An introduction to the major principles, concepts, actors, and theories of the international system and their application to current issues in world affairs.

Under the direct supervision of one or more faculty members, graduate students will complete an original research design and execute that study.

Selected topics will vary from term to term.

Explores the processes and problems of political and economic integration in the European Union, the world's largest trading bloc.

A comparative analysis of the politics and major institutions of the countries of contemporary Western Europe.

Examination of the economic and political dynamics that influence how regulations governing technology are adopted around the world.

As satellites orbit the Earth hundreds or thousands of kilometers above our heads, they quietly play a critical role in our daily lives, the global economy, and military power. To study space policy is to interrogate the decision-making processes for the civil, commercial, and military uses of outer space from the dawn of the space age to the modern day, spanning issues of international coordination, sustainability, and security in the domain. Through this course, students will learn about the diverse factors that have historically shaped space policy thinking, from the original rationales for spaceflight, to the birth of the commercial space industry, to the development of international systems that promote long-term stability in a rapidly densifying environment. 

By engaging with the debates and decisions that have shaped global space activities, students will gain an appreciation for the role of space technologies in global society, the critical challenges facing this domain, and the intricate politics driving contemporary space policy in both the United States and around the world.

This course aims at examining the main aspects of Chinese politics—how the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is politically organized and governed. The emphasis will be a historical and comparative description of the governmental institutions, political culture, and political party—the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). We will also discuss and assess the CCP-PRC government’s policy-making in the areas of the economy, sociocultural affairs, disease-control, and foreign policy. The aim is to understand the internal sociopolitical structure and dynamics of the PRC as a rising world power, representing an alternative mode of sociopolitical governance and a distinctive model of economic development.

            There is no special requirement for this course except a willingness to read, think, and learn. The class will be organized as a seminar with a clear emphasis on having an extensive classroom participation of the students. 

This class examines the relationship between the globalizing and market-oriented world economy and national sovereignty-based international politics.  We will expose the links, disparities, and conflicts between the two through a historical review and case studies. We will also explore the theoretical perspectives aiming a better understanding of this relationship. A major aim of this class is for the students to demonstrate the ability to describe the social, political, and economic forces that influence nations’ behaviors and the global system.

There is no prerequisite for taking this course.