Political Science

The course offers an interdisciplinary overview of politics and security in contemporary Iran. It examines Iran’s geopolitical, geostrategic, and geographical significance in the region and analyzes key domestic security challenges facing the state. Adopting a knowledge-based and experiential approach, the course explores six interconnected divisions shaping Iran and its regional context: social (class divisions), societal (identity-based divisions), national (people–state relations), political (internal divisions within the political system), regional (regional rivalries), and international (great power politics). The course provides an intellectual and analytical framework for understanding the complex issues facing Iran and its ties to regional and global dynamics.

This course examines questions about the relationship between equality and justice, such as is it unjust for a society to be unequal? Unequal in what way? How do political systems reproduce relations of equality or inequality? Does society have a responsibility to compensate for some inequalities, and which ones? Readings include contributions from the contemporary debate on egalitarianism from John Rawls, Robert Nozick, Michael Walzer and others, as well as consider the application of theories of in/equality to current affairs in Singapore and elsewhere.

This course examines terrorist groups and individuals, terrorist origins, goals, and ideologies. It covers the structure and dynamics of terrorism along with terrorist weapons, strategies and tactics, the hot spots in which they operate and their use of the media. 

This course focuses on political parties and major policy debates in New Zealand. Topics include the ideologies and action principles of major parties, shifts in inequality and the welfare state, state funding of political parties, relations between central and local government, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and environmental policy.

This course examines the fundamentals of politics in British Columbia, both past and present, with a particular emphasis on the place of Indigenous peoples in the province’s political life. It will include the study of formal political institutions such as the provincial executive and legislature, the provincial electoral and party systems, and the evolution of the political province’s political culture and voter behavior. It will also adopt explore the dominant lines of political discourse and contention in the province, including regional divides, settler colonial relations, economic debates, and pressing for and ideas behind political parties. It will also look at pressing contemporary issues including land tenure, health and the poison drugs crisis, the environment, and issues of inclusivity in BC politics, including both their historical origins, present dynamics, and potential future resolutions. 

This course discusses the causes, consequences, and trends of conflict in the world. Topics include: types of conflict (inter-state wars, intra-state wars, terrorism, ethnic conflict, and state repression); their long-term evolution; political, economic and social causes of conflict; their consequences for the world order. 

The first part of the course deals with the historical development of European integration from WWII through to the Lisbon Treaty and the main actors that contribute to the working and functioning of the EU. The second part focuses on some key policies of the EU: students look at economic and monetary policies, justice and home affairs, the common agricultural policy, environmental and climate policy, trade, and democracy promotion. The third part looks at some current challenges and controversies that the EU is facing. Students consider whether the EU is an efficient and legitimate system, current challenges to the rule of law, Euroscepticism and the increasing domestic contestation. The class then concludes with a discussion on differentiation, (dis)integration, and the future of the EU.

This course addresses how to define and interpret key humanitarian concepts such as human rights, human security and the responsibility to protect. The course also addresses how to define democracy and study trends in democratization over the last 100 years. The class reviews the content of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Charter in some detail. The class also considers the strengths and weaknesses of the UN Security Council and discuss the possibility of UN reform. 
 

This course explores the history of political and social movements in Spain and Catalonia from medieval times to present day. Topics include: the Reconquista; formation of the Spanish state; the Spanish Civil War; the Franco era; transition to democracy; dynamics of Catalonia and the quest for autonomy.

This course employs two perspectives to understand the histories of modern Japan in the context of East Asia and globalization from the early 20th century to the present. It examines how modern boundaries, identities, and cultures are shaped in a rapidly emerging modern world order. The course also looks at how individuals respond to and are shaped by the variety of modernity(ies).