Politics

This course considers the role of the mass 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 the impact of the media on Americans' political attitudes.

This course provides a realistic introduction to how public policy is made in the United States today. It examines how people (voters, activists, wealthy individuals, lobbyists, politicians, bureaucrats, and judges), organizations (interest groups, firms, unions, foundations, think tanks, political parties, and the media) and political institutions (Congress, the presidency, the bureaucracy, and the judiciary) come together to create and implement public policy. The course combines social science theory and systematic empirical evidence with case studies, and provides students with tools of proven usefulness for practical political analysis.

An examination of how U.S. election campaigns are conducted and how they affect political reasoning and voting behavior. Empirical analyses of public opinion data and campaign communication provide the foundation for studying campaigns. The goal of the course is to offer a broad theoretical understanding of the conduct of campaigns and their effects. Recent elections serve to illustrate key insights. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

What is statesmanship? Can qualities of statesmanship be critically assessed? If so, by what analytical methods of political science? This course explores statesmanship through a study of the biographies, principles, practices, and leadership styles of men and women who have been widely regarded as having exemplified the craft. Among the goals is to deepen understanding of how the practical necessities of democratic politics have been combined with appeals to democracy's loftiest ideals.

The course will explore the personal, political, historical and sacred aspects of Latinas/Latinos in the United States from the perspective of a theory of transformation. The course intends to provide Latinas/Latinos as well as students from all backgrounds the opportunity to see a people in their own midst becoming and being political as they move forward to create a new culture and community in this country.

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.

This course focuses upon the evolution, nature, and role of black politics within the American Political System, in the post- civil rights era. The concern is with black people as actors and creators and initiators in the political process. Specifically, this course will examine various political controversies that surround the role of race in American society. These controversies or issues, affect public opinion, political institutions, political behavior, and salient public policy debates. Thus this course will assess and evaluate the contemporary influence of race in each of these domains while also exploring their historical antecedents.

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.

Develops the use of statistical techniques appropriate for empirical exploration of political topics. Each statistical topic is motivated by a significant question in political science that can be addressed by an available data set. Computers will be used both as part of the lecture and for completing classwork. Emphasis is on hands-on training that will give students the capacity to use these statistical techniques in other courses and independent work. Prerequisites: 345 or instructor's permission. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

An introduction to the use of mathematical models and, especially, game theory in the study of politics. The basics of game theory are presented through applications to a broad range of political phenomena: voting, legislative politics, political campaigns, comparison of electoral systems, the evolution of cooperation, and international relations. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

This course provides a rigorous introduction to some of the central ideas in political economy. Game theoretic models of voting are used to illustrate the way that democratic institutions filter interests. Topics may include the measurement of income inequality, the median voter theorem, models of income redistribution, political agency, and the link between institutions and economic performance. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

A comparative study of politics in selected developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Topics include colonialism, nationalism, class and ethic conflict, political instability, military coups, revolutionary change, and development strategies such as land reforms, green revolution, import substitution, and management of external dependencies. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Explores the dynamic relationship in theory between market-formation and reform on the one hand, and economic ideas and cultural values on the other. The course examines classical and contemporary works in comparative political economy. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

An examination of the political dimensions of Islam, involving 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, using examples drawn mainly, though not exclusively, from cases and writings from the Middle East. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

This course examines the workings of legislatures in a comparative setting.The course will look at the internal workings of legislative institutions, and at the relationship between electoral systems and legislative outcomes. We will consider and compare parliamentary and presidential systems, unicameral and bicameral legislatures. The course will look at the determinants of cabinet duration in parliamentary systems, and the emergence of committee systems. We will also take up the linkage between electoral systems and the structure of political parties, and the reasons for political parties to emerge from within and outside the legislature.

This course introduces students to the study of ethnic conflict. It will examine different theories of ethnically based identification and mobilization; cover different types of ethnic conflict such as riots, genocide, hate crime and war; and study past and present cases of ethnic conflict around the world. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

This course investigates the politics of protest and revolution, examining the conditions under which protest movements emerge, their choice of protest tactics, the effects of repression and concessions, and the determinants of movement success. The second part of the courses focuses on revolutions, examining the forms that 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 "colored" revolutions and other waves of revolution in the contemporary world.

Traditional politics; the rise of warlords, nationalists, and radicals; causes of the "Liberation," land reform, Hundred Flowers, Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, and Four Modernizations; policies of Mao and Deng for development, health, law, and rights. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Focuses on social and economic change in the Middle East as reflected in development strategies, political competition and conflict, and state intervention in economic and social life. The emphasis is on domestic and comparative politics in the Middle East rather than its international relations. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

A comparative approach to African political systems. The meanings of the concepts of modernization, national integration, and development are explored. Topics include the inheritances of colonial rule, independence and the new tasks, political patterns in the postindependence period, prospects for political change, and African interstate relations. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

A study of the governments and politics of Latin America. The political systems of the Latin American countries will be examined, as well as the common political problems and processes of the area. Special attention will be given to the role of revolution, military rule, and constitutional democracy in Latin American political development. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

A general introduction to Iran in the period from the establishment of the Qajar dynasty in the late 18th century to the present day. Particular emphasis will be given to the social and cultural development of Iran under the stimulus of its contacts with the West. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Offered in alternate years.

This course surveys the politics of Russia and the post-Soviet states, focusing on the four major political challenges that these states confront: state-building, nation-building, democratization, and economic development. Particular attention is given to the ways in which the Soviet experience continues to shape the politics of the Eurasian region, nation-building and identity politics, modes of authoritarian rule and democratization, the politics of energy, and the role of external actors and Russian policies in affecting the political evolution of the region.

An examination of the political and economic change in Russia and some of the former Soviet republics from Gorbachev to the present. After briefly reviewing the main institutions of the Soviet system and theories of its collapse, the course examines specific reforms and the social impact of rapid systemic change. Topics include shock therapy (privatization and economic liberalization), nationalism, crime, and legislative reform among others. The course will also compare the process of change in the former Soviet Union with democratic and market transitions in Latin America and elsewhere. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

An introduction to politics in the large subcontinental country of India. The course will address themes that are important both to India and to a general study of politics in a developing country. The following questions help organize the course: How does one make sense of democracy in a poor, multiethnic setting? How has democratic politics shaped and been shaped by a society divided along numerous lines, such as caste, class, and linguistic and religious identities? And how well has the democratic state fared in promoting both economic growth and social welfare? Two lectures, one preceptorial.