Course Listing

This course examines the multiple ways in which race and ethnicity become meaningful categories shaping political behavior. We will examine how race and ethnicity are socially constructed, why people accept (and sometimes reject) the categories imposed on them, and how categories and identities become drivers of political behavior. The course takes a comparative perspective on identity politics, looking at cases from multiple regions around the world.

This course surveys the big debates about the nature of democracy and democratization. The course is organized around five broad themes: 1) core concepts and definitions of democracies and non-democratic regimes, 2) the nature and causes of democratization, 3) democratic principles, 4) democratic forms and institutional variation, and 5) contemporary issues in democratic politics, including democratic backsliding. Throughout the course, we will be exploring how these different elements of democracy exist around the world by using cases from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the United States.

Seminar in Comparative Politics; Comparative Politics of the Middle East

India has a well-established reputation for violating social science generalizations" -India After Gandhi, by Ramachandra Guha. Starting with its origins as an independent country and over the following seven decades, there has been speculation about whether India would stay united or would sustain its democratic institutions. Yet, in a relatively short period of time of seventy-five years, India s political system has become an example of a consolidated democracy in Asia. This course provides an introduction to the politics of India, with an emphasis on the key actors, institutions, and ideas that have shaped the evolution of Indian democracy and society.

Seminar in Comparative Politics. This course will cover the primary theories, concepts, and concerns of weak and failing states in the international system. The course material will address these issues at both the international and domestic levels, demonstrating how they interconnect. Using real-world examples such as Somalia and Afghanistan, the class will link readings to reality, and challenge students to analyze cases at both the component-level and the holistic-level.

Seminar in Comparative Politics.

Thirty-five years ago protest movements from below led to the world-shattering events known as the revolutions of 1989. What were their causes and consequences? What were the communist regimes and why did they fail? The course will highlight the (re)birth and consolidation of liberal democracies, NATO and EU extensions, the ongoing ideological confrontations, and the rise of populist and nationalist parties and movements.

This course will address four main themes: 1) regime change from a democracy to an autocracy; 2) regime change from an autocracy to a democracy; 3) democracies becoming less democratic; and 4) autocracies becoming less autocratic.

Seminar

The goal of this course is to give you an introduction to the relationship between politics and economics.