Political Science

Law is often imagined as a mass of written documents containing intricate and arcane language, which is usually manipulated by lawyers and judges. This course expands this imagery by exploring the impact of legal practice, defined as a set of techniques deployed by legal professionals, in relation to our daily life. The course first surveys the historical underpinnings of legal practice, devoting special attention to the study of its Roman and Medieval manifestations. Moreover, it reflects upon the impact of legal professionals and legal techniques in the organization of geographical spaces, group membership, behavior control, and economic production. The course also discusses the tensions between legal pluralism and the centralization of legal authority promoted by the nation-State, as well as introduces the use of legal technique as tools for resistance and change.

This course offers an introduction to the theory and cases of democracy in crisis, structured across three thematic units. The first unit introduces foundational concepts, exploring definitions of democracy and its crises, as well as theoretical frameworks addressing democracy's vulnerabilities. The second unit focuses on analytical tools and typologies, examining institutional approaches to democracy's collapse, democracy indexes, and comparative frameworks. Finally, the third unit delves into recent and historical case studies of democratic erosion across various regions, fostering a nuanced understanding of global trends. The course combines professor-led lectures, student-driven seminars, and debates, emphasizing critical analysis and active participation. Transversally, the course addresses qualitative and quantitative comparative methodological issues related to democracy.

This course examines the modern origins and development of foreign aid. Specifically, it analyzes foreign aid administered by Western countries and transferred to developing countries, primarily in the Global South. Starting with the Marshall Plan, and the American transfer of funds to Europe, Western countries, post WW2, developed mechanisms for public financial transfers (i.e. state or IGO to state or substate) initially to allied countries and soon thereafter to industrializing countries and poor countries. Under the guise of “aid”, this relationship has mostly been considered interest-based rather than philanthropic. The course is centered around five central questions on the topic of foreign aid: 1. Who gives foreign aid? 2. Why give foreign aid? 3. Who benefits from foreign aid? 4. Does foreign aid cause more harm than good? 5. If economic restorative justice is the objective of foreign aid, are there alternative policies that can better accomplish these goals? In this context we examine the evolution of foreign aid in a post-WW2 global context: first, during the Cold War, and then during its aftermath. Central to the discussion, the course considers the economic impact of globalization on developing countries; the root causes of poverty and ways to reduce it; and the nature of North-South relations and neocolonialism. It studies issues animating foreign aid policy parameters and how these issues have changed. A focus on themes such as trade, immigration, human/gender rights, and climate change, illuminates the shifting nature of “aid.” The focus is on the methods and motivation of Western countries – examining “soft power” and the role of foreign aid in overall foreign policy of countries that administer it. Finally, the course examines the potential spread of aid as a tool for influence as it is adopted by new state actors (e.g. BRICS, China).

This course provides an introduction to the study of International Political Economy (IPE). IPE is a field of research that combines the study of politics and economics, exploring both domestic and international factors that impact preferences, behaviors, and policies relating to economic globalization. The course covers major topics of inquiry within IPE such as the politics and policies relating to international trade, international investment, and international finance. Students are introduced to theoretical and empirical research analyzing each topic covered. 

This course examines the critical role of emotions in international relations. The first part provides a foundational understanding of emotions, focusing on their social and political dimensions. It explores the concepts of group and collective emotions, shedding light on how emotions operate at the societal level. The second part of the course delves into the role of emotions in intergroup conflicts. It analyzes how emotions such as hatred and fear can escalate conflicts, while emotions like empathy and collective guilt can facilitate reconciliation and conflict resolution. The final part explores the influence of emotions on contemporary global issues. This includes their role in the rise of populism and their impact on collective responses to climate change. Through this comprehensive approach, students gain a deeper understanding of how emotions shape international dynamics and global challenges. The course is graded on a pass/fail basis only.

The course introduces students to the main theories and concepts in International Relations. In particular, this course covers debates such as liberalism, (neo)realism, Marxism and critical theory, constructivism and new-constructivism, gender and IR, postcolonial approaches to IR, ethics in IR, and the role of theory in IR.

Contemporary science fiction offers a compelling means of interrogating the current challenges of global governance and political economy. As Brad Torgersen (2013) says, “much of the Science Fiction being written in the 21st century concerns itself strictly with materialistic concerns: climate change, global warming, the decay of governments and the onset of dystopian hegemony, or anarchy”. This course provides students with an exploration of the nexus between science fiction and political economy. It uses science fiction literature as a means of understanding, exploring and critiquing concepts and theories from across Political Economy, including international relations, economics and politics. Through this, students apply the knowledge gained in other courses within political economy, applying key theories and techniques of analysis in novel areas in an engaging but rigorous way. The proposed course directly relates to a growing area of cutting-edge research, namely the interplay between popular culture and politics.

This course explores the relationships between science, technology, and democracy, and the changing role of the State in science and technology (S&T) in our societies. Students explore science and technology policy issues and look at wider challenges, such as efforts to improve public engagement in decisions about science and technology, initiatives to encourage more responsible research and innovation, and debates about the apparent rise in fraud and misconduct in science and concerns on the part of some scientists that many published scientific findings may be false. The issues explored in this course are critical to citizenship in a modern science and technology-based democracy. 

This course gives an overview of political geography's historical and contemporary treatment of the questions of territoriality, state, and nation. Topics include nations and nationalism, and boundaries and territorial disputes, and students explore how territoriality, nation, and sovereignty are viewed in developing regions of the world. 

International organizations are created and expected to provide solutions whenever governments face transnational challenges, such as international and civil wars, humanitarian emergencies, flows of refugees, outbreaks of infectious diseases, climate change, financial market instability, sovereign debt crises, trade protectionism, and the development of poorer countries. But their role in world politics is controversial. Some perceive them as effective and legitimate alternatives to unilateral state policies. Others regard them as fig leaves for the exercise of power by dominant states. Others yet are regularly disappointed by the gap between the lofty aspirations and their actual performance in addressing global problems, and want to know the causes of that gap. While some commentators tend to lump all international organizations together, in reality the functioning, power, and effectiveness of international organisations differ widely – across organisations, issues, regions, and over time.