International Studies

Between the early seventeenth and mid-nineteenth centuries, along with the Peace of Westphalia, Major European political thinkers first began to look outside their national borders and envisage a world of competitive, equal sovereign states inhabiting an international sphere that ultimately encompassed the whole globe. This course focuses on some of the most significant (British) thinkers on modern international relations and international laws that have been present since the birth of the term. The goal of the course is to provide students with theoretical musculature to think further about "international."

This course discusses some of the underlying issues which are causing large environmental challenges on the continent of Africa, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Topics include the concept of nature as imagined in the 21st century; the "commons" and property rights, and how differing views of those in Africa have given rise to different problems; and the political economy of conservation, the connection of sustainability, and inequality of renewal.

The course addresses the history, current state, and future of North Korea, essential to understanding its human rights and human security situation. It examines the vast oppressive apparatus employed to execute North Korea’s policy of human rights denial and to maintain the status quo. The course also covers the applicable international legal framework, and the available remedies embedded in relevant provisions, as well as the methodology employed by human rights organizations dealing with North Korea, including the execution, processing, and analysis of interviews with North Korean defectors and other witnesses, and their corroboration with satellite imagery and other available relevant data. Also explored in depth is the structure and functions of both the UN system and international civil society.

This course addresses politics in the Middle East and North Africa with a focus on relations between states. Questions that guide the course include: When do countries engage in costly conflict against each other? What is the relationship between domestic politics and international relations? Do transnational ideologies impact politics? If so, how? In line with these overarching questions, the course addresses topics such as international involvement in the region, the role of resources, authoritarianism and democratization, sectarianism and ethnicity, terrorism, and protests.

Why did some Middle Eastern countries experience uprisings and others did not? Why do we observe Iran and Saudi Arabic supporting some non-state actors but ignore others? Why have some actors changed their religious rhetoric? Does oil impact politics in Saudi Arabia? This seminar examines these questions and contemporary politics in the Middle East. Students familiarize themselves with major political science debates on issues relevant to the region, and develop understanding of concepts and theory that are useful for analyzing Middle East regional politics Themes addressed include: war and international involvement in the region; authoritarianism and the Arab Spring, religion and sect; and, energy resources. The course examines a number of events, including, but not limited to, the 2003 Iraq War, the Arab Spring and the Syrian Civil War, and the Iranian nuclear deal. This course is designed as a broad survey of Middle East politics; given the time constraints; it is not possible to cover every country and issue. 

This course focuses on theoretical and empirical explanations for political phenomena in the Middle East. As such, we pay close attention to how to theoretically and empirically address social and behavioral science research questions relevant to the Middle East.