Political Science

This course examines democratic theory. It covers topics as justifications of democracy, different types of democracy, democracy in different cultural communities, democracy’s relationship to social justice, populism, capitalism, and globalization.

This course offers a study of the physical and natural environment of Spain. It examines Spain's territory in relation to its social environment and economy, both nationally and regionally. This course also discusses Spain's diversity through examination of its natural regions and its autonomous communities. Finally, it focuses on the transition to democracy, the Spanish constitution and current institutions, and Spanish society today.

This course examines how problems are effectively framed and how ideas and evidence can be practically applied to policy solutions. 

This course explores the complex relationship between public administration and democratic governance. It reviews a set of themes in public administration as they relate to democracy. The course also discusses the case of Korea as an example of how public administration and democratic governance are intricately entwined and interdependent.

This course covers global issues and the impacts of the globalization on the East Asian countries. It examines the concept of globalization and discusses international and transnational Issues in East Asia. Topics include the globalization of world politics; its distinction from internationalization; the driving forces behind globalization; state sovereignty; environmental Issues; sustainable development; 1992 UN Conference; nuclear proliferation; properties that distinguish nuclear weapons from conventional forms; changes in the motivations for acquiring nuclear weapons; nuclear proliferation concerns that have stemmed from the dissolution of the Soviet Union; humanitarian intervention and values; European and regional integration; and the spread, function, and implications of nationalism.

Since the 1983's March for equality and against racism (“Marche des Beurs”), up until the current debates on Islamism separatism, the French public sphere is struggling with a new intellectual debate, which can be described as “the postcolonial question”. By defining and questioning this phrasing, this course first establishes a political history of immigration in France, and how it has deeply defined and redefined the definitions of social progress. Moreover, using diverse approaches in social science, the course explains this rising issue of identity politics in France which seems to have deeply impacted the political scene. The appearance of this issue is mostly due to economic crises, recent immigration waves and diverse social and political movements which stirred a topical debate on the notion of identity - but also the parallels established with the American debate on race and gender, and how the French university has used (or refused) these categories. Analyzing the evolution of immigration and Islam in France, and how the administration has tried to address these stakes, the course discusses political and religious phenomena which currently are one of the main fault lines within French parties - both within the left and the right, on the question of integration or assimilation, on a liberal or strict vision of laïcité. The teaching mainly focuses on France, in order to understand the consequences of these events as a matter of domestic policy. However, those dynamics are systematically compared to foreign similar events and replaced in a Euro-Mediterranean context through a comprehensive chronology.

This course focuses on the roles of the UN and NGOs in major subjects of global concern, including those pertaining to war and peace, human rights, development, and sustainability, all of which are interrelated. In each of these themes, students examine challenges, opportunities, and prospects facing international organizations and civil society partners, as well as other actors in public and private sectors. Part I of the course addresses the evolution of the international system, focusing on the concept of state sovereignty and collective peace and security.  Part II explores UN-NGO relations in thematic issues ranging from gender to displacement, climate change, and counterterrorism. This course will be highly interactive, featuring guest speakers, simulation exercises, and group presentations.

This course investigates the idea of global citizenship in contemporary political theory and practice. The course begins by taking a close look at the concept itself and then apply global citizenship perspectives to public policy issues surrounding human rights and immigration, looking especially at scholarly debates on whether national borders should be more open than at present as well as the especially difficult circumstances faced by refugees and women migrant labor. It also examines numerous critical global issues, including climate change, nuclear proliferation, and the COVID-19 pandemic, and this leads into analysis of the state of global governance and principles of global justice, as well as the emerging ‘effective altruism’ movement oriented toward future generations.

This is a variable topics course covering central aspects, related authors, periods, and intellectual movements of political theory. Topics and themes discussed vary by term and instructor.

This course examines key issues pertaining to international security including: the various approaches to studying international security, the nature of interaction among various levels (national, regional, international) of security, and the major security threats caused by the expansion of conventional arms, proliferation of nuclear arsenal and the spread of biological and chemical weapons. The rise of non-traditional security threats in world politics, especially Southeast Asia, and of Asia, particularly China, as a security concern internationally is also analyzed.