Political Science

This course introduces the topics and theories in the study of international political economy. It introduces the history of international political economics to show how the world's economy got to the contemporary stage. Course topics include: US-Iraq war and cross-strait relations; bias and politics; knowledge vs. wisdom; reflections to methodology and research methods; reflections on the level of scientific paradigms: fact-oriented vs. theory-oriented; the political economic analysis on organization and institution; bias and mobilization of bias; the formulation of international political economic order after WWII East-West confrontation and north-south conflicts; international monetary fund and international monetary system after WWII; GATT and international trade system after WWII; peaceful coexistence and economic development theory; north-south conflicts and dependency theory; oil crisis and dependent development; world system theory; the end of cold war, regionalism, and the clash of civilization; globalization and national development; Asia-Pacific political economy; and PRC economic reform and cross-strait relations. Assessment: discussion and attendance (20%), midterm (40%) and final (40%).

Spanning political theory and practice, the course begins with an assessment of influential 19th-century critiques of capitalism and industrialism. Students then consider the rise of modern ecologism and the recent turn to green capitalism, which in turn sets the stage for in depth engagement with ecology and the politics of technology, contemporary anarchist ecologies, post-capitalist and post-industrial utopian imagination, and contemporary anti-capitalist and ecological social movements.

This course covers the history of war from as far back as the 13th century right up to the height of large-scale, industrialized warfare in World War Two and the global, colonial violence of the 20th century. It does not strive to provide what would end up inevitably being a superficial coverage of all wars in all regions of the world. Rather, different, select periods or conflicts are considered as illustrations to help us explore the central theme of escalation over time and the emergence globally of modern war and violence. This is the fall-only version of the course.

This course examines democratization. It includes the following topics: why did some countries succeed in democratization and others failed; among those that succeeded, how did democratization occur; crucial factors affecting democratic consolidation; for those that persist as hybrid regimes, what are their characteristics and what explains their endurance; and why do democracies fail and what accounts for the recent increase in autocratizations.

This course explores theoretical and historical perspectives on the intersection of law, society, and politics, and fosters discussion of contemporary issues among students from different cultures and disciplines. After an introduction to comparative law and legal culture, several classical social theorists are covered (Durkheim, Marx, and Weber) and their relevance to contemporary debates about morality, (dis)obedience, conflict, and property are considered. The course examines the role of totalitarian law in Nazi and Communist Germany, and considers the difficulties such legacies pose for fostering the rule of law in post-totalitarian societies. In this context, the course also examines the need for “transitional justice”, as well as the relationship between law, the market, and economic development (e.g. Weber). Finally, the appropriate limits on the exercise of free speech and the right of association are explored. Overall, the course develops skills at using theory and history to inform debates on contemporary challenges, such as multiculturalism, punishment, (illegal) downloading/streaming/ file-sharing, and economic development. In addition to gaining substantive expertise in various socio- and politico-legal fields, students develop communicative competence through participatory exercises, and intercultural competence through discussion with other students.