What do you know about Marxism? Public discourse and academia in the U.S. often dismiss Marx and the Marxist method: economic determinism at its worst; simplistically teleological; Marxists ignore race, gender, culture, and the environment; the Communist Manifesto sums it all up; Soviet totalitarianism proved its utopian failure. Is all this true? Let's test it. Let's take Marxism seriously. This course begins with fundamental works by Marx, Engels, Luxemburg, Preobrazhensky, Trotsky, and Lenin and then expands to study how the social and natural sciences have used the method to explain key processes in their domains.

In this seminar, you will read, discuss, and write about published and unpublished research from political science, psychology, and media studies to examine Latino/a/x identity in the U.S., and the ways in which electoral politics affects and is affected by this social identity. The class will situate Latino/a/x identity and its political targeting and mobilization in U.S. elections in comparison to that of other ethno-racial and religious identity groups. Similarities and differences between groups and their effects on politics will be considered to better understand the broader landscape of identity politics in U.S. elections and campaigns.

From the US-backed dictatorships of the Cold War, to contemporary examples of state violence, many Latin Americans have experienced grave human rights violations. At the same time however, activists in the region have propelled significant international human rights advances. Examining concepts and cases from the anthropology of human rights, this course explores questions of rights as they affect Indigenous peoples, women, gay and lesbian populations, migrants, the urban poor, and children. By analyzing these cases, we will gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities and risks facing the future of human rights in the Latin America.

This course will discuss how civil war has transformed the states and societies of the modern Middle East and North Africa. Drawing on rich historical literature, theoretical perspectives, and empirical analysis, the course will give students an understanding of the context in which civil wars occur, the forms of order that emerge when states break down, and the long-term consequences of violence and its aftermath.

This course explores ideas of individual ethics and political community, the ethics of political rule, freedom and slavery, democracy and representation, and equality and inequality in political thought. Readings will be drawn from both canonical and contemporary authors, including Sophocles, Douglass, Machiavelli, Locke, Rousseau, and Tocqueville. This is an introductory course, which emphasizes both thematic and historical approaches to political theory, and its role in informing contemporary civic engagement.

An introduction to the institutions and political processes of American government and democracy. Topics will include the Constitution and American political tradition, federalism, political institutions, elections and representation, interest groups and social movements, civil rights and liberties, and the politics of public policy

A survey of the foundational texts of modern political theory. Emphasis is placed on close reading and the reconstruction and analysis of theoretical arguments.

This course will examine traditions of political thought--mostly, but not only, on the Left--which challenge mainstream conceptions of liberal democracy and modern capitalist society. The main focus will be on Marxism, anarchism, feminism, religious radicalism, ecological thought, and critiques of alienation in everyday life. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between political and cultural criticism, and to the philosophical anthropologies underlying different theories as well as the mechanisms for social change they envisage. We also ask if liberal democratic thought can effectively respond to radical challenges.

A survey of the development of American constitutionalism, considered historically as the product of legal, political and intellectual currents and crises. Coverage includes the Founding, the Marshall and Taney eras, the slavery crisis, the rise of corporate capitalism, the emergence of the modern state, the New Deal crisis, and new forms of rights and liberties. Topics include the growth of Supreme Court power, the Court's relation to the states and the other federal branches, and the influence on constitutional understandings of economic developments, reform movements, wars, party competition, and legal and political thought.

An inquiry into the value of liberty and of particular civil rights and liberties. The course considers competing theoretical justifications for rights and liberties generally, as well as particular problems concerning freedom of speech and the press, religion, sexuality, abortion, and discrimination. Supreme Court opinions regarding the constitutionality of legislation in each of these areas will be discussed and criticized.

This course provides an introduction to the political science of law and courts. Topics typically include: bargaining and decision making on the U.S. Supreme Court; political struggles over doctrine within the judicial hierarchy; the politics of Supreme Court nominations; juries as political institutions; court packing, jurisdiction stripping and judicial intimidation.

This course is a comprehensive examination of the U.S. Congress. We will examine who runs for and who wins seats, lawmaking processes in the House and Senate, and the roles of parties and leaders in the two chambers. We will take stock of changes in congressional operations over time, especially the centralization of power in party leaders and challenges associated with extended debate in the Senate. How does Congress make public policy? What factors shape legislative negotiation? Who has input on policy? Finally, we will assess the performance of Congress. Is policymaking too partisan? Is the public's disapproval of Congress justified?

This course provides a realistic introduction to how public policy is made in the United States. It examines how people and political institutions come together to create and implement public policy. The course combines cutting edge social science with cases, simulations, and role playing exercises to provide students with concrete skills and practical tools for actual policy making.

Experiments to study and influence politics are increasingly widespread, partly because they identify cause-and-effects that are not possible with polls and other data. No longer confined to the lab, political scientists and campaign operatives use new technology to conduct experiments on thousands of voters in real elections. Massive political experiments have been conducted on Facebook, by mail and telephone, but is it ethical to influence politics in pursuit of new knowledge? What have experiments taught us about voting, identity, and representation in America? This class will cover these and other aspects of using experiments in politics.

This course builds on what you learned in POL 345. We will think more deeply about inference, and we will apply our methods to data. Topics include: panel data, models of polychotomous choice, Bayesian analysis, and the analysis of legislative voting.

An introduction to the use of formal game-theoretic models in the study of politics. Applications include: voting, bargaining, lobbying, legislative institutions, and strategic information transmission. Familiarity with mathematical reasoning is helpful.

This course provides a broad exploration about how non-democratic governments throughout the world rule. We examine: the conditions that give rise to authoritarianism; the variety of authoritarian regimes; the strategies authoritarian leaders use to stay in power; the consequences of different types of authoritarianism for outcomes such as economic growth and human development; and the domestic and international sources of authoritarian demise. The course builds knowledge about the governments under which most people in the Global South lived during the 20th century.

This course will introduce undergraduates to the politics of India. What does it mean to be democratic in a poor country with diverse identities? And how has India balanced growth with equity? In order to familiarise students with facts, we begin with chronological history: the colonial period (1757-1947), Nehru era (1947-64), Indira era (1965-1984) and the contemporary period (1985-2014). We then focus on concepts: the state, democracy, identity & ethnicity, regional politics, and social movements. The final weeks are on the Modi era (2014 to now), applying our learnings to the present day.

This course is about international cooperation and sacrifice. We consider global organizations: the United Nations, World Bank, IMF, and WHO; and regional ones: the European Union, Asian Development Bank, and African Development Bank. We also consider China's new institution, the AIIB. We examine their origins and effectiveness, and the interests of powerful members, like the US and China, as well as countries in Latin America and Africa. Taking a political-economy approach, the course pedagogy also involves references to films like Wonder Woman, Dark Knight, and The Godfather, as well as music by Adele and Bob Marley.

What kind of public architecture is appropriate for a democracy? Should public spaces and buildings reflect democratic values - such as transparency and accessibility - or is the crucial requirement for democratic architecture that the process of arriving at decisions about the built environment is as participatory as possible? Is gentrification somehow un-democratic? The course will introduce students to different theories of democracy, to different approaches to architecture, and to many examples of architecture and urban planning from around the world, via images and films. Might include a field trip to New York City.

The seminar explores the political theory of international human rights. We will ask some philosophical questions about these rights. For example: Are human rights really a kind of right? How are human rights related to the "natural rights" of the Western political tradition? What is the moral basis of human rights? Are human rights best understood as points of agreement among the world's moral cultures? How should we decide which rights are properly considered human rights? We will try to answer these questions through critical discussions of contributions to the philosophical literature about human rights of the last few decades.

The gap between the most affluent and less well-off Americans is striking, and economic inequality in the United States has been rising steadily for decades. The current era has been described as the "Second Gilded Age", and some question whether high levels of economic inequality threaten political equality in the United States. This course examines social class and economic inequality in American Politics. Topics include attitudes about social class and inequality; how economic inequality is linked to race, ethnicity, and gender; the social safety net in the U.S.; numerical and substantive representation; and interest group influence.

This course covers major recent developments in political economy of development with special focus on political institutions and governance. The course will be structured in three parts. The first part will cover broad macro political economy issues (e.g. institutions and institutional change). The second part will focus on micro issues (e.g. property rights, clientelism, state capture and decentralization). The final part will draw mostly from the experimental literature and discuss institutional reforms that aim at improving democratic governance.

How did China grow from a very poor country 40 years ago to a major player in the world economy since the economic reform in 1978? This course will answer this question by drawing literature from both Political Science and Economics. We will survey the classic topics as well as the most recent advancements in the study of political economy of China. Four main questions will be addressed: How did China implement economic reforms? What were the consequences of the reforms? How does China advance its economy and polity in the digital age? How was Chinese political-economic development shaped by and in turn influencing the global system?

International order encompasses the governing arrangements that organize relations among states, including the fundamental rules, principles, and institutions of the international system. This course draws on a wide range of readings in International Relations theory as well as diplomatic and global history to consider plausible accounts of the emergence, development, and decline of international orders across human history. The course will review prominent theories of international order, explore crucial junctures of order formation and decline, and consider the sociology and causal mechanics of pivotal institutions of international order.

The objective of this course is to debate several contentious issues surrounding globalization. Does globalization undermine national sovereignty? Cause political instability? Increase poverty and inequality? Harm the environment? By examining these among other issue-areas we will come to have a deeper appreciation of the costs and benefits surrounding globalization policies.

Analyzing LGBTQ politics and public policy in the US and globally. Assessing the impact of the descriptive representation of LGBTQ+ people on public policy, legislation, legal reform and social change. Comparing domestic issues with LGBTQ politics around the world: in the global north and south. Understanding the role that elected officials, activists and voters can have in driving change, affecting their colleagues, constituents and neighbors. Considering internal tensions and conflicts within the LGBTQ family, as well as coalitions and allied movements. Students will focus on a community which resonates with them personally.

This seminar examines how long-run structural changes have shaped political conflict. We will consider economic, social and demographic transformations and study the ways in which they influence voter preferences, party strategies, government policies and electoral outcomes. Questions include: How do voters prioritize economic interests vs. cultural concerns? When does deindustrialization benefit populist politicians? Why have politicians failed to prevent affordable housing crises? What factors promote or prevent the advancement of women in politics? Why are social democratic parties declining in much of Europe?

This course examines political thinkers who profoundly shaped normative thinking about politics in Indian, Islamic, African and Chinese contexts. The course will examine non-Western ideas of modernity, and justified forms of moral and political order. It will shed new light on key ideas of modern political thought: rights, justice, nationalism, identity, violence, perfectionism, democracy and power. The thinkers in this course such as Gandhi, Iqbal, Ambedkar, Qutub, Fanon, Cesaire, Mao and others, not only contribute to political theory. Their arguments also define fault lines in contemporary politics.

American law protects racist hate speech, pornography, and (much) lying. Other countries permit more restrictions on harmful speech, should we? Or will that undermine truth-seeking, political competition, and other values? Should speech be regulated instead by social norms, social media companies, and universities? Is "cancel culture" a problem? And what should we - as political communities and universities - honor and memorialize? How should we balance recognition of heritage and inclusion of people from diverse cultures and historically marginalized groups? Seminars will include debates. Active weekly participation required of all.

Academics and policymakers increasingly recognize that political factors can affect economic performance in developing countries. This seminar covers recent scholarship pertaining to the politics of economic underdevelopment from an international relations perspective. We will focus on how political processes affect economic performance from both a "macro" and "micro" perspective, including such factors as: institutions, historical legacies, colonialism, political regimes, sources of poor governance (e.g., corruption, ethnicity, civil conflict, religion), and the role of geopolitics, foreign aid, and international trade.

This course will examine the history, contemporary reality, and likely future of higher education, especially in the United States but also abroad. We will consider the changing and often conflicting ideals and aspirations of parents, students, instructors, and administrators from classical Rome to Christian institutions in the European Middle Ages to American athletic powerhouses today, seeking answers to fundamental practical, economic, and political questions that provoke vigorous contemporary debate.

This seminar provides a broad introduction to qualitative research design and analysis techniques. Topics include case selection, variants of process tracing, small-n comparative case design, comparative-historical analysis, the design and implementation of field research, in-depth interviewing, and archival research. The emphasis is on application of these skills to students' own work, as well as engaging critically with qualitative work across the subfields.

This course surveys the major topics in the Politics of the Middle East with an emphasis on the origins and persistence of its authoritarian political regimes. Its purpose is to introduce the main theoretical and conceptual building blocks of the sub-field of Middle East Politics, while focusing on the core theories of authoritarian politics. We focus on the intellectual evolution of the field, the dominant theoretical debates and controversies, and the variety of approaches to research within the field. Special attention is given to both case-studies, histories, informal norms, and overall contexts which shape politics in MENA.

We study the original template of 'Critical Theory' put forward by Frankfurt School theorists and other interwar Marxists, and ask what, if anything, remains viable of that template today. Does Critical Theory need philosophical foundations? Does it need cultural, and also populist, strategies for change? Is it still possible to advance `ideology critique' in an increasingly pluralist society? And what about capitalism...?

This course offers a general introduction to the field of comparative politics at the Ph.D. level with an emphasis on principal theoretical approaches to the study of political institutions. Topics include powers of executives and legislatures, origins and behavior of parties and party systems, political participation (voting, collective action, social movements), public goods provision, the welfare state, prosperity, federalism & decentralization, and state capacity.

Seminar examines mass political behavior from a comparative perspective and attempts to explain how people become involved in politics, how they form political opinions, and how their behavior influences political outcomes. Seminar covers a range of behaviors, including learning about politics, information processing, political participation, and voter decision-making. For each of these behaviors, two questions are posed: What are the causes and consequences of the behavior? To what extent and how do these causes and consequences depend on institutional or cultural/ historical settings?

This class is an entry-level graduate study of US political institutions. As such, the seminar provides an overview of the field and, perhaps more importantly, a foundation upon which students can begin to teach themselves additional works in this literature. In addition, through brief assignments and class presentations, we build students' ability to conduct scholarly research, evaluate others' scholarship, and serve as discussants and reviewers.

This course investigates the relationship between identity, groups and politics in the U.S. and in comparative contexts. We consider general theories of group identity development; assess empirical approaches to the study of racial and ethnic groups in politics; intersections of salient identities; and how politically relevant aspects of identity can be measured and manipulated for conducting original research.

This seminar covers recent and classic empirical research on the relationship between 'the media' (broadly understood) and politics. Some of the canonical questions we explore include the power of media messages to persuade; the extent to which media outlets are ideologically slanted, and how to objectively evaluate claims of bias; how censorship and propaganda work; and the role of new information technologies and social media on societal pathologies such as mass polarization. This seminar focuses on relatively recent work that is quantitative in nature.

Central topics in security studies, including some combination of the causes and nature of interstate war, various forms of intrastate conflict, deterrence, alliance formation, military doctrine, civil-military relations, arms control, and elite foreign policy decision making.

An introduction to the debate over the legitimacy and proper scope of judicial review and the empirical literature or judicial review and judicial politics, with a goal of connecting debates over what the Court should do with an understanding of what the Court can do and has done.

This course covers selected topics in modern theories of American politics using game theory. We especially focus on models of elections, legislative bargaining and lobbying. The goal is for students to (1) learn how formal theory has been applied in American politics, (2) identify contributions made by past research and the standards that define high quality work, and (3) critique existing models in ways that highlight avenues for future research. Because the course involves the application of game-theoretic techniques, students must have completed at least POL 575, or its equivalent, as well as the field seminar.

This course builds upon POL 571 and introduces students to applied regression analysis in cross-section settings. It begins with the basic principles of causal inference, and then covers various statistical techniques including linear regression, instrumental variables, structural equation models, instrumental variables, and structural equation models. The materials are taught at the level of Hansen's Econometrics and Imbens and Rubin's Causal Inference.

This course covers a range of advanced topics in statistical learning that are useful for empirical research in political science. These may include dimension reduction and regularized regression for large datasets; scaling models; models for text, audio, and image data; and spatial statistics among other topics. The course focuses in particular on estimation and inference to enable students to adapt and extend existing approaches.

A rigorous introduction to choice theory, social choice theory, and non-cooperative game theory. The course serves as the first formal theory graduate course and draws on mathematics at the level of POL 502.

The purpose of this course is to prepare students to do empirical research in political economy grounded on a theoretical analysis of strategic interactions. The course focuses on the estimation of dynamic and incomplete information games in politics, including models of bargaining, strategic voting, strategic information transmission, political agency, electoral competition, and media.

An introduction to the subfield of international political economy, covering basic topics in the politics of both trade and finance.

The objective of this course is to understand the political theories at the core of the French Revolution - both the ideas that set it in motion, and the novel thinking about democracy, equality, liberty, and rights that emerged from it. To this end we read a diverse range of texts. We discuss: the theories that flourished in the decades before the revolution and that laid the foundations for it; texts from the major thinkers and actors of the revolutionary period; and responses to the Revolution from liberal and non-liberal thinkers in the nineteenth century. All texts are available in English translation.

Enrolled graduate students in residence will attend one of these seminars each year and present their research. First-year students sign up for 593; second-year students for 594; third-year students for 595; fourth-year students for 596; and fifth-years 597. The seminars are offered in four fields: political philosophy, comparative politics, American politics, and international relations.

Enrolled graduate students in residence will attend one of these seminars each year and present their research. First-year students sign up for 593; second-year students for 594; third-year students for 595; fourth-year students for 596; and fifth-years 597. The seminars are offered in four fields: political philosophy, comparative politics, American politics, and international relation

Enrolled graduate students in residence will attend one of these seminars each year and present their research. First-year students sign up for 593; second-year students for 594; third-year students for 595; fourth-year students for 596; and fifth-years 597. The seminars are offered in four fields: political philosophy, comparative politics, American politics, and international relations.

Enrolled graduate students in residence will attend one of these seminars each year and present their research. First-year students sign up for 593; second-year students for 594; third-year students for 595; fourth-year students for 596; and fifth-years 597. The seminars are offered in four fields: political philosophy, comparative politics, American politics, and international relations.

Enrolled graduate students in residence attend one of these seminars each year and present their research. First-year students sign up for 593; second-year students for 594; third-year students for 595; fourth-year students for 596; and fifth-year students for 597. The seminars are offered in four fields: political theory, comparative politics, American politics, and international relations.

Grand strategy is the broad and encompassing policies and undertakings that political leaders pursue- financial, economic, military, diplomatic- to achieve their objectives in peacetime and in war. This course will examine the theory and practice of grand strategy both to illuminate how relations among city-states, empires, kingdoms and nation states have evolved over the centuries and also to identify some common challenges that have confronted all who seek to make and execute grand strategy from Pericles to Barack Obama.

Since the end of World War II the developing world has experienced numerous violent conflicts. These conflicts often pit government and allied forces against those of relatively small armed groups, called "insurgents." This course will explore the roots of insurgency, the organization and tactics of insurgent groups (including the use of terrorism), counterinsurgency campaigns, and efforts at conflict resolution. It will focus on the conditions under which insurgents are most likely to prevail in their fight against better-resourced armed forces.

India's post-independence journey is a lens to study fundamental questions of economic development and political economy. Despite attempts at big-push industrialization, followed by economic liberalization in the 1990's, the country struggled to create jobs and provide public goods at par with rapid population growth. Extreme economic inequality is now only one concern amidst environmental degradation, gender-based violence, and a Hindu-nationalist political agenda. When, and how, will India achieve sustainable development? The seminar will draw on scholarly works and Indian cinema for a well-rounded economic, social and political commentary.

The course investigates the interplay of politics and inequality, with a focus on class and race in the United States. The focus is on individuals' political views and behavior, with some attention to political institutions. We take up questions such as: does the political system equally represent the poor, middle class, and rich? Do Americans want government to ameliorate inequality? How do structural factors such as geography affect the politics of racial and ethnic inequality? Why are some people threatened by immigration while others embrace it?