Political Science

This course discusses the functioning of both the EU and the UN as normative power intergovernmental organizations. Do they really deserve to be labelled as such? And if so, what extent have they been successful as keepers of international peace? The EU’s Commission and Council and the UN’s Security Council, General Assembly and Human Rights at the hand of both historical and actual cases are assessed. Do not expect a clear “yes” or “no”,  but come to learn what the limits and opportunities of the EU and the UN as prominent IGO’s in the field of international politics are and even more important: come to learn how to start your own research on both normative powers by using both secondary and primary sources, including the necessary theoretical toolkit on how to interpret them. 

Chinese political economy covers both major theoretical and practical perspectives of exploring Chinese political economy. This course will focus on the political and economic reforms in China since the beginning of the reform and opening-up. It will utilize theoretical perspectives from political science, economics and sociology to systematically analyze the key theoretical and practical issues of China's reform. These issues include the party-state relationship, state capacity, cadre selection and promotion, fiscal and taxation reforms, central-local relations, digital political economy, and government responsiveness. The course aims to clarify the core logic and operational mechanisms of China's reform，and clarify the key advantages of Chinese political economy institutions. The design, content and format of this course are aimed optimally to benefit students in both knowledge accumulation and practical orientation.

This course provides students with an understanding of the most important challenges that war poses for international order. It draws on ideas from international relations, sociology, political geography, and anthropology to equip students with conceptual and analytical insights to understand the relations between international order and war. Are wars an unavoidable threat to international order? Or are they necessary at times to preserve international order? What have the Cold War, the "war on terror," and the war on poverty in common? How can we understand the relations between war and revolution, war and security, war and human rights, war and risk? What alternatives to war are possible today? How have wars and conflicts been transformed by changes in the international order?

This course examines the politics of Southeast Asia. Topics covered include: colonialism, nationalism, democracy, authoritarianism, war, economic development, social development, overseas Chinese, ethnicity, religion, populism, and international relations, as they apply to Southeast Asian politics.

This course explores why and when Russian policymakers consider military interventions necessary; how they are presented as legitimate and justifiable. It investigates the widespread beliefs and ideas among the Russian political elite associated with intervention, state sovereignty, and the role of the West.

This course examines how international factors influence the economic policies of developing countries. Students evaluate different theoretical debates, with an emphasis on how cross-border flows – such as goods, capital, production, people, and pollution – influence economic policymaking in developing regions. They address several themes that are central to understanding the politics of economic policymaking in emerging economies, including, the legacies of colonialism, trade protectionism and liberalization, globalization and the race to the bottom, the role of the state in development, and the influence of international organizations on developing countries.

Political Psychology is an interdisciplinary academic field, dedicated to understanding political opinions and behaviors from a psychological perspective. Throughout the course, we will assess important theories and empirical studies regarding attitude formation and measurement, rationality and reasoning, information processing and cognition, affect and emotion, framing and communication, moral values, ideology, and cultural norms, group dynamics/interactions and social identities, personality, socialization, repression&violence, etc. and their demonstrations in various aspects of politics.

The course is designed to prepare students for leadership in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse workforce. Throughout the course, students are challenged to question, think, and respond thoughtfully to the issues they observe and encounter in the internship setting, and the designated city in general. Students have the opportunity to cultivate the leadership skills as defined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), such as critical thinking, teamwork, and diversity. Assignments focus on building a portfolio that highlights those competencies and their application to workplace skills. The hybrid nature of the course allows students to develop their skills in a self-paced environment with face-to-face meetings and check-ins to frame their intercultural internship experience. Students complete 45 hours of in-person and asynchronous online learning activities and 225-300 hours at their internship placement.

This course looks at the evolution of modern China's political and economic system; the Chinese state in comparative perspective; issues and problems of China's political and economic development. This course explains the Chinese political system and state administration, the characteristics of China's socialist market economy, and analyses the role of the Communist Party of China. Students assess different theoretical approaches used in current research on modern China, and develop and present individual research interests on China's political system.

This seminar is for students who are interested in political methodology, a subfield of political science focused on the development of quantitative tools for political analysis as well as their innovative applications. Building upon the basic statistical and data analytic skills acquired in Statistics I/II, students deepen their understanding of statistical methods and implementation essential for the quantitative analysis of political data through lectures, computer lab exercises, data examples, and in-depth discussions. 

Students are assumed to have good mastery of the topics covered in Statistics I and II. It is strongly recommended that students review the materials from these courses before the class begins.