Political Science

This course introduces the European Union's political system from a comparative political science perspective. The course provides an in-depth understanding of how the EU's political system operates. It delves into different policy areas, examining both rapid and gradual European integration. Additionally, it analyzes citizens' attitudes towards Europe and the impact of the integration process on national actors like political parties. The course considers each institution's role in the EU's political system, theorizes why and when specific institutions gained more power in the EU, discusses reasons behind varying levels of integration in different policy areas, and evaluates the impact of the EU system on member states' party systems and their citizens.

In this course, students study postcolonial regions in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. The course discusses questions such as: what makes a region; who makes a region; how has the experience of colonialism shaped the region; what are the models of regional cooperation and integration, and whose models are they; and how do regions interact with postcolonial global structures and dynamics? Students are encouraged to compare different regional experiences and draw from this breadth of knowledge to critically evaluate the concepts and theories discussed in class.

This course discusses the evolution of terrorism from the 20th century to the present day, through an analysis of international relations that specifies the characteristics of terrorist movements and groups, the nature of their demands, and the threats they pose. The triple dimension - local, regional, and international - is at the heart of the analysis of the motivations and logics behind the operationalization of this radical form of political violence. The gradual development of the fight against terrorism in terms of repression, criminal law and the judiciary enable reflection on the democratic governance of anti-terrorist policies and their impact on our individual freedoms.

This course provides an international law of armed conflict framework to the main recent and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa regions. It focuses on the role international law plays in the realm of international and regional relations, namely inter-State relations but also State-individual relations through the growth of human rights law. The first part of the course provides an outline of the general public international law framework to key international conflicts faced by the international community. It then applies these concepts to concrete case studies that are discussed in-depth during the second part of the seminar in view of analyzing and studying international law “in motion.” The course is interactive and necessitates active participation and engagement in the class discussions. It introduces general knowledge of general public international law and of international law of armed conflicts; identifies the relevant legal questions and mobilizes the relevant legal and analytical tools to analyze situations of international conflict; highlights the limitations of international law and the reasons why international legality cannot always overcome deadlocked situations; and develops both oral and written advocacy skills.

This course focuses on collective, systemic, structural violence, such as mass political violence on the one hand, and sexual and intra-family violence on the other. Using the lenses of the social sciences, it examines how they arise. It then looks at the responses to these issues: penalizing the perpetrators, listening to and providing therapeutic care for the victims, dialogue between the various parties, writing a shared history. In pairs, students carry out a fragment of a collective investigation: observation of a mechanism for protecting victims of collective violence (the National Court of Asylum, in Montreuil), or an interview with experts in sexual and intra-familial response. The social sciences (academic sources, and in particular books and articles based on empirical surveys) are privileged (to the detriment of press articles, blogs, reports from international or national organizations). The course provides an opportunity for familiarization with the way in which the social sciences (political science, history, sociology, anthropology, social psychology) view collective, political, and social violence. It reflects on the responses of experts and societies to such violence, and their limitations, and uses social science empirical survey methodologies (ethnographic observation, semi-directive interviews).

This course is designed to lead students to understand Science and Technology Policy from the public value perspective. This course targets public administration students to explore concepts, theories and practices of science and technology policy into public administration and policy areas. The course provides an integrated and stimulating combination of reading, case analysis, discussion, and projects to introduce the production and communication of science and technology policy.

This course studies the history of the 20th century global movement after World War II, which influenced global politics. Students are expected to examine a historical case of a local movement crossing over to global politics. 

This course offers an overview of Israel's political and social structure from an urban perspective. The course is divided into three main chapters. The first chapter, "Political and Social Foundations in Israel," will deal with the political system in Israel, particularly emphasizing the local government; and with the main social divisions that underlie this system. The second chapter, "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict," will present the history and geography of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while referring to critical and institutional theories. The third and main chapter, "Cities in Israel," will present an analysis of politics and society in Israel through various cities in Israel, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Be'er Sheva, Acre, Nazareth; and peripheral agricultural areas that include the tension between the kibbutzim and the development towns.