Democracy gives people control over their government on a collaborative and inclusive basis, via operational and selectional constraints, thereby reducing the government's dominating power. This set of seminars will focus on why the formula requires control, not participation, and why it gives control to people severally, not to the people as a body; it will explore the operational constraints, such as the rule of law, and the selectional constraints, such as electoral process, on which it seeks to build control; and it will investigate the point of democratic control.

Many political scientists worry that representative democracy in the United States is failing. It is gridlocked, elites are polarized, party competition is dysfunctional, public policy favors the wealthy, gerrymandering dilutes people's votes. Are these really failures of democratic representation? We will consider this question in the perspective of the political theory of representative democracy. We will also read some recent works by political scientists and other observers, but this is mainly a seminar in political theory: our goal is to explore what democratic citizens should expect from their representative institutions.

The course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the legal regime of the European Union (EU), including its supranational system of human rights protection, in comparative perspective with the United States (US). The course covers the most important areas of EU law, overviewing both the EU's constitutional framework and its core substantive contents, through the comparative prism of the US federal experience. To this end, the course examines the EU's normative and economic constitutions and explores a number of recent unprecedented constitutional developments, including Brexit, the rule of law crisis and Covid-19.

Focused on analytical models of political institutions, this course is organized around canonical models and their applications. These include: voting models, menu auctions, models of reputation and cheap talk games. These models are used to explain patterns of participation in elections, institutions of congress, lobbying, payments to special interest groups and other observed phenomena.

The course examines the history of fascism, with a focus on Italy and Germany. It also asks whether the concept of fascism is still useful for understanding contemporary developments. Special emphasis is placed on the evolution of fascism as a form of political ideology, on the expression of fascist ideas in film and architecture, and on the question whether fascism can be understood as a matter of individual and collective psychology. Students will become familiar with a range of theories of fascism, as well as larger trends in twentieth-century visual culture and literature.

This course will explore how democracy has evolved as a concept, a practice, and an ideology, in Europe from the end of the Second World War to the present day. It will study the different models of democracy that emerged in east and west, which had different ideologies and structures, but also shared the ambition to build a viable relationship between rulers and ruled and create new regimes of freedom and social justice. Democracy was never a fixed reality, but an evolving system, that responded to social and ideological challenges, as well as external events.

Latin America has experienced a revolution in citizen participation in recent decades. Hundreds of millions have participated in thousands of new institutions that bring ordinary people directly into government decision-making, in the hope that these new forms of engagement will improve public services, decrease inequality, and strengthen democracy. After decades of experimentation, we can finally take stock of the participatory turn in Latin America. Our primary goal in this course, then, will be to understand whether new democratic innovations have lived up to high expectations many have placed in them, and if so, under what condition.

This course offers an opportunity to study the political economy of the Middle East. This semester we focus on oil-exporting monarchical countries in the Gulf/Arabian Peninsula, which are under rapid transformation today. We discuss issues such as the reasons for the durability of monarchism in this region; the unsustainability of their oil-based economies; challenges facing the attempt to make a transition to a post-oil economy (both in terms of income and the source of energy - in light of the rise of renewables and the global climate change regime); the youth unemployment problem and challenges facing the creation and localization of jobs.

This course examines the political dimensions of Islam. This will involve a study of the nature of Islamic political theory, the relationship between the religious and political establishments, the characteristics of an Islamic state, the radicalization of Sunni and Shi'i thought, and the compatibility of Islam and the nation-state, democracy, and constitutionalism, among other topics. Students will be introduced to the complex and polemical phenomenon of political Islam. The examples will be drawn mainly, though not exclusively, from cases and writings from the Middle East.

This seminar examines the evolution of American diplomacy and military policy in the Middle East from the late Cold War through the "Unipolar movement" and 9/11 to the very recent past. Given the militarization of American policy, it pays particular attention to the use of force. It asks why military force has become the defining instrument of US foreign policy in this region, seeks to evaluate the efficacy of America's military interventions, and to identify the sources of American conduct. Prior coursework in international relations and Middle Eastern history is beneficial but there are no prerequisites.

The idea is to look at some central capacities of the human mind beginning with judgement and reasoning, including reasoning from perception, then moving on to discuss the capacity to make value judgements, ascribe and assume responsibility, and achieve the status of a person.

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.

This course introduces major theories of international relations, uses them to explain historical events from 10,000 BC to the present, and investigates contemporary policy issues such as human rights, terrorism, US foreign policy, climate change and global environmental regulation. The course also trains students how to write academic analyses, policy memos and media opinion pieces, thus preparing them for more specialized courses and research in international relations, as well as jobs in foreign policy.

This course surveys Continental political thought, focusing especially on the Kantian, Hegelian, and Marxist developments in this tradition. We will discuss what it means to be free and what the requirements of a free society are. Particular attention is also given to the thinkers' conceptions of human nature, the state, and history.

An introduction to theories of social justice and examination of their implications in areas of contemporary social and political controversy. The first half of the course introduces the problem of social justice and examines two classic positions, as articulated by John Locke (name associated with liberalism, property, and capitalism) and Karl Marx (name associated with the critique of capitalism). The second half of the course focuses on contemporary theories of justice. We will read authors such as John Rawls and Robert Nozick, and examine controversies over poverty, gender, racial injustice, equal opportunity, and environmental justice.

Confucianism as an ancient tradition of thought has fundamentally shaped Chinese culture and deeply influenced East Asian societies for many centuries. Today, many people in China and around the globe still explore the contemporary relevance of Confucianism, and contemporary Confucian political philosophy is emerging as a vibrant field of thought. The first half of this seminar course critically discusses classical Confucian political thought and examines its strengths and weaknesses. The second half explores how contemporary Confucian political philosophy responds to modern Western political ideas and institutions.

Topics to be covered include the origin, nature, uses and limits of presidential power; the presidential selection process; the relationship between the President and other significant political actors--Congress, the Press, executive branch agencies, and the public; presidential accountability and the importance of presidential personality.

This course considers the role of both mass media and social media in American politics and the influence of the media on Americans' political attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. We will examine the nature of news and news-making organizations, the role of the news media in electoral campaigns, how the media shape the behavior of politicians once in office, political advertising, and social media's impact on society, both positive and negative.

Voting rights and election rules, education, health and welfare, and redistricting are just a few domains where U.S. states have broad policymaking authority. Across these and other issues, policies vary from state to state leaving a patchwork of public policy. This course examines why and how public policy and governing institutions differ across states and considers the implications of political polarization and policy fragmentation. Broad themes include federalism, political institutions, and participation. Topics include federal-state and state-local relations, interstate competition, elections, and direct democracy.

Do Trump and other business executives as politicians deliver on their promise to "run government like a business?" When do corporations speak out against such threats to democracy as the Capitol insurrection, and does it matter? Can activist campaigns successfully pressure social media companies to de-platform disinformation? Business shapes contemporary American politics in more ways than many appreciate. In this course, we will explore business power in American democracy, how it leads to policy change (or doesn't), and how it may be harnessed for good.

Why has the U.S. witnessed the rapid rise in mass incarceration? What roles have politicians, judges, prosecutors, and voters played in the astonishing growth in the incarceration rate over the past 40 years? What explains the racial disparities that exist in prosecutions and sentence length? This course will examine these and other questions related to crime and punishment by introducing students to historical and current debates surrounding the politics of criminal justice, criminal law, and state punishment. The course will emphasize cutting-edge research on crime and punishment in the social sciences, particularly political science.

Would universal health insurance improve the health of the poor? Do patterns of arrests in US cities show evidence of racial profiling? What accounts for who votes and their choice of candidates? This course will teach students how to address these and other social science questions by analyzing quantitative data. The course introduces basic principles of statistical inference and programming skills for data analysis. The goal is to provide students with the foundation necessary to analyze data in their own research and to become critical consumers of statistical claims made in the news media, in policy reports, and in academic research.

Examines the role of political institutions in facilitating or hindering economic prosperity. We start with the basic tools of political economy - collective action, elections, and delegation. These tools are then applied to the problems of controlling rulers and the persistence of inefficiency.

This course provides an overview of China's political system. We will begin with a brief historical overview of China's political development from 1949 to the present. The remainder of the course will examine the key challenges facing the current generation of CCP leadership, focusing on prospects for democratization and political reform. Among other topics, we will examine: factionalism and political purges; corruption; avenues for political participation; village elections; public opinion; protest movements and dissidents; co-optation of the business class; and media and internet control.

This course introduces the study of African politics. The lectures briefly review the social and historical context of contemporary political life. They then profile some of the changes of the early post-Independence period, the authoritarian turn of the 1970s and 80s, and the second liberation of the 1990s and 2000s, before turning to some contemporary challenges (e.g., conflict resolution, land tenure, natural resource management, public goods provision, climate resilience, health, urbanization). Each session introduces a major analytical debate, theories, and African views. Broadly comparative; some special attention to selected countries.

Why do states and peoples go to war? Conversely, how can war be avoided? This course surveys some of the most important explanations--including human nature, the anarchic international system, domestic politics, economics, technology, nationalism and terrorism--and evaluates them in light of historical wars, and of crises resolved short of war. Cases include the Peloponnesian War, the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, World War II, the Cuban missile crisis, ex-Yugoslavia's wars, and Russia's current war against Ukraine.

This course explores America's role in the world. The goal of the class is to help students critically analyze the major dynamics shaping U.S. foreign policy today, as well as to understand theoretical perspectives on foreign policymaking. There are three major elements: a study of the history of American foreign relations since the 19th century; an analysis of the causes of American foreign policy such as the international system, public opinion, and the media; and a discussion of the major policy issues in contemporary U.S. foreign policy, including terrorism, the rise of China, and climate change.

This course explores the politics and legal regulation of campaigns and elections and voting rights. The goal of the course is to engage students in a critical analysis of the legal context, social and political landscape that underpin political participation in the United States. The readings for the course are a mix of political science research and Supreme Court case law engaging elections, from voters to parties to interest groups to media, as well as major court cases, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, redistricting, ballot access, regulation of political parties, the 2000 presidential elections controversy, and campaign finance.

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.

Russia and Ukraine share a long and sometimes violent history that has both united and divided them. They stand at the center of what has been dubbed "the new Cold War". This seminar examines politics in Russia and Ukraine since the collapse of communism, focusing on the rise of Putinism, the causes of two revolutions in Ukraine within a decade, and the 2014 invasion of Crimea and war in the Donbass. Through the Russian-Ukrainian relationship, the course will seek to understand the dilemmas of post-communist development, the roots of "the new Cold War", and the challenges a resurgent Russia presents for Eurasia and the rest of the world.

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?

This seminar explores constitutional and legal issues posed by the attempted secession of eleven states of the Federal Union in 1860-1865 and the civil war this attempt triggered. Issues to be examined include the nature of secession movements (both in terms of the constitutional controversy posed in 1860-1861 and modern secession movements), the development of the "war powers" doctrine of the presidency, the suspension by the writ of habeas corpus, the use of military tribunals, and abuses of civil rights on both sides of the Civil War.

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 covers recent research on the role of political institutions (macro and micro) in economic development. We first introduce the concept of political distortions (e.g., patronage and state capture) that allow those in power to distort market competition and public investments. We then provide a wide range of reforms that may curb such distortions and improve democratic governance. This includes campaign finance laws, improvement in government transparency, bureaucratic reforms, and public deliberation. The course will be imbedded in the activities of the Institutional Experimentation Lab (IEL) of the Department of Politics.

Basic mathematical concepts essential for formal and quantitative analysis in political science research. Course prepares students for advanced courses offered in the Department, e.g., POL 573-576. Topics include calculus, linear algebra, and probability theory. Some applications to political science are introduced. The course is aimed for both students with little exposure to mathematics and those who have taken some but wish to gain a more solid foundation. No prerequisite.

The goal of this course is to introduce students to the theoretical and practical features of experimental political science, particularly natural and field experiments. There is a special emphasis on the importance of distinguishing between policy-based and institution-based interventions, with attention given to the promise of the latter for political economy research. The course is divided into three sections. The first section of the course introduces students to the methodological issue. The second section and third sections focus on the design, implementation and analysis of data originating from field experiments.

The seminar revisits fundamental normative issues at stake: why and how is democracy in need of a public sphere, and which rights and institutions are required to make a public sphere function well? We also examine seminal historical work and recent empirical work on the internet's effects on democracy. It engages in systematic comparisons of the US and Germany, which take fundamentally different approaches to the regulation of the web (especially free speech rules). Lastly, we examine existing laws and recent reform proposals on both sides of the Atlantic.

Selected concepts and problems in political theory. A different topic is treated each year. Topics include justice, equality, liberty, obligation, participation, the nature of political theory, and approaches to interpretation of political theory.

An examination of contemporary controversies about global justice. Topics may include the morality of the use of force, global economic and political justice, theories of human rights, territorial rights, global structural injustices, the wrongs of colonialism, and the relationship between sectional and global values.

A general introduction to the field of comparative politics, with an emphasis on principal theoretical approaches and major problems and theories. POL 521 is the first course of a 2-semester sequence of 'The Study of Comparative Politics'. It focuses on the macro foundations of political institutions and regimes: state formation, identity and nation formation; democratization; authoritarianism; political violence and contentious politics; collective action and social movements; theories of political change and political modernization.

This course examines six questions important in the study of African politics and considers insights from research in politics, political economy, and political anthropology. An optional follow-on six-week course addresses a second, distinct set of questions and themes drawn from the graduate general exam reading list and student interests.

This course examines six questions important in the study of African politics and considers insights from research in politics, political economy, and political anthropology (geography & state formation, historical legacies, electoral politics, patronage v. programs, violence & rebellion, Africa in the international arena). An optional follow-on six-week course addresses a second, distinct set of questions and themes drawn from the graduate general exam reading list and student interests. (regimes & regime change, public goods provision, political economy-2 units-governance in areas of limited statehood) .

Part of a two-course sequence of the core curriculum in American politics. Provides an introductory survey of American political behavior through a sample of major theories and methods in the study of citizens' views and actions regarding politics.

The study of American political development provides a vehicle for exploring how American democracy has come to assume its present form. It emphasizes the intersection between institutional incentives, institutional and "state" development, and political agency. This course examines what we mean by a "state," and how institutional "development" provides a set of analytically distinctive problems for political actors. We give particular attention to the importance of racial, gender, and class divides in the development of the American political system. We discuss theories of political change and best methodological practices.

Why do states establish institutions and what determines their design and evolution? Do these institutions merely reflect underlying power and interests? The course introduces theories of international institutions, evaluates critical perspectives, and examines applications in the areas of trade, finance, development, security, human rights, and international law -- at the global and regional levels.

A general introduction to the field of international relations, with an emphasis on the principal theoretical approaches and major problems and theories in the field. Students emerge from the course with an ability to situate theories and empirical claims in the broader historical, conceptual and empirical context of debates and literatures.

This course covers recent scholarship on the political economy of development. Why are some countries rich and others poor? It focuses on how political processes affect economic performance from both a macro and micro perspective, including such factors as: institutions, historical legacies, political regimes, sources of poor governance and conflict, and the role of international economics and politics. The topics covered scratch the surface on the political economy of development. Thus the primary aim of this is to help advance your research and methodological skills to help you generate and develop your own research ideas.

A close study of two of the leading figures of nineteenth century German political theory, G.W.F. Hegel and Karl Marx. Themes to be discussed in connection with these thinkers include: history, freedom, recognition, property, civil society, modern state, alienation, political economy, exploitation, capitalism, and communism.

This class is an introduction to research design and statistical methods for empirical analysis targeted to Ph.D. students in Politics and other social sciences. In the first part, the class introduces the potential outcomes framework and how to analyze randomized controlled experiments, including basic statistical tools such as populations and sampling, hypothesis tests, large-sample results, and least squares methods. In the second part, the class covers non-experimental designs, including selection on observables, instrumental variables, and regression discontinuity. Students learn the statistical software R and analyze real datasets.

Second course in applied statistical methods for social scientists, building on the materials covered in POL 572 or its equivalent. Course covers a variety of statistical methods including models for longitudinal data and survival data. Material covered corresponds to the quantitative part of the General Exam in Formal and Quantitative Analysis at Level II.

This course builds on POL 575, to further develop the analytical foundations for examining problems in collective choice. Topics include vote buying, multilateral bargaining, strategic information transmission, strategic voting with incomplete information, career concerns, and strategic experimentation. Readings combine textbooks and research literature.

The course offers an overview of several key themes in the historical legacy literature, drawn primarily (but not exclusively) from work in comparative politics. It focuses on the legacies of different types of historical phenomena, including empires, different regime types, and violence. It then discusses a number of mechanisms that may account for these persistent historical continuities, including the role of culture, communities, family and institutions. It also discusses a number of methodological challenges for both quantitative and qualitative approaches to these questions.

During the third semester, each Politics student writes a research paper under the direction of a faculty member. The paper is due in August for each third year student, and will be graded in the fall semester of each student's third year.

Explores the study of social movements and mobilized collective action aimed at achieving or preventing social and political change. After examining various theoretical approaches to the field, we investigate a number of issues of abiding concern within the study of contentious politics: repertoires, networks, government responses to protest (repression and concessions), and protest policing. The final portion of the course is devoted to the study of the causes, dynamics, and effects of revolutions.

This two-day workshop is concerned with the professional obligations of political science researchers. This course is designed to raise those concerns and develop in students an appreciation for the issues that they might confront as they do their work. Topics include the relationship of political science as an academic discipline to democratic politics and institutions, advocacy and objectivity in political science, plagiarism and academic misconduct, human subjects and fieldwork, institutional review boards, funding sources and intellectual integrity, collaboration, and mentoring. Required of all first year Politics graduate students.

This course will review and analyze the foreign policy of the People's Republic of China from 1949 to the present. It will emphasize Beijing's relations with the US as well as examine its dealings with the USSR, Asia and the developing world. It will explore the changes and continuities in the PRC's foreign policy during three periods; 1) the era of Mao Zedong's dominance, 2) the reform era begun under Deng Xiaoping and 3) the turn back toward authoritarianism since the advent of Xi Jinping.

Introducing the study of political institutions as levers of conflict management in ethnically plural, post-conflict national states. Our attention will be focused on ongoing and historical cases of constitutional design. These states will be analyzed in terms of their paths toward democracy, the nature of their internal conflict, and the types of political institutions they have (or are adopting).

Analyzes the historical construction of race as a concept in American society, how and why this concept was institutionalized publicly and privately in various arenas of U.S. public life at different historical junctures, and the progress that has been made in dismantling racialized institutions since the civil rights era.

The course examines major moral controversies in public life and differing concepts of justice, the common good and civic virtues. It seeks to help students think and write about the ethical considerations that ought to shape public institutions and guide public authorities. These issues may include equal treatment of cultures and nations, justice in war, market regulation (incl. crypto), the virtues of citizens in a capitalist society, property rights, women's rights in developing countries, fairness in a world of digital technology, and cross-border migration.

Analysis of political change and the operation of political institutions in the development process, with emphasis on the interaction of political and economic factors. Various definitions and theories of political development are examined and tested against different economic, ethnic, geographic, and social contexts.