Department of Politics

Chair

Helen V. Milner

Associate Chair

Christopher H. Achen

Director of Graduate Studies

Charles R. Beitz

Professor

Christopher H. Achen

R. Douglas Arnold, also Woodrow Wilson School

Larry M. Bartels, also Woodrow Wilson School

Mark Beissinger

Charles R. Beitz

Nancy G. Bermeo

Carles Boix, also Woodrow Wilson School

Charles Cameron, also Woodrow Wilson School

Thomas J. Christensen, also Woodrow Wilson School

Aaron L. Friedberg, also Woodrow Wilson School

Robert P. George

Joanne S. Gowa

G. John Ikenberry, also Woodrow Wilson School

Atul Kohli, also Woodrow Wilson School

John B. Londregan, also Woodrow Wilson School

Stephen J. Macedo, also University Center for Human Values

Nolan M. McCarty, also Woodrow Wilson School

Helen Milner, also Woodrow Wilson School

Andrew Moravcsik

Philip N. Pettit, also University Center for Human Values

Jonas G. Pontusson

Thomas Romer, also Woodrow Wilson School

Anne-Marie Slaughter, also Woodrow Wilson School

Ezra N. Suleiman

Maurizio Viroli

Lynn T. White III, also Woodrow Wilson School

Keith E. Whittington

Jennifer Widner, also Woodrow Wilson School

Associate Professor

Gary J. Bass, also Woodrow Wilson School

Brandice Canes-Wrone, also Woodrow Wilson School

Martin Gilens

Adam Meirowitz

Tali Mendelberg

Alan W. Patten

Deborah J. Yashar, also Woodrow Wilson School

Visiting Associate Professor

Melissa Harris Lacewell

Gregory J. Wawro

Assistant Professor

Scott Ashworth

Joshua Clinton

Christina Davis, also Woodrow Wilson School

Emilie Hafner-Burton, also Woodrow Wilson School

Kosuke Imai

Amaney A. Jamal

Kenneth Kersch

David Lewis, also Woodrow Wilson School

Evan Lieberman

Jason M. K. Lyall, also Woodrow Wilson School

Jan-Werner Müller

Sankar Muthu

Jennifer G. Pitts

Grigore Pop-Eleches, also Woodrow Wilson School

Markus Prior, also Woodrow Wilson School

Kristopher W. Ramsay

Anne E. Sartori

Tamsin Shaw

Jessica L. Trounstine, also Woodrow Wilson School

Joshua A. Tucker, also Woodrow Wilson School

Andrea Vindigni

Lecturer with Rank of Professor

Fred I. Greenstein

Lecturer

Irwin Hargrove

Beth Jamieson

Justine M. Kasznica

Russell K. Nieli

Jennifer Rubenstein

Diane Snyder

Visiting Lecturer

David R. Oakley

Mark B. O’Brien

Stephen T. Whelen

Associated Faculty

Kwame Anthony Appiah, Philosophy

Christopher L. Eisgruber, Woodrow Wilson School, University Center for Human Values

Robert O. Keohane, also Woodrow Wilson School

Kim Lane Scheppele, Woodrow Wilson School, University Center for Human Values

Jeffrey L. Stout, Religion

 

The graduate program in the Department of Politics leads to the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in politics. There is no separate program for a master’s degree. The program is designed to offer broad professional training in political science and to enable students to specialize in any of the main subfields of political science (American politics, comparative politics, international politics, and political theory), as well as public law and formal and quantitative analysis.

Requirements

Candidates for the Ph.D. in politics are expected to satisfy the following departmental requirements.

Seminars. Each student must complete at least six graded seminars by May of the first year, and a total of at least 10 graded seminars (or 12, if the student opts to take two rather than three of the General Field Examinations as described below) by May of the second year. The required seminars must include at least one in three of the seven regular fields offered by the department. The director of graduate studies (DGS) must approve all course selections.

Seminars (500-level courses) may be chosen from the 16–20 typically offered in the department each year. Students may also take seminars offered in neighboring departments and in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. These may be counted toward the seminar requirement if they have political content. Students participating in the Program in Political Philosophy may compose a special field made up of courses in one of the other cooperating departments in the program (classics, history, philosophy, and religion). Other departments that have been of interest to students include economics, sociology, psychology, East Asian studies, and Near Eastern studies.

In addition to regularly offered seminars, graduate students may create reading courses under the direction of a faculty member to explore more specialized topics. Reading courses typically include one faculty member and one student, although some include several students.

By departmental rules, each politics seminar (including those cross-listed with other departments) must offer two writing options: (1) a research paper or (2) several short, critical essays. This allows first-year students to choose at least one seminar to satisfy the first-year writing requirement. Introductory seminars may, for pedagogical reasons, offer only a short-essay option. Seminars end on the last regular day of classes (December and April), and students must complete all assigned short essays within one week of that day. Students complete their fall-term research papers by approximately the second week of January, and their spring-term research papers by the second week of May.

Research Seminars. Every year the department offers research seminars in each of the four major fields of political science (political theory, comparative politics/systems and culture, American politics, and international relations). Each enrolled student in residence is required to join one of these seminars each year, attend it regularly, and present his or her research at least once during the year. Students working in fields other than the four main fields affiliate with the seminar that seems most suitable. Research seminars are graded on a pass/fail basis.

Students present forms of work appropriate to their standing in the graduate program. First-year students typically offer seminar papers (sometimes in draft form), usually in the spring. Second-year students usually present their POL 591 paper, described below under “writing requirement.” Third-year students defend their dissertation prospectuses during the first term after the general examination. (If the prospectus defense is judged unsatisfactory, the student will be given an opportunity to defend a second version of the prospectus in the second term.) Fourth- and fifth-year students present dissertation chapters.

Students enroll in research seminars according to their year of study. First-year students enroll in POL 593, second-years in POL 594, third-years in POL 595, fourth-years in POL 596, and fifth-years in POL 597.

Writing Requirement. Each student is required to write at least three research papers in connection with seminars taken in the first two years, at least one of which must be completed in the first year. Each paper counts toward the seminar grade.

In addition, each student is required to take one term of directed research (POL 591) in the fall term of the second year. This project is independent of any seminar. To encourage students to become involved in research and collaboration with faculty as soon as possible, students select their independent work adviser and the general topic of their paper by mid-term in the spring term of the first year. These choices are conveyed to the DGS in writing. This paper often builds on prior work done in a seminar. Students are required to present the POL 591 paper in the appropriate research seminar during the fall or spring term of the second year.

Students are urged to use these various research and writing experiences to build toward a dissertation. For example, a student with a promising seminar paper might use POL 591 to do more extensive research on the subject and to develop a dissertation proposal based on it.

In order to encourage students to write papers of article length, all research papers are limited to 30 pages. This applies to papers written for seminars and for POL 591.

General Examination. Each student must successfully stand for the general examination and be recommended for continuation in the program before undertaking dissertation research. The purpose of the general examination is to ascertain a student’s knowledge of political science and his or her preparedness for advanced research. The best preparation is extensive seminar work in the department, supplemented as necessary by independent reading and study.

The general examination consists of written examinations in three separate fields, a dissertation proposal, and an oral examination. Students may opt to take written examinations in two rather than three fields on the condition that they complete 12 (rather than the required 10) graded seminars, including a coherent 3-course 500-level sequence in a third field (but not including WWS 507b, 508b, or 508c).

Normally at least two of a student’s general examination fields are selected from the seven regular examination fields listed below. A student may design a third, “substitute” field to replace the third regular examination field. Substitute fields should cohere with the student’s educational and research interests, and must not substantially overlap with the student’s other fields. A student may propose either a standard exam from another department (for example, political economy in economics), or in unusual circumstances a special examination. Special examinations require the agreement of a sponsoring faculty member in another department and the DGS. Alternatively, the “substitute” third field may be completed under the 2-exam, 12-course option described above.

The politics faculty regularly sets examinations in the following seven fields: political theory, comparative political analysis, political systems and cultures, American politics, international relations, public law, and formal and quantitative analysis. Students who wish to be examined in Political Systems and Cultures must specify in advance the major nation or group of nations in which they are specializing. The department currently offers examinations on Africa, China, Europe, India, Japan, Latin America, and Russia and the former Soviet Union. Tests on other parts of the world (e.g., the Near East and Southeast Asia) also have been offered.

In addition to satisfying the general examination requirement in three fields of study, students are also required to give evidence of their preparation for dissertation research by submitting a dissertation proposal. The proposal must demonstrate that the student is able to frame a question for dissertation research and create an appropriate research design. The proposal should include a tentative outline of the major parts of the dissertation. The dissertation proposal is submitted in advance of the oral examination, where it is discussed with the examiners.

All written examinations are four hours in length, with an additional hour for preparation. Unless otherwise specified, they are closed-book examinations. The oral examination is conducted by a three-member faculty panel.

Students normally stand for the general examination in May of the second year. Students who have completed one or more years of graduate study elsewhere may take the exam as early as May of their first year. With the approval of the director of graduate studies, an appropriate reduction in the number of seminars and the writing requirement may be made in these cases. Even in this case, however, all students must complete at least six seminars before taking the general examination. In exceptional circumstances or when a student needs extensive research training (such as intensive language study), the DGS, in consultation with the student’s adviser and the Graduate School, may authorize postponement until October of the third year.

Teaching Requirement. Each student must lead a minimum of nine undergraduate preceptorials during the five years of enrollment. Students typically teach after passing the general examination. A preceptorial is a discussion section of up to 13 undergraduates, which meets once a week as a supplement to a faculty-taught lecture course. The requirement of nine preceptorials is reduced to six if students obtain approved funding from outside the University, if students work as research assistants for faculty during an academic year or term, and to three if students graduate within four and a half years or begin a tenure-track job or its equivalent within five years. All students are encouraged to apply for external funding. Students apply for the courses in which they wish to precept, and those who have not yet taught receive the highest priority in teaching assignments.

Dissertation and Final Public Oral Examination. The centerpiece of the graduate program in the Department of Politics is the dissertation, which occupies the third through fifth years of study. Its purpose is to show the candidate’s mastery of a field of specialization, a capacity for independent scholarship, and an ability to reach conclusions that add to what has been previously known. Students usually begin to develop ideas for the dissertation in seminars, special reading courses, and research papers. They develop those ideas further in the research seminar of their choice, where they defend the dissertation prospectus in the first term of the third year or earlier. Students then write their dissertation under the direction of at least two advisers. After the department accepts the dissertation, a student stands for the final public oral examination. The examination tests the student’s general knowledge of the field in which the dissertation is written and the student’s preparation for a career in teaching and scholarship.

Advising

All graduate students in the department have at least one faculty adviser of record. First- and second-year students are assigned an academic adviser in their main field of interest. Post-generals students are advised by their dissertation advisers. A student may request a change of adviser at any time.

Students are responsible for remaining in regular contact with their advisers, who are required to provide annual reports each spring on each student’s academic progress. These reports inform the decision whether to reenroll the student for the following year.

Research Facilities

The Department of Politics occupies Corwin Hall, which contains administrative and faculty offices, seminar and meeting rooms, and computer facilities. It is a five-minute walk from Firestone Library, home of the principal collections in the social sciences. The library also maintains extensive data files, including those obtained from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. Firestone Library and other buildings also offer carrels for graduate students in the Department of Politics.

The University and the department have excellent computer facilities. The University’s Office of Information Technology is located near the department. The department also maintains its own computer facility within Corwin Hall, which contains a network of personal computers and a collection of software and data files.

Joint Programs and Research Programs

Students may participate in one of the interdepartmental programs at Princeton, including African studies, African-American studies, American studies, East Asian studies, Hellenic studies, Latin American studies, Near Eastern studies, political economy, political philosophy, Russian studies, and women’s studies. Students may also participate in various research programs and interdisciplinary centers, including the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions, the Program in Law and Public Affairs, the Bobst Center for Peace and Justice, the Center for Human Values, the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies, the Center for the Study of American Religion, the Committee for European Studies, and the Princeton Environmental Institute. Politics students often take courses in allied departments and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Financial Support

Financial assistance is available to all admitted students in the form of University fellowships, summer stipends, and teaching assistantships. Supplementary to the Graduate School’s program of summer stipends, the department offers some summer stipends, and various research centers have funds available for dissertation research. Students are encouraged to seek out research assistant positions from faculty members for either the academic year, the summer, or both. Students (and prospective applicants) are also encouraged to apply for fellowships and grants from national, international, and foundation sources. Certain fellowships and research positions reduce the number of preceptorships students are required to teach.

Courses

POL 500 Research Methods

Larry M. Bartels

Introduction to a variety of empirical research methods used by political scientists, including case study, experimental, historical, observational, survey-based, and statistical methods. Emphasis is on the logic of research design and the inferential strengths and weaknesses of various research methods. Applications to American politics, comparative politics, and international relations.

POL 501 Nature of Political Science

Staff

An examination of the epistemological and methodological assumptions that underlie contemporary political science, and selected contemporary social science paradigms.

POL 502 Mathematics for Political Science

Kosuke Imai

Basic mathematical concepts essential for formal and quantitative analysis in political science. Prepares students for advanced courses offered in the department. Topics include calculus, linear algebra, and probability theory. Some applications to political science are introduced. There is no prerequisite. The course is aimed for both students with little exposure to mathematics and those who have taken some courses but who wish to gain a more solid foundation. This course is a prerequisite for POL 571 and POL 575.

POL 503 Survey Analysis

Martin Gilens

This course is both a reading course on survey design and analysis and a practicum on analyzing survey data. The course covers four major areas: (1) the nature of the survey response, including the psychology of political attitude expressions, issues of question wording and context, interviewer effects, and social desirability pressures; (2) general issues of quantitative research, including model specification, random and systematic measurement error, the logic of causal analysis, and the alternative meanings of statistical “importance”; (3) practical considerations in survey analysis, including identifying appropriate data, variable coding and transformations, missing values, and working with common statistical packages; and (4) applied statistics, including alternative measures of association, dummy variable, interaction terms, reliability assessment, scaling techniques, and the presentation and interpretation of statistical results. (This course does not prepare students for the general examination in formal and quantitative analysis.)

POL 504 Introduction to Game Theory for Political Science

Grigore Pop-Eleches, Anne E. Sartori

Explores the contributions of game theory and rational-choice approaches to our understanding of comparative politics and international relations. The first part introduces some basic analytical terms used in game theoretic works, and addresses the conceptual and methodological questions inherent in formal political analysis. The second discusses some applications of formal models and rational-choice frameworks to selected topics in comparative politics and international relations. The third and final one is devoted to the ongoing methodological debates about he strengths and limitations of formal theory and rational-choice contributions to current political science scholarship. (This course does not prepare students for the general examination in formal and quantitative analysis.)

POL 505 Introduction to Quantitative Empirical Methods

Kristopher W. Ramsay, Staff

Introduces students without a previous background in statistics to statistical techniques commonly used in political science. Hypothesis testing is introduced in the context of contingency tables and cross-tabulations. Also covers basic descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, regression analysis, and the testing of composite hypotheses. (This course does not prepare students for the general examination in formal and quantitative analysis.)

POL 506 Qualitative Methods

Evan Lieberman

Introduction to techniques used by political scientists in “small-N” research. Discusses the types of theoretical and empirical questions that are associated with in-depth analysis of a small number of cases. The emphasis is on systematic measurements and inferential strategies, including case selection, periodization, structured comparison, analytic narrative, and the integration of qualitative and statistical methods in research design. Also includes discussion of the mechanics of qualitative research, including field methods, in-depth interviewing, and archival research.

POL 511 Problems in Political Theory

Charles R. Beitz, Sankar Muthu

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.

POL 512 Ancient and Medieval Political Theory

Staff

A seminar devoted to an analysis of the political thought of Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and the theorists of the conciliar movement.

POL 513 Modern Political Theory

Maurizio Viroli

Selected issues and writers in political theory from Machiavelli to the present. The seminar does not survey this whole period, but concentrates instead on a limited number of theorists or problems.

POL 514 American Political Thought

Staff

Study of selected problems in the development of political ideas and institutions, from the Revolutionary era to the present.

POL 515 Marxian Thought

Staff

Study of Marx’s political and social thought, with an emphasis on exploring the nature and contemporary relevance of his theoretical legacy. The seminar begins with extensive readings from Marx’s work, and then examines selected theories (for example, critical theory, analytical Marxism, and socialist feminism), which help appropriate and revise central Marxian ideas.

POL 516 Feminist Political Theory

Staff

Major debates in contemporary feminist political theory. Topics include feminist analyses of political concepts such as justice, equality, class, and power; feminist challenges to conventional understandings of the nature and boundaries of the political; and the implications of feminist theory for democratic theory and practice.

POL 519 Seminar in Political Philosophy (also PHI 529)

Philip Pettit

Selected issues or theories of common interest to students in the politics and philosophy departments. Taught by members of the faculties of the two departments, under the auspices of the political philosophy program.

POL 521 The Study of Comparative Politics

Nancy G. Bermeo, Amaney A. Jamal, Jennifer Widner

A general introduction to the field of comparative politics, with an emphasis on principal theoretical approaches and major problems and theories.

POL 522 Politics and Modernization

Atul Kohli

An examination of alternative theoretical approaches to modernization, including interpretations of both the historical transformation of the western states and the efforts under way in the contemporary Third World.

POL 523 The Comparative Political Economy of Development (see WWS 561)

POL 524 Communist Political Systems

Staff

This seminar, given according to demand, is normally offered as a continuation of POL 533 in order to provide the possibility of a consecutive full year of study and research on Communist systems.

POL 525 Comparative Bureaucracy

Ezra N. Suleiman

A seminar dealing theoretically and empirically with the role of bureaucracy as an integral part of the political system, with an emphasis on the relation of the governmental bureaucracy to other governmental institutions (political parties, executives, legislatures) and to nongovernmental institutions. All aspects are treated comparatively.

POL 526 Political Culture

Staff

A study of issues that stand at the juncture of comparative politics and political theory. Topics include the formation of collective identity, the political meaning of myth, and the relation of language to politics.

POL 527 State, Society, and Development (see WWS 565)

POL 529 Seminar in Comparative Politics

Staff

One or more theoretical topics of current major concern in comparative politics are treated.

POL 531 European Political Systems and Cultures

Ezra N. Suleiman

A comparative examination of the political systems of the major European countries. The seminar discussion deals with specific issues and problems common to Britain, France, Germany, and Italy. The emphasis is on the relevance of theory to empirical observations.

POL 532 Democracy and Authoritarianism

Deborah J. Yashar

The 20th century witnessed dramatic swings in regime change, including the collapse of European democracies in the interwar period; the turn to military rule in Latin America in the 1960s and the 1970s; and the subsequent wave of democratization in the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s in many parts of the world, with the striking exception of the Middle East. This course analyzes competing theoretical approaches to regime politics. Structural, agency, and cultural theories are evaluated against the process of regime change in Western and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Africa. Ends with a discussion of the challenges new democracies face.

POL 533 Soviet Politics and Society Since 1917 (also HIS 558)

Staff

An examination of major problems in Soviet history. Particular attention is given to the Revolution of 1917, the civil war and its social impact, politics and society during the NEP years, and the “revolution from above” of the 1930s. An additional purpose of the seminar is to critically evaluate the adequacy of existing Western scholarship on these subjects.

POL 534 Near Eastern and North African Politics

Staff

Comparative analysis of the developmental, national, and international problems involved in the politics of the area from Morocco to Pakistan.

POL 535 Chinese Politics

Lynn T. White III

A survey of basic interpretative and methodological issues in Chinese politics. The specific focus varies from year to year.

POL 536 Topics in Regional and Country Studies: Chinese Development (see WWS 575a)

POL 537 Asian Political Systems

Staff

Various approaches to the study of Asian political institutions and cultures, focusing on the development of key political institutions, the role of political cultures and ideologies, the role of the state in economic development, and the relations between state and society.

POL 541 The American Political System

R. Douglas Arnold

A systematic examination of classic and contemporary literature characterizing American politics and government. The first half of the course focuses on mass political behavior, including public opinion and elections. The second half focuses on political institutions, including Congress, the president, bureaucracy, and the courts.

POL 543 Party Politics

Larry M. Bartels

A study of political parties as institutions of politics: their emergence as such; organizational forms, activities, and important consequences that proceed from what they do. Attention is given to party politics in both democratic and nondemocratic countries, and developing as well as developed nations.

POL 544 Public Opinion

Staff

Public opinion surveys; the origin of political attitudes; conflict and consensus on basic issues; political participation, partisan choice, and other mass behavior; pressure groups; propaganda and the media; the influence of public opinion on governmental policy; and public opinion and democratic theory are studied.

POL 545 Public Opinion and Public Policy

Markus Prior

The impact of public opinion on policymaking, primarily, but not exclusively, in the contemporary American setting, which may include an examination of scholarly literature on the nature of public opinion, general theories and/or evidence about the mechanisms by which public opinion might influence policy outcomes, as well as case studies on the impact of public opinion on domestic and foreign policy.

POL 546 Congress and Public Policy (see WWS 531)

POL 547 Urban Political Analysis

Staff

The interplay between urbanization and political development in the United States as well as the various theoretical approaches to urbanization and their relevance for political analysis. Attention is given to national political systems as well as subnational ones.

POL 548 Political Psychology

Tali Mendelberg

An overview of psychological approaches to politics. It includes standard works in political science and psychology. Topics include prejudice and stereotyping, group identity, analysis of elites, authority and social influence, communication and persuasion, rationality and political reasoning, ideology, and self-interest.

POL 549 Seminar in American Politics

Staff

Selected theoretical problems in American politics.

POL 551 International Politics

Thomas J. Christensen, Joanne S. Gowa

An introduction to the major debates in and the theoretical traditions of international relations. A wide range of works, from Thucydides to contemporary writers, are surveyed to give students a comprehensive grounding in the IR literature.

POL 552 Theories of International Politics

Staff

Theories of international politics are examined and compared in the light of the evolution of the modern international political system.

POL 553 Empire and State Power

Staff

The nature and components of power in the international arena. Considers how different empires have pursued power and coped with the challenges of imperial management. Readings address the dynamics of imperial rise and fall, how and why state power changes over time, and how states assess and allocate their resources.

POL 554 International Security Studies

Aaron L. Friedberg

Central topics in security studies, including the causes and nature of war, deterrence, alliance formation, military doctrine, civil-military relations, arms competition, and arms control.

POL 556 Ethics and International Relations

Staff

Contemporary questions of international ethics, beginning with a survey of three traditions in international theory. A series of theoretical arguments and case studies are examined that deal with international intervention, global economic justice, and the problem of world order.

POL 557 Chinese Foreign Policy

Staff

Intensive analysis of major questions in Chinese foreign policy, with particular emphasis on issues and major events in Sino-American relations. Other topics include Sino-Soviet relations and the origins and development of the strategic triangle, Sino-Vietnamese relations, China’s use of force, the international implications of China’s open-door policy, and China’s changing worldview. The seminar draws on both general works in international relations and materials dealing specifically with China. Covers historical analysis as well as policy-oriented studies.

POL 558 International Cooperation

Anne E. Sartori

Theoretical frameworks that have been devised to account for the generation, maintenance, and breakdown of international cooperation in policy areas such as international trade, collective security and arms control, the environment, and regional integration.

POL 559 Problems in International Politics

Staff

Selected theoretical problems in international politics.

POL 561 Constitutional Theory

Keith E. Whittington

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.

POL 562 American Law and Theory

Robert P. George

A study of the role of law and legal institutions in the American political system. The seminar considers theoretical perspectives from both legal theory as such and the application of political and social theory to problems of law.

POL 563 Philosophy of Law (also PHI 526)

Robert P. George

A systematic study of the salient features of legal systems, standards of legal reasoning, and the relation between law and morals.

POL 564 American Constitutional Development

Kenneth Kersch

Explores questions of order and change in American constitutional doctrine and institutional relations, and powers across time. Students consider diverse theories of constitutional and institutional change, including those drawn from comparative politics. Emphasis is on the relationship between paths of constitutional development and both conventions of legal and constitutional reasoning, and political, economic, social, and intellectual currents, settlements, and crises.

POL 565 Theories of Judicial Review

Keith E. Whittington

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.

POL 571 Quantitative Analysis I

Joshua Clinton

Introduces students without a previous background in statistics to statistical techniques commonly used in political science. Hypothesis testing is introduced in the context of contingency tables and cross-tabulations. Also covers basic descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, regression analysis, and the testing of composite hypotheses.

POL 572 Quantitative Analysis II

John B. Londregan

Builds on the concepts introduced in POL 571. Topics include the linear probability model, probit and logit models, instrumental variables, systems of equations, maximum-likelihood estimation, time-series analysis, and the analysis of panel data. The emphasis is on the application of advanced statistical techniques to important problems in political science research. Prerequisite: POL 571.

POL 573 Quantitative Analysis III

Kosuke Imai

Builds on the material covered in POL 571 and POL 572. Provides an introduction to the use of maximum-likelihood methods in political science. Develops the probit, logit, and regression models within a maximum-likelihood framework, and introduces applications to count data, and scaling models applied to legislative voting data. Emphasizes the flexibility maximum-likelihood techniques provided to modelers. Familiarity with matrix algebra and calculus techniques is assumed.

POL 575 Formal Political Analysis I

Adam Meirowitz

An introduction to mathematical models of political processes. Develops the analytical foundations for examining problems in collective choice. The technical development focuses on the logical structure of formal models as well as their use to develop testable hypotheses. The presentation of technical apparatus is combined with a wide range of applications. Topics include models of majority rule, direct and representative democracy, political competition under various electoral systems, and political economy.

POL 576 Formal Political Analysis II

Scott Ashworth, Thomas R. Palfrey III, Andrea Vindigni

Further development of the analytical tools used in formal political analysis, with special attention given to the role of information, uncertainty, and dynamics in the design and performance of political institutions. Readings emphasize the current research literature. Typical applications include participation, legislative structure, political campaigns, multiparty government, and the interaction of economics and politics. Prerequisite: POL 575.

POL 577 Economics and Politics (see ECO 520)

POL 578 Seminar in Quantitative Analysis

Staff

Selected problems in the theory and application of quantitative methods of empirical analysis. Normally its prerequisite is POL 572 or the equivalent, or by permission of the instructor.

POL 579 Seminar in Formal Theory

Staff

Selected problems in the application of formal theory to the study of politics. Normally its prerequisite is POL 576 or the equivalent, or by permission of the instructor.

POL 581 Politics and Personality

Staff

A psychological approach to the study of politics, taking leadership as the core concept for the theory of politics and emphasizing the bearing of modern personality theory upon political biography. The implications of psychoanalytic thought for political philosophy are considered.

POL 584 Foundations of Political Economy (also ECO 576)

Thomas Romer

Focuses on modeling the interaction of politics and economics, with application to a variety of substantive areas. Topics include the politics of taxation and redistribution; governmental structure; and political economy of constitutional arrangements, development, and growth. Prerequisites: POL 575 or the equivalent, as well as familiarity with microeconomic theory.

POL 585 International Political Economy

Joanne S. Gowa

An introduction to the sub-field of international political economy, covering basic topics in the politics of both trade and finance. Reviews several explanations advanced by political scientists and economists since the late 19th century for variations across trade and monetary systems, examines relevant issues at the nation-state level (e.g., endogenous tariff theory), and provides some background in the requisite economic theory through a set of required readings.

POL 591 Directed Research

Staff

During the third term, each student writes a research paper under the direction of a faculty member.

POL 593, 594, 595, 596, 597 Research Seminars

Staff

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