Political Science

• CAS PO 343: Europe and International Relations
  Meets with CAS IR 250. Provides an overview European affairs. Topics include the foreign policies of European nations, the dynamics of European integration, NATO, international migration and ethnic conflict, and European relations with the United States, Russia, and neighboring countries. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 382.
• CAS PO 344: Democracy: Origins and Breakdown
  How do political scientists explain the emergence of democratic regimes? And what factors explain their breakdown? We look at these questions across a range of countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and other regions of the world. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course entitled "Comparative Political Development" that was numbered CAS PO 357.
• CAS PO 350: The Pacific Challenge
  (Meets with CAS IR 275.) The dynamic growth of the Pacific Rim countries poses an impressive array of challenges for the U.S. and the world. Analyzes Japanese trade and defense policies, the rise of the "mini-dragons" (Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore) and "new mini-dragons" (Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia), "Confucian capitalism," democratization (and its failure in China), and legacies of the Indochina war. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 365.
• CAS PO 351: China: from Revolution to Reform
  (Meets with CAS IR 370.) Explores the economic, political, and social upheavals that followed the Chinese revolution in 1949 and the cause of subsequent inauguration of reform in the late 1970s. Analyzes the tensions that brought about the 1989 upheaval in Tiananmen Square, as well as the implications of China's emergence as an economic power. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 369.
• CAS PO 352: Rise of China
  (Meets with CAS IR 365.) China's political, economic, and strategic development since the late nineteenth century, with emphasis on the period since 1949. Examines three questions: In what ways is China rising? How did it happen? What are the impacts of China's rise on the U.S. and the global system? This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 374.
• CAS PO 355: International Relations of South Asia
  Meets with CAS IR 372. Introduction to South Asia and regional conflict and cooperation. Focus on India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka inter-state relations; great power interventions; power distributions; norms; political, military, and economic conflict and cooperation. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 378.
• CAS PO 356: Nuclear Security
  Meets with CAS IR 353. Provides students with the foundation for understanding nuclear security in the twenty-first century. Emphasis on the American Cold War experience, the growing threat of nuclear proliferation, the renaissance of civilian nuclear power, safeguards, and nuclear weapons under budget constraints.
• CAS PO 357: Causes of War and Peace
  Meets with CAS IR 347. War is the most destructive social act in which humanity engages. Why does war happen? This question is addressed by focusing on a variety of scholarly explanations. Theoretical discussions are paired with an examination of historical cases.
• CAS PO 360: Introduction to Latin American Politics and International Relations
  (Meets with CAS IR 367.) Introduction to the patterns and complexities of Latin American politics and foreign policies. Focuses on the distinctive Latin American political experience and alternative explanations for it, including colonization, the international economy, and human and material resource capacity and utilization. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 367.
• CAS PO 368: Introduction to Middle East Politics
  Meets with CAS IR 307. Employs social science theories to explain the political development of the Middle East since World War I. Part 1 examines state formation and competing explanations for authoritarianism. Part 2 analyzes social movements ranging from Islamist groups to mass mobilization.
• CAS PO 377: Africa in International Politics
  Meets with CAS IR 351. Introduction to the international relations of post-colonial Africa. Core themes include the politics of post-independence international alignments, the external causes and effects of authoritarian rule, and Africa's role in the global political economy. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 390.
• CAS PO 378: International Human Rights: Applying Human Rights in Africa
  Meets with CAS IR 352. Studies the growing international influence on politics of human rights principles, documents, and organizations, drawing especially on African cases such as Congo, Zimbabwe, and Sudan. Topics include universality vs. cultural relativism, individual vs. group rights, and issues in human rights enforcement. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 587.
• CAS PO 381: History of American Foreign Relations since 1898
  Meets with CAS HI 287. Analysis of the history of American foreign policy from the perspective of the changing world and regional international systems; emphasis on the effect of these systems and the impact of America on the creation and operation of international systems. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 366.
• CAS PO 384: Global Governance and International Organization
  Meets with CAS IR 373. Provides an overview of major theoretical perspectives on the creation and function of international organizations, comparative case studies of selected organizations, and an examination of present and future roles of international organizations in selected issue areas. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 385.
• CAS PO 391: Classical to Early Modern Political Theory
  A text-oriented study of the principal political ideas of Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Machiavelli.
• CAS PO 392: Modern Political Theory
  Intensive study of the political philosophy of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill, Marx, and Nietzsche. Classes are generally a combination of lecture and discussion but also include formal debates, guest lectures, and films.
• CAS PO 393: The European Enlightenment
  Survey of the intellectual and social transformation of Europe from the 1680s to the French Revolution. Readings draw on both eighteenth-century sources (including Voltaire, Diderot, Condorcet, Lessing, Smith, and Hume) and recent work by historians. Also offered as CAS HI 215. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 395.
• CAS PO 394: Catastrophe & Memory
  Examines the ways in which catastrophes, both natural and social, enter into cultural memory. Goal is to understand how events that seem to defy comprehension are represented in works of art and given a place in the memory of a culture. Also offered as CAS HI 221. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 397.
• CAS PO 401: Internship in Politics Abroad
  Internship conducted under auspices of a BU Study Abroad program.
• CAS PO 402: Internship in Politics Abroad
  Placements could involve assignments in government agencies, political parties, or with nonprofit organizations. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered CAS PO 452.

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