Political Science (POLS)

What is political science? We will cover the major requirements, minors and programs, internship opportunities, and ways to get involved in the political science department. To get a better sense of the discipline, students will learn about the major (sub)fields in political science including American Politics, International Relations, Comparative Politics, Political Theory, and Political Methodology. Guest lecturers from each field will allow students to meet with prominent political scientists and learn more about their subfields. This course will also provide students with an opportunity to discern their academic and professional interests in political science.

What is political science? What is the difference between political science and politics? How does learning about political science inform political opinions? To better understand the discipline, students will learn about the major fields (or topics) in political science including American Politics, International Relations, Comparative Politics, Political Theory, and Political Methodology. This course will also allow students to discern their academic and professional interests in political science. For political science majors, this course fulfills the 1-credit Why Pols? Major requirement.

This course surveys the basic institutions and practices of American politics. The goal of the course is to gain a more systematic understanding of American politics that will help you become better informed and more articulate. The course examines the institutional and constitutional framework of American politics and identifies the key ideas needed to understand politics today. The reading and writing assignments have been designed not only to inform you, but also to help develop your analytic and research skills. The themes of the course include the logic and consequences of the separation of powers, the build-in biases of institutions and procedures, the origins and consequence of political reforms, connections between demographics and politics, and recent changes in American politics in the 21st century. This semester we will emphasize the significance of the upcoming elections. Although the course counts toward the Political Science major and will prepare prospective majors for further study of American politics, its primary aim is to introduce students of all backgrounds and interests to the information, ideas, and academic skills that will enable them to understand American politics better.

Back in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of government the new American Constitution created. He responded, "a republic, if you can keep it." Today, many people are asking whether the republic-and thus democracy in America-as we know it will survive. Trust is low, polarization is high, and longstanding democratic norms are being shattered left and right. Some scholars have even suggested that the US is on the brink of a new civil war. Others, however, argue that things are not as bad as they seem. This course tackles the big questions about current state of democracy in the United States. Is the US actually a democracy? (And is that different than a republic?) If so, how, when, and why did it become a democracy? Will the US remain a democracy? Finally, what role can YOU play in keeping the republic? This course is designed for students of all backgrounds and majors. Whether you have thought a lot or a little about the state of democracy in America, you are welcome in this class.

This course provides an introduction to the study of international relations. It covers several approaches to and issues in the field, including theories of international politics, war, nuclear weapons, terrorism, trade, finance, globalization, international law and human rights, and the environment.

Comparative politics is the study of world politics. More technically, it is the subfield of political science that uses the comparative method to study the politics within nations. The focus on politics within nations distinguishes comparative politics from international relations, another subfield of political science concerned with studying politics across nations – e.g. diplomacy, war, trade, international organizations. This course introduces students to big questions in comparative politics that are also of fundamental relevance for the world today. We will examine theories and evidence concerning three themes: States and Political Regimes, Democracy (its emergence, quality and erosion), and Development. The course focuses on substance, but we will also evaluate the quality of the evidence and theoretical logic underpinning influential ideas in comparative politics. Though the course is organized around questions, the readings and lectures will often draw on the experience of individual countries. We will also read widely, covering political science, history, economics, sociology, evolutionary biology and anthropology, and draw on specialized readings as well as clips and pieces aimed at a broader audience.

This course is an introduction to political theory as a tradition of discourse and as a way of thinking about politics. The course surveys selected works of political theory and explores some of the recurring themes and questions that political theory addresses. This introductory course fulfils the political theory breadth requirement for the political science major.

Discussion Section for International Relations.

Discussion section for corequisite Comparative Politics.

Students need to register for the required corequisite lecture, POLS 10600 "Political Theory" to be enrolled in this class.

A seminar for first-year students devoted to an introductory topic in political science in which writing skills are stressed.

By reading science fiction and political philosophy born of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), we will investigate the complex ethics and politics of making artificial forms of life through the interventions of human culture, science, and technology in the wider environment. We will focus on three critical 21st-century manifestations of human-made or artificial life: genetic engineering of children through CRISPR-Cas9 and other biotechnologies; making artificial intelligence as smart as or smarter than humans; and the spread and exacerbation of viral zoonotic pandemics through global systems of economics and politics.

The purpose of this course is for students to become familiarized with American government. First, we will explore the structure of government including the origins of democracy, the founding of The United States, and the components of our Constitution. Secondly, we will discuss the connection between the structure of government and those who govern. This political linkage includes public opinion, political parties, the media, and voting and elections. Thirdly, we will review the three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. Finally, we will address what government does – i.e., laws, policies, and executive action. Throughout this semester, we will stay current on our knowledge of breaking news and politics; watching or reading the news is a requirement for our success in understanding how our government works. In short, the class is organized into four sections: (1) the structure of government, (2) political linkage, (3) the branches of government, and (4) the role of government.

Back in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of government the new American Constitution created. He responded, "a republic, if you can keep it." Today, many people are asking whether the republic-and thus democracy in America-as we know it will survive. Trust is low, polarization is high, and longstanding democratic norms are being shattered left and right. Some scholars have even suggested that the US is on the brink of a new civil war. Others, however, argue that things are not as bad as they seem. This course tackles the big questions about current state of democracy in the United States. Is the US actually a democracy? (And is that different than a republic?) If so, how, when, and why did it become a democracy? Will the US remain a democracy? Finally, what role can YOU play in keeping the republic? This course is designed for students of all backgrounds and majors. Whether you have thought a lot or a little about the state of democracy in America, you are welcome in this class.

This course introduces the major questions, theories, and topics in the study of international relations. The course is divided in three parts. The first part focuses on the main schools of international relations theory and how they understand the effects of anarchy on the international system. The second part covers major topics in the study of international relations in two issues areas. We will first examine topics in international security pertaining to the causes, conduct, and mitigators of violence among state and non-state actors. We will then focus on topics in international political economy, such as the distributive effects of trade, the rise of finance, economic development, among others. The last part of the course centers on the future of world order. We will study how key stakeholders of the international system define and articulate their interests in a world where power is increasingly diffused. By the end of this course, students will be able to: - Evaluate critically the readings by examining the logic, data, and conclusions presented by the author(s). - Understand the assumptions and conclusions of the main schools of international relations theory regarding the effects of anarchy in the international system. - Isolate the main sources of peace and conflict in international politics. - Identify which international actors, institutions, and processes shape world politics.

Comparative politics is the study of world politics. More technically, it is the subfield of political science that uses the comparative method to study the politics within nations. The focus on politics within nations distinguishes comparative politics from international relations, another subfield of political science concerned with studying politics across nations – e.g. diplomacy, war, trade, international organizations. This course introduces students to big questions in comparative politics that are also of fundamental relevance for the world today. We will examine theories and evidence concerning three themes: States and Political Regimes, Democracy (its emergence, quality and erosion), and Development. The course focuses on substance, but we will also evaluate the quality of the evidence and theoretical logic underpinning influential ideas in comparative politics. Though the course is organized around questions, the readings and lectures will often draw on the experience of individual countries. We will also read widely, covering political science, history, economics, sociology, evolutionary biology and anthropology, and draw on specialized readings as well as clips and pieces aimed at a broader audience.

This course is an introduction to political theory as a tradition of discourse and as a way of thinking about politics. The course surveys selected works of political theory and explores some of the recurring themes and questions that political theory addresses, especially the question of justice. This introductory course fulfils the political theory breadth requirement for the political science major.

Discussion section for corequisite American Politics.

This is the Friday discussion section, a corequisite for our new course POLS 20101 Keeping the Republic.

Discussion section for corequisite International Relations.

Discussion section for corequisite Comparative Politics.

Discussion section for corequisite Political Theory.

The study of International Relations (IR) is the study of human organization at its highest and most complex level. The goal of IR scholarship is thus to try to manage this complexity intellectually by devising theories which help us to understand and predict state behavior. The main purpose of this course, therefore, will be to introduce students to the most important IR theories. These theories will then, in turn, be applied to real-world IR events in order to test their utility in helping us to understand the world as it actually is. By the end of the course, therefore, the student will have a grounding in both theoretical and factual aspects of IR analysis.

This course is a comprehensive introduction to the workings of the contemporary U.S. Congress. We will examine who runs for and who wins seats in Congress, the lawmaking processes in the House and Senate, and the roles of parties and leaders in the two chambers. The purpose of this course is to examine two fundamental questions: (1) what do members of Congress do and why and (2) how do the individual and collective actions of members of Congress explain national policy? We will examine the process of legislating as well as the role of political parties, leaders, and interest groups. Throughout the semester, we will debate the common criticism that “Congress is broken” and consider its effectiveness as an institution. Is policymaking too partisan? Is the public’s disapproval of Congress justified?

One of the ironies of the Trump era is that a president who disdains reading has elicited an onslaught of books about his time and his administration. Memoirs of the white working class. Manifestos of political resistance. Studies of authoritarianism and populism. Tracts on the future of liberalism and conservatism. Works on race and protest. Meditations on truth. Debates over immigration. Studies of gender and identity. Investigations of White House mayhem. Works on the future of democracy itself. This seminar is a journalistic and intellectual exploration of some major political and cultural debates from the past four years, through the books that have grappled with them.

Political parties play many vital roles in American politics: They educate potential voters about political processes, policy issues, and civic duties. They mobilize citizens into political activity and involvement. They provide vital information about public debates. They control the choices--candidates and platforms that voters face at the ballot box. They influence and organize the activities of government officials. Most importantly, by providing a link between government and the governed, they are a central mechanism of representation. These roles--how well they are performed, what bias exists, how they shape outcomes, how they have changed over time--have consequences for the working of the American political system.

In this course, students will learn about the role of gender in American politics by examining women voters, candidates, and officeholders. The first part of the course will center around women voters, including both the struggle for suffrage and women's voting choices today. The second part of the course will center around women who seek and hold political office, both how they gain political office and what they do once they gain it. Students will learn how gender affects the decisions that voters and members of both Congressional and state legislatures make. Students will be evaluated through one exam and two essays, as well as through their participation in the class.

A principle tenet underlying democratic governance is the belief that public opinion or the "will of the people" should dictate governmental behavior. To the extent this belief is a realistic consideration, difficult questions remain concerning the capacity for citizens to develop reasoned opinions and how to conceptualize and measure opinion. This course explores the foundations of political and social attitudes and the methodology used to observe what people think about politics.

Although the mass media is not formally part of the U.S. government, it is arguably the most powerful institution shaping public attitudes, creating and producing information, and communicating political information to individual citizens. Almost all exposure to politics comes not from direct experience but from mediated stories. And, with the rise of the Internet, the growth of 24-hour cable news, and the decline of the "Big Three" television networks has created, a more diffuse media environment has been created. The primary purpose of this course is to analyze the role of the media in American politics and its relationship with the public, government, and candidates for office in a democratic society.

The beginning of the internet age started with many feeling optimistic about its potential effects on politics, as in theory, it significantly decreased the cost of information. Today, social media’s impact on our politics is often described as null at best, profoundly negative at worst. In this course, we will discuss how elites, activists, and the public have used social media to engage in political processes, go over how this appears to influence public opinion, and look at what the future holds for social media’s use in politics. Finally, we will ask whether social media, and the internet more broadly, has fundamentally changed politics, or if it is just one more step in a long line of technological advancements used in predictable patterns.

This course will examine the many ways in which religion has been fused into American politics. In doing so, we will also explore the rising tide of secularism in the United States, which many argue has resulted from a backlash to the fusion of religion and conservative politics. Then it will turn to trying to solve the puzzle of America's religious pluralism—if religion is so politically divisive, why are Americans so accepting of (most) religions other than their own? What explains the exceptions to that acceptance? What are the implications of a secularizing America for religious pluralism?

In 2020, the United States is commemorating the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which prohibited the denial of voting rights on the basis of sex. In this course, we will take the occasion of the centennial to explore the place of women's suffrage in the development of American democracy and the political empowerment of women. We will examine such topics as the meaning of citizenship, the place of voting in the American democratic system, the woman suffrage movement and other feminist movements, the anti-suffrage movement and other conservative movements, and the participation of women in various political roles, including as candidates and office-holders. We will approach these topics with an explicitly intersectional lens, exploring the ways in which gender, race/ethnicity, and class, in particular, shape politics and power in the United States. Students in this course will also participate in a DPAC Learning Beyond the Classics film course (4-6 weeks) on women/s suffrage.

The U.S. Census estimates there are over 55 million Latinos living in the U.S. today; and by 2060, that number is expected to double. In this course, we will explore the implications of these demographic trends for U.S. politics - past and present. Divided into three main sections, the course is designed to provide students with a broad overview of Latinos in American politics. Beginning with the question of who counts as "Latino," the first section addresses the history of Latino sub-groups in the United States, Latino identity, and shifts in the demographics of the U.S. Latino population over time. In the second section, we will focus on Latino political behavior - from public opinion to protest, voting to campaigning for elected office. In the third section, we will explore the consequences of political institutions. Here, we will explore the development of U.S. immigration policy and the militarization of immigration law enforcement, with particular focus on how the general public, activists, and policymakers are responding to these institutional processes.

This course introduces students to the dynamics of the social and historical construction of race and ethnicity in American political life. The course explores the following core questions: What are race and ethnicity? What are the best ways to think about the impact of race and ethnicity on American citizens? What is the history of racial and ethnic formation in American political life? How do race and ethnicity link up with other identities animating political actions like gender and class? What role do American political institutions the Congress, presidency, judiciary, state and local governments, etc. play in constructing and maintaining these identity categories? Can these institutions ever be used to overcome the points of division in American society?

This course introduces students to the vast, complex and exciting dimensions of Black Chicago Politics. First, institutional structures, geographic distribution and population characteristics will inform students about the sociodemographic background of the African American population in the city, but also other racial and ethnic groups. Second, the course explores varying types of political expression that have developed over more than a century, including electoral politics, mass movements, partisan politics; it will also examine the impact of the Chicago machine, and of the Washington era on the political and economic status of African Americans in the city. Third, public policy developments in housing, education and criminal justice will be discussed. Fourth, the course also compares Black political standing with other racial and ethnic groups in the city. Finally, the course will introduce students to the long tradition of social science research centered on the city of Chicago.

This course undertakes a broad examination of black politics in multiracial America. Racial issues have provoked crises in American politics; changes in racial status have prompted American political institutions to operate in distinctive ways. The course examines the interface of black politics with and within the American political system. How successful have blacks been as they attempted to penetrate the electoral system in the post civil rights era. What conflicts and controversies have arisen as African Americans have sought to integrate the American system of power. Now that the laws have been changed to permit limited integration, should African Americans integrate politically, that is should they attempt to 'deracialize' their political appeals and strategy, with an effort to "crossover politically;" are some approaches such as those of President Barack Obama "not black enough?" What internal political challenges do African Americans face; some such as the increasing importance of class and socioeconomic factors, as well as gender and sexuality may reshape the definition of the black community. What intellectual challenges and strategic choices are they facing as the American population has grown increasingly multiracial. Finally, in light of these demographic changes in American life and American politics, how stable will past patterns of political participation, and political organizations and institutions of African American politics remain.

Public policy could be fairly described as applied social science. This course will introduce you to the fundamentals of public policy by (1) understanding how policy is crafted, (2) detailing the linkages between public opinion and public policy, (3) appreciating how political institutions may bound policy outcomes, (4) and exploring the ability of special interests, and other parties, to shape policy outcomes all while introducing you to various tools and frameworks for approaching the study of public policy. These tools will draw from an understanding of human behavior (psychology), markets (economics), governments (political science), and organizations (sociology) and introduce you to policy analysis. We will use a case study approach to delve into current public policy controversies including healthcare, higher education finance, and infrastructure. This course acts as the primary introductory course for the Hesburgh Minor in Public Service, but is designed for students of all majors and interests.

In the past four decades, the United States has experienced an unprecedented rise in income and wealth inequality. Inequalities across multiple other dimensions (race, ethnicity, geography, and gender) are also pervasive. This course examines a multitude of questions related to politics, policy, and varieties of inequality. How has the American political system and the policies it produces affected levels of inequality in the U.S.? How has inequality shaped American politics and policy? What is the relationship between income and power? What are the political consequences of increasing income inequality? What are the implications of racial and ethnic inequities for the quality of democratic representation? Which policies increase political inequality? What are effective remedies for unequal influence? Finally, which institutions move democratic practice furthest towards full democratic equality and which ones serve to reinforce historical hierarchies? This course is designed to help students understand the political causes and consequences of inequality in America and consider potential interventions to support human flourishing for all.

The course examines the public policy-making process at the federal, state, and local levels. Students will explore a specific policy problem affecting the South Bend metropolitan area. The goal will be to write and present a policy brief to local decision-makers in public policy.

In the United States, public policy has the potential to be a consequential mechanism to address the most vexing and important social and economic problems: inequality, poverty, mass incarceration, climate change and much more. But policies do not appear out of thin air. They are the product of complex political processes. Even after policies are made, political decisions determine how they are implemented and to what end. In order to evaluate or change policy, we must understand politics. That is the focus of this course. We begin with a review of theoretical approaches to conceptualizing and studying public policy. We then explore key policy actors (the President, interest groups, denizens etc.), as well as core aspects of policy design and implementation. Finally, we closely study contemporary policy arenas. Along the way, students will be challenged to grapple with the paradoxes of policy making and to envision pathways to substantive change. Father Hesburgh famously credited President Lyndon Johnson's commitment to civil rights with "changing the face of America." This class recognizes that dramatic policy change must consider the politics behind that change and politics seeking to maintain the status quo. This course fulfils the capstone requirement for the Hesburgh Program in Public Service.

This course will explore major constitutive questions that shaped southern thinking about the political/governmental structure in the United States, principally in the post-Revolution period and in the 19th century. Among the significant questions to be explored is whether emerging southern ideas about American constitutionalism derived from founding American principles or were a departure from them. Special consideration will be given to: the historical context that prompted southern ideas and movements; the purposes for which initiatives were introduced; developing southern ideas about federalism and government authority; key southern political leaders that merit attention; the challenge of slavery as a constitutional and political question; the drive that led southerners to secession and civil war in the mid-19th century; and the constitutional framework of the Southern Confederacy.

This course introduces students to major actors, institutions, processes, and policies of substate governments in the United States. Through an intensive comparative examination of historical and contemporary politics in city governments, we will gain an understanding of municipal government and its role within the larger contexts of state and national government. Among the issues we will examine are representation, race and ethnicity, neighborhood development, and governing the multicultural metropolis.

This course introduces the basic themes of the American constitution, its historical development, and debates in constitutional politics. The course employs a variety of instructional methods including Socratic method lectures, class debates, and moot court exercises in which students play the role of lawyers and justices arguing a Supreme Court case. Students will explore the social and political struggles that have defined the allocation of constitutional power, including debates over presidential war-powers, states' rights, judicial supremacy, federal power to enforce civil rights, and the recent healthcare controversy.

In this course, we will cover extensive constitutional terrain involved in the area of criminal justice, from investigative steps through trial and sentencing. We will study significant issues in 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th Amendment law while situating them within broader philosophical concerns about justice, Catholic Social Teaching, and questions of race and equity that emerge in various areas of criminal law enforcement and adjudication.

The course explores different theories of the president's role in the American constitutional system. Readings include The Federalist Papers, the writings Abraham Lincoln, works of modern scholars, and opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court. Grades will be based on midterm and final exams.

This course explores topics in American constitutional law related to civil liberties and civil rights. The course employs a variety of instructional methods including Socratic method lectures, class debates, and moot court exercises in which students play the role of lawyers and justices arguing a Supreme Court case. Students will explore the social and political struggles that have shaped freedom and equality in the United States, including debates over protest, hate speech, pornography, religious freedom, gun control, abortion, race, gender, and homosexuality.

This course will review decisions of the U.S. Supreme court regarding the constitutional rights of homosexuals. It will assess the Court's decisions in light of (1) background theories of constitutional interpretation; (2) the principles of the American Founding; and (3) present day moral arguments for and against gay rights. Readings will consist of Supreme Court cases, selections from the Ratification debate and the philosophic writings that influenced the Founding, and the writings of present-day moral philosophers on both sides of the issues. Grades will be based on mid-term and final exams, with an optional term paper for one quarter of the course grade.

This course will examine constitutional law, history, theory, practice, and interpretation in the United States. We will focus on the Constitution's structural features, including popular sovereignty, judicial review, separation of powers, and federalism. Students will engage perennial debates and questions as well as present-day controversies.

The "sexual revolution" began in the Western democracies sometime between the 1920s and the 1970s. This revolution saw great changes regarding the social acceptability of fornication, divorce, contraception, pornography, abortion, homosexual sex, and gay marriage. Free-market capitalism has been a major factor in this development due to its inventions, like electronic entertainment and the pill, destruction of the family as a self-sustaining economic unit (drawing men and women out of the family farm and the home shop and into the factories and offices of urban centers), and its tendency to enhance economic growth by promoting self-indulgence and weakening moral, religious, and aesthetic restraints on consumption and production. American courts played a significant role in this development by modifying constitutional provisions originally used to protect property rights and pursue equal protection for racial minorities. Popular resentment of religious imposition via the criminal law has also been a factor since opposition to sexual liberation has come mainly from religious communities. This course surveys the mutual influence of American constitutional law and the sexual revolution in America.

This course examines the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and its interpretation in American constitutional law. Students will participate in Socratic method discussions, class debates, and moot court exercises, in which students play the role of lawyers and justices arguing a Supreme Court case. Through these activities, students will explore the freedom of speech as it relates to sedition, libel, invasion of privacy, obscenity, commercial speech, broadcasting, and the internet.

This course provides a political science perspective on the American presidency, covering the design elements of the office, fundamental features of presidential elections, the power of the presidency, and more.

In this class, we will examine the 2020 presidential election - in real time - and then consider its effects on America's political future. Presidential elections provide the biggest and most important stage for the drama of American democracy. The 2020 version of this democratic drama promises to be one of the most intriguing and consequential in American history. For the first time, a presidential impeachment process has played out in an election year. Meanwhile, that same impeached president is seeking reelection, a Democratic field of unprecedented size and diversity is vying for that party's presidential nomination, and Americans continue to experience the political turmoil produced by the ever-increasing polarization of our two major parties. We will address all of this - from the "invisible primary" in 2018 and 2019, to the actual primaries and caucuses, the conventions, and the fall campaign and election. It does not matter whether you already know a lot or a little about presidential politics; if you want a front-row seat to the 2020 presidential election, this is the class for you.

In this class, we will examine the 2024 presidential election—in real time—and then consider its effects on America's political future. Presidential elections provide the biggest and most important stage for the drama of American democracy, and in 2024 the future of our democracy will be on the ballot. For the first time since 1956, we will have the same two major-party presidential candidates who ran in the last election. However, unlike 1956, which was a rather amicable contest between two political centrists, the 2024 presidential election comes on the heels of one of the two candidates participating in a concerted effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election and each political party depicting the other as a fundamental threat to American values. We will address all of this, from the "invisible primary" in 2022 and 2023, to the actual primaries and caucuses, the conventions, and the fall campaign and election. It does not matter whether you already know a lot or a little about presidential politics; if you want a front-row seat to the 2024 presidential election, this is the class for you.

Sixty years ago, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, in broad daylight, in the presence of hundreds of witnesses, while traveling in his presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas. On that day, a historic presidency came to a tragic end. Two days later, the alleged assassin (Lee Harvey Oswald) was murdered by a Dallas nightclub owner (Jack Ruby) while being escorted from his cell by a host of police officers, raising the possibility of a conspiracy. The official investigation into Kennedy's assassination ("The Warren Report") was met with fierce public skepticism, precipitating numerous Congressional investigations that revealed extensive covert operations (both in the US and abroad) conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that would have been relevant to those charged with investigating the assassination. When combined with an already heightened public skepticism of the assassination itself, these revelations proved to be an enduring catalyst for a slow and steady decline of public trust in government that continues unabated to our present day. In this course, we examine the origins and rise of the "security state" in the United States, its role in significant events in the Kennedy presidency, including the investigation into his assassination, and the extent of its power both before and after Kennedy's presidency. Ultimately, students will be asked whether and to what extent the demands of national security conflict with the constitutional prerogatives of a representative democracy.

“On my arrival in the United States,” wrote Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America (1835), “the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention.” This course is an introduction to the history of religion in the United States from the pre-colonial period to the present, with special attention to its interplay with politics, law, and governance. Taking stock of the broad range of religious traditions that Americans have practiced, we will move chronologically through US history and explore rich primary sources like films, diaries, novels, art, sermons, and court records to help us make sense of religion’s evolving role in American politics and society. Along the way, we will delve into questions of religious pluralism and its challenges; conversion and religious experience; the legal history of the First Amendment’s religion clauses; civil religion; immigration; anti-Catholicism and anti-Semitism; religion, slavery, and the civil rights movement; the shifting identities of religious “insiders” and “outsiders” in American life; the “culture wars”; and secularization, among other topics.

Since our nation’s founding, we have debated (and have increasingly litigated) the appropriate balance of power among the executive (the President), legislative (Congress), and judicial (the courts) branches of the federal government. Those debates have grown more salient and frequent in recent years. As Congress seems to retreat from its historical policymaking role, presidents increasingly fill that legislative vacuum by pushing their policy agendas through executive orders, agency action, and exercising their discretion to enforce federal laws. And many of those presidential acts have been challenged in federal court, leaving the courts to resolve thorny legal issues with profound policy implications. This seminar will focus on the evolution of presidential power, with a focus on the 21st century. The course has two substantive goals. The first is to familiarize students with the historical aspects of presidential power. The course will cover a host of legal issues involving the president, with some attention paid to historical foundations. The second is to emphasize legal developments involving the president over the last 25 years. Whatever one thinks about any particular president, most would agree that 21st-century presidents have attempted to assert presidential power and authority in new, and oftentimes untested, ways. And by all accounts, that trend shows few signs of abating, especially in the continuing absence of legislative action. Accordingly, the course materials will emphasize legal disputes arising during the Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden Administrations.

Although US state-level governments have been described as "laboratories of democracy" where a significant amount of policy making takes place, many of us who study political science often familiarize ourselves only with government at the federal and international levels. This is concerning because, not only do our state governments create many of the policies we experience in everyday life, but also because the federal government will often look to state policies for direction. The importance of state governments is especially evident in the case of COVID-19, as states decide for themselves how to prevent the spread of the virus and administer the vaccine, resulting in a hodgepodge of regulations across the country. State government wields a lot of power over our lives, and it is important for us to understand not only what our state-level representatives are doing, but also the law making powers they hold. This course examines state governments in the US by studying state-level officeholders, such as state legislators, and state-level institutions, including campaigns and elections. Students will learn about the powers which are reserved to the states, unique differences between state governments, and the mechanisms and consequences of lawmaking at the state-level.

Policy can be seen as an output of political institutions and an output of the political process. Scholarship has also begun to identify where policies may impact institutional design and politics. This class will examine the relationship between political institutions, linking institutions such as the media, religion, and special interest groups, elite and mass politics, and public policy. We will engage in questions dealing with the impact of institutional design on policy outcomes, how electoral law shapes representation, how public opinion may or may not shape policy outputs, and the general responsiveness of elites to citizenship demand. From there we will have a conversation about measuring the quality of democracy.

In what sense are “all men… created equal”? What is human liberty? What is prosperity, and how is wealth created? In 1776 these questions were addressed and acted upon in ways that have created the modern world. This one-credit course will explore 1776 and the ideas that made the modern world, focusing on the Declaration of Independence and Adam Smith’s "Wealth of Nations." All students will take the course on a Satisfactory / Unsatisfactory basis. The course is open to students of all majors, especially those students who are intellectually curious. No prerequisites are required.

This course examines the contemporary and historical politics of poverty in the United States. How policy and political actors frame both the causes of poverty and wealth, and the capabilities and rights of those experiencing poverty has led to varying policy responses throughout history. The assumptions underlying these debates and policies not only have long lineages, but also have intended and unintended consequences on those experiencing or near poverty. The readings and class discussion will bring together a theoretical understanding of the scholarly debates surrounding poverty and the empirical consequences of policies emanating from those debates. These policies include the spheres of cash assistance and the labor market, healthcare, food assistance, housing, family and childcare, tax, and broader economic configurations. We will focus as well on the actors and political processes (legislative, administrative, and judicial) at the heart of these efforts. By extension, this course will deepen the students' understandings of the role of ideologies, individuals, and institutions in shaping and responding to problems in our society.

This course explores how economic, social, and political inequality is reflected in various components of the U.S. governing system and how U.S. political institutions shape the distribution of power and economic well-being. We will examine the role of Congress, the presidency, courts, separation of powers, veto points, and federalism in reproducing economic and social inequality. We will also examine how economic and racial inequality is embedded in the design of U.S. political institutions. A core ongoing theme of the course is whether and how U.S. democracy can survive and thrive in the face of a variety of enduring inequalities. The course will include a combination of lectures and discussions. Assessment will be based on a series of short written assignments and/or quizzes as well as a substantial final paper with a collaborative and individual option.

This course will examine the causes, current state, and consequences of polarization in American politics. The course will consider various conceptualizations of polarization, including ideological polarization, affective polarization, and asymmetric polarization. Students will also compare polarization at various levels of politics, from the mass public to activists and party elites. Beyond partisan polarization, the course will also address partisan sorting and the ways in which Americans now appear politically polarized across various boundaries including religiosity, education status, and geography. Students will develop a broad understanding of polarization in American politics and grapple with what the future looks like for a polarized America.

Political polarization in American politics has reached a new level of contentiousness in the last two to three decades. The media tells us members of the American public are balkanized into red and blue states, whose respective residents clash along partisan lines during every national election. Headlines proclaim we are a nation divided, the moderate middle is a thing of the past, and there is no remedy in sight. In this course, we will investigate the breadth and depth of political polarization in the United States among politicians, activists, and the public, as well as its social, partisan, and political origins. We will also consider the consequences of political polarization for American democracy, including its impact on electoral politics, democratic representation, and public policy.

As the United States rapidly undergoes changes to its demographic landscape, politics will inevitably change as well. This course addresses these potential implications by investigating foundational work in population change and politics. Students who take this course will take a deep dive into how past, present and future changes to the racial, ethnic and cultural landscape of the U.S. can alter politics. We will address a variety of ideas: whether the increasing size of racial minority groups promotes harmony or conflict; the role of emotion in individual reactions to demographic change; the coming "majority-minority" flip, where whites are projected to become a minority; and how different causes (e.g. immigration, changing birth rates) of racial and ethnic demographic change affects politics in different ways.

This course will examine ways that law structures, promotes, and governs the practice of democracy in America. Topics include key features of the American constitution, including federalism, bicameralism, the separation of powers, and judicial review; the First Amendment and the freedoms of speech and press; voting rights, elections, parties, and campaigns; and the changes caused and challenges posed by technological and other developments.

Immigration is an issue of increasing importance in the United States. Few issues have generated as much debate and emotion as the immigration policy. The goal of this course is to provide students with an overview of the critical normative and academic questions in political science regarding immigration in the U.S. What factors have affected contemporary and historical immigration policy in the United States? In particular how have economics, demographics, politics, religion, culture, environmental concerns, and ethnic and nationalist interests impacted the nature of immigration politics and policy? How have groups leveraged political influence for desired immigration policy outcomes? We will study the impact of worldwide immigration and population trends on the formulation of American policy. The emphasis will be on an academic understanding of how immigration policy has been affected by domestic and international demographic and political factors.

This course will examine the opportunities and challenges facing Latino communities today as they simultaneously transform and are transformed by their continuing growth in U.S. society. Through a careful examination of the biographies of leaders in Latino communities, we will examine what role they have each played in empowering Latino communities to advance in business, arts, education, community organizing, entertainment, medicine, religion, law, academia, politics, and other areas. The course will coincide with the Transformative Latino Leadership Speaker Series sponsored by the Arthur Foundation through the Institute for Latino Studies. Students in the class will have the opportunity to interact with invited leaders in several setting including the classroom, meals, receptions, and university-wide events. The primary course requirement is a research essay about the life and career of a chosen leader.

This course will explore the roots of philanthropy in American society, the role philanthropy plays within the modern economy, and how philanthropic activity helps us create a better world and strive for the common good. The key component of the course requires students to act as a Board of Directors and use thoughtful analysis to award real grants to deserving nonprofits (a sum up to $50,000). Students are expected to come to each class prepared to discuss course readings, and to offer ideas and suggestions regarding the grant making process. Each student is also expected to complete two site visits to nonprofit organizations outside of normal class hours. Students will nominate nonprofits for awards and the class will systematically discuss, analyze, and ultimately vote to award the grants. Students interested in this course who are unable to register through their major/minor should contact the instructor for permission to register.

In this course, the study of Urban Politics will be examined through the lens of the institutions, issues, and individuals that make up these substate governments. Using historical and contemporary examples throughout the history of city governments in the United States, we gain a greater understanding of municipal government and its role within the larger context of state and national governments. City governance, though, is uniquely impacted by differences in representation, administration, and the role of political influence. Issues of concern, ranging from economic growth and resource allocation, racial conflict, sustainability, and others, are ever more pronounced in the context of city governance. The study of Urban Politics adds a greater context necessary in understanding the complexities of American Politics.

This course focuses on selected legal and policy issues related to K-12 education in the United States. A central theme is the intersection of K-12 schooling and the state, with a particular focus on Constitutional issues of religious freedom and establishment, student speech and privacy, parental choice, educational opportunity, and education reform trends such as charter schools and accountability measures. Questions examined over the course of the semester include: What are the most basic obligations of the state with regard to its regulation of K-12 education? What are the most basic rights of parents in this regard? In what ways does the 1st Amendment protect - and limit - the speech and privacy rights of K-12 schoolchildren? In what ways may the state accommodate K-12 schools with an explicitly religious character? What are the Constitutional requirements with regard to religious speech or expression within K-12 public schools? To what degree is the principle of equality manifest in the form of educational opportunity? How has this changed over time? In what ways have education reform trends such as charter schooling and increased accountability changed the policy landscape of K-12 education?

This is a course in the nature of law generally and of the task of judging (often referred to as "jurisprudence") in particular. This course will study the major conceptual schools of thought that have shaped American jurisprudence, including legal positivism, natural law jurisprudence, originalism, textualism, and pragmatism. We will examine as well as more general philosophical frameworks beyond the American context, including the legal thought of St. Thomas Aquinas and the British philosopher of law H.L.A. Hart.

The relationship between health and poverty is complex and challenging. The inability of the poor to maintain adequate nutrition, shelter and have access to preventative medical care can contribute to their poor health status. But even if one isn't poor, one illness or hospitalization can test their ability to meet both their ability to meet the financial burden of their medical care as well as their other needs. In either case, individuals have to face difficult choices between their health and other material needs. This course examines the consequences of the health risks the poor face and the difficulties that they have in obtaining medical care whether they are uninsured, seek "charitable" care, or utilize public programs such as Medicaid. The course will also examine the impact of the Affordable Care Act that will require all individuals to have at least a minimal level of health care coverage.

This course will focus on the writings of Black political thinkers in the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Through critical examination of the conditions against, and contexts within, which the political theories of these thinkers are situated, this course hopes to arrive at some understanding of the principles, goals and strategies developed to contest and redefine notions/concepts of citizenship (vis-a-vis the imperatives of race/racism and the global colonial formations), humanity, justice, equality, development, democracy, and freedom.

The Presidency of Donald Trump has upended not only American politics, but also American conservatism. This 1-credit participatory seminar will examine the future of conservatism in America through the study of contemporary conservative political thinkers and their critics.

Over the course of the United States' near 250-year history, there have been many Supreme Court cases that have spoken to and impacted the fundamental bedrock of our nation. Many of these cases established legal precedent that would later take numerous decades in order to be altered or outright rejected by future Supreme Court justices. When examining many of these defining cases, we find that issues of race lie at their heart. The goal of this course is to examine this nation's historical views on race and ethnicity over time and their direct impact on major Supreme Court cases and the decisions of those justices sitting on the mightiest bench in the land. We will discuss cases ranging across history and topic, including Civil Rights (Dredd Scott v. Sanford, Brown v. Board of Education, Loving v. Virginia.), Equal Protection (Plessy v. Ferguson, Koromatsu v. U.S.) , and Affirmative Action (Gratz v. Bollinger, Fisher v. University of Texas), just to name a few. What will be seen throughout the course are the ways our nation's ideas and actions regarding race, on both governmental and societal levels, have fundamentally impacted the laws of the land and the citizens who inhabit it.

The weaponization of speech is constantly in the news. Today incendiary speech has unprecedented political repercussions. In this course, we will engage in deep readings of primarily political 20th and 21st century texts that have been accused of sowing hate. This 1 credit course aims to provide students a safe analytical space to have deep encounters with texts that the general reader is discouraged from reading. While this course is not an exhaustive overview of all hate speech, it will offer students the opportunity to engage with primary sources seldom found in the classroom across the political spectrum. Together, we will explore what makes these texts dangerous, identify commonalities, and pull out the "pedestrian" aspect of many of them. The arc of the course will focus on developing a framework for analysis and coming to terms with the question: Is some speech simply too dangerous to permit? This course counts as 1 general elective credit and does not count toward the political science major or for a University or College core requirement.

With an aging population and concerns with the magnitude of government debt, the future obligations of Social Security and Medicare have made prompted policy makers to actively consider reforms of these government entitlement programs. This course will examine the following topics. What is the economic status of the elderly? How do government programs assist the elderly (the broad range of assistance from tax preferences and means tested programs such as food stamps and Supplemental Security Income to the universal programs such as Social Security and Medicare)? What role do these government programs play in retirement policy? Are governments too generous or should the elderly take on greater responsibility for their retirement years? What reforms are being proposed currently for reform of Social Security and Medicare?

Almost all crimes, or even human interactions, contain a digital component. The fact that "old" laws don't always fit "new" problems is no more apparent than in the area of cybercrimes. This course will include discussion of topics including: the methodology of typical cyber investigations, the application of the Fourth Amendment to digital evidence, and different types of cyber-specific laws enforced today. The course will also focus on the responses of both courts and legislators to the ever-evolving issues presented by computer crimes.

The use and interaction with digital devices and the internet are ingrained in our lives. This course will introduce students to the principles of forensic psychology as they apply to cybercrime offenses. Students will learn the psychology of various types of offenders, including those of hackers, online child offenders, cyber stalkers, and identity thieves. Students will also learn the psychology of the online activities of those who have carried out mass killings.

Ingrained in our daily lives, the use and interaction with digital devices and the internet have given rise to technology-facilitated crimes. This course introduces the psychology behind these offenses and their perpetrators. Students will delve into the motivations and behaviors of diverse offenders, such as hackers, online child offenders, cyber stalkers, and identity thieves. Additionally, the course explores the psychology of individuals engaged in online activities linked to mass killings, alongside essential techniques of threat assessment. By comprehending the psychological aspects of digital deviance, students will be better equipped to address and mitigate the challenges posed by technology-driven criminal behaviors.

The class begins by exploring the concepts of gender, politics, and power, and related concepts such as intersectionality, patriarchy, sexism, and stereotypes. With that foundation, we turn our attention to two arenas in which gender and politics interact in the US: social and political movements and women as political actors. We will examine how women negotiate movements and how gender shapes structure, tactics, and outcomes for both women's movements (e.g., suffrage, feminist, conservative, #metoo) and other movements (such as the Progressive and civil rights movements). Finally, we will consider the constraints, opportunities, and impact of women in political roles, such as voter, candidate, and office-holder, with special attention to the 2022 US midterm elections. While grounded in political science, the course engages substantially with philosophy, history, sociology, and economics as well.

This course will explore the American Civil War, the nation’s greatest constitutional crisis, by examining the constitutional and legal conflicts that triggered war, the constitutional issues faced by both sides as they attempted to prosecute the war, and the constitutional legacy the war left on the U.S. Constitution. Topics we will explore include states’ rights constitutionalism, secession, the nature of the Union, race-based slavery as a constitutional issue and political puzzle, emerging questions about “war powers” of the president on both sides, popular understandings (North and South) of wartime constitutional developments, and war-related issues, including the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, military conscription, exemption, military tribunals, and emancipation. Our goal will be to understand this unique and fascinating chapter in American history through the lens of American constitutionalism and from the perspective of both sides. Course writing assignments will draw from questions explored in our class readings and discussions.

The course "How Do Americans Feel About Racial Inequality?" examines citizens' perceptions of racial inequity throughout history. More specifically, the class investigates the tactics and strategies that political leaders have used to influence the racial perceptions of the mass public. Through the examination of the Reconstruction Era, the Civil Rights Movement, and former presidents, this class will explore the evolution and subtleties of racial attitudes. We will read from authors and activists like Frederick Douglass, Fanny Lou Hamer, SNCC, John Lewis, Martin Luther King, and Dick Gregory. Specific topics discussed are the Southern strategy, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Dixiecrats, racial resentment, stereotypes, and dog-whistle politics.

Despite, or perhaps because of the history of enslavement, exclusion, and continued discrimination against racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, many Americans have organized and mobilized in search of a more perfect union. These struggles can be seen within the Civil Rights Movement, Black Panther Party, Chicano Student Movement, American Indian Movement, Immigrant Rights Movement, and the recent Black Lives Matter protests. Through analysis of political movements and moments in American history, this course will examine the concept of political power, the avenues often excluded groups take to participate in politics, and what it means for those groups to successfully transform American democracy. Along the way we will read works from authors such as the American Founders, W.E.B. Du Bois, Huey P. Newton, G. William Domhoff, Frances Fox Piven, James Baldwin, and others.

The United States is the most powerful state in the world today. Its actions are important not just for US citizens, but they also affect whether others go to war, whether they will win their wars, whether they receive economic aid, whether they will go broke, or whether they will starve. What determines US foreign policy? What is the national interest? When do we go to war? Would you send US soldiers into war? If so, into which wars and for what reasons? How do our economic policies affect others? Does trade help or hurt the US economy and its citizens? We first study several theories about foreign policy. We then examine the US foreign policy process, including the President, Congress, the bureaucracy, the media, and public opinion. To see how this all works, we turn to the history of US foreign policy, from Washington's farewell address through the World Wars and the Cold War to the Gulf War. We then study several major issue areas, including weapons of mass destruction, trade and economics, and the environment. Finally, we develop and debate forecasts and strategies for the future.

Why do international organizations exist? Do they shape outcomes in international politics? This course considers the role that international institutions have played in addressing global problems. Some argue their role is trivial, since there is no international police force that can constrain states. Others argue their role is profound, as institutions help states overcome important barriers to cooperation. You will apply these theories to understand institutions governing economic stability, human rights, climate change, global development, and more. To do so, you will complete several writing assignments where you step into the shoes of world leaders. You will assess whether your state should join and comply with international organizations; when it might make sense to leave them; and how new institutions should be designed to address the world’s greatest challenges.

This course analyzes the structure, function, and purpose of the United Nations in global politics using IR theory and quantitative research. This course includes consideration of notable past and current events, emerging international issues, and the roles of international diplomacy and peacekeeping for meeting 21st Century challenges to global governance.

This course serves as a gateway for subsequent coursework in international security. It is a required course in the Notre Dame International Security Center's undergraduate certificate program requirements, but it is also appropriate for, and open to, any Notre Dame students interested in U.S. national security policymaking. It will begin with an account of the history and development of U.S. national security policy from the Founding through the present. Next, it examines the current state of the primary institutions involved in U.S. national security policymaking. Finally, it explores the tools and instruments of military statecraft as applied by the United States. The course culminates with a simulation exercise in which students will role-play key participants in the U.S. national security policymaking process. At a minimum, that students will gain from it the analytical tools, historical knowledge, and current-events background to become more informed citizens, particularly with respect to important national debates about when and how our country should use military force. At a maximum, the course may lead some students to become interested enough in the topic to pursue a career in either the practice or the study of U.S. national security policy. The current draft version of the syllabus is posted at https://www3.nd.edu/~dlindley/handouts/ND_NDISC_cert_gateway_syl.pdf.

This course examines the most important bilateral relationship in the world today. It begins with an overview of the major historic episodes in U.S.-China relations, then, adopting a theme-based approach, it examines the relationship among important topics in the contemporary bilateral relationship across the overlapping political, economic and security spheres. The course will stress the importance of perceptions in policymaking, and use student presentations and a crisis simulation to allow students to understand the problem from various perspectives.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to international law. In the beginning of the semester, we will focus on general characteristics of international law, such as its historical development, main thinkers, subjects, and sources of law. Second, we will study several substantive areas of international law, such as human rights, international criminal law, diplomacy, and peaceful resolution of disputes. Next, we will examine international courts, such as the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. We will conclude the course by analyzing international law through the lenses of domestic legal systems. Upon completion of this course, students should be familiar with the main features of international law and its historical development.

This course critically examines the phenomena of international judicial intervention and ‘criminalization of world politics'; the actors, ideas, and rationales behind the international criminal justice project; the operation of international criminal justice in a world of power politics; its accomplishments, failures, and financial costs; and the future of international criminal justice. The course includes Skype conferences with a war crimes investigator, a war crimes analyst, a defense counsel, a victim representative, a State Department official, and a staff member of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court.

This course investigates modern genocide. We will consider several cases: Armenia, the Jewish Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, and possibly Darfur and/or Gaza, and examine the conditions that lead to genocidal violence. We will also examine the uses of humanitarian interventions, trials, and strategies of societal reconciliation, and relevant conceptions of justice, guilt, forgiveness and moral responsibility.

This course examines how oil and natural gas have shaped international relations from the early twentieth century to the present, with a particular focus on conflict. It begins by introducing students to the fundamentals of global energy production, consumption and trade, and then briefly surveys the political history of oil as it relates to the great powers. The course then moves on to contemporary issues, including the political significance of "fracking" technology, the role of the United States in protecting Persian Gulf oil, and the extent to which Russia's dominant natural gas position might translate into political influence in Europe. These and other topics are examined through numerous theoretical lenses, including theories of resource conflict, economic interdependence, political coercion, and petro-aggression.

This course examines the interaction of politics and economics in the international arena. We begin with a brief historical exploration of the international political economy, and introduce four analytical perspectives on state behavior and international outcomes. Topics include trade policy, foreign direct investment and multinational corporations, international capital flows, exchange rate regimes and currency unions (including European Monetary Union), financial crises, and the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.

In the last several decades, in many countries around the world - including countries such as the United States, UK and India - inequality has been found to have increased. Although this is not true for every country, it has attracted a great deal of attention among scholars and the media. This course systematically examines the economics and politics of inequality. It will first examine different concepts of inequality among people and countries, and discuss ways of measuring inequality. It will then examine trends in inequality over time. It will examine whether an increase in inequality is a Bad Thing and, if so, why? Most of the course will be devoted to examining the determinants of inequality in order to explain changes in it, and the implications of inequality for the economy, politics and for society.

This course examines the relationships among resources, technologies, and national power as countries try to protect themselves in an uncertain global environment, specifically how countries convert latent power (wealth) into realized power (especially military forces). It covers particular topics including the importance of developing new technologies and the role of government and especially militaries in promoting innovation; the role that concentration of scarce resources (e.g., oil) and production (e.g., rare earths in China or semiconductors in Taiwan) in particular countries plays in national security; the effect of globalization of trade and investment on the likelihood, the conduct, and the results of war; and the effects of peacetime defense investment and wartime mobilization on the strength of the broader economy. By the end of the course students will have developed an understanding of how economic issues affect strategic and political thinking about international relations that they can use to assess events around the world and pundits' and politicians' comments about International security throughout their lives.

This course examines the intersection of politics and economics in an increasingly global world. Economic interdependence has increased dramatically over the past fifty years. While this has raised living standards in many countries, it has also given rise to new social, economic, and political tensions. This course offers an analytical framework for evaluating the consequences of globalization and provides an overview of several theoretical approaches to and empirical issues in today's global economy. The course is divided into three main sections. The first part of the course focuses on understanding what is meant by 'globalization' as well as an introduction to several contending theories of globalization. The second part of the course will focus on managing globalization, and will evaluate different options available to states, institutions, and other actors. The final section of the class will be devoted to empirical issues associated with globalization. Topics discussed include: the environment, corruption, human rights, non-governmental organizations, democratization, and regional trading blocs.

Cross-border financial flows are one of the most important aspects of contemporary globalization. This course explores their effects on domestic and international politics. Do multinational corporations consider political factors when deciding whether or not to invest in a country? And how do their investments impact a country's development? Does the international bond market influence what policies governments can undertake? Why does the Chinese government want to control its exchange rate and how does that affect American interests? Could the 2008 financial crisis happen again? Is increased exposure to international financial flows responsible for the growth of populist movements in the United States and Europe? In addition to engaging with these questions through the readings and class discussion, students will develop their own research project based on personal interests.

This course looks at why some countries are more economically developed than others, and why some are developing more than others, using a political economy perspective. It discusses alternative meanings and measures of development. It then examines alternative views on the constraints to development, at different levels of analysis, individual, sectoral, national and global. In so doing it analyzes economic factors, and their interaction with broader political, social and cultural factors, and explores both problems internal to countries and to those arising from international interactions and globalization. Finally, it critically examines different strategies and policies for development.

War belongs to the ugly reality of human history, and it would be naive to believe that this will change soon. The course addresses the specifically ethical dimensions involved with warfare - the question of legitimate reasons for going to war, the moral limits to warfare, and the moral challenges after the end of a war. We will proceed "inductively," starting with concrete issues, developing more general categories, and finally trying to find moral foundations. We will first read two dramas by Shakespeare and Schiller on two leaders in two of the bloodiest wars of European history, the Hundred Years' War and the Thirty Years' War, Henry V and Wallenstein, then study Michael Walzer's classical work Just and Unjust Wars and the recent book on post-war justice, a topic ignored by Walzer, by David Chwon Kwon: Justice After War. We will finally read the first and the third parts of my own book Morals and Politics, which lays out both foundations for ethics and moral strategies for dealing with some of the greatest political challenges of our time.

China has gone from international isolation to a superpower in the last three decades. How has China orchestrated its meteoric rise? How have US policies facilitated and hindered China's efforts to close the power gap? Does China's rise present a challenge to American hegemony and an attack on the U.S. constructed post-WWII order? Are the world's two most powerful states locked in a 'Thucydides Trap' destined for war? This course analyzes China's ascendance through international relations theories and practices.

This course gives an overview of nuclear phenomena such as nuclear fission and fusion. The material also involves nuclear weapons and their medical and physical consequences. Scenarios for war and peace, proliferation of nuclear weapons material, and recent diplomatic history are also discussed. The course is open to all students and the typical enrolment is about 90.

An introductory course, for non-science majors, providing an overview to a broad range of topics and aspects of nuclear weapons and warfare in the 21st century, providing students with both an understanding of the science behind nuclear weapons (including nuclear fission and fusion, effects of shock and thermal radiation, electromagnetic pulses, etc.) as well as an understanding of the strategic aspects of the nuclear revolution. This course is jointly taught and sponsored by the Department of Physics and the Department of Political Science.

Destined for War? Great Power Politics after the Cold War: Our world has changed a lot in the last 30 years. From triumphant declarations of the "end of history" after the collapse of the Soviet Union to the mire of the War on Terror, and now with China's rise becoming more evident every day, global affairs has seen its share of ups and downs. This class will focus exclusively on international politics since the end of the Cold War, with specific attention paid to the actions and interactions of the great powers in the system - the US, Russia, China, and the European Union. We will examine how the various theoretical paradigms within the field of international relations seek to explain these events, and evaluate their proposed accounts. By the end of the class, students will possess broad knowledge of world political events that have taken place in the last 30 years and have an understanding of how political science has sought to understand these events.

Foundations of Conventional War introduces students to the underlying mechanisms and gradual evolution of combat from The First World War to today. The course will frame these mechanisms and evolutions around theoretical bedrock concepts, such as Steven Biddle's "Modern System" and Clausewitz's concept of Friction. Students will learn how these foundational concepts have varied over time due to technological, tactical, and social change. The course will then shift to contemporary conflicts to illustrate how foundational concepts might change due to emergent conditions on modern battlefields such as the current Russian invasion of Ukraine or hypothetical Taiwanese invasion scenarios. Students will produce simple models of combat to demonstrate foundational concepts as a final project.

Throughout the past century, nationalism and populism have stood as two of the most powerful forces in global politics. The recent successful political campaigns of those such as Donald Trump, Victor Orban, and Jair Bolsonaro have displayed the enduring need for both scholars and students of politics to understand and examine these two political dynamics. This course will first explore the conceptual foundations of nationalism and populism and the debates surrounding their sources. Next, students will examine the consequences for both domestic and foreign policy, including such issues as trade, regime durability, international institutions, and war. Finally, the course will investigate both historical and contemporary cases of nationalist and populist leaders across the globe

Policymaking for a Global Era provides students with the intellectual foundations necessary to understand the dilemmas and opportunities faced by decision-makers during the policymaking process. The course has three modules. The first investigates how policymakers' world views and choices are shaped by experimental, cultural, normative and decision making structures. It also examines how regime type and country size constrain policymakers' options. The second module examines the numerous domestic and international actors and factors that influence the foreign policymaking process in the U.S. - including the presidency, intelligence services, the Congress, media, NGOs, international institutions, and foreign governments. In the third module we study policymaking in three Asian countries - China, India, and Vietnam. This comparative approach illustrates how elements such as culture, country size, and regime type, which were introduced in the first module, affect these countries foreign policymakers' decisions. The course concludes with a policymaking crisis simulation that employs the lessons learned throughout the course. The course assignments are three 5-page policy memoranda and robust class participation.

Under what conditions do governments comply with international norms? How can international courts secure respect for their orders? Because international courts lack effective means of enforcement, governments often defy their rulings. We will analyze why governments adhere to court orders and how international bodies can become more effective. We will also introduce advanced methodological tools to analyze and predict compliance. Students in the seminar will have the opportunity to participate in research projects integrated to the Notre Dame Reparations Design and Compliance Lab (NDRL). Participants will be able to use the tools acquired in the course to analyze compliance with the rulings of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the World Bank Inspection Panel, and other international bodies.

What is the relationship between the armed forces and society? This course will explore the many dimensions one might consider in answering such a question. We will explore the political, economic, and social effects of the armed forces on civilian life We will discuss issues relating to matters such as just war theory, the distinction between combatants and non-combatants, conscription, the law of armed conflict and international humanitarian law, the "guns versus butter" debate, military regimes versus civilian control over the armed forces, technological change, health concerns surrounding veterans, and the roles of race, gender, and sexual orientation in the military.

Few experiences have exerted more influence on our understanding of international politics than those of crisis-ridden Europe between the two World Wars. Academics, policymakers, and laypeople alike frequently point to the failure of the League of Nations, Hitler's expansionist hypernationalism, or the "appeasement" crises of the 1930s when debating how to identify, understand, and respond to some of the most pressing international challenges of our time. This course offers an overview of European interwar history through the lense of international relations theory and debates several purported lessons of the period for policymakers today. Students thus engage a series of topics within international relations, ranging from the role of institutions in international politics to the causes of war and the interaction of economic and security policy. In the process, students familiarize themselves with key events of the interwar years, including the Occupation of the Ruhr, the Abyssinia Crisis, and the Munich Agreement.

The intervention of the military into politics remains one of the oldest phenomena of mankind and often radically alters the trajectory of a state. The coup detat remains one of the fundamental and enduring problems of leadership. This course will introduce students to this unique political phenomenon. We will visit theories that explain why the military at times enters into politics, as well as why some coup attempts fail while others succeed. We will also explore variation in the frequency of coups across history and regions, their consequences, and the modern challenges posed by those attempting to circumvent the political process to achieve power.

To what extent does climate change pose a threat to national and international security? In this course, we will consider how the biophysical consequences of a changing climate reverberate through economic, social, and political systems to cause armed conflict between states and within them. We will examine at length the causal linkages between environmental change and war and scrutinize the empirical evidence. In addition, we will discuss the potential for political institutions, adaptation, and mitigation to prevent climate-related violence. Throughout the course, we will explore contemporary conflicts to illustrate key points and discuss how climate change shapes today?s international security landscape and concurrent policy debates.

Global environmental politics is a field of political science that examines how political processes shape environmental outcomes and vice versa. On the one hand, it is concerned with issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, and natural resource use. On the other hand, it studies things like political institutions, social movements, party systems, and state-business relations. All the while, it places these ideas in a cross-national, global perspective. Throughout this course, students will grapple with both foundational and emerging questions in the study of global environmental politics. Why do some governments have stronger environmental policies than others? When do interest groups support or oppose different forms of environmental regulation? What role do social movements play in supporting diverse coalitions of environmental interests? How do voters form and express preferences for or against environmental action?

As the quotation above suggests, an underlying assumption of this course is that ordinary people can, under certain circumstances, act in exceptionally violent and abhorrent ways. Indeed, violence deployed for political purposes is as old as humankind itself and its threat remains eerily relevant in our own era. How and to what end is violence practiced? Why are some societies plagued by recurrent violence while others appear to be mostly free of it? What explains who participates in violence and why? What are the consequences of violence for society? In answering these questions, we will visit examples from multiple continents and time periods, seeking to grasp the mechanisms at play and gaining an understanding of ongoing policy debates. Crucially, we will leave the classroom with a deeper appreciation of how difficult these questions are to answer. At the same time, we will lean on empirical evidence in order to evaluate competing theories that offer plausible answers.

What is the relation between religion and conflict in international and global relations? What is the relation between religion and peacebuilding, locally and globally? The so-called resurgence of religion to global politics, conventionally dating back to the Iranian Revolution of 1979, challenged the secularist myopia that informed policy makers and theorists of international relations. But it took the events of September 11th, 2001 to fully catalyze a process of rethinking the role of religion, on both the levels of theory and practice within the contexts of international relations. Both theorists and practitioners in the arenas of international relations are trying to decipher how to theorize religion into the existing explanatory paradigms of realism, liberalism, and constructivism. The course will examine these conversations, dating back to Westphalia of 1648 and the historical role of religion in the construction of the international system of nation-states. The course will also discuss the explicit integration of the imperative to engage religious communities and promote religious freedom into explicit strategies of American foreign policy and combating violent extremism at home. These issues will be discussed through a consideration of the history of orientalism and Islamophobia as well as the legacy of colonialism.

The first part of course examines the legacies of protracted conflicts (mostly civil wars) on a variety of political outcomes, from state-building and democratic institutions to political participation and social movements. The second part of the course explores different mechanisms by which states and the international community have dealt with these legacies, such as international courts, transitional justice and institution-building programs.

Most current wars are civil wars, and these are longer and more violent than other forms of conflict. This course explores the politics of contemporary civil war. It examines the logic of rebel strategy, key trends in violence, and transnational dynamics including trafficking, terrorism, and international intervention. It takes a multi-scale approach to probe the roles of armed groups, civilians, national militaries, humanitarian organizations, and United Nations peace operations. It examines how the interaction among these actors reshapes the strategies, local economies, and duration of war. Students will compare the voices and experiences of civilians and rebels in warzones with intervention and conflict mitigation at the global level, and will examine implications for post-conflict transitions and conflict mitigation strategies. Students will build skills in conflict analysis, evidence, and assess gaps between public narratives of civil war and clandestine actions.

This course explores security issues in the Asia Pacific. With the region’s growing importance and China’s rise, scholars and practitioners have debated whether Asia is ripe for rivalry and the appropriate strategic posture that the US should adopt in the region. To answer these critical questions, this course will begin by introducing students to foundational theoretical lenses, with a particular focus on application of the theories and assessing what “security” means. The second part of the course will explore some of the most pressing security challenges in Asia, ranging from traditional issues such as the Taiwan Strait, the Korean Peninsula, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, to some of the nontraditional issues such as climate change, emerging technology, global governance, or economic statecraft. This course will conclude by exploring the key contours of contemporary debates over US strategy in Asia: should the US increase, maintain, or decrease its engagement, and what are the priorities and instruments of statecraft that may be involved?

This course is about transnational networking, mobilizing, and campaigning for or against social change. Equal attention is paid to conceptual and substantive issues. Conceptual issues include framing, strategies, and actors. Among the substantive issues examined are human rights, women's rights, gay rights and gay marriage, climate change, and global gun control. We are particularly interested in the emergence over the last two decades of a ‘global right wing' and the globalization of the culture wars.

An introduction to the field of international development, with particular focus on the various disciplines that have contributed to and shaped the development discourse. Readings, lectures, and discussions will draw from various disciplines, including economics, political science, sociology, anthropology, environmental and technological sciences, public health, law, and gender studies, among others. We will examine debates on the meaning and measurement of development; alternative approaches to, and methods in, the study of development; and attempts to address some of the main development challenges facing the world today. There will be a central focus on understanding "what works" in development. Working together in teams, students will conceptualize and design an international development project using "real world" constraints.

Market-oriented reforms known as ‘neoliberalism’ have dominated the reform agenda across the world. These reforms were passed amidst tremendous political contestations and have delivered varying degrees of success. For the developing countries that faced the additional/simultaneous challenges of building ‘good’ institutions and governance systems, these reforms have resulted in questionable outcomes. Given this, today’s emerging economies have been forced to re-assess the benefits of market-oriented reforms, and those with policy space and political will/capacity have embarked on new reform experiments. The module introduces the students to the complexities and challenges of economic reforms in the fast-growing economies by placing politics at the heart of the analysis. The course is comprised of two parts. The first part provides the theoretical and conceptual foundations for examining the processes and outcomes of economic reforms. It discusses the limitations and dangers of designing and implementing reforms without consideration of the broader concept of states and markets or sufficient engagement with politics. This is because policy always produces new winners and losers, and as a result provokes resistance from those who believe they will lose wealth, status, or power. The second part investigates reforms in key areas of the political economy where there have been significant reforms and where distributive tension and conflicts are rampant. These include privatization, trade liberalization, industrial policies, debt and macroeconomic stabilization, tax and fiscal, and social policy reforms, food and nutrition, among others. Given the importance of national and regional contexts when discussing politics, the course draws cases from a wide range of geographical areas including East Asia, Latin American and Sub-Saharan Africa. The module concludes by examining the implications of factoring politics and local contexts into economic reforms for development policy and management and discusses whether new development paradigms and models exist for emerging economies.

This course will utilize methodologies and materials from the National Security Innovation Network's "Hacking for Defense Program" to help students identify, work through and provide possible solutions for contemporary, real-life issues in national security. Examples of previous projects include working with the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center to standardize policy related to integrating advanced technology to ensure a more resilient and capable military force. In the process, students will learn about institutional stakeholders involved in military, diplomatic, intelligence, and other national security-related fields. They will develop a greater understanding of the policies they pursue and some of the challenges they confront in developing and implementing these policies. Students will also advance their networking skills as they connect with representatives of these organizations, including during a weeklong trip to Washington, D.C., to facilitate direct student contact with some of these institutional actors and enhance students' understanding of the policymaking environment in the federal government. The innovative coursework will involve a blend of traditional readings, asynchronous resources, and student work-product will include weekly reaction papers to the assignments and project briefs, a final presentation to the project sponsor, and a student-produced video documenting their progress and attainment of learning goals. To enroll, students should apply by completing a simple application to compete for a class seat and award. Apply here: https://omva.nd.edu/national-security-innovation/ Experience Washington D.C.: This week-long learning experience will allow students to meet with government officials and policymakers who will offer insights and outlook on national and global affairs. In addition, the program includes conversations with Fortune 500 executives, financiers, international business leaders, distinguished medical professionals, and prominent Americans with diverse backgrounds. This trip will take place from June 20 to 24, 2022. Travel and accommodations will be arranged through the course. This is a mandatory component of the course. All costs will be covered.

Politics of Latin America is intended to be a multi-disciplinary introduction to critical issues within contemporary Latin American culture, society, politics, and economy. An assumption behind the organization of this course is that many of the traditional boundaries between different disciplines in the social sciences and the humanities are drawn somewhat arbitrarily, and that a more comprehensive understanding of Latin America can, and even should, be approached from a number of different analytic and disciplinary lenses. Thus, we will trespass traditional disciplinary boundaries from time to time over the course of the semester. The course is divided into two major parts. The first part is organized around a number of key analytic lenses, which we will employ sequentially with an aim to gaining a deeper appreciation of important aspects of contemporary Latin America. We will begin with a discussion of the utility of "culture" as a tool for understanding Latin America. Is there such a thing as "Latin America" understood as a discrete category of countries, and if so, what do they share in common? We will follow this discussion with an exploration of what is certainly a chief cultural expression among any people, an exploration of levels of religiosity and their relationship to social and political behavior. Other key features of culture will be woven into the analyses of the case studies we will undertake for the remainder of the course. We will explore the wide variation in the quality of democratic governance in different Latin American countries. And we will we look to some of the sources of that variation, including democratic institution building, economic and social policy making, and the persistence of populist politics, and forces in the international arena, such as U.S Foreign Policy, among other factors. In the remainder of the course, we will look specifically at country-cases in comparative perspective, in particular Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela. In selecting these cases, I have made a conscious decision to sacrifice breadth for greater depth. An effort will be made throughout the discussion of the cases to make broader comparisons with a wider range of Latin American cases.

Elections and social protest are the two most important means of political participation in Latin America today. Every year, millions of Latin Americans go to the ballot box to elect their representatives, but millions also march to their country's capitals to oust elected politicians or simply to demand public goods or policy changes. Are Latin American citizens taking to the streets to contest market-oriented reforms, as it is often portrayed? Or do they take to the streets because elections don't work in Latin America's dysfunctional democracies? Are Latin American voters electing leftist politicians to move the economies away from neoliberal policies? Do the rich vote for the Right and the poor for the Left? In this course we want to understand who votes, who protests, and why they do it. We also want to understand the relationship between elections and protest. The course first provides a general overview of democratization, economic reforms, electoral behavior and social protest in Latin America. We then analyze electoral and social dynamics in six countries: Mexico, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, and Guatemala. The in-depth analysis of these countries will provide you with a solid understanding of markets, democracies, voters and protesters in Latin America and will give you skills on how to assess public opinion surveys.

Why have some countries in Latin American developed into democracies, while others have seen the rise of dictatorships? Why have some countries remained at peace while others are often at war? This course examines historical, economic, regional, and international factors that have influenced political development in Latin America.

Winston Churchill famously said in a speech in the House of Commons in 1947, "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried." For generations, social scientists have studied what makes democracy emerge and then survive or break down. And because some dictatorships have huge consequences for their own populations and the world, social scientists have also devoted considerable attention to analyzing the emergence, survival, and breakdown of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. This course will examine these issues. The first part of the course will examine different theoretical approaches to understanding why democracies and dictatorships emerge and then survive or fall. The second and longer part will focus on the emergence, survival, and fall of democracies and dictatorships in Europe and Latin America, mostly in the 20th century.

This course examines the interplay between history, memory and violence in the modern the Middle East. We will discuss specific case studies of violence and war and their social, political and cultural dynamics of commemoration, forgetfulness and silence. The course will start with an overview of theories and concepts emanated from the field of Memory Studies and then continue with our case studies. These will include the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), the 1948 war that led to the establishment of Israel and Palestinian displacement, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the violent regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the Armenian genocide during World War I and the Algerian war of independence (1955-1962).

In this course on European politics we will examine the literature on three major issues: regional integration, origins of modern political authority, and industrial political economy. We will seek to understand the origin, current functioning, and possible futures for key European institutions, including the EU, nation-states, social provision, unions, and political parties. Readings on the European Union, monetary politics, Germany, France, and Spain will be drawn from both scholarly sources and contemporary analyses of political events.

This course studies the intellectual origins, political developments and social and cultural manifestations of nationalism and national movements in the Middle East. We will begin with a theoretical survey of nationalism in general and then proceed to discuss specific cases of national movements (Zionist, Arab, Lebanese, Iraqi, Turkish, Iranian, Egyptian). We will use these cases to analyze themes such as historiography and nationalism, anti-colonialism, gender, religion and art as they have been manifested in these national movements.

The Middle East is simultaneously one of the most strategically important regions in the world and one of the least understood. This course provides an introduction to the politics of the region from a thematic perspective. It addresses a variety of topics, including democracy, development, sectarianism, oil, and conflict. Students will be assigned readings from both historical scholarship and contemporary analysis of regional issues. When applicable, cases from across the region will be used to illustrate the themes of the course.

Indigenous people often appear to be people without property. Whether it is outside observers who presume that they never had a "proper" economy of individual possessions, or whether it is indigenous representatives who define themselves as having lost their property, their land, their traditions, their languages, what and who is indigenous is defined by an absence. In contemporary contexts of globalization, however, indigenous traditional knowledge as intellectual property has become a lightning rod of political action. There has been a corresponding redefinition of the indigenous from the criterion of autochthony or priority to relations of dispossession or appropriation. Anthropology has continued comparative study of the variety of theories of, or knowledge about, property and its place in the construction of individuals and collectivities in indigenous societies. This course connects cultural categories of property with ethnographic scenes of its alienation to explore the emerging role of culture as emblem, itself a kind of property. We ask how indigenous appropriation of the culture concept and colonial appropriation of the environmental knowledge, art, language, and land of indigenous cultures furthers the cycle of symbolic and material exchange that defines indigeneity.

This course will explore contemporary globalization trends across Africa and in the United States. It will focus on the ways that international forces and new technologies are affecting citizens and countries on the African continent as well as in the US. Over the course of the semester, we will share lectures, discussions, and group work with a "sister class" at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. Through case studies and reviews of current events, the course will explore a diverse set of topics including technological change and development, the environment, migration, art and culture, trade, investment and aid, and contentious politics. The course will attempt to highlight the new opportunities for citizens as well as the challenges that remain for countries in the globalized world.

This course offers a general introduction to the politics of contemporary China. After background on the imperial and Republican periods and the development of the Communist revolution, we will focus on major political events in the People's Republic: land reform, Hundred Flowers Campaign, Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, Democracy Wall, Opening and Reform, Tiananmen Uprisings, Beijing Olympics, etc. Then we proceed to a thematic discussion of popular participation and protest, state control, the emergence of civil society groups, and major challenges facing contemporary China. The basic objectives of this course are to provide a working knowledge of Chinese politics and to encourage a critical evaluation of the positive and negative aspects of China's socialist experiment.

Colonialism is almost universally denounced. When, then, would Hong Kong activists wave the Union Jack in various demonstrations over the years? Why do they long for the British colonial era as the good old days? This course examines Hong Kong's struggle for democracy and autonomy in the intersection of colonial and Chinese history. It discusses what happened before and after the city's return to the Chinese government under the "one country, two systems" model in 1997. It studies how Hong Kong, once "a city of protest," has been turned into a city of fear today. Under the draconian National Security Law imposed in 2020, Hong Kong has effectively been recolonized. An estimated half a million Hong Kongers will have left by 2023. This class will supplement academic readings with memoirs and documentaries. It will also bring in Hong Kong activists to speak to the class about their dreams and despair.

Scholars have long speculated about the rise of Asia, but Asia has already risen. Asian economies are driving global growth; Asian governments are some of the largest purveyors of foreign aid and investment; and Asian superpowers like China are shaping and shifting geopolitics. This course, taught by a political scientist and a historian, offers students the opportunity to unpack the complexity and diversity of Asia across time and space. We will explore Asia through political and historical concepts against the background of China's evolving role within the region. At the same time, we will focus on elevating diverse Asian voices to understand how historical concepts and political and economic trajectories have shifted over time and what it means for domestic and global audiences in the 21st century. As an integration course, our focus is analytical and interdisciplinary: we examine the political, economic, and social trajectory of Asia to shed light on the most dynamic region of the world. We also devote considerable time to understanding how historical legacies and patterns such as colonialism or economic imperialism impact Asia today. Lectures, assigned readings covering a wide range of primary and secondary sources in political science and history, and a discussion-oriented format introduces students to issues ranging from populism, party-state capitalism, and poverty alleviation to soft and sharp power, demographic crises, surveillance, and social unrest. All majors and backgrounds are welcome. No prior knowledge of Asian languages or topics is required.

As a major global powers, Russia is an important country in world politics. With a history of multiple revolutions in one century, contemporary Russia is also a fascinating site to study political change. This course introduces students to Russian politics and fosters their understanding of the country's contemporary social, economic and political transformation and its recent history. Among other questions, we will discuss the challenges of the post-Soviet economic transformation (privatization, liberalization, energy-related issues, the rule of law, for example), the nature of the post-Soviet regimes (the type of democracy, authoritarian backsliding, for example) and Russia's changing relationship vis-a-vis the US, Europe and other CIS countries. While the class focuses on contemporary Russia, it will also engage with the post-Soviet transformation of other CIS countries, including Ukraine and Central Asia. In addition to the empirical developments, this course will engage students with theoretical debates in comparative politics and political economy, including theories on the role of institutions, interests and ideas in social and political change. No prior classes in comparative politics are necessary. Students who have taken Professor Javeline's or Professor Lyanders classes on Russia are encouraged to enroll; this class will follow up, not duplicate their content.

Identity politics has recently regained attention as a major force in political behavior. In this course, we will examine the features of identity politics that bear on individuals' political preferences and decisions. Using both historical and contemporary examples, we will analyze the role of identity considerations in electoral behavior, protest, and partisanship, among other areas. Some of the identity categories studied will be race, gender, and religious affiliation. The course includes cases both within the American context and international comparisons.

The death of a Supreme Court Justice triggers a bitter partisan battle over the impending nomination. Is this tragedy unique to the United States? Why are political parties so eager to control the Court? This course will explore how constitutional norms seek to protect judicial independence, and how political parties "game" such constitutional norms worldwide. We will analyze episodes of "packing" and "purging" of supreme courts and constitutional tribunals in different countries. We will investigate the practice of "strategic retirement" in the US Supreme Court, the threat posed by legislative majorities to judicial independence, and the slippery slope of partisan manipulation. We will also address whether judicial purges constitute opportunities for a more balanced judiciary (for instance, in terms of gender). Comparative analysis will help us learn from the experience of other nations. This course will introduce students to basic notions of game theory and quantitative analysis.

The rationale for studying constitutions in comparative context is that we learn more when we put into dialogue diverse perspectives. Indeed, the most important debates in constitutionalism recur across time and place. Although dozens of countries have confronted similar questions, they very often come to different answers. This course explores different instances of constitutionalism, connecting them to the broader political cultures from which they emerge.  We examine the political values and moral theories that inform such concepts as liberty, equality, and community within various constitutional traditions.  We will debate such elusive concepts as constitutional identity and amendment. In addition to these big theoretical questions, we explore the similarities and differences of institutional arrangements across systems, including understandings of judicial review, the role of constitutional courts, and varying approaches to constitutional maintenance and change. Ultimately, this course aims at greater understanding of constitutionalism in general and the particular cases of it that we study. Moreover, by studying constitutions in comparative context we gain insights into American constitutional understandings, as well. 

Why do pro-democracy efforts in China repeatedly fail? If Chinese leaders aim to build a harmonious society, why are there routine contentious protests by workers, peasants, religious followers, middle-class property owners, lawyers, and minorities? How do the marginalized and disadvantaged fight against social injustices in China? Why is there no organized democracy movement despite the prevalence of sporadic protests? Is Confucianism preventing Chinese development towards a more democratic society? This course examines key contentious episodes in modern China, from the 1911 Revolution through the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Movement to more scattered rightful resistance and minority protests in recent years.

The world's largest collection of information about the state of democracy all over the world resides at the University of Notre Dame. This course is a guided exploration of the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) data. It begins with a survey of the varied ways that philosophers and cultures have thought about democracy. It then explains how these traditions were distilled into a lengthy questionnaire answered by more than a thousand country experts all over the world. The course provides you will the methodological tools you need to explore the data in depth to answer questions such as: What does it mean to be "democratic"? Are there different types of democracy in the world? What are the different ways of being undemocratic? Which countries and regions are most and least democratic in each way? What trends can we observe over the past century? Are there sequences of reforms that lead to successful democratization? As the database is still growing, many students will have the opportunity to contribute to the data collection process. You will also supplement the data with independent research to produce a detailed report evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the political regime in one country and placing it in comparative and historical perspective.

The course will explore the current state of reparations for human rights violations, as prescribed by international courts, tribunals, commissions, and other adjudication bodies. We will develop two disciplinary perspectives and integrate them in a collective research project. The first perspective will examine, from a legal standpoint, the sufficiency and adequacy of reparation measures light of international human rights law and the general law of international responsibility, and will inquire into the political and civil society challenges resulting in unmet reparations for complex human rights violations, such as slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade, climate change impacts, refugees and displacements from migration, genocide and mass atrocities during conflicts. The second perspective will explore the political conditions under which governmental actors comply with human rights reparations, and what non-governmental actors can do to promote compliance.

Elections are often promoted as a non-violent means of leadership succession. However, violent elections have become a common phenomenon, both in conflict countries and advanced democracies. The recent round of intimidation and unrest in the US is one instance of electoral violence. Governors in both Michigan and Virginia were targeted in a kidnapping plot, and deaths were incurred in the US Capitol assault. In conflict countries, peace builders advocate the use of elections to resolve conflict and lay the ground for democratization. Yet, unfree and/or unfair elections have led to violence, like in the US, or worse, re-ignited civil wars. Putting together the complex relationship among violence, elections, and democracy, this course introduces students to the politics surrounding elections. Throughout this course, we will examine the causes of pre- and post-election violence and the consequences of low quality elections on peace and conflict. We will also draw on examples from different parts of the world to critically examine important concepts and theories, and we will study measures of election quality to understand how they can be used to evaluate elections as well as their measurement issues, which have implications on our understanding of democracy.

What is the role of the police in a democracy? What are their powers? Who makes their rules and provides oversight? Do we even need them? How do citizens respond to the realities of being policed through political activism, day-to-day interactions, and music and literature? While the police are charged with maintaining one of the most fundamental functions of the state, the “monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force”, the answers to these questions vary dramatically around the world and throughout history. Partially driven by recent scandals involving police violence, activists, politicians, public security professionals, and social scientists have been carefully reconsidering their views on policing, recognizing the police as powerful political actors and policing policies as dynamic policy arenas. In this course, we will explore the history of crime fighting and police forces in the modern era, then dive into current debates and research about the organization, mission, and oversight of police forces in contemporary democracies, including social movements advocating for police reform. This course has a global perspective, gaining understanding of local experiences in the United States through comparative study of primarily Latin American, British, and Western European systems.

This upper division lecture course examines some of the most important events, ideas, and personalities that shaped late Imperial, Soviet, and post-Soviet periods of Russian history during the last one hundred years: from the outbreak of the First World War and the Revolutions of 1905 and 1917 through the Great Terror of the 1930s, the experience of the Second World War and the emergence of the Soviet Empire, late Stalinism and post-Stalinist developed or mature socialism, the collapse of the communist rule and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, as well as Russia's uneasy transition "out of Totalitarianism" and into Putin's authoritarianism during the first fourteen years of the twentieth-first century. The course is designed for history majors as well as for students in other disciplines with or without background in modern Russian and East European history.

The claim that Russians and Ukrainians are one people, “a single whole,” has been resounding in Russian mass media, film, and other discourses for the last two decades. Putin took a pronounced colonial turn with his return to the Presidency in 2012, describing Russia as a state-civilization, in which Russians and Ukrainians are joined in “spiritual unity.” History thus serves as a justification for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This course will look at historical facts and cultural artifacts of Russia and Ukraine to determine the roots of Russia’s current aggression in Ukraine. Among others, the course will discuss the following questions. Is Kyivan Rus part of Russian or Ukrainian history, or neither? Does Ukraine have its own history and culture that is distinct from Russian? Are Ukrainians divided into Russian-speakers (aspiring to join Russia) and Ukrainian-speaking nationalists (aspiring to EU)? The course will examine the origins, points of intersection and divergence of Ukrainian and Russian cultures through the lens of history, art, and literature from the Christianization of Rus (10th century) to the present time. We will look at the history of Russian imperialism, centuries of appropriation of Ukrainian cultural achievements, annihilation of Ukrainian traditions, extermination of Ukrainian intellectuals, and the politics of Russification with the purpose to see how the current events reflect a tendency that has already existed for centuries.

In 1987, the Soviet Union was the largest political entity on the planet. Four years later, it had vanished from the map entirely. In this interdisciplinary course, you will learn about the ‘new Russia’ that has emerged in the three decades since this stunning collapse. Drawing on an array of resources in English translation, you will explore the politics, media, and culture of the post-Soviet period: from the lawless years of the “wild 90s” under Boris Yeltsin to the return of totalitarianism under Vladimir Putin and his brutal invasion of Ukraine. In so doing, your study of contemporary Russia will lead us to discuss some of the most pressing questions in global politics today. What is the nature of truth and power in Putin’s dystopian propaganda state? Should the current leadership in Russia be described as a fascist regime or neo-Soviet? And, perhaps most importantly, how did Russia’s democratic experiment ultimately end with the launch of the largest war in Europe since 1945—and what lessons might this failure hold for America and the rest of the world?

Course would provide an overview to all major themes in political science focusing on the African continent. The course will cover the entire continent, though likely focus on five cases studies that parallel substantive themes. The course would first provide a grounding in colonization, decolonization and state development, but then focus primarily on contemporary political behavior and institutions. I am interested in using Bleck & Van de Walle as a primary text.

This course examines how gender and sexuality are understood, constructed, and implicated in relations of social power in various regions of the world. It will integrate scholarship from anthropology and women and gender studies to explore how ideas of maleness, femaleness, trans, queer, and heterosexual are reproduced, contested, and transgressed within different social contexts and the everydayness of these categories. We will learn about cultural changes in conceptions of gender and sexuality in North and South America, SWANA (South West Asia/North Africa), Southeast and East Asia, Central and Southern Africa, and Europe. In the first half of this course, we will consider traditional themes in cultural anthropology, including kinship, morality, ritual, emotion, politics, and the circulation of goods and labor, to examine how different communities produce cultural knowledge about gender and sexuality. The second half of this course will address contemporary themes such as activism, violence, and gender and sexual oppression. Using our knowledge of anthropological theories developed in the first half of the course, we will take up topics of concern such as masculinity and violence, LGBTQ rights and pinkwashing, and gender and nationalism to understand how gender and sexuality are relevant to post-colonial contexts and settler-colonial resistance movements.

The extraordinary rise of East Asia during the past several decades is in large part a story of the region's metropolises - from Tokyo and Seoul to Hong Kong and Shanghai. Following decades of booming growth, such cities have emerged as crucial pivots in the global economy, pulsating with the activity of industry, commerce, finance, and innovation. But the very success of such cities has introduced tremendous challenges for urban policymakers, from overcrowding, inequality, and environmental strain to the political balancing act of being at once patriotic and cosmopolitan. To what extent have the governance capabilities of East Asian metropolises kept pace with these cities' economic growth, and to what extent have such cities emerged not just as global economic hubs but also as policy innovators and political beacons? This seminar-style course examines the rapidly changing economic roles and political identities of East Asian metropolises between the post-World War II period and the present, combining a theoretical look at the political economy of cities with in-depth case studies of some of the region's most dynamic urban centers. We start by exploring contemporary debates about the problems and the promise of cities in an era of economic globalism and resurgent political nationalism. We then look at the various ways in which the East Asian context for urban growth and governance differs from that of the liberal west. The course then makes a deep dive into the development and governance experiences of eight East Asian cities, using paired case studies (Tokyo and Seoul, Hong Kong and Taipei, Shanghai and Shenzhen, Chongqing and Chengdu) to explore how national and historical contexts have shaped the growth trajectories and governance models of different metropolises. During the final weeks of the course, we look at how the distinctive development trajectories of East Asian cities have, in turn, influenced their approaches to international politics and pressing global policy challenges.

How did East Asia emerge from war and poverty to become the world’s most economically dynamic region in the late 20th and early 21st century? This course examines the causes and consequences of East Asia’s “economic miracles,” exploring the development pathways of China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan in comparative and historical perspective. We consider both orthodox and heterodox accounts of East Asian growth, unpacking concepts such as "the developmental state," "state capitalism," and “state-led innovation” to make sense of East Asia’s successes (and failures). The course is structured around five key questions: (1) What did the East Asian economies accomplish, and just how “miraculous” are these achievements in hindsight? (2) What development strategies and policy tools did East Asian governments use in pursuit of rapid industrialization? (3) What social and political-institutional conditions enabled East Asian countries to successfully pursue such approaches, and how unique were these conditions to the region and the historical moment in question? (4) What economic tradeoffs and human and environmental costs have accompanied East Asia’s booming growth? (5) What lessons does East Asia's experience offer for the contemporary developing world? To address these questions, we engage with ideas from multiple theoretical traditions and draw on various resources, including academic, policy, and journalistic writings, videos, and podcasts.

Course description: How do people in immigrant-receiving countries shape their attitudes toward immigrants? What are the differences between refugees and other migrants? How is immigration related to urban "immigrant riots?" And what can anthropological studies of borders and national policies tell us about the transnational world in which we live? We will examine these and related questions, and more generally the causes, lived experiences, and consequences of migration. We will acquire a sound understanding of migration in its social, political, legal, and cultural facets. Fieldwork accounts from countries of origin and from the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Japan will enable us to appreciate both global and U.S. distinctive trends. Rather than merely learning a collection of facts about immigrants, we will address how migration intersects with gender and class, the mass media, border enforcement, racism, the economy, territory and identity formation, and religion.

Social scientists and journalists have used the word "populism" to describe a wide variety of leaders, social movements, and political parties, but there are profound disagreements regarding the meaning of populism, its causes and effects on democracy. In the first part of this course, we will use tools from conceptual analysis to examine different ways of defining populism. Is it an ideology? A political strategy? A style of leadership? Are these complementary or contradictory approaches? Once we have conceptual clarity on what populism is, we will assess the main theories that explain the causes and effects of populism. In particular, we will focus on the effect that populism can have on the rise and fall of democratic regimes. Is populism a threat or a boost to democratic politics? Finally, we will use the previous discussions to analyze different cases of populism in the United States, Europe, and Latin America.

When India gained independence from British Rule in 1947, observers noted that the likelihood of such a poor country remaining democratic was limited. Yet, over 70 years later, India remains a thriving democracy. This course explores how a country with hundreds of social, economic, ethnic and linguistic cleavages managed to consolidate democracy, when other less diverse countries slipped back into authoritarianism. It also explores how a country with a history of social discrimination against former untouchables (now Dalits) and women implemented corrective mechanisms to improve the conditions of marginalized groups and give them political representation and voice. To explain the persistence of Indian democracy we will examine elite bargaining, the deployment of force, accommodation of regional leaders and their political aspirations, economic development and the constant reconfiguration of caste, party and religious alliances.

From the right to vote to the right to decide, the fight for women's rights has transformed public and private life across the world. This fight, however, has not necessarily been unified, nor has it been without obstacles. In this course, we will explore how movements for women's rights have changed through recent history, and how has it impacted politics around the world. This course will introduce general theories for social movements and collective action while analyzing the most relevant moments of social movements for women's rights in history. Students will be invited to reflect on how traditional theories of social movements lack a gender-perspective, how some of the most important social movements have ignored women as rights subjects. This course looks at the experiences of women's social movements from a comparative perspective. We will delve into analysis of cases from North and Latin America, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

In this course we will explore the different ways that religious institutions and ideas affect political attitudes and behaviors in various parts of the world. With a special focus on Christianity and Islam, the course will address the following questions: Why do many citizens in some countries expect religious leaders to play a prominent role in politics while many citizens in other countries do not? Why are some religious institutions more supportive of freedom of religion than others and what explains religious persecution across the world? What effect do religious institutions have on support for liberal democracy? How does globalization affect the way religion is applied to public life? How can we tell when violence is motivated by religion and what explains religiously motivated or justified violence?

This class aspires to develop relevant knowledge and practical skills for students interested in engaging in positive change in a complex world. In this course on international development, students will: 1) examine the processes that bring about individual and societal change in an international context;2) explore the roles, complexities, opportunities and constraints of development projects in areas such as poverty reduction, social development, health and education; and, 3) develop practical skills related to project design, planning, management, negotiations, communications, and the evaluation of international development projects. A central theme of the course is to understand what have we learned over the past decades from systematic research and from experience in the field about "what works." The course makes use of cases studies and draws lessons from instructive stories of failure as well as inspirational stories of change. The course focuses significant attention on "bright spots" in development- specific interventions that have made meaningful contributions. The course aspires to help train students to think like creative, effective, and thoughtful development professionals. A central feature of the course will be the opportunity to work throughout the semester as a member of a "Development Advisory Team" directly with an international development organization client who has identified a specific problem or opportunity. Development clients for the class are organizations in Bangladesh, Chile, Haiti, and India, among others.

This course will examine the comparative institutional design of criminal justice institutions, such as the police, prosecution offices, and the judiciary, and how those institutions are variedly implemented worldwide, with a particular focus on the Global South. We will explore how those institutions deal with issues such as large-scale criminal violence, the militarization of public safety, or femicides. Additionally, the course will critically analyze how those institutions affect the fulfillment of human rights, such as the prohibition of torture, the right of access to justice for victims, or the prohibition of discrimination. We will study how international human rights and humanitarian law are used to deal with the obstacles and challenges of accessing justice amongst impunity. Last, we will look at forms of criminality management beyond the regular criminal justice system, such as restorative justice, indigenous legal systems, and transitional justice.

“God is dead,” proclaims Friedrich Nietzsche’s Madman in a parable. Interpreted in a certain way, this statement means that the god of the Christian religion no longer inspires widespread, popular belief and so cannot serve as the basis for political life. Taken on its own, this evocative phrase has become emblematic of the modern world and its reputed secularism. But what does this phrase really mean? Is it true? And if it is true, what would the consequences be for how we engage in politics in the modern world? This course will explore these related questions through the close analysis of classic texts in political theory. We will begin the course by examining challenges to Christian ethics and belief in the works of Machiavelli and Spinoza. Additionally, we will see how the “death” or overthrow of a certain interpretation of the Christian God led to a large-scale reshaping of European society during the Reformation. We will next examine several optimistic views about the potentially beneficial effects of God’s death on society and politics. This section of the course will include readings from Hume and Marx. Finally, we will examine the work of Nietzsche himself to see how “God’s death” is perhaps best understood as an ambiguous phenomenon. For if it is true, as Nietzsche's Madman says, that “we ourselves have killed God,” what possibility of absolution is there for such an immense crime?

In an age of growing polarization, how should human beings relate to one another, as members of families, social communities, professional callings, and civil society? This course builds understanding of this problem by exploring ways that Catholic theology and Western political thought, particularly feminist thought, can engage each other on a fundamental aspect of human relationships: sexual difference. Though these traditions are often in tension, conversation between them will richly inform our study of the course’s core questions: How should we think about sexual difference, and how ought contemporary men and women live and work together in the family and the public sphere? We will take an interdisciplinary and historical approach, moving from the earliest days of Christianity through the medieval, Enlightenment, and modern periods and culminating in the present day. Theological sources will be drawn from Scripture, The Catechism of the Catholic Church, papal encyclicals, and writings of various Catholic theologians and philosophers. We will bring these sources into dialogue with ancient and modern political thinkers, their relationship to the tradition of feminist thought (with particular focus on first and second wave feminism), and constitutional law. Throughout the course, we will study underlying theories that inform our core questions: ideas about human nature, the meaning of sexual difference, equality, freedom, marriage and the family, human rights, and the ends of government and law. We will aim to discover areas of compatibility between Catholicism, as a tradition of faith seeking understanding, and feminism, considered as a philosophical, political, and legal movement centrally concerned with sexual difference and its implications. The course will conclude with discussion of contemporary American debates about the relationship and roles of the sexes in marriage & the family, the home, the workplace, and public life. Students will learn both how to distinguish the modes of thought that characterize theology and political science as disciplines, and how to integrate them in order to draw conclusions about reality. They should emerge from the course not only well-formed in their own views on our focal questions, but able to engage robustly and charitably with perspectives that differ from their own.

This course will examine how the very concept of being human has been transformed and confused over the last two hundred years. Beginning with a discussion of the themes set forth in C. S. Lewis’s book, "The Abolition of Man," the course will engage with a variety of texts from the nineteenth century onwards and reflect upon the impact of (and connections between) material conditions (e.g. technology) and philosophical ideas (e.g., transhumanism) on the deep questions of what it means to be a human being. It will also reflect upon how Christianity is challenged by these but also offers a cogent response.

This course will employ eastern and western, classical, medieval, and modern sources to familiarize students with the theoretically apprehensible features of the phenomena that are universally described under the heading of tyranny. The syllabus will include both writings intended for tyrants and would-be tyrants, and writings intended for citizens and subjects. Altogether, students will learn (1) about the ways in which tyrannies have been theorized to come to be and pass away, (2) about the observed characteristics of tyrannical and despotic regimes, (3) about the attitudes and practices recommended by a wide range of political thinkers toward regimes and states of the relevant kind, (4) both the necessary and the frequently observed characterological features of the figure of the tyrant. This course will also, as it reaches the more modern parts of the syllabus, deal with related concepts such as authoritarianism and totalitarianism.

A survey of some of the most influential political thinkers of the late 19th and 20th century. Topics include secularization, bureaucratization, moral pluralism, individual freedom and the place of politics in contemporary life. Readings from Mill, Nietzsche, Weber, Schmitt, Arendt, Berlin, and Strauss.

Why do wars occur? Are there fundamental differences between interstate and civil wars? What can the prevalence and persistence of war teach us about politics? Is a more peaceful world possible? If so, how might we achieve it? This course explores these and related questions through a selection of readings from the history of modern political thought. Beginning with Machiavelli, Bacon, Hobbes, and Spinoza, the course examines the origins of a secular science of war and peace in the early modern period. It then turns to the economic, geographic, military, and gender determinants of war and peace in Montesquieu, Hume, Rousseau, and Wollstonecraft before taking up the question of perpetual peace in Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, and Marx. It ends with an examination of nationalism, imperialism, and colonialism through the writings of Nietzsche, Lenin, Arendt, and Dubois along with antecedents to contemporary international relations theory in Morgenthau, Butterfield, and Herz.

With the rise of political and ideological extremism in recent decades, there have been renewed calls for moderation in politics. Yet, these appeals often seem more platitudinal than substantive. After all, what even is moderation? Is it simply a passive, unoffensive, middle-of-the-road approach to politics? Or is there a more robust understanding (and tradition) of political moderation worth recovering? In this one-credit course, we will think about moderation as an important *virtue* in politics, especially in the liberal democratic context. After defining what it is exactly, by reading contemporary authors Aurelian Craiutu and Harry Clor, we will discuss a philosophical case for moderation through readings by Aristotle, Edmund Burke, and Michael Oakeshott. Then, we will consider a theological grounding for moderation within Christian political thought, reading selections from Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Blaise Pascal, Alexis de Tocqueville, and John Paul II. Finally, we will bring the conversation closer to home by discussing the appropriateness of moderation in response to an extreme injustice like slavery through a consideration of the varying perspectives (and actions) of Abraham Lincoln and William Lloyd Garrison.

Against a backdrop of large-scale society, mass movements, and technological bureaucracy, the invocation of "conscience" recalls the individual human person as a meaningful actor in the political sphere. But what is conscience, and what are its rights and responsibilities? What is it about conscience that ought to command governmental respect? Are there limits to its autonomy? What role should conscience play in questions of war and peace, law-abidingness and civil disobedience, citizenship and political leadership? And how does the notion of conscience relate to concepts of natural law and natural rights, rationality and prudence, religion and toleration? This course engages such questions through readings from the Catholic intellectual tradition (Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas More, Fransisco de Vitoria, Desiderius Erasmus, John Henry Newman, Karol Wojty'a/John Paul II, and Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI) and other writers of the history of ethical-political thought (Cicero, Seneca, John Locke, Mahatma Ghandi, Jan Pato'ka, and Alexandr Solzhenitsyn). We consider also various contemporary reflections on conscience expressed in films, essays, letters, plays, short stories, speeches, and declarations, beginning with Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" and Václav Havel's speech "Politics and Conscience." This class serves as both the capstone course for the interdisciplinary minor Philosophy in the Catholic Tradition and an upper-level elective for Political Science majors and Peace Studies minors. Its format combines lecture and seminar-style discussion.

Catholicism and Politics poses the question, both simple and complex: How ought Catholics to think about the political order and political issues within it? The first part of the course will survey major responses to this question drawn from Church history: the early church, the medieval church, and the modern church. The second part applies these models to contemporary issues ranging among war, intervention, globalization, abortion, the death penalty, religious freedom, gender issues, and economic development. The course culminates in "Vatican III," where teams of students, representing church factions, gather to discover church teachings on selected controversial political issues.

The late 20th and early 21st centuries have witnessed the rise of left and right social movements across the Western world challenging the principles of freedom, toleration, and social progress at the heart of liberalism. Many of these movements contest liberalism’s focus on the atomistic individual as the primary unit of social and political life, positing that the particularistic identities of various social groupings—including those of family, religion, class, and nation—take precedence in political life. Such criticisms lie in sharp distinction to both Enlightenment-era optimism about the potential for a future world-state (cosmo-polis) and contemporary attempts to spread democracy and enact an international human rights regime. This course hopes to understand these contemporary nationalist movements by exploring the Enlightenment foundations of liberalism and its utopian emphasis on universal human rights and a future world-state. In this vein, we will read works by Immanuel Kant, Nicolas de Condorcet, Edmund Burke, and Mary Wollstonecraft. To explore the opposition between cosmopolitanism and nationalism in the contemporary world, we will also consider works by Karl Marx, Hannah Arendt, Frantz Fanon, W.E.B. Du Bois, Benedict Anderson, and Yoram Hazony.

This course will examine theories of human rights and their applications and implications for international politics.

This course takes a Great Books approach, placing the primary text and its interpretation at the center. Unlike some other works of political philosophy, the Hebrew Bible primarily makes its arguments through narrative, although other styles (law, oratory, poetry, etc.) are also integral to the biblical corpus. Thus in order to understand the ideas these texts hope to teach us, students must be familiarized with both the narrative itself and the tools that the narrative uses to convey ideas. The course therefore follows the principal biblical narrative-the history of Israel from Genesis to Kings-which spans the first half of the Hebrew Bible. Students will learn the story of the rise and fall of the ancient Israelite kingdom and analyze the political concepts that are deployed by the text as they arise in the narrative.

From Plato's Republic to Rousseau's Emile to John Dewey's Democracy and Education, political philosophers have understood that education is arguably the primary way that political and social values are articulated, realized and conveyed. In this course we will examine a variety of philosophies of education, ranging from ancient to contemporary authors, exploring contending ideas and ideals of education, with particular attention to higher education and implications for our own institution, the University of Notre Dame.

Class examines philosophical, constitutional, and political questions pertaining to religion and politics, including: Do individuals have a right to religious liberty? If so, how might that right be protected? How does the American Constitution protect the right to religious freedom? What is the proper relationship between church and state? Is religion necessary, good, or bad for liberal democracy? Readings include selections from classical, medieval, and modern political philosophy, leading cases of American constitutional law, and contemporary legal theorist and political scientists.

This course will explore the intellectual foundations of the constellation of ideas that have become the dominant political worldviews in modern American society. The course will focus on European sources of each tradition, as well as developments of each in America. Concepts that will be explored include progress, historicism, pragmatism, liberty, equality, diversity, cosmopolitanism, localism, tradition, prescription, authority, secularism and religion, particularly Catholicism.

In "American Political & Constitutional Thought," which serves as the gateway course for the Constitutional Studies minor, we shall study fundamental texts of the American constitutional and political tradition in an attempt to answer questions such as: What is the purpose of government? What is the meaning of political equality? What is political liberty and how is it best secured? Since we lack the time for a comprehensive survey of American political thinkers, we shall examine select statesmen and critical historical periods, focusing on the Founding era, Lincoln and the slavery crisis, and the Progressive era and New Deal.

Democracies strive to hold governments accountable to their citizens. But how, in practice, can citizens influence political outcomes? And under what conditions do citizens help sustain or undermine democracy? This course explores the role of public opinion, electoral behavior, and elite responsiveness in shaping democratic accountability. In the first half, we examine how voters' preferences and behaviors influence political elites, drawing on comparative research and case studies from Europe, Latin America, and the United States. In the second half, we turn to the citizen-side of democratic stability: What kinds of attitudes and forms of engagement foster democratic resilience? What makes citizens withdraw support from, or remain loyal to, anti-democratic leaders? Throughout the class, students will engage with canonical and recent advances in social science, public-facing books and newspaper articles, as well as practitioners.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) is understood as one of the founding texts of modern political science fiction. It is also a source for modern ideas of artificial intelligence (AI). In this course, we will explore both the intellectual sources (Hobbes, Milton, Locke, Defoe, Rousseau, Wollstonecraft) and legacies (Lovelace, Turing) of Shelley's innovative and influential literary conception of AI in the form of Frankenstein's Creature. We will also study some of the major filmic adaptations of Frankenstein on the question of the ethics and politics of making artificial forms of life and intelligence.

This course explores the contested relationship between sovereignty and the rule of law. Through close readings of foundational texts, students will examine how political authority is constituted, justified, and constrained across historical and theoretical contexts. We will consider questions such as: What legitimates sovereign power? Can law bind the sovereign? How do liberty and legal authority coexist? The first part of the course surveys the early modern theories of Bodin, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. The second unit examines the ways in which the American founders approached the tensions, in theory and practice, between the need for political authority and the maintenance of the rule of law. The third section turns to the Weimar crisis, where legal theorists like Hans Kelsen, Carl Schmitt, and Hermann Heller developed diametrically opposed accounts of sovereignty and the rule of law. Finally, the course closes with an examination of contemporary debates about sovereignty and the challenges facing the rule of law in the twenty-first century. Throughout the course, students will develop analytical skills in political and legal theory, sharpen their writing through two essays, and engage in critical discussion of enduring issues at the heart of modern political life.

“Democracy & Virtue?” investigates a simple question: Does democracy foster virtue? The class will approach this question, first, through a philosophical investigation of the nature of political regimes, including democratic regimes. This investigation will take place via a careful reading of and discussions about Plato’s Republic. The class will then turn to an examination of America as a modern constitutional democracy. Our primary text for this part of class will be Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. Additional readings from Montesquieu, The Federalist, and Catholic writers will also be introduced. Students should expect to read carefully and deliberately and to participate extensively in class, which will be conducted as a seminar conversation.

An introduction to the nature and influence of Roman law, one of the most celebrated and distinctive elements of ancient Roman culture. The course surveys the development of Roman civil and criminal law from the very early and enigmatic Twelve Tables to the very late and amazingly great Digest of Justinian. Topics covered include legal procedures, the creation of law, and Roman jurisprudence, all of which are studied in the broad context of Roman government and administration. The lasting effects of Roman law on modern legal systems are also considered.

Perhaps our greatest inheritance from the ancient Romans is their law code and legal procedures. Students will study the development of Roman criminal law from the 12 Tables to Justinian's Corpus Iuris Civilis, including the emergence of trials by jury and the persecution of Christians and heretics. While studying primary sources like Cicero’s speeches and laws etched in bronze tablets, students will explore the seedy side of Roman life. Topics for discussion include murder, sorcery, bribery, forgery, treason, extortion and adultery. Though not required, familiarity with Roman history and Latin is beneficial.

The subject of the course is Catholic apologetics in the generation of millennials (and Gen Z). Studies show that teens and young adults are leaving the Church in large numbers and that the ones who stay do not subscribe to Church teachings. Seeking to "meet them where they are," the course begins with an examination of contemporary trends in the religious lives of millennials, with a particular focus on Catholics. It proceeds to examine the major reasons why millennials are leaving the Catholic Church and to engage students in arguments for and against the Church's positions on: the rationality of God, science, sex and marriage, the Church's role in historical injustices, and politics. In the final portion of the course, we will pivot to a "positive apologetics" look at the case for the Church through beauty and the witness of the saints, modes of engagement that are said to appeal to the millennial generation. The course concludes with the case for the resurrection of Jesus. Taught in the political science department, the course considers the political dimension of each unit, corresponding to the politicized character each of the disputed questions in the mind of contemporary young adults who are leaving the Church, as studies of opinion demonstrate. The course will be taught with a range of students in mind: those who are confident in their Catholic faith and wish to learn how to persuade others; those who are unsure of their Catholic faith; those who are of a different Christian or religious faith and interested in learning about the Catholic faith; and those who are skeptical of the Catholic faith.

This seminar-style course will examine foundational questions of constitutional order. We will begin from debates about the nature of political society among contemporary thinkers, Jurgen Habermas, Pope Benedict, John Rawls, and Carl Schmitt. We will then focus on key Ancient, Medieval, and Modern thinkers: Aristotle, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, and the Federalist writers. Our aim will be to attain clarity about the questions that are fundamental to every constitutional order, especially the character of our "original" or pre-political condition, the status of war and peace, the nature of political authority and law, and the proper ends of political community.

In this course, we will study the relationship between political theory and journalism. Rather than reading solely canonical political theory tests, we will read selections of important works from the history of political thought alongside journalistic writings. The class will be separated by important concepts in political thought, such as power, judgement, community, revolution, and freedom. For each concept, we will read both theoretical accounts and journalistic studies. In doing this, we will examine how philosophic concepts help us understand real-life happenings. We will also address how journalists use philosophic ideas to provide accounts that are more than mere documentation, in effect acting as political educators. Philosophic readings will include work from Plato, Aristotle, Machiavelli, Karl Marx, Michel Foucault, and Franz Fanon. Journalistic readings will include selections from Thucydides, Hannah Arendt, Joan Didion, Tom Wolfe, James Baldwin, Gay Talese, Janet Malcolm, and Robert Caro. In their own work, students will address the class' questions both via scholarly study and their own projects of journalistic political theory.

The "Core Texts in Citizenship & Constitutional Government'' course sequence offers a select group of students an opportunity to study some of the seminal texts in history and philosophy of constitutional government. Students will study classical texts with Prof. Susan Collins (Fall) and modern texts with Prof. Mary Keys (Spring), including: Plato, Aristotle, the Bible, Augustine, Aquinas, Locke, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and others. Through small seminars, students will engage in a year-long conversation about justice, equality, liberty, and the rule of law. The sequence is designed for students looking for and willing to engage in deep, deliberate, and careful study of core texts of Western constitutionalism. No application required.

Why did one of the most cultivated European nations in a few years be transformed into probably the most murderous totalitarian system of history? Aim of the course is to study, first, several aspects of the Weimar republic that render the transition to National Socialism less enigmatic. We will read the Weimar constitution, study several of the works of the leading jurist Carl Schmitt, who both intelligently interpreted the constitution and later became a fanatic supporter of Nationalsocialism, and look at literary and filmic expressions of the slow dissolution of bourgeois morality. We will, secondly, read Joachim Fest's biography of Hitler, Hannah Arendt's classical study of totalitarianism, and Robert Paxton's Anatomy of Fascism, which offers a comparative perspective.Students will be encouraged to reflect on the question of whether a repetition of the events in 1933 is possible.

Law, Bioethics, and the Human Person is a discussion-based course focused on "public bioethics," defined as the governance of science, medicine, biotechnology, and the practice of medicine in the name of ethical goods. Issues covered may include the ethical, legal (including constitutional), and social dimensions of abortion, assisted reproduction, end of life decision-making, assisted suicide, research involving human subjects, commodification of the human body and its parts, advances in cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging, human embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, organ donation, the definition of death, and research involving animal-human chimeras and hybrids.

This course explores the links between politics and literature in America, focusing on the way in which fiction is able to provide a unique view of politics. The course will pair great American short stories, poems, and novels with political writings and documents of the corresponding time, giving insight into how the political concerns of each era are expressed its literature. The course will take a historical approach, beginning with the founding era then examining writings from the Civil War times, early populism, the civil rights era, and more, ending with a discussion of our current day. Throughout, the course will ask questions such as: Can literature give us insight into politics that treatises, news, and historical documents cannot? How can literature serve as a commentary on or intervention into politics? What are the limits of understanding politics through literature?

Modernity, and what it means, has increasingly become a topic of dispute in the 20th and 21st centuries, with defenders and critics on both left and right. Yet our modern heritage continues to shape even the thought of its critics and lay the groundwork for many of our unquestioned assumptions about political, social, and moral life. This course traces the story of modern political thought from its origins in the wake of the Reformation and Renaissance to the crisis of modernity experienced at the close of the XIXth. We will survey the emergence of questions surrounding justice and the nature of the state in the early social contract theorists (Hobbes, Rousseau) before moving to discuss the increasing concern over balancing the claims of individuals, civil society, and the modern state (Kant, Hegel, Mill) that arise in the wake of the French Revolution. Finally, we will trace the emergence of liberal modernity's critics who have remained influential in even contemporary evaluations of the modern project (Marx, Nietzsche). Through the close study of both text and context, we will debate to what extent the project of liberal modernity still remains valid and whether its claims have been unsettled.

What is "secularism" and what does it mean to live in a "secular age"? These questions have become increasingly more urgent in the contemporary world as we witness the rise of religious-based political ideologies (e.g., Christian nationalism, Islamism, Hindu nationalism) that threaten the ideal of a secular modern state. This course both seeks to address these questions as well as problematize the very notion of a modern tradition of secularity in the West and beyond. By tracing the development of the concept of the "secular" from its origins in Enlightenment Christianity, we will investigate the perpetual oscillation between both the proponents of secularism and the reaction against it. In particular, this course will emphasize the reformulation of the secular ideal after the collapse of Enlightenment metaphysics and religious thought among thinkers such as Marx, Nietzsche, and Weber and contemporary American non-foundationalists such as John Rawls and Richard Rorty. Finally, we will survey the so-called "post-secularists" from both Western and Islamic traditions (Habermas, Taylor, Asad, Mahmood) in order to discuss the plausibility, or even desirability, of moving beyond the secular ideal for contemporary politics. Politics and Religion in a Secular Age: What is "secularism" and what does it mean to live in a "secular age"? These questions have become increasingly more urgent in the contemporary world as we witness the rise of religious-based political ideologies (e.g., Christian nationalism, Islamism, Hindu nationalism) that threaten the ideal of a secular modern state. This course both seeks to address these questions as well as problematize the very notion of a modern tradition of secularity in the West and beyond. By tracing the development of the concept of the "secular" from its origins in Enlightenment Christianity, we will investigate the perpetual oscillation between both the proponents of secularism and the reaction against it. In particular, this course will emphasize the reformulation of the secular ideal after the collapse of Enlightenment metaphysics and religious thought among thinkers such as Marx, Nietzsche, and Weber and contemporary American non-foundationalists such as John Rawls and Richard Rorty. Finally, we will survey the so-called "post-secularists" from both Western and Islamic traditions (Habermas, Taylor, Asad, Mahmood) in order to discuss the plausibility, or even desirability, of moving beyond the secular ideal for contemporary politics.

From the protests at Standing Rock, the renaming of various sports teams, and a Supreme Court decision regarding much of eastern Oklahoma, the political concerns of Native Americans have come to the fore in recent years. How is the relationship between Native North Americans and the United States (and Canada)? In this class, we will try to understand the Native American worldviews that lie behind these political conflicts by reading a variety of Indigenous North American writers. We will discuss the role of nature, spirituality, authority, and political community in Native American traditions. We will also examine how philosophic disagreements between Native American philosophy and Western philosophies can produce political conflict. Students will leave this class with a strong grasp of Native American philosophy and political concerns, as well as a good framework of Western political philosophy.

Radical politics has usually been associated with Leftist political movements such as Marxism, feminism, anti-racism, anti-colonialism, etc. This course investigates one source of radical political thinking in French existentialist philosophy: how were ideas about the meaning of freedom, oppression, and personal identity extended to new contexts and questions between 1940 and the 1960s? Additionally, we will evaluate debates between French thinkers on various issues, such as the relationship between politics and violence as well as the promise (or peril) of communism. Our primary authors will include Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Simone de Beauvoir, Frantz Fanon, among others. Finally, we will turn to the influence of these French thinkers in America, particularly among "second-wave feminists" and the Black Power Movement. To what extent did these Americans rely upon French thought to transform how they conceived of political action? And how does this heritage shape how we think about the radical politics of race, gender, and class in the present?

Designed for English majors, this cross-disciplinary course is an invitation to thinking about contemporary freedom of expression as it has been reshaped by technosocial, economic, and legal features of the digital age. We will approach the topic through case law, short fiction (including near-future speculative fiction), cinematic and televisual works, political philosophy, and the history of mass media. Among the subjects of scrutiny will be: the purpose of free speech in pluralistic democracies; intersections of law, literature and technology; the counter-majoritarian First Amendment; disinformation and propaganda; hate speech; platform governance and emerging information architectures; parody, satire, copyright, and intellectual property. The course may be of special interest to those considering the application of an English major to the study of law or careers in media and technology.

This class aims to understand liberal education—the ancient idea that learning is valuable for its own sake—and its relation to the human capacity to live freely. Can the pursuit of the truth make us better citizens, improve our character, or perhaps even save our souls? Or does civic piety only trap us deeper in the Cave? As students and teachers of both the liberal arts and politics, these are existential questions. Once liberal education was thought the characteristic marker of the leisured, ruling class, making it aristocratic, not democratic. To better understand whether liberal education offers something that the American democratic republic needs, this class traces its history: developing from Plato and Aristotle to the medieval university and the Renaissance humanists, it undergoes a profound critique in the early modern period and finds an uneasy home in the modern Western research university. While this model has come under repeated attack, it remains prestigious and envied across the world. Along the way, we will ask whether the university is necessarily secular or religious and consider Notre Dame's Catholic mission. In the context of today's opposition between populists and elitists, can elite graduates serve the common good?

The "Core Texts in Citizenship & Constitutional Government'' course sequence offers a select group of students an opportunity to study some of the seminal texts in history and philosophy of constitutional government. Students will study classical texts with Prof. Susan Collins (Fall) and modern texts with Prof. Mary Keys (Spring), including: Plato, Aristotle, the Bible, Augustine, Aquinas, Locke, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and others. Through small seminars, students will engage in a year-long conversation about justice, equality, liberty, and the rule of law. The sequence is designed for students looking for and willing to engage in deep, deliberate, and careful study of core texts of Western constitutionalism. No application required.

Tragedy is a word we use for when things go terribly wrong. Classic tragic dramas feature sons who kill their fathers and wed their mothers, sons who kill their mothers and are driven insane, and uncles who execute their nieces. In nearly all of these and other instances that are called tragic, there is an insoluble conflict between two different actors and their irreconcilable worldviews. The most troubling thing about tragedy is that it happens not because of the actors' baseness or ignorance, but because they are righteously committed to what they think is good or just. This unwavering commitment to a moral or ethical principle is the basis of the concept we will explore in this course: tragic conflict of values. We will read several classic texts of political philosophy to ask and perhaps answer the following questions about tragedy and tragic conflicts: Is it possible to live a good life without an almost irrational commitment to a worldview? What is a moral value? Are all values compatible or commensurable, or is it inevitable that certain values (truth, justice, peace, love) will clash with others? Could there ever be a state or common form of life in which the values of individuals are universally shared? Is democracy a form of government that encourages value plurality or homogeneity? We will spend most of our time reading political philosophy from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Weber, and Heidegger. We will also spend some time with Plato and the Ancient Greek tragedians to understand the historical origins of the concept of tragedy that has proved so enduring in political thought. Each of the thinkers on our syllabus will help us confront the possibility of the tragedy of human life: that is, that human life, especially political life, may involve individuals in potentially dangerous commitments or entanglements that they cannot foresee and from which they cannot escape. While for some of our thinkers it is desirable to reduce the possibility of tragic dilemmas, other of our listed thinkers view the possibility of tragedy as a prime condition for a good life. The goal is that the student leave this course with a greater knowledge of political philosophy but also possess a better understanding of him or herself and the values that they hold.

In 1969 Nina Simone and Weldon Irvine wrote the anthem, To Be Young, Gifted and Black. Yet too often, to be Black has been seen or depicted as a predator, a thug, a fetish, or a threat. What are the implicit and explicit messages present in plain sight that contribute to how Blackness and Black people have been defined? This course critically engages with the “longue durée” of film narratives where Blackness is displayed or demeaned, and where the politics of identity, or its discrimination is present or foundational to the arc of a narrative. Relevant critical literature and material topical to the films themselves will complement the visual media, allowing for the potential to subtly illuminate aspects of the human experience, ritual practice, and socio-cultural, religious, or gendered behaviors. Attention will be given to cross-cultural mores, the distinction of communication modes, and references to ethnicity, race, class, and gender as relates to the cultures depicted in each film. This course has a co-req associated with it. You must register for both to be in the course.

The Arab Spring represented a moment of challenge to intransigent repressive structures and aspiration to new democratic constitutional orders. To understand this moment we need to appreciate the complex history of the region. This is a survey course that approaches the intellectual history of Islam from a very specific angle: its encounter with Western political and intellectual thought. We will be looking at the first encounter with Greek political philosophy during the formative period of Arab-Islamic thought, in addition to Early and Late Modern responses to the European military and cultural challenge. The historical/comparative structure of the course makes salient the continuities and discontinuities in the thematic treatment of subjects like reform, representation, forms of government, the role of the community, and the rule of law. Some of the case studies that we will consider include Ottoman administrative and constitutional reforms, Arab nationalism, Lebanese consociationalism, and the Iranian Revolution and its constitutional project.

This course prepares undergraduate students for independent field research in a developing country. Although the focus of the course is on the developing world, many of the strategies and research methods are relevant to research in other settings and we encourage all interested students to register. The first part of the class focuses on the utility of research on topics of development - both in foundational academic research as well as in the creation and evaluation development projects. The second part exposes students to various field research methodologies, including ethnography, archival research, interviews, surveys, and experiments as well as some theoretical and logistical considerations for research design. We will engage in a variety of hands-on practicum exercises to solidify classroom learning during this section. The last part of the course will concentrate on student workshops to hone their own research designs for upcoming individual field research. This course is interdisciplinary, and focused on field research methods. We will *briefly* touch on topics of research design, such as developing a research question, a theoretical framework, and hypothesis testing, as well as analysis of data and evidence. However, we encourage students to see this course as a complement, rather than a substitute, for discipline specific research methods and analysis courses.

This course is intended to introduce students to both the practice and social implications of data science, with a focus on social science research methods. The semester is broken into two halves. First, we will learn to use R, a statistical programming language, to transform, analyze, and learn from data. During the second half of the semester, the course becomes more discussion-focused as we investigate the role of modern data collection and analysis in society at large. Readings explore topics such as algorithmic criminal sentencing, chatbots, and the use of data analysis for mystical purposes. Students will leave the course with the skills to independently perform the fundamentals of data science.

Politics, markets, and the environment are all spheres of development that are fundamentally shaped by the action and interaction of many individuals over time. For example, the Arab Spring protests, the shortage of medicines in Caracas, and the rising water temperatures of the Baltic Sea are all system-level outcomes arising from the individual actions of thousands or even billions of people. In these spheres, leadership is often weak or non-existent. Scientists call these "complex systems." Complexity is difficult to study in the real world. Instead, scientists often approach these phenomenon using computer simulations (sometimes called agent-based models, social network models, and computational models). The goal is to build computer models of development that link the actions and interactions of individuals to the system-level outcomes. This class will use the perspective, literature, and tools of complexity science to approach core questions in the field of development.

Are stay-at-home orders effective during a pandemic? Should parents allow kids to have screen time? What role did demographic shifts play in the 2020 elections? Does the infield shift work? Modern society constantly faces questions that require data, statistics, and other empirical evidence to answer well. But the proliferation of niche media outlets, the rise of fake news, and the increase in academic research retraction makes navigating potential answers to these questions difficult. This course is designed to give students tools to confront this challenge by developing their statistical and information literacy skills. It will demonstrate how data and statistical analyses are susceptible to a wide variety of known and implicit biases, which may ultimately lead consumers of information to make problematic choices. The course will consider this issue from the perspectives of consumers of research as well as researchers themselves. We will discuss effective strategies for reading and interpreting quantitative research while considering the incentives researchers face in producing it. Ultimately, students will complete the class better equipped to evaluate empirical claims made by news outlets, social media, instructors, and their peers. The goal is to encourage students to approach data-driven answers to important questions with appropriate tools rather than blind acceptance or excessive skepticism.

Digital devices and communications are a part of daily life. From computers to cell phones to online accounts, we generate a significant digital footprint. As such, most civil and criminal investigations contain a nexus to digital evidence.This course will cover the principles of digital forensic analysis, including ElectronicDiscovery and the forensic process of Extraction, Processing, and Analysis. Students will learn and develop skills related to: acquiring smartphone, computer, removable media,and other forensic images; analyzing artifacts, file systems, and registry data; use of multiple methods and verification features to validate findings; and how to generate reports and distribute findings to share digital forensic results quickly and easily. Students will have the opportunity to use commercial digital forensics software to participate in hands-on lectures and practical exercise. This will include conducting digital forensic analysis on a computer, an iOS device, an Android device, and multiple items from cloud accounts. At the conclusion of the course, students will have a firm base knowledge of digital forensics and be able to independently perform digital forensics exams.

The world is full of information that we are continuously evaluating. As part of the human thought process, we build mental models through which we process, analyze, and form conclusions as to the meaning of that information. This is a natural function of the human cognitive process. We construct our own version of reality based on the information that we have. The problem with this is that we frequently make judgments on large amounts of incomplete and ambiguous information. This is something that the mind is poorly wired to deal with effectively. In addition, we often fail to recognize our inherent biases in evaluation, cause & effect, and estimating probabilities. Some of these biases include confirmation, hindsight, anchoring, availability, and self-serving. The pitfalls set by the human mental process for analyzing information cannot be eliminated; they are part of us. What can be done is to learn how to look for and to recognize these mental obstacles, and how to develop procedures designed to offset them. We must distinguish between what you know and what you believe. The difference between fact and opinion; between knowledge and thinking. Through primary source readings and a declassified book from a government intelligence agency, students will learn how to be self-conscious about their reasoning processes. Students will learn techniques for critical thinking, creative thinking, and analytical thinking. About how you make judgments and reach conclusions, not just about the judgments and conclusions themselves. The goal is to equip students with the thinking and reasoning skills necessary to better construct a more accurate reality.

These are the Friday discussion sections required, as a co-requisite, for POLS 30705, Why the Church? lecture course.

Special topic seminars in political science offer a unique learning experience, delving into niche areas within the discipline. These seminars are designed to provide students with the opportunity to engage deeply with specialized subjects in a small class setting. This structure fosters robust discussions and allows for a more personalized and interactive exploration of the material. The specific subject matter for each seminar varies by semester, reflecting current research, faculty expertise, and emerging trends in political science. To discover the topic of any given special seminar, students can consult Path, NOVO, and the political science department's webpage.

Special topic seminars in political science offer a unique learning experience, delving into niche areas within the discipline. These seminars are designed to provide students with the opportunity to engage deeply with specialized subjects in a small class setting. This structure fosters robust discussions and allows for a more personalized and interactive exploration of the material. The specific subject matter for each seminar varies by semester, reflecting current research, faculty expertise, and emerging trends in political science. To discover the topic of any given special seminar, students can consult Path, NOVO, and the political science department's webpage.

This introductory and basic knowledge course is aimed at students of American studies, political science and related subjects who want to familiarize themselves with the political system of the USA. The course largely follows the logic of the Politics USA handbook (see references) and deals with the basic structures and mechanisms of US politics. On the one hand, these are located in their (contemporary) historical context, and on the other hand, different dimensions of interpretation are shown, thus providing a problem-oriented introduction to the US political system. The program includes the functioning of the institutions (Congress, President and Supreme Court) and the explanation of political processes. We discuss the role of parties, Interest groups, NGOs and consulting organizations play in the political process in the USA. How are the relationships between the federal level and the individual states? A certain amount of space is taken up by references to the political culture of the USA and the American elections at different levels. Wherever it seems useful, references to parliamentary political systems (e.g. the Federal Republic of Germany or Great Britain) are made as a contrast.

An understanding of the US Congress is critical for any student seeking to comprehend American government and politics. This course will examine the origins, history and development of Congress as an institution. It will investigate what drives legislative decision-making, and the evolving roles played by committees, party leadership and outside forces in the process. The course will look at procedural issues and the material impact they have on policy-making. It is impossible to understand US legislative politics without discussing the issue of polarization in the United States and the way it has changed politics and the institutions of governance. We will include a discussion of the role played by the President in the legislative process. Finally, we will look at some of the internal matters members deal with, from staff, budgets, constituent communications and ethics rules, to external issues such as campaigns, fundraising and interest group pressure.

This class will teach you how to better understand the fundamental factors that drive campaigns in America and to learn some of the skills employed by political professionals. Many of your assignments will require you to apply the lessons of this class to real time events. Pundits and other observers have already generated a phenomenal amount of analysis and commentary about the 2020 election and occasionally they have even been right. The goal in this class is to go beyond the spin and hyperbole of election commentators and understand how campaigns work, the role of the professionals involved and their efforts to persuade voters. And, of course, to give you some of the technical skills to get an interesting job with a campaign. This class will combine the insights of campaign professionals with insight from the study of previous campaigns and core academic knowledge. It will combine theory, practice, and exploration, taking the insights of political practitioners and rolling them into one particular emphasis on campaigns for public office and message control.

This seminar addresses the fundamental ideas that organize, describe, and define public policy in the United States. Using a variety of classical and modern texts, we will consider how these fundamental ideas serve to shape both the debate regarding particular policies, as well as the institutions responsible for their implementation. Of special importance to the seminar is the development of critical and analytical skills to understand and evaluate public policy. Co-curricular activities related to this course will expose students to institutions, organizations, and decision-makers in the Washington system.

What is Black Political Thought? For what purpose was it established? What are its relationships to the anti-colonial idea of decolonization and the post-colonial critique of the colonial? This course aims to explore answers to some of these questions. The course focuses on the writings of Black political thinkers/concepts in the UK/Europe. Through critical examination of the conditions against, and contexts within which, Black political theories/philosophies are situated/produced, this course hopes to arrive at some logical understanding of the principles, goals, and strategies developed to contest and redefine the concept of citizenship (vis-à-vis the imperatives of race/racism and the global colonial formation), humanity (ontological implications), ethical commitments to justice, democracy, and freedom.

The course will provide an overview on migration and asylum policies and legislations on the universal as well as on the European and Italian levels. Students will obtain instruments to understand the challenges presented by migratory movements of different nature and to follow from a knowledge based standpoint the present debate on management of mixed migratory flows.

The concepts of Terrorism and Political Violence loom large in contemporary politics and policymaking but are frequently misunderstood and under-theorised. This module will introduce students to a range of approaches to terrorism and political violence. The first part of the module will explore the history of terrorism and to a diversity of understandings of, and theoretical approaches to terrorism and political violence. The second part of the module will explore a range of topics including: types and causes of terrorism, the state and terrorism, the role of religion, policy responses and the so-called 'war on terror'.

The course utilizes the notion of borders to discuss both the construction and reimaging of borders in the physical but also socioeconomic sense.

This module is designed to introduce students to key themes in global politics and development. The phenomenon of 'globalisation' - which may be described as the increasing interconnectedness of countries, as manifested through closer trade, investment and other economic ties, as well as through the claimed emergence of a common global culture (sometime seen as the imposition of Western culture on other parts of the world) and shared political values (such as human rights) - will be explored in depth. Critiques of the concept - including arguments that economic globalisation is exaggerated and that parts of the world are becoming more, rather than less, culturally distinctive - will also be examined. The so-called 'downside' of globalisation - including cross-border movement of terrorists, drugs and trafficked migrants - will likewise be addressed. The challenges of politically governing an (at least partially) globalising world economy will be discussed through close analysis of institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations.

Graham Finlay. Normative issues involving the relations between states, between individuals who are members of different states and their relations to international law and transnational institutions. Various approaches to these topics, beginning with Rawls, recent debates about international issues, focusing on the justification of interventions, tradeoffs between security and rights, immigration policy, and , especially, the problems of global inequality and the theory of development. Final exam: 67%, project 33%; Text: Pogge: Global Justice.

A big part of contemporary international law has a direct connection to the Holocaust. This course examines the evolution of international law from World War II on with a particular focus on genocide, and crimes against humanity. Students will learn, examine, and evaluate modern theories of international law and political science. Which theory best explains the evolution of international law? Are post WWII theories better able to redefine pre-existing ideas about human behavior in times of conflict? We will examine how the Holocaust and World War II have shaped the need for interstate peace, and how these events became major catalysts for modern international justice. We will also consider the meaning of international justice (empirical and via theoretical lenses), its execution on the international arena, and the way that this concept has evolved in the post-war period. Can inferences about human behavior during Holocaust be generalized to modern incidents of genocide? Can we identify generalizable factors (social, economic, political, etc.) that are linked to violations of international law? Which among the various theoretical and methodological approaches within international relations provide the most useful tools to understand and study Holocaust? This seminar embraces an interdisciplinary approach to teaching: we will study international law through visiting historical landmarks in Poland (Auschwitz concentration camp, Stutthof Museum and Archives, Museum of Polish Jews, the Warsaw Rising Museum, Museum of the Second World War, Westerplatte, Solidarity Museum), focusing on international law/political science theories, in-depth interviews, participants observations, documentary films, and meetings with Polish policymakers. In sum, this course teaches students learn to use empirically-based information (in-depth interviews, memoirs, participant observations) to illuminate theories of international relations and international law.

The gender perspective is central to understanding power relations. With this theoretical and practical course, students will analyze the gender approach in International Relations (RRII), developing a broad and critical view of its importance, the types of existing theoretical and methodological approaches, and the main topics of interest for the discipline of International Relations (RRII). This will be analyzed through lectures, individual analysis of texts and group research development, which will contribute to the development of frontier knowledge of excellence.

The course "Citizenship and human rights: interdisciplinary approaches" will allow students to develop the skills required to know, understand and value human rights and citizenship in all its expressions, respecting diversity and applying national and international standards. It is intended to contribute to a comprehensive training of an interdisciplinary nature that reconciles theoretical elements, a value perspective and various methodological instruments, aimed at promoting and strengthening by students, the recognition and application of these rights in the service of the professions in that are being formed and the sense of their own fulfillment as people. There will be dialogued presentations, case analysis in a group and exhibition of audiovisual material.

This course will provide the student with an understanding and basic foundation to: explain and compare the varying definitions of terrorism; distinguish the different types of terrorist motivations including left-wing, right-wing, ethnonationalist, separatists, and religious; differentiate terrorism from other forms of violence including political violence, guerilla warfare, insurgency, civil war, unconventional warfare, and crime; understand and describe the historical foundations of terrorism and apply them to modern terrorist events and methods being used to combat them.

The end of the Cold War and global climate change have made a profound impact on the Arctic by opening up new opportunities to Arctic states and societies for cooperation in economic, social and human development areas. At the same time, global warming, i.e. the rapidly melting ice cap, has also posed formidable challenges to both Arctic and global actors. It has not only made untapped Arctic natural resources (i.e. gas, oil and rare minerals, and new trans-Arctic marine routes) more accessible for commercial use, but also raised risks of environmental degradation and political conflicts. The latter could arise from still unresolved territorial claims by the Arctic states, heightened aspirations of indigenous societies for political autonomy, and fledgling regional governance structures. This course offers an introduction to a broad array of political, economic, social and military security issues that make the present day Arctic a focus of global interest. https://canvas.disabroad.org/courses/2872/assignments/syllabus This is a link to the course syllabus as the syllabus is not available as a pdf. In it is the course description as well as the rest of the information for the course. If this is not sufficient please let me know (tmikulsk@nd.edu) and I will attempt to do something different by way of syllabus.

This course seeks to provide an analysis of the legal framework and the public policy behind international investment. It will specifically focus on the special role of international treaties and the promotion and protection of foreign investment that they afford, through substantive and procedural standards of protection including the use of arbitration. It will also address emerging concerns and industry-oriented issues that stem from international investments. Evaluation will be made on the basis of investigation on specific subjects and a final oral examination on the disparate subjects addressed during the course.

This module offers a broad introduction to the study of international and global politics. It introduces students to a wide range of ideas, topics and debates relating to conflict, peace and security, immigration, public health and globalisation, among others. It examines the role of states, state sovereignty and intergovernmental institutions in international relations -- in theory and practice -- including the operation of intergovernmental bodies like the United Nations, NATO and the EU. It also considers the role of non-state actors such as NGOs like Amnesty International or Greenpeace, and multinational corporations.

This course provides a critical examination of the principles and institutions of International Criminal Law (ICL), which aims to hold individuals accountable for the crime of aggression, genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. To critically assess ICL's effectiveness and contribution to international peace and justice, we study its development in the 20th century and look closely at the workings of the International Criminal Court, other special courts, and special courts and alternative approaches to transitional justice today.

This course provides a general introduction of the concept of 'counter-terrorism.' We will start with a broad introduction tackling the domestic and international political, legal, and military frameworks in which counter-terrorism has developed. This will lead us, in a later stage, to consider the tensions between citizen's 'right to know' and the state's 'right to silence' and examine journalistic practices when covering intelligence-related topics. We will study examples illustrating the creativity of individuals, groups and organizations, attempting to circumvent the censorship that is inevitably present during intelligence, espionage, information leaks, and counter-terrorism events. Special attention will be paid to operations carried out by the Mossad, the Shin Bet, as well as digital phenomena such as whistleblowers focusing on WikiLeaks and alternative social media such as Telegram Apps used by terrorists groups such as ISIL.

At the end of this course it is expected that students will have a detailed understanding of the politics, history and law of the European Court of Justice, one of the most remarkable institutions in contemporary international politics and without precedent in previous world history. It will be an interdisciplinary module drawing on political science, law, and history. Although the major focus of the module is on the European Court of Justice, the politics and law of other courts and international tribunals will also be discussed, certainly including the United States Supreme Court and the politics of the US constitution, but also perhaps including the Supreme Court of Ireland and the German Bundesverfassungsgericht as well as international dispute settlement tribunals such as the World Trade Organization, Investor-State Dispute Settlement systems, and the European Convention on Human Rights. This module is supported by the Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law and Politics which will enable talks by a variety of outside speakers including scholars, historians, and practicing lawyers.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the key themes and major debates in the study of American foreign policy. The course provides an overview of the historical evolution of America’s relations with the world, and examines the key actors involved in the formulation of US foreign policy. Throughout, the course will focus on the ways in which America’s interests, and its ideals, have shaped its global engagement.

Taught at a host institution. To familiarize the student with the concept of human rights as it exists theoretically, as it has developed throughout history, and as it is practiced on the national and international plains in modern society.

The course provides a very in-depth analysis of the evolution and current international response to sexual violence in conflict zones. We explore the classification of these acts as war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide and examine how international legal bodies, including the UN and the International Criminal Court, address these crimes through prosecution, prevention, and victim reparations. By engaging with legal theory, case studies, and contemporary debates, the course offers a comprehensive understanding of the legal mechanisms and international efforts combating sexual violence on a global scale. The course is literature dense and we have presentations in class

The goal of this module is to understand and/or explain the major political shifts that have taken place in both the US and UK and their wider implications (if any) for global politics. The module will interrogate arguments surrounding the success of both Donald J. Trump and the Brexit campaign which revolve around class and opportunity, economic inequality, race and migration, identity politics, an urban-rural divide, anti-cosmopolitanism, populism and anti-establishment politics. Through a Problem Based Learning approach the module will assess if this is part of a wider challenge to the broad liberal democratic 'order' and globalisation, or are perhaps unique to the Anglo-Saxon world. The module will then go on to assess the implications of these two particular phenomena for global politics. This will include critical analysis (always working in student teams) of the implications for multilateralism, international trade, a multi-polar world order, the pursuit of universal human rights and international security.

The course analyzes the creation of security and defense policies of a State, under a comparative approach of different cases, in order to identify and understand what are the key factors in which the differences are based regarding how each State generates its own, and consequently, how they in turn impact the generation of military policies and the structure and use of force.

World In Crisis: Class offered in Business administration but actually is more political science. It taught about the different schools of thought in regards to globalization and political theory such as Marxism, utilitarianism, and constructivism. The class applied these theories to real world situations and asked us to analyze the past and try to predict the future according to each theory. Current events were heavily integrated into the course, especially with the Ukraine crisis.

This course will examine how the almost simultaneous collapse of the Soviet Union, the Warsaw Pact and Yugoslavia in 1991 gave rise to a new set of challenges to European security. It will also examine the NATO-EU-Russia relationship and the foreign policies of major European powers, US priorities in the area, nation building, minorities and territorial issues and problems in Central and Eastern Europe, new spheres of influence and related conflicts.

Understanding and mastering strategic affairs with particular attention to military operations and technology. Developing a basic knowledge-set, both at the theoretical and at the practical level, to enable students to understand, and eventually contribute to, the main debates characterizing it. After review at the department and program levels, we cannot approve this course for Italian credit. There is not enough Italian related content. Student has stated that he wants this course to count towards Italian major, so it should be reassigned. Follow this link for a course description and syllabus: https://www.luiss.edu/cattedreonline/corso/S59/0/2PSL2SP/2021

The course uses a multidisciplinary approach to elaborate the key theoretical perspectives that focus on the uniquely visual element of world politics, which are set into a conversation with the more dominant (non-visual) approaches to the discipline. It offers a supplement to traditional disciplinary accounts of the theory and practice of international affairs, which principally focus on the main schools of world politics as well as the dominant actors, structures and institutions of international relations. This course explores how the realm of world politics is visually constructed and how pictures, films, graffiti, sculptures, monuments, and digital images all shape public perception.

This course focuses on studying the role of the law, legal rights, and the Brazilian constitution in realizing full economic rights. We will study international and domestic law, human and civil rights frameworks, and compare them to the US constitutional system. We will review the politics of redistribution, economic growth, property, etc, as it pertains to rights.

This module examines contemporary relations between China and the European Union. The module will be of interest to students of Business, History, Social Sciences and Modern Languages - and anyone intending to engage with China in their future career. The EU is China's biggest trading partner, and China is the EU's second biggest trading partner. At the same time, both European and Chinese governments face domestic economic and security challenges, concerns about democratic legitimacy, and the temptations of populist nationalism. This module examines China's economic and strategic relations with the EU. It analyses the political and social implications of societal level interactions, as globalisation and migration are reshaping what it means to be Chinese and European. It also assesses the impact of Brexit upon EU-China relations.

This course intends for students to observe the world from an analytical perspective, just as correspondents or those who prepare reports on international news. To achieve this, it will expose notions of international relations theory, democratic politics, global security, world economy and geography, from which specific issues and country cases will be reviewed.

Contrasts in political and social structures of various Spanish American nations in the 20th century to show their diversity but also to provide insight into the problems they share.

The course introduces the study of social movements, with an emphasis on the interaction between movements of social and political systems.

Students will learn about the Chilean political process since the 1930s, with a special emphasis on the period from 1964 to 2002. Students will analyze and discuss institutional, economic, social and cultural changes that occurred during that period. Chilean politics, economics and sociology will be addressed from a historical perspective.

The course is aimed at examining the way in which the Chilean political system is organized and functions. Thus will delve into government institutions (Presidency, Congress and Judiciary), political parties, interest groups and Chilean public opinion.

Looking at geopolitics in Latin America, with a specific focus on the role of non profit organizations on anti poverty policy actions in Buenos Aires and Santiago

This course will provide students with an insight into the study of political leadership in the executive branch of US and UK government. And will apply comparative politics tools to compare and contrast the US president and the UK prime minister, so exploring how executive leadership is enacted differently in presidential, federal political systems compared to parliamentary, unitary ones. The course will provide a means for students, irrespective of major, to develop a set of skills to analyse the form and functions of contemporary political leadership, so providing an informed appreciation of the place of the presidency in US politics by a detailed comparison with the UK prime ministership.

This course is part of the Summer Toledo, Spain program. The course discusses the evolution of the European Union, including issues such as monetary, agricultural, and environmental policies, and demographics and immigration.

The objective of the course is to present, through a multidisciplinary approach, the main characteristics and modalities of the political system French. Whether the original institutions of the Fifth Republic inherited of a political history that is turbulent to say the least or of the divisions that cross the French political spectrum and its great families, the course also aims to address the main debates that have crossed and still cross French society and which trace its specificity (secularism, place of the State, relationship to taxation, human rights and societal conservatism...). But addressing students from a variety of backgrounds and generally remote from law or political science, the course captures opportunity for its various themes to introduce notions fundamentals of public law, political and social history and science Politics. In terms of its organization, the course largely leaves the students get involved (presentations, debates etc.) in order to make these sessions lively and interactive on the mode of Anglo-Saxon methods.

The aim of this module is to deepen students' understanding not only of the substance of Irish politics, north and south, but also of the academic research that aims to interpret and understand it.

This course is part of the Toledo program. It examines the main features and social significance of General Franco's authoritarian regime as opposed to the German and Italian models, the origins of the Civil War and later social and economic development, and problems in the political and constitutional transition since 1985. Also cross-listed as "Spanish Transition Towards Democracy."

Main features and social significance of General Franco's authoritarian regime as opposed to the German and Italian models. Origins of the Civil War and later social and economic development. Problems in the political and constitutional transition since 1985.

An introduction to classic and contemporary themes of the law of the international community. Historical evolution, sources of law, international legal subjects, recognition of states and governments, self-determination of peoples and the use of force by states. Humanitarian intervention, international criminal tribunals, universal and regional systems of human rights protection, fundamental principles of European integration, the changing role of sovereignty and democracy in international law. SK IEE 1175 descr: The main objectives of the course are the development of the students' understanding and knowledge of international law and the strengthening of their ability to interact at the required levels (research, study, professional work) on the main subject matters of the discipline which permeates the evolution of contemporary international relations.

The course explores the impacts of UK and US news media on politics., and examines the complex interrelationship between media institutions, political actors and citizens. It pays particular attention to the changing forms of news media, and considers how media impacts political communications and influences behaviour across the political spectrum. The course also confronts important questions arising from the emergence of social media and online content as primary sources of news production and consumption. And it explores whether the modern UK and US news media helps create political polarization by catering to subjective identities at the expense of objective truths.

This course covers a number of topics, including the role of the prime minister and the cabinet; executive and legislative relations, including the role and function of parliament; devolved and local government; electoral politics, parties and the party system; interest group politics; political communications and the mass media; and the impacts of membership of the European Union. It is expected that even students with no existing knowledge of British politics will develop an advanced understanding of the workings of government and politics in Britain and learn how different actors, institutions and processes help formulate public policy. The government and politics of the US will be used throughout as a means of comparison.

Prof. Colum McCaffery Democracy today rests on the assumption of an informed and reasonable public nourished by critical media reports and contending arguments. A cursory examination of media content, however, is sufficient to reveal that the reality is quite problematic. This course explores the ambiguous role of mass media in political communication. It begins with theory and moves to examine current issues in mass political communication generally and in Ireland in particular. ASSESSMENT: Final examination, or final examination (67%) plus project (33%). TEXTS: McNair, An Introduction to Political Communication; McQuail, Mass Communication Theory: An Introduction

As both a subject and a method of study, comparative politics examines the nature, development, structure and functioning of the political systems of a selection of countries with very different cultures, social and economic profiles, political histories and geographic characteristics. Through case studies, students will learn to use the comparativist's methods to collect and organize the information and develop general explanations.

The main objectives of the course are the development of the students' understanding and knowledge of international law and the strengthening of their ability to interact at the required levels (research, study, professional work) on the main subject matters of the discipline which permeates the evolution of contemporary international relations.

This course provides a solid framework for understanding the key features of the Irish political system as well as the issues that dominate analysis of Irish politics. The course begins with an overview of Ireland's historical experience, of Irish political culture and of the factors that have formed that culture. After an analysis of the role, genesis and development of the Constitution the course moves on to a discussion of electoral behaviour and the origins of the party system. It includes an analysis of the nature and impact of the electoral system and the impact of a range of internal and external factors on the Irish political process.

This module aims to introduce students to the political system of the People's Republic of China and the politics of its ruling entity, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The module first provides a historical foundation for understanding CCP rule, covering major events in the 20th Century. From this foundation, it then examines the party's relationship to the state and policymaking, China's foreign relations and foreign policy, as well as the politics of Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong. By the end of the module students will have a well grounded understanding and be prepared to think carefully about current and future developments in Chinese politics.

This course takes as its starting point the new literature on institutional economics and comparative political economy, with a focus both on the basic theory and on contemporary empirical research. Institutions have proven important for economic and social development. The course will look at how institutions shape the incentives of economic agents, and how this influences economic outcomes in various contexts. Much discussion nevertheless revolves around which types of institutions matter for economic growth and development, and to what extent these institutions change over time. The course covers these and other topics including: the role of geography, natural resources, corruption; crony socialism & capitalism; causes and consequences and how to measure crony socialism & capitalism; democracy and economic development; understanding democracy deficit in the middle-east and failed states, discussed recently in institutional economics. The objective of the course therefore is to give students a solid foundation in the basic concepts of new institutional economics, as well as a first impression and understanding of the topics studied and the methodologies used at the frontier of institutional research today.

This module focuses on the domestic politics of sub-Saharan Africa since Independence and particularly the question of the state. Because of the sheer number and diversity of African states the module is structured thematically but the readings allow students to follow up regions and countries of particular interest. The main themes have been selected to familiarise students with some of the key issues in contemporary debates about African politics. The first part of the module focuses on the emergence and development of the African state and the theorising that has attended that process. Subsequently the themes of conflict, local and 'traditional' politics, new social forces, democratisation, state reform and public policy are considered. To provide a more concrete support for these themes two African countries (these vary from year to year) are examined in some detail.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is often regarded as an intractable, enduring clash between two diametrically opposed sides. The fact that the conflict has endured for decades with little progress seems to support this position. But the reality of this conflict is more complex. This course will examine the role of identity in Israel/Palestine and with regards to how the Israel/Palestine conflict has spilled over to fuel identity-based conflicts in other countries in the region. In addition to the better-known disputes between Israelis and Palestinians, the course will explore the many divisions within these groups. This approach highlights the various ways in which Israelis and Palestinians conceive of their identities; in other words, what does it mean to be an Israeli or a Palestinian? And how do different understandings of these identities affect the prospects for peace in the region? This course includes numerous visits with religious leaders, civil society organizations, academics, and policymakers in order to gain firsthand experiences of the many approaches to identity and politics in Israel and Palestine. It also includes several site visits to historically influential destinations. Its guiding principles are to speak with as many people as possible, and to explore every possible perspective.

This course focuses on the Supreme Court of Japan. The first lessons will introduce the origin, structure and functions of the Japanese judiciary and in particular the Supreme Court, who its judges are and how they got there. The second part of the course will provide an overview of the most important cases decided by the Supreme Court. Depending on circumstances and availability, one lesson may consist of a field trip to the Supreme Court. Some lessons will be based on student presentations or teamwork.

Identity politics has recently regained attention as a major force in political behavior. In this course, we will examine the features of identity politics that bear on individuals' political preferences and decisions. Using both historical and contemporary examples, we will analyze the role of identity considerations in electoral behavior, protest, and partisanship, among other areas. Some of the identity categories studied will be race, gender, and religious affiliation. The course includes cases both within the American context and international comparisons.

The course Law and Politics aims to explain how the legal system and political power are related and articulated in modern society. The course will analyze those concepts and legal institutions that are essential for political activity. From the review of the compulsory bibliography students will be able to understand and critically reflect on the impact of law on politics and vice versa. Concrete examples of the Chilean politics and legal culture will be discussed and special attention will be paid to the constituent process and constitutional debates in the country. At the end of the course students will understand law as a social and political phenomenon.

The actualite et medias course (News and Media) is about news and media bias around current events, specifically around political reporting and issues. This class is at the B2 level, which is the highest for this program, but it is supposed to be a bridge class between B2 and C1 to prepare students to take the DALF exam which shows a high level of proficiency in the French language and allows those who pass to enroll in French universities. The syllabus is primarily focusing on the media coverage of the weeks up to and following the French presidential election in April, as well as coverage of political priorities and debates: nuclear energy debate in Europe, working from home, European collaboration on Covid, the Schengen area, immigration, etc. We will be analyzing sources from traditional French media and examining their political biases as well as reliability. The course is primarily focused on the media coverage of the weeks up to and following the French presidential election in April, as well as coverage of political priorities and debates: nuclear energy debate in Europe, working from home, European collaboration on Covid, the Schengen area, immigration, etc. We will be analyzing sources from traditional French media and examining their political biases as well as reliability.

This course examines the political intricacies of the Modern Midddle East in the historical context of the nation-state structure.

POL 30210 The European Union: Polity, Politics and Policy at UCD; Currently, more than 70% of all legal acts passed in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) originate on the EU level. Since, the EU truly penetrates and impacts our daily life, it is important to shed some light on current European issues. This course will inquire into possible obstacles of policy-making under the present institutional framework, analyze dynamics and impacts of Eastern enlargement on the EU, and discuss the future of the EU (e.g. European democracy, citizenship). On successful completion of this module students will have a better grasp of the impact of the European integration on the policies and politics of EU member states.

The purpose of this module is to introduce students to political and cultural changes that are taking place in South Africa. This will be done by brainstorming a number of pertinent ideas (drawn from political studies, sociology and anthropology) and subsequently applying these ideas to a number of themes.

This course will examine the contemporary issues facing Israeli society and the major debates that define Israeli politics. The discussion of Israel's political system will be divided into several distinct, yet analytically related parts: historical roots, social composition, the legal, judicial, and education systems, political system, political and religious ideologies, voting behavior, coalition politics, the government and public policy. Emphasis will be placed on the major political cleavages that often determine the nature of Israeli politics: Left/Right, Jewish/Arab, Israeli/Palestinian, religious/secular, wealthy/poor, civil/military, veterans/immigrants, and male/female. Throughout the course we will identify some of the ways in which Israeli society and politics are unique while also tracing how the characteristics within Israel fit broader patterns in political and social theory. A discussion on Israel's future will conclude the course. The course will include two main components: In-class instruction and guest speakers at the University of Notre Dame at Tantur campus Organized engagements in the field related to the course material (e.g. Israel's parliament, meetings with community leaders, understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) Learning Outcomes: By the end of the course students should be able tod evelop an in depth understanding of the leading analytical and theoretical frameworks that make sense Israeli politics; Gain a better appreciation of the political challenges faced by Israeli citizens, politicians, and the government in a rapidly globalizing world; Become able to read, understand, and analyze articles of varying complexity on Israeli politics, and familiar with resources on Israeli politics and society; Develop an appreciation for the interconnectivity between trends in Israeli society and politics and that of the international community; Become able to articulate questions about Israel's future that balances both an understanding of leading analytical works as well as firsthand experiences

Sustainability has become a major challenge for contemporary societies. Far from being a sectoral problem, climate change, biodiversity, environmental justice and, in general, the creation of society-nature relationships that allow the maintenance, expansion and quality of life of different beings and ecosystems, have become a challenge that crosses and mixes political, ethical and technological spheres. This course will address sustainability as a multidimensional and interdisciplinary phenomenon, while presenting the specific contribution that sociology makes to this debate. To the extent that the challenge of sustainability is inseparable from the way in which society produces knowledge, inhabits territories, understands nature, manages resources and prioritizes values, the course will seek to articulate a question about sustainability that puts sociology in conversation. with other disciplines and knowledge. The course also tries to reflect situated on sustainability, placing Chile and the region at the center of the debate. This is done by connecting international literature with local challenges, as well as introducing authors and theoretical bodies that have emerged from Latin America to address the issue of sustainability. Conceived as a space for debate, the course will be structured based on lectures, applied work, open debates and guest presentations. The final objective is not only to show the complexity of sustainability as a concept and objective, but also to reflect on the imperatives that emerge together with sociology to face sustainability from theory, public policies and activism.

This course provides students with an insight into the study of contemporary political leadership using comparative politics tools to contrast the US president with the UK prime minister. It will explore the impacts of the varied environments within which presidents and prime ministers operate, namely political systems and structures, historical processes, and party and electoral contexts. And it will examine the ways in which the interplay of events, political ideas, public and electoral opinion, interest group activity, forms of political communications, and the mainstream news media help enable or else constrain political leaders.

The course takes a tour of the different development models that have occurred throughout Latin American history, thus allowing a critical evaluation of them and their repercussions on the economy of the countries that make up Latin America.

The course aims to acquire the ability to understand the history of Italy from the Risorgimento until today, according to a perspective interlacing local, national and supranational dimensions. It will analyse the main political, cultural, social and economical points that characterised the Italian history, with peculiar emphasis on the 1900s. This course is co-taught by two faculty members of the Political Science department to trace the growth of the Italian Political System in context with the rest of the world, analyzing the effects of the American and French political philosophies of revolution, as well as the ramifications of fascism on contemporary Italy.

In this course, students will analyze the current debates on constitutional matters regarding the difference between original and derived constituent power, the constitutional principles and bases of institutionality, the regulation of fundamental, social and new rights, the regimes of governments and constitutionally autonomous bodies. At the end of the course, the student will be able to critically assess the minimum contents that a Fundamental Charter must contain, taking into account the experience in Chile and in comparative law. The classes will be developed through lectures and discussion in classes. Learning will be assessed through written assignments, oral presentations, class participation, and a final exam.

This module will examine the evolution of the concepts of race, ethnicity and identity over time, both in the social sciences and everyday life. We will examine sociological theories of the racial state and situate race and ethnicity within social, political and economic processes. We will explore the history and policy developments of refuge in Europe, the politics of nam- ing and categorization, detention, securitization and the liminal spaces refugees occupy be- tween borders. We will study contemporary debates on various approaches to racial profiling; and current debates on race and gender bias in Artificial Intelligence. Finally, we will examine how such concepts have manifested through the contemporary theories of "whiteness", gen- der and the body and cultural appropriation.

The environment constitutes a key issue of public concern and political contention. Crucial challenges of our times revolve around it: climate change, biodiversity loss, resource scarcity, food and water, energy security, refugee crises, environmental conflicts and protest, pollution and waste management. Recognising that multiple understandings of nature produce different perspectives on environmental problems, this module will explore how competing political, economic, and social interests and values contend to define environmental issues and to formulate solutions. The students will study several conceptual and analytical frameworks and explore how ideas, interest groups and institutions have shaped environmental politics around the world, with an emphasis on environmental justice. The module introduces students to recent public policy, debates, issues and case studies to understand empirically how environmental change is produced and what are its political implications. Readings from a range of media, structured discussions, and problem-based learning will be employed innovatively to enable students to gain a critical and in-depth understanding on some of the most important issues of our times. This module will be taught by a PhD student, Ms Emanuela Ferrari.

N.B. Prior coding knowledge and knowledge of quantitative research methods are NOT required. How can we identify differences between party systems, determine party positions, and measure public opinion? Do parties keep their promises, or are politicians "pledge breakers"? Are promises in certain policy areas more likely to be fulfilled? IN what policy areas do parties differ in terms of their positions and issue emphasis? And do parties respond to changes in public opinion? In this module, we first discuss the main functions of political parties, outline features of representative democracies, and identify ways of measuring public opinion. Next, we assess whether parties keep their promises, whether the "mandate model of democracy" is a desirable and realistic model of political representation, and how we could improve existing studies on election pledge fulfillment. Afterwards, we investigate parties' willingness and capacity to respond to changes in public opinion. Fourth, we discuss different approaches to measuring party positions, political ideology, and the salience of policy areas. Finally, we briefly discuss alternative types of political participation that go beyond representative government and electoral democracy.

This course introduces to the devices used to regulate ethno-national conflicts by examining two of the most prominent examples: Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine. It provides students with an understanding of the tools available to groups, states, and policy makers to both wage and manage such conflict. Following a thorough introduction to the twin concepts of nationalism and ethnicity, the course analyses these divided societies in three main thematic blocks: partition, hegemonic control, and power-sharing /negotiated settlements. The goals of the course are to introduce students to the discipline's main themes, terms and theoretical debates, thereby providing thorough foundation knowledge, to introduce students to the respective history and main issues of the Northern Irish and Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to enhance students' understanding of the field by linking theory to detailed empirical case studies

This class seeks to examine and explain relatively recent changes in European politics. The purpose is to inform the student of: Nordic countries' party politics changing (Populist trend spreading in Europe), differences in parliamentary makeup and in European countries, examinations of extreme right and left, explaining the Brexit referendum, and effects of recent foreign policy changes/immigration in Europe.

Consulted by citizens, commented on by journalists, and dissected by politicians, political polls have become an essential part of political and electoral life. In their various forms, the constitute an important cog in the public debate to which actors and observes of the political game refer. The course will be structured in three parts: the historical development of opinion polls, their technical implementation and their relationship to democracy. Political life will thus be approached from various angles: historical, electoral, media, sociological, psychological...An important place will be given to the analysis of political and electoral current events (campaign for European elections) in France and abroad by means of polls. External speakers may participate in the sessions from time to time.

Look in any paper and you will see that the world has grown tired of professional politicians. Everywhere new forms of protest are appearing. From the rise of Anonymous, to Wikileaks, to Occupy and the Arab Spring populations are reinventing the way we protest when authority seems to be ignoring us. In recent years there has been an overwhelming feeling that traditional politics have failed and that ideas such as environmentalism and anarchism might be the answer, realigning the concept of left and right inherited from the French Revolution and exemplified by the Cold War. Much of modern protest is decided by new media, but much still takes place on the streets. How do people make their voices heard? What are the origins of ideas of people's democracy, social democracy and personal freedom and what role does the organized political party play in revolutionary protest? Starting in the 1640s, in England, with people like John Lilburne and the Levellers and Gerard Winstanley and his proto-communists, the course will explore the ideas of republicanism, anarchism, Marxism, feminism, pacifism, anti-imperialism and fascism in a global context through to the present day. There will be at least one guest speaker from the world of alternative politics and economics as well as a number of short field trips to places around London associated with political agitation. The essence of the class is to introduce ‘non-parliamentary' politics and political debate as it has affected and as it affects global mass movements. The class combines political theory with philosophical thought and is aimed at students who have a keen interest in public affairs, business and international relations. Students should be willing to engage in lively debate in areas of radical political thought and grapple with concepts they may not have encountered in political science classes. This class is not therefore for ab initio students although the class would be suitable for those with a keen interest in history, psychology, anthropology and philosophy.

This class introduces students to the history, government, and politics of the European Union. We will seek to understand how and why EU politics differ from those of other intergovernmental institutions, and establish the basic components of the "Brussels system". There are no prerequisites for this course except your curiosity and desire to develop your critical thinking skills. The course is divided into three parts. We first examine the history and development of EU politics as well as the ideological currents that shape it. The second part identifies the main institutional players on the stage of EU politics and maps their characteristics. Finally, the course concludes by focusing on a selection of the European Union's main contemporary policies and challenges.

This course examines the development of Western democratic theory from the ancient Greeks to the present, considering its theoretical foundations, as well as the ethical and constitutional norms to which they gave rise. The analysis will have a theoretical and historical character, considering the different types of democracy, their justifications and the criticisms that have been developed around them.

Through a normative focus of ethics and political philosophy, the course introduces some of the most important modern problems and debates associated with the animal world, nature, and our link with the non-human world. Throughout the semester we will take on a series of debates about political philosophy and animal ethics, the moral status of nature, the advancement of environmental ethics in politics and the conflicts between this and other anthropocentric values. Students will understand the existing tensions between these distinct perspectives from a non-antropocentric analysis and the role of the state and certain principles of justice.

POL 20010 Individuals and the State: Social Contract Theory from Hobbes to Rousseau at UCD; What, if anything, makes political authority legitimate - power, or the consent of the governed? When do people have the right to resist their government? Is the solution to the problem of order strong government, limited government, or self-government? Is society and politics founded on a contract expressing the agreement of the people? Is the state an artificial entity designed to minimise conflict and protect individual rights? Which come first: individual rights or political order? Is it possible to be free under government? Are there good reasons why we should obey government? This module addresses these central issues for contemporary political affairs, and examines the arguments advanced by Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau, three contrasting thinkers, who significantly influenced the development of western political thought and institutions, and whose arguments still challenge us today.

What is Black Political Thought? For what purpose was it established? What are its relationships to the anti-colonial idea of decolonization and the post-colonial critique of the colonial? This course aims to explore answers to some of these questions. The course focuses on the writings of Black political thinkers/concepts in the UK/Europe. Through critical examination of the conditions against, and contexts within which, Black political theories/philosophies are situated/produced, this course hopes to arrive at some logical understanding of the principles, goals, and strategies developed to contest and redefine the concept of citizenship (vis-à-vis the imperatives of race/racism and the global colonial formation), humanity (ontological implications), ethical commitments to justice, democracy, and freedom.

The course is aimed to give an analytical knowledge of gender issues and their relevance in the media and politics. In particular, the course will seek to achieve the following objectives: 1) to provide a basic understanding of schools and approaches to gender studies; 2) to give a critical knowledge about the studies and research on gender politics; 3) to provide an analytical knowledge of the relationship between gender and politics (access, languages, topics, opportunities, etc.) in a European perspective.

As an introduction to the approaches in the empirical study of politics, this course will give an overview of causal inference methods in political science. This course will reinforce the learning from Foundations of Political Research module and introduce students to commonly used statistical techniques in political science research. It will also cover quantitative methods, including sampling and basic statistical analysis, from describing and visualising patterns in numerical data to multiple regression analysis. Students will also be introduced to statistical programming for research in political science.

Are stay-at-home orders effective during a pandemic? Should parents allow kids to have screen time? What role did demographic shifts play in the 2020 elections? Does the infield shift work? Modern society constantly faces questions that require data, statistics, and other empirical evidence to answer well. But the proliferation of niche media outlets, the rise of fake news, and the increase in academic research retraction makes navigating potential answers to these questions difficult. This course is designed to give students tools to confront this challenge by developing their statistical and information literacy skills. It will demonstrate how data and statistical analyses are susceptible to a wide variety of known and implicit biases, which may ultimately lead consumers of information to make problematic choices. The course will consider this issue from the perspectives of consumers of research as well as researchers themselves. We will discuss effective strategies for reading and interpreting quantitative research while considering the incentives researchers face in producing it. Ultimately, students will complete the class better equipped to evaluate empirical claims made by news outlets, social media, instructors, and their peers. The goal is to encourage students to approach data-driven answers to important questions with appropriate tools rather than blind acceptance or excessive skepticism.

This course is offered in the London Program. It does not count toward the political science major. A select group of students work as interns for Members of Parliament and write a research paper on some aspect of modern British society or politics. Only by prior permission of the London Program. Application required early in the semester prior to departure for London.

The goal of the internship program is to provide opportunities to integrate coursework with real work experience. Interns are able to explore career options, gain valuable work experience, and build their resume. The Political Science department can help connect students with a variety of organizations in the South Bend community. Students may also receive credit for an internship they have arranged, but must receive approval from the instructor prior to starting the internship. During the semester, students commit 6 hours per week to interning, preferably in two 3-hour blocks of time. During the summer, students commit to interning 20 hours per week for six weeks. Interested students should contact slandis@nd.edu

Under the guidance of law school students and staff lawyers, interns participating in the Exoneration Justice Clinic (EJC) will review correspondence from inmates claiming wrongful convictions based on actual innocence in Indiana prisons and conduct research into the validity of the claims. Interns will also research resources available to assist exonerees upon release from prison to reintegrate into the community. The EJC is located at 806 Howard Street in South Bend. During the semester, interns will work 6-8 hours per week including a mandatory meeting on Thursdays from 12:30-2:00pm (no exceptions/late arrivals).During the summer, interns will work 40 hours per week for 8 weeks. To apply, contact slandis@nd.edu.

The Social Concerns Internship enables students to actively engage with a social concern related to the complex layers of poverty. The primary goals for the internship are to enhance students' education framework, expand community-engaged service, and widen their understanding of local and global poverty. By pairing students with community partner organizations, students will work with people who are directly impacted by conditions of poverty. Through mentorships and guided fieldwork, students will focus on getting to know community members as individuals, learning personal narratives, expanding perspectives, and developing professional skills for working with community organizations. Students can understand the lives of the people they would like to engage with and be more in tune with the intersectional aspects that hinder their daily lives. Internships cover a wide range of social concerns, including education, healthcare, legal services, housing, hunger, labor, and community-building efforts. Through a catholic social teaching and social justice framework, the internships aim to achieve a mutually beneficial relationship where they can debunk assumptions about people, communities, and systems, as well as contribute to the efforts of the many organizations attempting to address this pressing problem. The Social Concerns Internship is open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have completed a relevant foundational course such as CST 33001, PS 23000, or Political Science students who have received departmental permission from Carolina Arroyo (carroyo@nd.edu). Students may propose other relevant foundational courses as the prerequisite as well. The course will meet in person for a bi-weekly course work rotation on Wednesdays 2:20pm-3:35pm. Please email Lulu Moyo at lmoyo@nd.edu by December 12th and an application will be sent to you along with further information.

Was the American Constitution originally a pro-slavery constitution that changed over time to a constitution that outlawed slavery and state-supported racial discrimination? Did the Civil War and subsequent developments through the civil rights acts of the 1960's represent a commitment implicit in constitutional principles from the nation's beginning? Do these constitutional principles embrace active governmental efforts to achieve an equal-opportunity society, including equal educational opportunity and an end to racism, a "private" attitude? Do constitutional principles promise a color-blind society? Or do they promise no more than color-blind governments? This course addresses these questions. Readings will include state documents like the Declaration of Independence and The Federalist Papers, the speeches of American politicians and other public figures, and decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court regarding slavery, public accommodations, education, voting, housing, and employment. Grades will be based on mid-term and final exams. Texts TBA.

Most courses in constitutional law narrate the Supreme Court's evolving positions on constitutional rights and institutions. This course starts not with the Supreme Court but with the <i>Federalist Papers</i>, from which it develops a general theory of the social and economic goals or ends of constitutional government in America. It then uses this theory as a framework for assessing the Supreme Court's position on property rights, race relations, personal privacy, and the place of religion in American life. This exercise can yield results that make for lively class discussion, not only about the Court, but about the adequacy of the Constitution itself. Grades will be based on a midterm and a final exam, with a paper option in lieu of the final.

This course will explore the development of Supreme Court jurisprudence relating to the separation of church and state over the last century through a series of moot court exercises. Students will play the role of lawyers and justices and retry famous Supreme Court cases on five topics: public aid to parochial schools, school prayer, public aid to parochial school students, religion in public schools, and religion in the public square. "Interested students should contact the instructor."

International human rights have undergone impressive development in the past 75 years. Yet current challenges, ranging from populism and authoritarianism to digital repression and global warming, threaten human rights. This course helps students to formulate promising policy responses to these threats. It first introduces the main international human rights institutions, laws, and policies. It then discusses, with the help of invited human rights practitioners, the most prominent challenges to them. Third, and most importantly, it assists students in devising detailed policy solutions to pressing human rights problems they are passionate about. For example, students can propose to amend existing human rights treaties to close glaring loopholes, reform monitoring and sanctioning mechanisms to improve compliance, and plan campaigns to shame violators or mobilize support for new human rights treaties.

This course taught by Senator Joe Donnelly, who served on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, examines the changing role. Topics include cybersecurity, disinformation, warfare technology, non-state actors, nuclear policy, NATO and the U.S./Europe relationship, the Middle East, terrorist financing, and the qualities and importance of leadership.

Webb's War: The American Experience in Vietnam and After Through the Eyes of Senator Jim Webb. This course will provide the intellectual background for Notre Dame International Security Center students who will be accompanying former Secretary of the Navy and Senator Jim Webb on a one week visit to Vietnam over fall break 2022. The course will consist of lectures, discussions, and background readings and be co-lead by Senator Webb and Professor Michael Desch. Upon completion of the visit, each student will write a brief policy recommendation on some aspect of U.S.-Vietnamese relations.

This course will examine the political system of the Soviet Union, why it lasted and why it collapsed. It will then examine the transition from Soviet rule to the contemporary Russian political system and the various problems of transition.

This interdisciplinary course explores the challenges of environmental sustainability through social, economic, scientific, and theological lenses. Taught jointly by professors from the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences, the course aims to instill broad, integrative and critical thinking about contemporary global environmental problems whose solutions will depend on multidisciplinary approaches. This gateway course to the Minor in Sustainability is open to all students interested in a deep exploration of these critical issues. Students considering the Minor in Sustainability are encouraged to take this course during their sophomore year. Requirements include a field trip and two hours of community volunteer work.

Studying environmental politics can be a gloomy pursuit. There are a myriad of devastating problems and a seeming scarcity of scientific and technological fixes. Technical fixes aside, there is the even more problematic scarcity of political fixes. Political institutions often seem to obstruct rather than facilitate environmentally sound policies, and the mass public and political leaders often prioritize competing goals and policies. This course is designed to understand whether the pessimism is warranted and to search for the optimism: What are the best opportunities, scientific and political, for saving the planet? What can realistically be accomplished?

At a moment when global challenges - from climate change to inclusive development to public health threats - loom large, many nation-states seem unable to come together to address them. In what ways are the world's cities and subnational governments working on their own and in concert to meet these challenges? This course examines the distinctive roles and capacities of cities, provinces, and states in managing global policy issues and explores different modes of trans-local cooperation and coordination. We start by considering the global governance shortcomings of nation-states and exploring the multilevel character of key policy challenges. We next use case studies from different issue-areas to assess how action by subnational governments is contributing to but also complicating solutions. We conclude by discussing the limitations of subnational approaches to global challenges and considering the most appropriate policy roles and portfolios for subnational actors in the 21st century.

What are Beijing's objectives towards the developing world and how have they have evolved and been pursued over time? In light of China's unprecedented Belt and Road Initiative and increasingly assertive military activities far from its shores, the answer to this question is perhaps more important than ever before. This course analyzes and explains China's strategies in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America, and evaluates their effectiveness. It is informed by the functionally organized academic literature, but uses a regional approach that allows for comparisons among regions based on their economic, political, military, and social characteristics. Topics will cut across the overlapping political, economic and security spheres, with particular attention paid to how different developing countries have perceived and responded to China's rapidly growing engagement and influence. This structure allows us to consider not only the unique features of Chinese engagement in each region, but also place them in the larger context of Beijing's strategy towards other developing regions and the developing world as a whole. This course will be of great interest to students and scholars interested in international development, Chinese foreign policy, comparative political economy, and international relations.

We will study the political thought and statesmanship of Lincoln. We will pay special attention to his constitutional thought and action and examine whether he provides a valid model of constitutionalism in times of emergency. Readings will include Lincoln's works and historical studies of the Lincoln era. We will also view and discuss a number of film portrayals of Lincoln.

This fall course is for seniors who are currently writing a senior thesis. The course will guide students through the first semester of the thesis-writing process from fine-tuning the research question and methodology to compiling a literature review and organizing the thesis. It will also provide students opportunities to present their work in class. Although the course introduces students to a variety of methodologies and the logic of research it is not intended to teach particular statistical techniques.

This course aims to introduce students to research design and the methods used for investigating political issues. Throughout the semester, students will learn how to conduct original research and present their research designs to their colleagues. This course aims to provide students with tools to critically analyze the strengths and weaknesses of methodological approaches used in research. Overall, this course is designed to instruct students on the appropriate way to conduct social science research. To meet the objectives of this course, we will explore (1) the logic of social science research, (2) the elements of the empirical research process, and (3) research design. Throughout the semester, students will develop an original research project.

Students in this course will learn to understand the most common statistical techniques used in political science and acquire the skills necessary to use these techniques and interpret their results. A mastery of these techniques is essential for understanding research on public opinion and voting behavior, electoral studies, and comparative research on the causes of democracy. For each topic, students will read works to orient them to key issues and debates. They will learn the reasoning behind the statistical analysis in these readings and create their own spreadsheet programs to execute such analyses. They will then download and clean datasets actually used in the published research, replicate selected analyses from these readings using the statistical package Stata and write short papers evaluating the inferences defended in the published research.

This course is designed to achieve three objectives: (1) introduce you to research and quantitative analysis in political science, (2) help you become critical consumers of political information and policy-oriented reporting, and (3) give you the ability to answer questions of social scientific importance using data. Throughout the course, we'll discuss the complexities of generating good research designs, starting with how to ask interesting questions and how to measure concepts of interest to social scientists. Students in this course will learn to understand the most common statistical techniques used in political science and acquire the skills necessary to use these techniques and interpret their results. A mastery of these techniques is essential for understanding research on public opinion and voting behavior, electoral studies, and comparative research on the causes of democracy. The target audience for this course is undergraduate students with interest in the social sciences (not only Political Science), who want to use quantitative approaches to solve important problems, as well as develop marketable analytical skills.

Qualitative Political Analysis introduces the core qualitative methods used in political science. Students will learn about applying the scientific method in qualitative research; the links between theory and evidence; research design appropriate to research questions, including comparing the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative and quantitative research methods; the difference between systematic, evidence-based research and anecdotal work; and important techniques for analysis, inference, and interpretation, including case studies research. This course can help prepare students to write a thesis in political science, but students do not need to plan to write a thesis for the course to be useful in their other studies and in their post-graduate careers. This course also serves as one of the core classes in the political science department's methods specialization, but students who are not pursuing the specialization are also most welcome and will find the course useful. The main goal of the course is to help students build their analytical skills -- to learn how political scientists think but also simply to learn to think better.

Students in this course will learn to understand, and to use, the most common statistical techniques used in political science. They will apply this methodological training to the development of a research project that will culminate in a paper modeled upon, and suitable for submission for publication in, peer reviewed scholarly journals. No prior understanding of or experience with statistical methods is expected. While students are encouraged to develop their own projects, and course time will be devoted to precisely the question of how we develop and craft ideas into do-able research projects, some recommended paper topics will be provided. This course is especially recommended to students contemplating graduate work in the social sciences.

Scholars, pundits, politicians, and citizens alike have begun asking questions about American democracy. Is the U.S. still a democracy? If so, how strong and stable is American democracy? The answers to those questions depend not just on politicians and political parties, but also on citizens. For democracy to work, citizens have to take an interest in politics, have clear opinions on political issues, make informed voting decisions, and be committed to democratic values. In this class, we will analyze American public opinion and voting behavior to assess the degree to which U.S. citizens live up to their end of the democratic bargain. We will do that in three ways. The first is normative: We will discuss the role that citizens should play in democratic government and what democracy requires of citizens. The second is through existing research. What have scholars of public opinion and voting behavior discovered about Americans’ success in fulfilling our democratic responsibilities over the last few decades? The third is through original research. Students will learn how to conduct their own analyses of American public opinion and voting behavior. We will discuss how surveys are conducted, how to write survey questions, and how to conduct statistical analysis of data from surveys on public opinion and voting behavior. Then students will conduct their own original research using data from the latest edition of the American National Election Studies, the preeminent academic survey of the American electorate.

This course is an introduction to political, economic, and social issues through the medium of visual displays. This kind of course has become feasible because data are now abundant and easy to access and software for displaying and analyzing data are available and easy to use. The ability to examine and display data is an increasingly valuable skill in many fields. However, this skill must be complemented by the ability to interpret visual displays orally, and by a commitment to use data responsibly: to reveal, rather than slant or distort, the truth. We will discuss examples concerning drugs, marriage, climate change, development, economic performance, social policy, democracy, voting, public opinion, and conflict, but the main emphasis is on helping you explore many facets of an issue of particular interest to you. You will learn to manage data and produce your own graphics to describe and explain political, social, economic (or other!) relationships. The graphics will include line and bar graphs, 2D and 3D scatterplots, motion charts, maps, and others.

The American Politics Research Lab provides resources, training, guidance, and coordination for research projects in American politics. Regular activities include training workshops, research presentations, question-and-answer sessions, project updates, and special topic discussions. Undergraduate members of the lab will be exposed to graduate-level training in research design, publication strategies, and professional development, and they will work collaboratively with graduate students and faculty by providing research assistance for ongoing projects in American politics.

In this 1-credit policy lab, students analyze and propose solutions for real-world policy challenges within a specific policy domain. Students will enhance their understanding of a particular area of public policy.

In this 1-credit policy lab, students analyze and propose solutions for real-world policy challenges within a specific policy domain. Students will enhance their understanding of a particular area of public policy.

Writing seminars are devoted to a specialized topic. These seminars give students a chance to take an advanced course in a seminar setting, with an emphasis on research skills and discussion. The individual topic of each seminar can be found on the political science web page listing of course descriptions. The course will fulfill a writing seminar requirement for the major and is restricted to junior political science majors only, but will be opened to senior political science majors after the 2nd day of junior course registration.

Writing seminars are devoted to a specialized topic. These seminars give students a chance to take an advanced course in a seminar setting, with an emphasis on research skills and discussion. The individual topic of each seminar can be found on the political science web page listing of course descriptions. The course will fulfill a writing seminar requirement for the major and is restricted to junior political science majors only, but will be opened to senior political science majors after the 2nd day of junior course registration.

This course examines the roots of political science within a wide academic discipline of politics going back to the ancient Greeks and also by using multiple countries as comparisons, including Ireland. Different practices of government and administrative layouts are defined and exemplified to connect to each country's overall health in both past and present in economic and social term.

An examination of major theories of justice, both ancient and modern. Readings include representatives of liberal theorists of right, such as John Rawls, as well as perfectionist alternatives. The course also serves as the core seminar for the philosophy, politics, and economics concentration.

This course analyzes the relationship between power institutions and how they are expressed in a certain territory. It draws from political theory with real-world examples, such as the ongoing struggle in Ukraine. There is a bibliography of texts for each chapter.

This course offers a broad introduction to the European Union through five disciplines led by five Political Science professors of History, Law, Political Science, Economics and Sociology. It sheds light on diverse and current successes and challenges related to European integration. The focus of the course is to equip students with a basic level of knowledge to take on the major contemporary issues of the EU. To this end, a unique program of study is based on five current themes in the EU (Brexit, populism, euro, GAFAM, and immigration). Each of these topics will be addressed in two successive sessions by two professors. In addition to deepening reflection on these topics, this approach will allow students to grasp the disciplinary specificity of each topic.

The course offers an introduction to the everyday and life and politics of socialism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, with attention to cultural studies as well as using media as a tool to have a better grasp on common trend and specific experiences. It further provides an introduction to visual culture while exploring issues of sources, methods, and knowledge in the social sciences--asking which uses social sciences can make of visual materials. Students also engage in this discussion as they work on their own research project for the course.

Part one subjects and concepts of Political Sociology Government, democracy and society Political socialization and political participation Ideology and political culture Political actors people, parties and social movements The new political structures Part two electoral poll and contemporary politics Electoral poll definition, brief history and main models - how to make a poll and how to analyze a poll Polls, Exit Pool and the analysis of electoral flows (introduction). Part three official statistics and politics at the era of Big Data Knowledge and decision making - Mental processes and statistical information The useful of statistics in the age of information Information and political decision Web 2.0 and the data deluge: toward a 2.0 Statistics Part Four: science, technology and power Science, technology, society and power technocracy Progressive technocracy and neo liberal technocracy Who are the technocrats? Technocratic power Social Datafication and technocracy Rationality, rationalization and technocracy.

This course is based on the following observation: although the concept of "citizenship" is widely used today in public debate, its meaning is not always stable and the same actors who use it do not always agree on it. This is because this concept is not univocal but has changed over the years. In this course, and through the critical analysis of bibliographic texts and primary sources, students will examine the historical construction of different "types" of citizenship and citizens throughout history and in the present, understanding the ideas behind their conceptualization, as well as the political and social practices they inspired. They will also reflect on the relationships between the exercise of citizenship and other political-social phenomena such as state-building, democracy, and constituent moments, understanding these phenomena from a multidisciplinary perspective and proposing ways in which historical knowledge about the construction of citizenship can contribute to address social problems we are experiencing today.

This course is for students undertaking independent research in the Rome Global Gateway program.

Permission required. Limited to junior and senior POLS majors. Under the guidance of law school students and staff lawyers, interns participating in the Exoneration Justice Clinic (EJC) will review correspondence from inmates claiming wrongful convictions based on actual innocence in Indiana prisons and conduct research into the validity of the claims. Interns will also research resources available to assist exonerees upon release from prison to reintegrate into the community. The EJC is located at 806 Howard Street in South Bend. Interns will work 40 hours per week for 8 weeks from June 7 to August 6. To apply -contact the instructor carroyo@nd.edu -your resume -a one-page statement of interest stating why you are interested in this internship and what you hope to learn. Submit the 3 documents to Carolina Arroyo, carroyo@nd.edu no later than May 7, 2021 at noon.

Summer internships are an excellent way to explore career options, to gain valuable work experience and to build your resume. Students who have secured an unpaid summer internship can apply for academic credit by contacting the Director of Internships. To qualify for credit, internships must have prior approval, must be unpaid, be at least 6 weeks in duration and provide at least 100 hours of work.

Students on the dean's list are eligible for independent study on a topic of the student's choice, under the supervision of a faculty member.

This variable credit (0 or 1) course offers undergraduates a chance to learn about and participate in the research experience. After several training sessions, students are assigned to a faculty member to work on an ongoing faculty research project.