Political Science

This course offers an introduction to the key concepts, theories, methodological approaches, and empirical evidence on social inequality and social mobility. First, it focuses on the structure of inequality; considering how unequal societies are today and how and why this has changed in recent decades.  Second, the course discusses who gets to occupy privileged positions in society and why. It explores how characteristics that are not in peoples' control, such as socio-economic background, shape important outcomes in their lives, such as their level of education, their job, or their income. Finally, it explores what policies can reduce inequality of opportunity in society.

This course examines paradigms in Brazilian foreign policy, as well as the role of economic development on Brazilian foreign policy. Topics include the Republican regime and foreign policy; Americanism and Pan-Americanism; the Cold War and foreign policy; impact of the economy on foreign policy; independent foreign policy and globalism; foreign policy of the military regime and Americanism; geopolitics and national security doctrine; revival of globalism and consolidation; democracy and foreign policy; post-Cold War and Brazilian international insertion; actors in Brazilian foreign policy.

This course explores the social, cultural, and political history of the global Cold War through the lens of forced migrations and humanitarian aid. While traditional Cold War narratives perpetuate images of refugees fleeing from Eastern Europe to the West, the course challenges this clear-cut dichotomy. It expands the geographical range of forced displacement to include emergencies in the Global South by paying attention to entanglements across and within different regions. It studies major organizations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees across other agents, such as non-governmental organizations, regional, and national institutions. It takes into consideration refugees' agencies, trajectories, and cultural production. It then situates refugees within local communities, stressing the challenges and the opportunities of integration. Sessions are organized through a combination of lectures, discussions of primary and secondary sources, and students' presentations.

This course provides a general overview of secularism in the world. Reading texts, scientific articles, press articles, and historical documents, it reviews case studies with a comparative approach from political science, history, sociology, philosophy, and theology. Topics include the regime of separation of the Churches and the State in France, the secular state, the American civil religion, the Italian concordat, the Danish case, Turkey, the Mexican separation, and the Belgian derogatory regime. 

The course is conceived against the background of important debates on the conceptualization of development in global academic and policy contexts from the post-independence period (1960s) to date. This course is concerned with the notions of "emergence" and "transition" and pays special attention to African economies that are increasingly cited as having "achieved" some level of prominence in this regard. Students are encouraged to engage critically with mainstream thought on African experiences as they examine the interaction between theoretical frameworks/debates and empirical realities.

This course provides an advanced, comparative insight into citizenship debates with a specific focus on the intersection between citizenship, migration, and belonging. The course primarily concentrates on Europe and Northern America but systematically introduces comparative elements with other regions of the world (Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East) to provide a wider, global perspective on the politics of citizenship. The course delves into the transformations of citizenship regimes through the review and discussion of key scientific contributions in the field of citizenship studies, which has developed at the nexus of different disciplines over the past thirty years (political science, sociology, history, law). Beyond discussing citizenship and the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion it entails, this course is also an opportunity to address more general concerns in social science research, such as how to assess change, how to ensure comparability across contexts, and how to address the gap between policy on paper and policy in practice.

This course provides a detailed but accessible introduction to the government and politics of the United Kingdom. Students study the main political institutions of the UK and how they have been affected by devolution, voter apathy, and the increasing fragmentation of the party system. Does Parliament matter or does it merely approve decisions taken elsewhere? Does the Prime Minister dominate the British system? Will Brexit lead to the break-up of the UK? Why do people vote UKIP? Students are introduced to important institutions and debates in the study of British government. They consider, in particular: the British parliamentary state and the enduring influence of the Westminster Model; the peculiar nature of the constitution; the management of the (increasingly) multi-national nature of the UK; and the explanations for and impact of the vote for Brexit.
 

After the end of the Cold War many of us hoped that the time of war and conflict was over and we could enjoy and more peaceful and perhaps prosperous times. We could not have been more wrong. The invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, the subsequent Gulf War, the civil conflict in Former Yugoslavia, the war in Bosnia, the NATO strikes in Kosovo, the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and particularly in Israel, the terrorist attack on 9.11, and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and now in Iraq, are just a few examples of military activities in the last decade. In addition, we witnessed a chain of humanitarian crises' in the form of lack of access to food, water, and shelter, and often human-induced (un)natural disasters like floods and droughts in many parts of the developing world.

The courses Peace Studies I and II will provide students with an insight into the central questions, concepts, theories, and debates within contemporary peace studies. Students will read basic texts from peace researchers, politicians, peace movement representatives, social and natural scientists in order to understand the various approaches to peace; how and why conflicts occur, and finally how to deal or prevent wars. Peace studies have developed a basic core of ideas and arguments, but researchers concerned with peace and conflict issues come from a variety of fields and scientific disciplines. At first international relations and international policy, political science and historical studies might come to mind; however, scientists in sociology, anthropology, biology, psychology, economics, or environmental studies have also developed concept and theories attempting to analyze and explain potential and actual conflict situations. They have also developed ways to prevent or moderate conflicts and considered approaches to prevent them from developing into violent conflicts or open wars. Part one and two of this course attempt to cover a broad range of these approaches.

The course examines how the mass media and political elites structure public opinion and political behavior, both from a theoretical and an empirical perspective. While the majority of the course focuses on advanced industrial democracies, specific attention is given to media, elite and mass linkages in the developing world. Topics such as the persuasive effects of the media, strategic agenda setting of political elites, and electoral campaigning are covered from a multidisciplinary approach, covering work from economics, political science, and communication science. Special attention is devoted to social media and social media effects are put in a historical context. The course introduces students to a basic toolkit used by researchers to understand the relationship between the media, strategic political elites, and the public. The course covers the following topics: a historical and comparative look at political communication; media coverage and bias; political elites and electoral campaigns; the persuasion effects of the media: agenda-setting, framing, and priming; empirical analysis of media effects; and the use of social media in politics.

This course introduces the legal, regulatory, and policy issues raised by social media platforms. It provides an accessible overview of current legal issues relating to social media, with a focus on European law. The first half of the course examines how platforms and states govern online content. The second half broadens the focus to the legal and political issues raised by social media platforms' business models and ownership structures. The assigned readings and lectures provide a thorough overview of the core issues and encourage critical thinking about the underlying power structures and conflicts of interests that shape legal decisions.