Political Science

This course considers how to act in times and under conditions of uncertainty, assuming uncertainty as one fundamental feature of politics. This main question is explored through political-philosophical and policy literature with the intention to bring both bodies of literature together. Global climate change and the Anthropocene serve as empirical examples of policy-making in times of uncertainty which are characterized not only by unpredictable futures and non-linear developments, but also by unknown consequences of policies.

The course deals with basic themes, concepts, and thinkers in international relations. The purpose is to provide students with essential conceptual and linguistic tools for understanding the underlying structure and fundamental features of international politics, as well as its material and immaterial changing aspects. The objective is to explain the dynamics through which men and women understand international politics as well as to achieve a coherent capacity to think about international life, both in its theoretical and practical dimension. The course covers seven specific topics: The first part of the course is dedicated to theory: international relations as a field of western knowledge; a fundamental theoretical framework: realism/idealism; war and ways of peace; beyond domestic analogy; justice and order in world politics The second part is dedicated to practice with the analysis of specific cases: the international political space; homogeneity, heterogeneity, and conflict; the global age and international relations.

This course provides an advanced introduction to global governance and the key international institutions that form the basis of global governance. It gives a detailed knowledge of the institutional landscape through which international political and economic interaction is mediated. The analysis is grounded in the theories of International Political Economy (IPE)/International Relations, which students are expected to familiar with.

This course has as its subject Paul Kennedy’s stimulating thesis on the rise and fall of the great powers and the extensive criticism which arose. The focus is on the history of the great powers, their strengths and weaknesses, since 1500: the Habsburg Empire, the France of Louis XIV and of Napoleon, the British Empire, the German bid for mastery in the 20th century, the fate of Japan, the rise and demise of the Soviet Union, and the fall and subsequent rise of China in the 19th and 20th centuries. Special attention is paid to the United States, which played a crucial role in the history of the 20th century and was after 1991 the only remaining superpower. Since the publication of Kennedy’s study the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the rise of China and the seeming decline of the United States have given the debate a sense of immediacy. In addition, the conflicts among the great powers, such as the Napoleonic wars, the world wars, and the Cold War, have fundamentally changed the course of history. The rivalry among great powers often also functioned as a powerful dynamo that spurred development and modernization.

This course provides an overview of the nature of public opinion and mass political behaviors in democracies. In the first part of this course, we examine fundamental questions in public opinion research, including how to measure and interpret public opinion and how people’s beliefs and opinions formulate and change over time. Next, we study patterns of mass political behavior, ranging from voter turnout and vote choice to social movements. The final part of the course introduces recent academic debates about how media and political elites influence public opinion, and in turn, mass political behaviors and democratic accountability. While most readings draw on American politics, we will also learn about cross-national differences and similarities in public opinion and citizen behaviors. The primary goal of this course is to help students explain public opinion and its connection to political outcomes using academic concepts and theories and develop critical thinking and analytical skills.