Political Science

This course explores the international history of the post-Cold War era. It examines the principal theme in contemporary international relations through a historical lens. The course covers the making of the post-Cold War international system, the causes of continued international wars and interventions, and why geopolitical competition between major powers has re-emerged as a central concern of international relations. 

This course takes as its starting point the description of cultural places and moments in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, whose role in both the building and the representations of the global stage has increased and diversified since the late 1990s. It then focuses on contributing to the definition of power in those political entities and understanding their place on the global stage through the lenses of political sociology. 

Throughout the 20th century, the presence of the word "democracy" has become mandatory in political discourses. Politicians from the left and the right claim to speak in the name of democracy. At the same time there is a disagreement about what democracy actually is, and a feeling that democracy is in crisis or at risk. This is expressed in politics, in criticism of the model of liberal and representative democracy, in the demand for a "real" democracy, and in voting for "populist" parties. But the discussion also arises among intellectuals. In light of contemporary debate, this course introduces, develops, and critically debates some of the major theories of democracy in political thought – liberal, deliberative, radical – and the responses they offer to the current crisis of democracy.

The story of post-World War Two war crime trials was long told from a Western standpoint with attention mostly focused on a few highly publicized international trials. By contrast, in this course, the stress is on the transnational delivery of justice; the plurality of protagonists, including genocide/war survivors, involved in shaping it; the window into regime changes, evolving power hierarchies, and social and gender norms trials offer. The course builds upon a diversity of print, visual, and oral primary and secondary sources, including filmed trials and archival documents. It provides an opportunity to explore these complex sets of data as well as interact with former judicial investigators and scholars, invited as guest lecturers.

In 1951, six European countries signed the Treaty of Paris to form the European Coal and Steel Community that laid the foundation for what is known today as the European Union (EU). Since its humble beginnings, the EU has played a crucial role in the political and economic development of Europe and the globe and has evolved into an ‘ever closer union’ of currently 27 member states that have pooled their sovereignty to a historically unprecedented degree. Today, the EU constitutes one of the most complex and intriguing political and economic systems in the world, and as the European integration process remains in flux, the EU remains a moving target for those who study it. This course focuses on the scientific study of the EU and EU politics. It offers you the opportunity to deepen your knowledge of the EU’s institutional actors and decision-making procedures, to actively analyze EU politics and policy-making, and to find answers to the various theoretical and empirical questions that are raised by the EU’s existence and developments. To provide you with a more tangible feel for the EU and the problems of EU policy-making and to make your learning experience as interactive as possible, the course complements regular class meetings with simulations of the Council of the European Union.

This course explores key themes in political sociology, a major sub-field of sociology with strong linkages to political science and political philosophy. The focus is on the dynamics and relations of power in society, specific problems and issues related to ‘power’ are examined across the grassroots and global levels of sociological investigation. Intersectional and global comparative perspectives are stressed through an exploration of diverse case studies that span different historical eras and contemporary settings. Principles of ‘research-based learning’ (RBL) are emphasized throughout the course to stress the intimate link between sociological theory and methodology. Salient themes explored include democratization, active citizenship, nationalism, neoliberalism, elitism, populism, authoritarianism, repression, protest, and revolution. A working knowledge of introductory sociology and social science research methods is required.

This course provides a first introduction to the field of political economy and the geopolitics of natural resources. It is based on rich literature from political philosophy, economics, comparative politics, and international relations. The period of analysis focuses on the post-war era and does not concentrate on any particular region. However, the specific characteristics of different regions or countries are discussed, including Latin America, Russia, Africa, and the Middle East and North Africa region.

The course focuses on the scientific study of elections and voting behavior in modern democracies. It examines in detail the act of voting in contemporary democracies (mostly Western but also non-Western democracies). The topics covered include how voters form preferences for parties/candidates, how they translate these preferences into a vote (or an abstention), and how they react to electoral campaigns and the state of the economy. It also covers how parties decide upon their electoral program, and how this affects their electoral performance. The course develops skills to actively read, fully understand, and critically appraise the scientific literature on elections; mobilize and articulate this scientific literature on elections to form an informed judgement about the state of elections in contemporary democracies and analyze new elections; and independently catch up with the latest developments of the scientific literature about elections. 

This course explores the complex relationship between pluralism and community. This course defines pluralism as the existence of multiple races, ethnicities, cultural groups, religions, factional interests, political persuasions, etc. in society.  “Community” in this course refers to the existence of what we can broadly call a ‘sense of togetherness’ among members of society.   

Can pluralism and community exist side-by-side? The course explores three broad responses to this question. First, it considers perspectives that maintain to varying degrees that pluralism and community are compatible. Second, it considers perspectives that cast doubt on the compatibility of pluralism and community.  Third, the course considers perspectives that share the skepticism of the second broad response, but for opposing reasons.