This course surveys the major debates and conundrums that shaped Black political life from the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act to the 2008 election of Barack Obama. The primary aim of the course will be to introduce students to concepts, events, and themes that are central to the study of contemporary racial politics. For example, students will learn about the determinants of Black political behavior, the effects of intra- and inter-group conflict on Black politics, the relationship between politics and popular culture, the limits of formal political representation, etc.

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 Covid-19 pandemic and war in the Ukraine have demonstrated how suddenly life can be disrupted and also how dramatically entrepreneurial action can make a difference. The world's biggest problems are looking for new organizational and operational models that combine the advantages of business, government, and NGOs and can deliver effective responses. This course looks beyond entrepreneurship in profit motivated industries such as technology and financial services to the more complicated challenge of achieving social and policy objectives through entrepreneurial action.

This course provides an overview of classic theories of state building, resistance, and political violence, as well as contemporary challenges to these theories and how they apply to Latin America. Drawing on a range of methodological traditions and examples from around the region, and a few from elsewhere, this course offers a look at the complex relationship between political authority and violence. The class examines this relationship at different scales, from the state to the street gang and everything in between.

Overview of the intersection of the politics and economics of the modern Middle East and North Africa. Study political and economic development and underdevelopment of region's diverse states by exploring the ways in which political institutions affect economic performance and those in which economic conditions influence political events. You'll build on rich historical literature, interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks, and multi-methods empirical studies to think critically about the determinants that lead to underdevelopment vs. development, chaos vs. stability, regime survival vs. overthrow, and political opening vs. stability.

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.

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, 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

Why do states exist? Why are some democracies, and others autocracies? And why are some countries rich, while others are poor? This course introduces students to the study of domestic politics of other countries, or comparative politics, by focusing on topics such as economic development, democratization and regime change, political institutions, income redistribution, and political representation. Readings on Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas are used to provide an introduction to politics in different regions of the world and to show how cross-national comparisons provide insight into contemporary political outcomes.

POL 300 aims to introduce students to elements of good research design in political science. POL 300 consists of three components: The weekly lecture covers topics in research design. The weekly precept discusses lecture materials and prepares students to complete problem sets. The practicum applies principles of research design to one of several specific topic areas. Practica are led by faculty instructors with expertise in the topic area who will teach students how to design and carry out a specific independent research project. POL 300 is open to Politics juniors only and designed to complement the Fall Junior Independent Work requirement.

A study of the fundamental questions of political theory as framed in the context of the institutions and writings of ancient Greek and Roman thinkers, from the classical period into late antiquity and the spread of Christianity in Rome. We will canvass the meaning of justice in Plato's "Republic", the definition of the citizen in Aristotle's "Politics", Cicero's reflections on the purpose of a commonwealth, and Augustine's challenge to those reflections and to the primacy of political life at all in light of divine purposes. Through these classic texts, we explore basic questions of constitutional ethics and politics.

A study of the structure of the American constitutional system and of the meaning of key constitutional provisions. Students will critically evaluate competing theories of, and approaches to, constitutional interpretation.

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.

Course will examine the political development, principles and practice of Abraham Lincoln, and especially grass-roots politics in the 19th century Republic, the international context of liberal democracy in the 19th century, the war powers of the presidency, the contest of Whig and Democratic political ideas, the relation of the executive branch to the legislative and judicial branches, diplomacy, and the presidential cabinet.

Many of America's problems are economic in nature, yet politics make the solutions elusive. In "The Political Economy of the United States", this conundrum is explored in detail. We seek to explicitly understand the links between economic outcomes and political processes. Among the concepts explored are special interest influence, the role of money in politics, and regulatory capture. These concepts are brought to life in discussions about key issues and debates such as wealth taxation, the monopolization of social media, and the political effects of economic shocks and de-industrialization.

This course examines various political controversies that surround the role of race and ethnicity in American society. These controversies and issues affect public opinion, political institutions, political behavior, and salient public policy debates. Thus this course will assess and evaluate the role of race in each of these domains while also examining historical antecedents. The first half of the course will focus on historical antecedents such as the civil rights movement and the Black Power movement. The second half of the course will focus on the nature of contemporary racial attitudes, in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 presidential elections.

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 investigates the politics of protest and revolution, examining the conditions under which protest movements emerge, their choice of tactics, the effects of repression and concessions, and the determinants of movement success. The second part of the course focuses on revolutions, examining the forms they assume and the conditions under which they develop and prove successful. Examples discussed include the civil rights, women's and environmental movements; the French, Russian, and Iranian revolutions; the collapse of communism; and the "color revolutions," the Arab Spring, and other waves of revolution in the contemporary world.

This course provides an overview of politics in the Middle East through the 2010-2011 Arab Spring uprisings. We interrogate the main debates surrounding the democratic deficit in the region to understand whether recent developments mark change or continuity. We explore whether and how a variety of factors such as foreign intervention, oil, and religion have contributed to persistent authoritarianism in the Middle East through evidence in the realms of redistribution, gender politics, political mobilization, and public opinion. The course combines academic and popular writing, documentaries, twice-weekly lectures and weekly precept meetings.

This course examines the interactions between international politics and international economics, as well as between domestic political systems and the global economy. Topics include the World Trade Organization, regional trade cooperation (such as the European Union), multinational corporations and global supply chains, exchange rates, financial crises, the International Monetary Fund and the contemporary anti-globalization backlash. Students will develop a familiarity with social scientific research methods, including how scholars develop and evaluate causal claims. Previous coursework in international economics is not necessary.

Governments have tremendous power over our lives and thus the competition over who controls them is always intense and often violent. This course will study various ways in which violence is used to political ends. The larger goal of the course is to understand the sources of violence in political competition and the conditions under which political disputes can be peacefully resolved. We will discuss many different kinds of violence and regularly use in-class group activities to debate the material and flex our critical thinking skills.

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 seminar will focus on the theory, law and politics of freedom of speech within the context of the American constitutional system. The course will draw primarily on court cases relating to the developing constitutional law surrounding the First Amendment. Judicial opinions will be supplemented with some broader theoretical and empirical works. Particular problems to be addressed will include dangerous speech, false speech, racist speech, censorship and secrecy, privacy, and protests.

This course explores the political relationship of the military to the state and to society. It introduces students to the core concepts of civil-military relations, including civilian control, professionalism, and military intervention. The course engages significant cases from global twentieth-century history and surveys contemporary military politics around the world. Topics include coups d'état, responses to protests, and democratic transitions.

How did China grow from a very poor country 40 years ago to a major player in the global economy? Can China's economy continue to grow rapidly? This course examines China's economic growth and its consequences, reviewing classic literature and recent advances in the study of China's political economy in both political science and economics. Four main questions will be addressed. How has China implemented economic reforms? What have been the consequences of the reforms? How is China developing its economy and polity in the digital age? How has China's political-economic development been shaped by, and in turn influenced, the global system?

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.

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.

Course introduces students to the quantitative analysis of text from a social science perspective, with a special focus on politics. The course is applied in nature, and while we will give some theoretical treatment of the topics, the primary aim is to help students understand the types of questions we can ask with text, and how to go about answering them. We first explain how texts may be modeled as quantitative entities and described. We move to supervised and unsupervised techniques in some detail, before dealing with some 'special topics' (e.g. embeddings) that arise in particular lines of research.

The focus of the seminar in Fall 2023 will be the relationship between the ideas of representative government and democracy. The central question is how ideals of democracy should constrain institutions of political representation. Readings will be chosen from historical and contemporary works in democratic theory as well as recent work in political science reflecting critically on the fairness and effectiveness of representative democracy in the U.S.

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.

Clientelism has evolved from the analysis of archaic and mostly agrarian political structures to a more general study of opportunistic electoral strategies. It has also become a central debate in comparative politics, on how to turn democratic reforms into better governance and effective development policies. The goal of this course is to document and analyze clientelism and discuss conditions under which it can be replaced with or evolve in programmatic, universalistic and more efficient electoral and policy-making practices.

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.

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.

A study of fundamental questions of political theory framed in the context of the institutions and writings of ancient Greek and Roman thinkers, from the classical period into late antiquity and the spread of Christianity. Topics include the meaning of justice in Plato's Republic, the definition of the citizen in Aristotle's Politics, Cicero's reflections on the purpose of a commonwealth, and Augustine's challenge to those reflections and to the primacy of political life at all in light of divine purposes. We consider both the primary texts and secondary literature debates to equip students with a working mastery of this tradition.

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

The specific focus of the course varies from year to year, but the principal concerns revolve around questions of what a constitutional democracy is, why a people should want to live in such a polity, and how political actors can create, maintain, and change such systems.

The purpose of this course is to explore the global and comparative politics of climate change and the environment. We examine existing literature and emerging research agendas, with the primary goal of the course being to develop new research questions and encourage innovative work that applies the analytical tools of political science to the urgent topic of climate change.

Constitutional democracy appears to have become a universal requirement of a just regime. Yet the relationship between democracy and constitutionalism has also been deeply contested: for some critics of liberalism, constitutionalism constrains democratic decision-making far too much; for those suspicious of the demos, even more aspects of modern politics should ideally be constitutionalized and parts of the political and economic system should be entrenched. We analyze this fraught relationship from normative, legal, and empirical perspectives, focusing on key concepts and debates.

This class is a doctoral-level introduction to research design and statistical methods for empirical analysis in social science. The class introduces the chief goals of statistical analysis and the causal inference framework, focusing on the importance of specificity in estimands and the properties of statistical estimators, the potential outcomes framework, the definition of causal effects, the mechanics of randomized controlled trials, and prominent research designs for causal inference with observational data. The class has no mathematical prerequisites. Students will learn the statistical software R.

This is the second class of the quantitative methods field sequence in the PhD. in Politics, which covers foundations in mathematical statistics,applied statistics, and econometrics for Ph.D. students in Politics and other social and behavioral sciences. It is a continuation of POL 572. It reviews the linear model and covers panel data models, generalized method of moments, nonlinear regression, non-parametric methods, and resampling methods, among other topics.

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.

This course surveys current contributions on two central questions of politics: national identity and nationalism; and the foundations of democracy. We devote about three fourths of the course to explore: the canonical literature on nationalism; potential microfoundations of national identity; the formation of particular national identities (including fully-formed nation-states, national minorities, etc.); the institutional accommodation and policy consequences of national heterogeneity within countries. We spend the last quarter of the course on recent advances and debates on democratization and democratic performance.

Politics G3 students are required to enroll in POL 591. During the third semester, each Politics student writes a research paper (a 591) under the direction of a faculty member. The paper is due by the 31 of August for each rising G3 student, and will be graded in the fall semester of the student's third year.

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.

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.

The course examines major moral controversies in public life and competing conceptions of justice and the common good. It seeks to help students develop the skills required for thinking and writing about the ethical considerations that ought to shape public institutions, guide public authorities, and inform citizens' moral judgments in politics. We focus on issues that are particularly challenging for advanced, pluralist democracies such as the USA, including justice in war, terrorism and torture, market freedom and distributive justice, immigration, refugees, and criminal justice in conditions of social injustice.

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.

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.

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?