Courses

• CAS PO 504: Political and Cultural Foundations of Human Development
  Examines how the United Nations and Freedom House rank human development across different countries and civilizations; how revolutions in mass literacy, individual freedom, and respect for human dignity have shaped human development; benefits and threats from technology and globalization.
• CAS PO 510: American Politics and the Separation of Powers
  Examines inter-institutional dynamics in the American system of separated powers. Explicit focus on the relationships between the president, Congress, and judiciary, and on the strategies each employs to affect political outputs.
• CAS PO 512: Informal Political Processes
  Study of informal political processes which link private demands and supports to formal institutions. Emphasis primarily on media, political parties, and interest groups. Political communications in literature and the arts are also covered.
• CAS PO 513: Development of American Constitutional Law
  A survey of the development of constitutional law and the exercise of power by the U.S. Supreme Court. The course is drawn entirely from decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the principal theme is the development of national constitutions and power.
• CAS PO 518: American Politics and Use of Force
  Examines how domestic politics drive the use of force in the postwar United States. Explores how Congress, courts, interest groups, media, and public opinion define Presidential action in times of crisis, as well as the kinds of crises that evoke action.
• CAS PO 521: Democratic Governance
  What is good governance, and what are its social and political bases? These questions, at the heart of political science since Aristotle, are addressed empirically, through case studies tracing the performance of democratic nation-states across several policy dimensions.
• CAS PO 523: Global Justice
  Charts the course of human development over history and inquires why the quality of life varies so dramatically in the world today. Geographic, economic, cultural, and political factors are explored.
• CAS PO 526: Pub Opin&El Pol
  
• CAS PO 527: Political Economy of China
  (Meets with CAS IR 527.) How did China implement economic reform? What were the progresses and limitations? How is China's political-economic development influencing the global system? Discussions are conducted in a comparative perspective. Countries of reference include Japan and India.
• CAS PO 534: The British Legal System
  Provides an introduction to the history and the development of the British legal system. Describes the evolution of the Common Law of England, the legal system and the legal profession of England. Also examines legal aspects of constitutional systems of government.
• CAS PO 544: Interest Groups, Public Opinion, and the Policy Process
  Focuses on public opinion and interest group activities as they affect the policy-making process in the United States. Attention is paid to the role of the media, of lobbying, of litigation, and of the electoral process.
• CAS PO 546: Bureaucracy and Governance: A Comparative Inquiry
  (Meets with CAS IR 513.) Bureaucracy is not only credited with underpinning economic development but also blamed for corruption and inefficiency. Exploring both theory and comparative development, this course looks at some of the most basic and important issues informing our understanding of governance.
• CAS PO 548: The Politics of Education
  Overview of the origins of public schooling, the purpose of public education, and controversial educational policies and research.
• CAS PO 550: Political Economy of Latin America
  (Meets with CAS IR 590.) Historical and contemporary issues in Latin American political economy. Uses case studies and cross-regional comparisons to assess competing explanations. Analyzes the current political and economic situation facing Latin America in its quest for economic growth and development.
• CAS PO 551: Comparative Political Development
  An investigation of contemporary debates on democracy and the state, with implications for contemporary American society as well as that of developing nations.
• CAS PO 553: Political Economy of Mexico and NAFTA
  (Meets with CAS IR 575.) Explores the dynamics of contemporary Mexicans' political economy and Mexico's participation in the North American Trade Agreement to understand the causes and effects of the profound transformation of Mexico in recent years. Addresses challenges that lie ahead.
• CAS PO 556: The Reemergence of Russia
  Disintegration of the old Soviet system and signs of reemerging Russia; careers of Gorbachev and Yeltsin and their attack on the foundations of Stalinism; Moscow's role in the 1989 revolutions; and the August 1991 coup d'etat. The legacy of communism in the present medical and ecological crises; current political developments.
• CAS PO 557: The Changing Face of Eastern Europe
  (Meets with CAS IR 543.) Domestic and foreign policies of Eastern European states, their relations with the former Soviet Union and with each other. Emphasis is on the period 1989-92, but recent events are presented with the historical contexts. Analysis of the formation and subsequent implosion of the Soviet sphere in Europe. The collapse of communism in Poland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, and its impact on the Soviet crisis, the Western alliance, and international relations.
• CAS PO 558: Problems and Issues in Post-Mao China
  (Meets with CAS IR 585.) An in-depth examination of politics in post-Mao China, this course focuses on several critical issues, uses various conceptual frameworks to try to understand why the reform process broke down and examines prospects for the future.
• CAS PO 559: Reckoning with the Past: Reparations and Justics in Comparative Perspective
  The debate about reparations for slavery and Jim Crow segregation in the United States examined critically as conversation about, and movement for, retrospective justice. Includes discussion of war crimes tribunals and truth commissions. Also offered as CAS AA 559.

Note that this information may change at any time.

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