Political Science

This course offers an introduction to the academic study of international politics. It begins with a basic introduction to international relations theories, in order to provide the theoretical framework for understanding and debating global topics. The course then moves on to discussing main subjects in contemporary international relations by focusing on the interaction between state actors, non-state actors, and international institutions. It looks specifically at the role of small states like Norway in the international system and how they interact with international institutions and major powers. The final section of the course utilizes the empirical and analytical knowledge gathered to analyze important topics on the global agenda, like the future of globalization and geopolitical conflicts. The class encourages lively discussion, a goal easily met by the students' contribution of their opinions based on their diverse cultural and academic backgrounds.

This course focuses on issues, approaches, and analyses of existing research related to globalization in International Political Economy.

This course examines conflict in world politics. Topics include types of conflicts, causes of conflict; actors in conflict; behavior during conflict; consequences of conflict; and moral evaluation of conflict. In each dimension, the course poses questions and examines different and even opposing answers. Answers are examined illustrating them with cases and/or empirical material. Assessment: coursework (50%) and final exam (50%).

This course explores different sub-disciplines in the field of humanities. Its main focus is concerned with the understanding of human beings and being a human through different disciplinary lenses. This course thematically covers different aspects in humanities with a relevant introductory overview.

This course engages critical and creative discussions about the various aspects of Jerusalem as a rallying point for the contesting groups in the Middle East. Topics include competing narratives; the clash of ethos; city boundaries and territory; demographic and social challenges; citizenship rights; the national and religious character of the city; Islam and nationalism in the local, regional, and international realms; the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa controversy and the future of the Old City and the Holy Basin; Arab neighborhoods and the security barrier; and the struggle for sovereignty and negotiating the Jerusalem issue in the peace process. The course provides an opportunity to conduct a simulation of negotiating the future of Jerusalem within the framework of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This course examines the fundamentals of French contemporary civilization. Topics include the functions of French society, such as the state organization, educational system, press and media, and demographics. Students are required to keep a diary in French and complete a 10-page written report on one of the following topics: political and administrative institution, economy, architecture, history, tourism, or gastronomy.

This course seeks to engage with feminist global political economy and feminist security studies scholarship to offer students a more nuanced account of war and security markets.  

This course examines Korean development and capitalism from the political economy perspective, exploring how Korean capitalism emerged, what pathway it has taken, and how it will continue to evolve. This course covers various topics in the international and domestic political economy such as economic growth, culture and network, international investment and trade, democratization, globalization, the currency crisis in 1997 and the economic crash of 2008, institutional change and economic reform, restoring democracy in 2016-2017, global pandemic, social justice, and fairness. The main focus is on the roles and interests of governments, businesses, civil society, and foreign investors.

In Germany, the field of Intelligence Studies is marginalized in academic curricula. This seminar tries to fill the gap and introduces students to the emerging and complex field of Intelligence Studies. Students will learn about the strengths and weaknesses of the academic field and about its main theoretical debates. Emphasis will be put on the development of theories of international intelligence relations. One session will reflect on the methods and methodology in intelligence studies. Students will study the historical origins of intelligence agencies in the Middle East, especially within the Cold War context, and their role up until today (for example, OSINT + AI). Further, students will explore diverse themes such as covert action campaigns, the institutions’ highly bureaucratic set-up and their exercise of repression and violence. Within the course of the seminar, we will give a broad overview of several Middle Eastern intelligence agencies. We will highlight two examples: Iraqi and Syrian intelligence agencies. The examples will serve to illustrate the aforementioned themes. Further, students will be familiarized with the involvement of Western intelligence agencies in the Middle East, with a focus on both Germany's during the Cold War: German foreign intelligence (BND), East German State Security (MfS). Additionally, we will look at the new trends in Intelligence Studies and, for instance, investigate how intelligence is portrayed in literature and films.

This course considers how European integration has affected European citizens, their identities, their resistances, and collective representations. It analyzes the construction of the European Union as a community and as a political order with particular emphasis on its social and political dimensions. To understand the reactions of ordinary citizens towards European integration, and in addition to the existing explanatory strands focusing on interests and institutions, the political sociology of the EU questions the weight of socio-political variables that hinder or favor the Europeanization of European societies. Topics under scrutiny include: the modes of interaction between elites and masses at the EU level; citizen identifications' levels and models to understand the attitudes of citizens towards European integration; the process of (de-)politicization of European integration; and the impact of Europeanization (mainly in terms of public policies) on European public opinion.