Political Science

In this course students will know the theoretical foundations that support an analysis of the governance applied to the field of formation and transformation of the modern State and its practices of government in contemporary societies. 

The course covers the development of European integration after the Second World War with a special focus on questions concerning national and supranational identities and values. The aim is to study the EU's development from the time of the European Coal and Steel Community to the UK's withdrawal in 2020, partly chronologically, but also based on a present-day perspective.

This course provides a comprehensive overview of theoretical and practical challenges involved in the complex subject of global governance. It traces the evolving roles of both states and non-state actors and covers a wide range of issues on peace and security; human rights and democracy; money and finance; trade and investment, and sustainable development and the environment. 

This course provides students with knowledge of the fundamental concepts, principles, processes, and rules of public international law as well as a more in-depth knowledge of selected areas of the law. This course covers different aspects of general international law, including the sources of international law, statehood and international legal personality, the law of international responsibility, and dispute settlement. It also examines more specialized areas of public international law, with a focus on jurisdiction, immunities, the use of force, and human rights, land and sea, and the environment. The course addresses theoretical debates and uses practical examples of international law in action, many of them relating to contemporary events in international relations.

This course examines the comparative analysis of women's roles in politics and the challenges they encounter in attaining positions of power within the political arena. The seminar is split into two parts. The first part explores various aspects of women's involvement in politics, such as the historical struggle for women's suffrage, the gender gap in voting behavior, ideology, and political involvement, and their variation across countries and time. The second part focuses on various aspects of women's representation in political institutions, including the challenges they face when seeking public office, their portrayal in the media, their impact on political decision-making, and the relationship between their presence and corruption. Additional topics include the entry of women into politics and the degree of this transformation varying across different countries and regions. Questions covered include: what factors underlie these variations? Why have some political systems successfully integrated women into politics while others lag behind? Do men and women approach politics differently in terms of understanding and engagement? Is there a disparity in political involvement and aspirations between genders? Additionally, how has media coverage affected female candidates? Furthermore, once in power, do women govern differently from men? 

This course investigates the process of the formation of the socialist system and the characteristics of the socialist system from historical, ideological, and political-social perspectives, and examines the possibility of its existence as an alternative ideology despite the collapse of real socialism.  

The course places communism as an ideology into dialog with reality as the system manifested in the Soviet Union and North Korea. Students will analyze communism as “theory” or “ideology” while using works of Karl Marx, investigate how the Bolsheviks tried to build the “first socialist country on earth” in the Soviet Union, and investigate the North Korean case, comparing it to the Soviet experience as well as the early ideals of Marxism. 

The development of the Middle East and North Africa region is examined from an historical perspective. The course begins by exploring the major social, political, and cultural issues, events, and ideas which have shaped the region, primarily from the end of World War 1 until the present day. Particular attention is paid to the legacy of colonialism and the process of state-building, various inter-state conflicts and their domestic and regional consequences, the persistence of authoritarianism as well democratization efforts more recently. The course concludes by examining the Middle East and North Africa in the 21st century, including its changing place in the global political arena. The course is organized according to key events, themes as well as case studies.

This course draws on a range of political science research on European integration and European Union politics to analyze the development of the EU and how it operates today. The course addresses one of the most important questions in the study of European politics and international organization's: why did a diverse group of states construct what is currently the world’s most extensive example of international integration? This course provides an extensive overview of the contemporary EU, including its institutions and policy-making processes using approaches from modern political science. Students also assess how the EU has influenced both public opinion and party competition, and the debate concerning whether the EU suffers from a democratic deficit. 

This is a special studies course involving an internship with a corporate, public, governmental, or private organization, arranged with the Study Center Director or Liaison Officer. Specific internships vary each term and are described on a special study project form for each student. A substantial paper or series of reports is required. Units vary depending on the contact hours and method of assessment. The internship may be taken during one or more terms but the units cannot exceed a total of 12.0 for the year.

This course explores how the EU can be understood as a differentiated political system, both in relation to its member states and non-EU countries. It looks into differentiation in various forms, including variation in the extent to which states participate in EU policies (horizontal differentiation) and in the level of integration across policy areas (vertical differentiation), and it explores the drivers of such differentiation. The course also discusses the consequences of differentiation for the legitimacy of European integration.