from the 19th century until now.

This course analyzes several 19th and 20th century colonial and anti-colonial narratives based on a wide variety of secondary and primary sources. Students draw parallels between 19th and 20th century (anti-)colonial rhetoric and their current-day afterlives. Students explore the complex processes of identity formation that lay at the root of many 21st century political debates surrounding our shared colonial histories. In studying the roots of modern imperialism and resistance against it, students are able critique patterns and attitudes that still shape the relationship of Europe to the wider world. The course takes into account how colonial pasts have influenced history writing itself and explore both historical as well as current calls for decolonization of academia or other public spaces such as museums, and research the history of such current day calls for decolonization.

 

Maternal and Child Health (MCH) is the professional and academic field that focuses on the determinants, mechanisms, and systems that promote and maintain the health, safety, well-being, and appropriate development of children and their families in communities and societies, in order to enhance the future health and welfare of society and subsequent generations. The purpose of this course is to develop critical thinking about the determinants of well-being of the MCH population. This course is organized upon several major themes, which reflect the following important principles from the field of MCH: Population-based, levels of prevention, disparities, life course perspective, and family-centered. Within the context of this course, the primary focus is on disparities among groups defined by race/ethnicity, age, gender, socioeconomic status, nationality, and geographic location. The final topic, family-centered care, assures the health and well-being of children and their families through a respectful family-professional partnership. It honors the strengths, cultures, traditions and expertise that everyone brings to this relationship. Interdisciplinary. Engaging a range of disciplines broadens the scope of investigation into complex public health problems and yields fresh and possibly unexpected insights.

This course analyzes the intersection of politics and economics in relation to diverse developments in Africa. These dynamics are explored from both the perspectives of African countries and those of external actors. Specifically, the focus is on both intra African relationships and the engagement of African countries/Africa with the rest of the world. The course explores, among other things, the dynamics that have influenced the economic and political development of natural-resource-dependent countries like Nigeria, Botswana, and Angola. It also explores the impact of natural resources on conflict in countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo DRC, and South Sudan. Furthermore, the course critiques the relationship between political stability and economic growth across the continent. At another level, the course also explains why, perhaps with the exception of Mauritius, manufacturing has rarely driven economic growth in Africa and the implications of this for the future economic advancement of the continent. The course also examines the impact of foreign direct investments and foreign aid on the political and economic development of Africa. Greater emphasis is placed on aid-dependent countries like Rwanda, South Sudan, and Liberia. Finally, the course looks at the relationship between states and businesses across the continent and the potential role of indigenous entrepreneurship and the African diaspora in African development. In summary, this course explores the diverse debates on the political economy of Africa. Key topics include: the relationship between African states and businesses; regional and monetary integration both at the continental and sub continental levels; Africa and the global financial system; intra African trade and African trade with the rest of the world; natural resources and conflict in Africa; foreign aid and foreign direct investments in Africa; China in Africa; the future of Africa; and the role and dynamics of the African diaspora among others. Prerequisites for this course are an introdutctory policy course and an introductory economics course.

This reading-intensive course seeks to give students an understanding of how war, including the technology and tactics of war, and the journalistic coverage of wars, has changed and developed from the middle of the nineteenth until the middle of the twentieth century. Six wars – different in nature, but all significant in varying ways – are studied: the Crimean War of 1853-56 – the first war reported in the “modern era” through the use of the telegraph; the First World War of 1914-18, the Russian Revolution and the civil war it gave birth to, and the Second World War of 1939-45 – the two “great” wars and the “great” revolution of the twentieth century that fundamentally changed the world we live in today; the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, a civil war in which foreign powers did (at least partially) intervene. Finally students read about the reality of the Holocaust through the eyes of its single most thoughtful survivor, Primo Levi. Students thus gain a clear insight into the differences of wars between nations, civil wars and revolutions, and of the effects they have. Students also gain an insight into how war as a policy option has changed during this century – above all from a European perspective – and the effect that has had in the international political arena.

This course explores the moral and ethical issues raised by contemporary warfare. In the first part of the course, students are introduced to the dominant Western frameworks for moral reasoning about the use of force in world politics: pacifism, realism, and the just war tradition. The course explores the historical and religious roots of these traditions, and the major streams of thinking within them. In the second and third parts of the course, the focus is on the just war tradition, applying its concepts and principles to a range of important issues in contemporary warfare that present challenges to the just war tradition as it is conventionally formulated. These include jus ad bellum questions about non-state actors and anticipatory war; jus in bello questions about targeted killing and supreme emergencies; and jus post bellum questions about post-conflict responsibilities. These issues are explored through case studies drawn from recent conflicts, especially the US-led War on Terror. Students are encouraged to think about whether the traditions of ethical reasoning about war inherited from earlier generations remain adequate to guide our judgment of contemporary warfare, or whether they need to be revised. Prerequisites for this course are an introduction to peace and conflict studies and an intermediate-level course in a relevant field.

This course offers an introduction to the theories and methods of history as a field of knowledge. Our general area of enquiry for this course is international history in the 20th century. Students take up independent research projects related to some aspect of this field. The course begins with an analysis of history as a discipline by exploring how historians operate; the assumptions they work from; their methods and sources; as well as their disagreements. The questions considered in this section include: what distinguishes history from the social sciences; historical sources, methods, organization, and framing; the assumptions historians make their ability to infer causation; and how the recent rise of transnational and global history challenges (and complements) more traditional approaches to international history.

Then methodology, and particularly to the use of archival sources are reviewed. Students learn to identify sources and work with archival catalogues and hone their skills of analysis. The questions considered in this section include: methods use to collect and interpret different forms of historical evidence? what can our sources tell us about historical causation? how do we incorporate different types of sources, such as oral history and memoirs, into our analysis? how do we critically evaluate our sources, and interpret silences and omissions? how do we avoid drowning in the seas of evidence that can spill out from the archive?

Throughout the course, students pursue an independent research project on a chosen subject within the field of international history which reflects the process of devising and executing a piece of historical research. Students select a topic, devise a research question, assess historiographical literature, identify and select relevant sources, dig into the sources, managing notes, and put their analysis to paper.

 

This course provides an introduction to the field of natural resource management and the concept of sustainable development. Natural resources include both renewable resources (such as water, forests, wildlife) and non-renewable resources (such as fossil fuels). This course adopts a systems framework that allows students to explore the connections among different elements in the context of global environmental change, human needs and impacts, and the need to reframe and revitalize our current approaches to resource management. The course explores local and global resource and environmental issues such as the commodification of nature, the management of national parks and protected areas, ethics, and our ability to ensure sustainable energy supplies. Throughout the course, students investigate practical solutions to address, or begin to address, these issues.

This course focuses on mass atrocities (large scale and systematic human rights violations, in particular genocide). Typically these type of violations are framed as international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, or enforced disappearance. Mass murders and genocides are not a new phenomenon. In the twentieth century as well as in this century, war and terror has killed millions, mostly unarmed civilians. It has been estimated that in the last century approximately 191 million persons lost their lives due to collective violence. This course discusses the specific character of mass atrocity. The first part looks at the causes and processes of genocide and other mass atrocities. It deals with the questions of what type of violence constitutes atrocity, what causes it, and how it evolves. The course looks at ideology, propaganda, perpetrators, and specific cases. In the second part of the course, the focus shifts towards the questions of whether mass atrocities can be prevented, and, if so, how. The role of the international community and international criminal prosecutions are considered. The end of the course brings everything together and looks at the future of mass atrocities. Prerequisite for this course is an intermediate level course on world politics.

The course provides an in-depth specialization in various theories of nationalism and the application of these theories to various cases in international politics. In addition to providing a detailed understanding of rival perspectives and the issues that divide them, it poses the question of whether it is possible to go beyond nationalism. Students are expected to critically reflect on the theoretical implications of studying nationalism in contemporary international politics. The course is divided into three parts. PART I demonstrates why (or why not) “nationality” matters. This part focuses on the debate between communitarians and liberals in political philosophy. PART II is designed to answer the question, “what is a nation?” Is nation a nation, a state, an ethnic group or anything else? This part gives students a basic knowledge of the range and importance of nationalism theories. PART III interprets and analyzes some of key issues related to nations and nationalism in international politics. The concluding seminar asks whether it is possible to go beyond nationalism in international politics. Each student works on their own case study in their final research paper and has the opportunity to put theory into practice. Prerequisite for this course is an introductory political science or international studies course.