Courses

• 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 Justice in Comparative Perspective
  Meets with CAS AA 559 and IR 559. 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.
• CAS PO 560: Politics and Society in North Africa and the Middle East
  Meets with CAS IR 569. An investigation of contemporary North Africa and the Middle East, with emphasis on current socioeconomic and political trends and tensions.
• CAS PO 562: The State and Public Purpose in Asia
  (Meets with CAS IR 520.) Explores how noncommunist Asian governments have attempted to advance public purpose, and how organizational factors in countries' governments affect their ability to do so. These questions are addressed in a comparative framework, considering theory and cases.
• CAS PO 564: From Slavery to Freedom: Abolition in Comparative Perspective
  (Meets with CAS AA 564.) How did legalized slavery, a world-wide practice for thousands of years, end? The process of abolition in the Americas, Africa, and elsewhere is examined and compared to the later regulation of forced labor and to contemporary slavery.
• CAS PO 565: Government and Politics of Contemporary Africa
  Meets with CAS IR 534. Analysis of independent black Africa; factors of continuity and change in modern Africa, problems of political order, ambiguities of independence. Case studies of individual countries selected for additional emphasis on specific issues and problems of the developing countries.
• CAS PO 566: Political Systems of Southern Africa
  Analysis of the balance of political forces in the multiracial societies of southern Africa; emphasis on the problems of governmental stability, the prospects for integration and disintegration, the range of responses to interracial tensions, and their international repercussions.
• CAS PO 567: Latin American Politics
  (Meets with CAS IR 567.) The nature and evolution of politics in the region, with emphasis on twentieth-century patterns in specific countries. Considers the physical, historical, social, and economic constraints that have affected political development and the various explanations available to advance our understanding.
• CAS PO 568: U.S.-Latin American Relations
  (Meets with CAS IR 568.) The international context within which Latin American countries operate, with primary emphasis on U.S. policy toward the region. Includes historical overview, the policymaking process itself, and case studies of specific policy issues.
• CAS PO 570: The U.S. in the Middle East
  (Meets with CAS IR 503.) Examines the historical development and present status of the United States' association with the Middle East: American commercial, economic, political, military, and humanitarian interests in the area and their interaction.
• CAS PO 574: Ethics and International Relations
  (Meets with CAS IR 574.) Examines important ethical approaches to normative controversies of contemporary world politics. Such questions as: Is my nation always right? Can war be justified? Is terrorism always wrong? What is the place of human rights in foreign policy?
• CAS PO 576: Decision Making in U.S. Foreign Policy
  Examination of international crises from the perspective of the individual decision maker. Critical analysis and testing of the theoretical frameworks used to explain how states and statesmen behave in a crisis situation.
• CAS PO 577: Negotiation in World Affairs
  What makes for success/failure in negotiation? Examines how international actors use negotiations to advance their interests, resolve disputes, and mediate others. Case studies are drawn from crisis management, arms control, environmental controversies, and third-party interventions.
• CAS PO 578: The Foreign Policy of the People's Republic of China
  (Meets with CAS IR 577.) Explores China's perception of its role in the world, its evolution from a regional to a world power, and its security and economic relationships within the international system. Relationships with the superpowers, Third World, and world economy, focusing on technology and capital transfers.
• CAS PO 579: Japan in International Politics
  (Meets with CAS IR 579.) International and domestic influences on Japan's international behavior in the past as a predictor of Japan's future role in international politics. Covers Japan's role in the Cold War, post-war Asia, and the management of the global economy. Examines viability of the post-Cold War U.S.-Japan relationship.
• CAS PO 580: Democracy in Latin America and Its Challenges
  (Meets with CAS IR 566.) Provides an overview of democracy's achievements and challenges in Latin America. Draws comparisons between stable and unstable democracies in the region, and analyzes the reasons for, and implications of, these differences.
• CAS PO 581: National Development and International Politics
  An examination of North-South relations in the postwar era, with emphasis on the connections between internal and external dimensions of national and international development. Develops theoretical implications relevant for students of comparative politics, foreign policy, and international relations.

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