Political Science

This course introduces students to the history of political thought, with a focus upon the ancient world of classical Greece. Topics include the birth of politics in ancient Athens; Plato’s critique of democracy; the justification of political rule; the role of virtue in political life.

This course examines the relationship between public opinion and international politics in democratic societies. Students explore fundamental questions about how ordinary citizens' attitudes influence foreign policy decisions, how political leaders respond to public preferences, and how media and elites shape public opinion on international issues. The course examines how people form opinions about key areas of international politics, including trade policy, immigration, military intervention, economic sanctions, international organizations, and climate change. Drawing on insights from political psychology, students learn about important concepts such as cognitive biases, framing effects, and motivated reasoning that influence how citizens think about foreign policy issues. Through careful analysis of research studies, surveys, and real-world examples, students develop both theoretical understanding and practical skills for analyzing global public opinion. The course emphasizes critical thinking about current events and policy debates, helping students become more informed citizens and consumers of political information. Students apply course concepts through case study analyses, policy briefs, and a final research project that allows them to investigate a topic of particular interest within the field of public opinion and international relations. By the end of the course, students have a solid foundation for understanding how democratic publics think about international affairs and why this matters for foreign policy outcomes.

This course provides an in-depth treatment of selected issues of contemporary international law. It provides an understanding of specialized areas of international law including the use of force and dispute resolution, acquisition of territory, state succession, law of the sea, and international human rights law by focusing on specific issues relevant to the Middle East.

This course develops skills needed to address pressing environmental issues. First, review how to make a thorough analysis of environmental policies: a systematic assessment of what a policy looks like and how it works. Second, learn how to evaluate policies, that is, giving a motivated judgement of how ‘good’ or ‘bad’ a policy is according to certain criteria. Third, learn how the lessons from an analysis and evaluation can be used to design policies, that is, to propose improvements. Read sources that introduce various methods for policy analysis, evaluation, and design. Three writing assignments are required: one for policy analysis, one for evaluation, and one with a major focus on design. The topics of these assignments include the landing obligation in EU fisheries policy, the EU Birds and Habitats Directive (Natura 2000), and flood risk governance in Poland. Sources to be used in the writing assignments include literature, as well as films and video interviews in which practitioners and policy-makers give their views on policies. All sources are made available through Blackboard. Lectures are meant to explain and illustrate the methods to be used in the assignments. Tutorials help you understand the literature and help you in writing the assignments. This course includes an Honors component. Basic knowledge on (environmental) policy and research methods is required.

This course offers an in-depth analysis of the nature and dynamics of modern Egyptian politics. In order to familiarize students with post-1952 Egypt, assessments of the Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak presidencies constitute the introductory theme of this course. Once the trends and general imprints of each Presidency are established, this course then focuses on the major issues and themes confronting and shaping Egypt's post 2011 political arena. Such themes include but are not limited to the following: The fall of Mubarak regime, the rise of the Second Republic and the subsequent parliamentary and presidential elections. The second part of the course also analyzes patterns of civil participation, the role of the military, as well as the role of the Muslim Brotherhood and their fall from power after the June 2013 Uprising.

The course offers an interdisciplinary overview of politics and security in contemporary Iran. It examines Iran’s geopolitical, geostrategic, and geographical significance in the region and analyzes key domestic security challenges facing the state. Adopting a knowledge-based and experiential approach, the course explores six interconnected divisions shaping Iran and its regional context: social (class divisions), societal (identity-based divisions), national (people–state relations), political (internal divisions within the political system), regional (regional rivalries), and international (great power politics). The course provides an intellectual and analytical framework for understanding the complex issues facing Iran and its ties to regional and global dynamics.

This course examines questions about the relationship between equality and justice, such as is it unjust for a society to be unequal? Unequal in what way? How do political systems reproduce relations of equality or inequality? Does society have a responsibility to compensate for some inequalities, and which ones? Readings include contributions from the contemporary debate on egalitarianism from John Rawls, Robert Nozick, Michael Walzer and others, as well as consider the application of theories of in/equality to current affairs in Singapore and elsewhere.

This course examines terrorist groups and individuals, terrorist origins, goals, and ideologies. It covers the structure and dynamics of terrorism along with terrorist weapons, strategies and tactics, the hot spots in which they operate and their use of the media. 

This course focuses on political parties and major policy debates in New Zealand. Topics include the ideologies and action principles of major parties, shifts in inequality and the welfare state, state funding of political parties, relations between central and local government, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and environmental policy.

This course examines the fundamentals of politics in British Columbia, both past and present, with a particular emphasis on the place of Indigenous peoples in the province’s political life. It will include the study of formal political institutions such as the provincial executive and legislature, the provincial electoral and party systems, and the evolution of the political province’s political culture and voter behavior. It will also adopt explore the dominant lines of political discourse and contention in the province, including regional divides, settler colonial relations, economic debates, and pressing for and ideas behind political parties. It will also look at pressing contemporary issues including land tenure, health and the poison drugs crisis, the environment, and issues of inclusivity in BC politics, including both their historical origins, present dynamics, and potential future resolutions.