Political Science

This course uses a regional approach to highlight the main areas of conflict on the African continent. Using a reading grid based on an understanding of the spatial logics of actors in conflict, drawn from both history and the analysis of very contemporary phenomena and current events, this course differentiates between types of space and isolates their more or less belligerent characteristics. Drawing extensively on geography and the sociology of actors (polemology), this geopolitical analysis of the African continent uses methodological tools such as cartography and satellite imagery, as well as numerous readings, to review all of the continent's conflict zones. Examples highlight the use of geopolitical reasoning by political, military, and humanitarian decision-makers, as well as by economic players.

This course will introduce

1) Diplomatic system, including the historic evolution of diplomacy, diplomatic manners and principles, and diplomatic bureaucracy and staff establishment.

2) Content and process of bilateral diplomacy, including functions of bilateral diplomacy, diplomatic negotiations and diplomatic treaties as results.

3) The trend of contemporary diplomacy, including summit diplomacy, multilateral diplomacy, mediation, public diplomacy, and collaborative diplomacy.

4) The characteristics, style, and development of Chinese diplomacy, such that students will gain systematic understanding of diplomacy’s effects in contemporary international relations, and learn basic diplomatic affairs knowledge and skills.

In the course, some key social institutions that together have come to be called the "Swedish" or "Scandinavian" Model, are presented. The course covers the historical development of the Swedish welfare state, both in relation to institutional changes and to the political project of the welfare state. It departs from an analytical and historical perspective where the internal contradictions and impetus for change of the Swedish Model are central. Therefore, the course includes recent developments such as the possible dismantling of the Swedish welfare state and emergence of a new welfare model. The emergence of social rights and social citizenship are included in this section. The course discusses welfare state policies directed towards the family, which includes a gender perspective in which feminist critique of the welfare state is introduced. The course also discusses the particularities and the development of the Swedish Model on labor market and labor relations, reviewing different theoretical perspectives on the triad state, capital, and labor.

This course provides an introduction to the EU and its policy on environmental protection and natural resources. After a brief recap of the basics of policy-making in the EU, students learn about the guiding principles and developments within the EU’s environmental policy. Subsequently, the course covers the major environmental challenges currently faced by the EU. The first part of the course discusses the functioning of the European Union to be able to better understand the factors influencing European environmental policy and politics. The course also looks at the European reaction to climate change and discusses the effectiveness of the main solutions to this global problem: the development of renewable sources of energy and the different ways of pricing carbon. The course devotes a special session to the EU’s role in climate negotiations. The second part of the course is devoted to different forms of pollution, such as air, noise, water, and soil pollution, as well as humanity’s impact on biodiversity loss. In this part of the course students discuss the main prerequisites for making the European transport sector more sustainable and European cities greener and smarter. The last session is devoted to discussing the challenges and the opportunities for the future of environmental policy.

This course examines historical and current health policy issues and their impacts. It covers health policies mainly in the U.S. and Taiwan, but also looks at global health topics. The first part of the course discusses health care systems, such as the public insurance structures in the U.S. and Taiwan, health care reforms, and the long term care systems. The second part introduces health behavior related topics from the economic perspective, including the prescription drug market, the effects of smoking and drinking age regulations on health, the factors and consequences (education, employment, crime, etc.) of risky health behaviors, and the impact of environment on health.