Political Science

This course examines the principal institutional elements of the political systems and cultures of Europe. Other topics include: the European Union, political parties, interest groups, institutional frameworks, European public figures and politicians, and European political integration. 

This course examines a specific problem area in the comparative politics of developing areas.

This course analyzes the political and economic development in East Asia. It focuses on South Korea as the main case, while using Japan and China as comparative cases. After reviewing key theoretical approaches to the successful state-led development of East Asian economies since the 1950s, this course narrows its focus down on Korea. It explores how Korea has achieved dramatic economic and political development since the 1970s, faced a serious economic crisis in the late 1990s, and attempted to overcome new challenges since then. Utilizing the Korean case, this course analyzes the changing relationship between the state and market, the proper role of the state in economic development, and the political and economic paths that the East Asian economies (especially China) might take in the future.

This course examines the institutions, practices and principles of representative democracy and justice, within a comparative context. It covers the Australian constitutional framework, the separation of powers and the judicial system, the "unwritten constitution" of governing conventions, and human rights. It also considers the role of political parties, the media, and questions of citizenship in regard to sex and gender, race, and class. These elements of Australian representative democracy, as well as the controversial issues that they cover, are compared to their counterparts in other countries. 

This course examines issues such as interstate conflicts, terrorism, environmental change, international crime. Topics will vary from year to year.

This course studies the origin and evolution of national, ethnic and supranational identities, social and economic determinants of attitudes towards immigration, and the process of changing cultural values. Ethno-territorial conflicts in the contemporary world and the debate on the clash of cultures are covered, as well as the cultural dimension of regional integration processes, such as the case of the European Union.

This course explores the approaches, analytical models, and key concepts in political theory. It covers liberalism, conservatism, socialism and ideological variants, and other ideologies like racialism, colonialism, imperialism, and totalitarianism.

This course provides a study of the main theories of conflict and violence, the evolution and determinants of interstate wars, intrastate conflict, and terrorism, conflict resolution, and peace keeping.