Political Science

This course covers a range of substantive topics and issues, such as the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians and Arab-Israeli relations; the influence of non-state actors such as Hamas and Hezbollah; regional balances between Saudi Arabia and Iran; and the 7 October 2023 war and its regional consequences. Students dive deeply into domestic political developments, including those that have emerged in the decade since the "Arab Uprising”. More broadly, the course places the region at the intersection of global and local politics, examining the roles played by the United States, Russia, and Europe.

This course focuses on the international politics of the Middle East taking as its starting point the end of the colonial rule in the region and the formation of new nation-states. The first part of the course is devoted to a methodological introduction of the study of the region and provides the conceptual frameworks and theories needed to define the Middle East. Focusing on a more empirical analysis of the Middle East political history, the second part of the course introduces and analyzes the impact of Cold War dynamics on the region and the political, economic, and social transformations the region faced at the end of the Cold War and the emergence of a New World Order. In order to provide a clear understanding of the recurrent patterns and trajectories of international and regional political dynamics, a session is devoted to an in-depth examination of
the origins, causes, and consequences of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the most significant and enduring crisis of the region. Later sessions focus on diplomacy in the Arab world taking the USA-Jordan relations as a case study. The last part of the course examines important themes and debates in international politics of the Middle East/North Africa region, including ideological movements, gender, and globalization. Finally, the course examines current uprisings and their impact on the politics of the region.

The first section of the course locates South African local level politics and administration in the context of national and provincial state reform; examines the significance of local implementation and service delivery for policy outputs and for the policy process as a whole; and provides a theoretical framework for understanding how local government reorganization is developed with a comparative analysis of local government reorganization with particular reference to metropolitan areas. There is in addition a focus on contemporary reforms which have affected South Africa's contemporary urban governance, such as the new megacities, politics-administration interface, and developmental local government. The second section introduces an overview of contemporary urban political and administrative challenges and opportunities. These challenges and opportunities occur in a context of global and local conditions. The course examines and compares good solutions to urban problems in third and first-world cities. In its focus on delivery-level administration and politics, the course provides both intellectual and practical closure to the major sequence of courses on public administration, management, and the policy process. Assessment: coursework (50%), final exam (50%).

Has green politics come of age? Around the world we are seeing spontaneous community movements challenging four difficult and intersecting issues: dangerous environmental change, growing social inequality, weak democracy and a paradigm of growth that has contributed to resource extraction beyond the capacity of the planet. Against a background of difficult issues including climate change and the impact of colonization, this course examines the roots of environmental thinking and activism and asks- what are the implications of these ideas for how we live as citizens, communities, businesses and nations and how might we plan for just transitions towards a more equitable and sustainable future? The course involves a weekend field trip.

This course aims to cultivate students’ systematic and critical thinking about science, technology, innovation, and society, especially in light of the transition from traditional China to contemporary China. Differing from the usual courses focusing on this subject, this course will take a social and  critical approach, enabling students to understand and analyze the social, political, and cultural preconditions and impacts of scientific and technological development.

This course provides an overview of the American political system and its electoral processes. It examines institutions and rules that structure electoral processes and discusses recent issues in U.S. elections. Topics include American political system, voting rights, congressional elections, presidency and presidential elections, political parties, campaign finance and interest groups, race and ethnicity in American elections, media and elections, and representation and accountability. 

This course offers a study of political behavior. Topics include: the role of citizens and political participation in contemporary democracies; forms and levels of participation; development and evolution of political attitudes; political participation theories at the individual, meso, and macro levels; non-institutional participation and protest; consequences and causes of inequality in political participation; new forms of participation and online activism. 

This course addresses theoretical concepts of environmental issues and provides an introduction to key concepts and solutions in environmental policy and politics at local, national, and global levels. Topics include how to cope with environmental problems; impacts of globalization on the environment; the main actors in planning and implementing environmental policies; what approaches seem most likely to solve environmental issues such as air pollution, natural resource depletion, and climate change; using political institutions, regulations, market mechanisms, or voluntary schemes to form environmental policies; and the roles of environmental movements, firms, and bureaucrats in environmental politics and policies.