Political Science

This course covers the history, theories, institutions, and policies of economic development. It begins by considering development from classical Western perspectives (liberalism, neoliberalism, and the Washington Consensus), burgeoning Eastern perspectives (the “East Asian model,” the Beijing Consensus), as well as various heterodox traditions (postcolonialism, Marxism). The course then explores the doers of development in today's global economy and international system: the Bretton Woods and multilateral institutions, the private sector and private philanthropists, as well as individual countries such as the United States and China. Finally, the course dives deep into the particular problems and policies that define global development in low-income countries today: how they meet their domestic energy needs and attain a clean energy transition; how they meet their domestic food needs and maximize their agricultural export revenues; how they build the infrastructure they require for their rapidly growing populations and economies; and how they attract or create good jobs and high wages to ensure stable and equitable growth.

This course introduces students to some central figures in the history of political thought: Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Marx, and Schmitt. Students look at why they wrote what they wrote, what they meant, and how well their arguments work. They ask why they give different answers to questions such as: What does it mean to be truly free? Is democracy possible or desirable? Should we educate citizens, or take them as they are? Are there absolute moral truths, and what sort of politics should we have in light of that? What rights do we have? What place should religion have in politics? Should citizens dedicate themselves to the state? The course particularly suits students who enjoy political theory and the history of political thought. There is a lot of reading, and much of it is very challenging. Great emphasis is put on understanding primary texts, which are usually dense and difficult. 

This course reflects on contemporary issues through the lens of the political history of the last century. Political history is a broad term and incorporates social, economic, and cultural actors. The 20th century is analyzed through three angles: wars and types of war; collective utopia and individual rights; and human security and insecurity. The course examines how a multi-pronged inquest into security and the defense of human rights forged our 21st century. 

This course explores key social science concepts like integration and cooperation of particular relevance for analyzing specific development problems in Latin America and Iberia such as poverty, inequality, unemployment, rural stagnation, and regional relations among different Latin American countries, integration politics, panamericanism, and globalization.

The course explores the social, political, and economic factors of the water crisis and other environmental issues, along with the challenges and potentials of sustainable development in the country. This course uses Jordan's geopolitical position in the region and the current debates over water management, its nuclear program, its agricultural sector, access to petroleum products, growing urbanism, and exploding population as a lens for exploring local and regional issues of diplomacy and development vis-à-vis environmental issues and policy. While doing so, the course also addresses the politics of the region since Jordan and most of the MENA countries share many resources, especially water, where across borders cooperation and/or conflict play a major role in managing these limited resources. It examines different environmental NGOs and initiatives in an attempt to understand their role in environmental management, protection, advocacy, and awareness. Students also develop a better understanding of the dynamics of environmental activism in Jordan.