Political Science

This course examines the institutions and processes of Canadian government.

This course belongs to the field of intelligence studies. It introduces the main actors of American intelligence (agencies, National Interest Exception, National Safety Council, etc.) from their origins (most notably the birth of the CIA in 1947) until today. This is done through a historical analysis of the period, the actors, and the international context. Special attention is devoted to the impact of intelligence agencies in the conduct of United States foreign policy. Finally, the course introduces the main concepts of the intelligence world, such as clandestine actions, counterespionage, technological innovation, relationship between the decision maker and the intelligence agency, and inter-service cooperation. In so doing, it highlights the challenges that American, and more broadly Western, agencies continue to face today.

Exploring French political history since 1870, this course presents the history of the French republican system during the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Republics. It explains how this political regime gradually stabilized and became synonymous with democracy. The lectures focus on the successive constitutions and their application, while also enabling students to discover the main political figures of the period, the presidents and the political leaders for instance, and to understand the great moments of crises and of progress. The course also focuses on France during the two World Wars and the colonial crisis, underlining the effects of these events on the government.

This course provides an introduction to the politics of Russia. It traces the evolution of Russian politics by offering a wide-range discussion of main events, figures and scholarly interpretations of Russia's past and present. While the initial focus is on the rise and fall of communist ideology and institutions, the course examines in detail the ongoing development of political structures in post-communist Russia and the forces, both domestic and international, that shape the life of Russians today.

This interdisciplinary course addresses sustainability, climate change, and how to combine economic development with a healthy environment. The course explores greening the economy and the sustainable development goals on four levels – individual, business, city, and nation, and looks at the relationships between these levels. Practical examples of the complexities and solutions across each level are discussed. A particular focus is placed on examples from Scandinavia, but the course also features examples from Europe and around the world, which taken together provide a practical starting point for learning about greening the economy and the relationship to sustainable development goals.

This course is designed to provide an introduction to political science for students who have an interest in political science. It is desirable for students to have civic culture in democratic society. The purpose of the course is to introduce the basic contents and logic of political science (and social science). Students learn theories and practices related to various political phenomena and discuss salient issues on state and democracy. Topics include definition of political science, methodology and logics of social science (correlation and causalit, problems of subjective and objective measurement), state and society, institution and culture, fairness and efficiency, idealism and realism, parliamentarism, presidentialism, semi-presidentialism, elections and political parties, political communications, theories of democracy, public choices, international relations, and perspectives on social changes.

Assessment: Midterm Essay (30%), Final Essay (60%), Attendance and class participation (10%)