International Relations

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  • CAS IR 511: The Middle East Today
    A critical survey of the rise and development of modern nations, states, and economies in the Middle East and North Africa since 1900. Provides context and perspective essential for understanding contemporary issues (e.g., peace process, gender relations, religion's roles, democracy).
  • CAS IR 512: Global Resource Geopolitics
    Students explore in-depth the relationship between conflict, natural resources, development, and security, and practice developing solutions to complex problems. Analyzes the most contentious themes in the political economy of resources: violence, population, energy, and agro-food production. Also offered as CAS GE 506.
  • CAS IR 513: Bureaucracy and Governance: A Comparative Inquiry
    (Meets with CAS PO 525.) 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 IR 514: Empire and Power: British Foreign Policy, 1782-Present
    Meets with CAS HI 533. Examines the evolution of British foreign policy over time as well as the nature of Great Power rivalry. Key themes include formulation of national diplomatic strategies, policy coordination, diplomatic vs. military considerations, alliance politics, and policy over-stretch.
  • CAS IR 516: Intelligence and Homeland Security
    Introduces students to the interplay of intelligence and homeland security by answering questions such as: Who threatens? How and why do they threaten? Who protects the homeland? How do they protect us? What ethical framework should we apply? Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Ethical Reasoning, Historical Consciousness.
  • CAS IR 518: Gender and War
    (Meets with CAS PO 583.) Examines gender constructions in world politics. Topics include gender biases in international relations theories, female and male roles in war, and rape as an instrument of warfare. Also assesses roles of women as leaders, actors, and objects of foreign policy.
  • CAS IR 519: People Power in Global Politics
    Explores how everyday people shape global politics, drawing on classic studies of political anthropology as well as more recent examples of transnational and digital activism.
  • CAS IR 520: The State and Public Purpose in Asia
    Meets with CAS PO 550. 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. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking.
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Critical Thinking
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS IR 521: Congress and National Security
    Examines the role and influence of Congress on the intelligence agencies of the US, Congress's oversight of intelligence collection, counterintelligence, covert action and surveillance in relation to the executive powers. Explores the influence of espionage on national security policy.
  • CAS IR 522: Politics of Nuclear Weapons
    This course examines politics, history, and technologies surrounding nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. It analyzes the "global atomic marketplace" with a particular focus on the challenges and opportunities for nuclear proliferation and nonproliferation. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry II, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS IR 525: 21st Century Deterrence: Nuclear, Space, Cyber
    Examines the challenges of deterrence in an era of multipolarity, proliferation, and technological change, with a particular focus on nuclear weapons, the militarization of space and cyber warfare. Analyzes strategic planning and posture reviews and their consequences for deterring adversaries. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Ethical Reasoning, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • CAS IR 526: National and Homeland Security Law
    This course examines national and homeland security law as the balance between the state's requirement for security juxtaposed against civil liberties. We study the Constitution, judicial cases, and other primary sources focusing on specific topic areas. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing- Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Historical Consciousness.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS IR 527: Political Economy of China
    Meets with CAS PO 548. 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 IR 529: Cuba in Transition
    Analysis of the prospects for peaceful transition in Cuba and the pressures for greater openness and democratization today. Discussion of the factors that facilitated Castro's Revolution and of Cuba's continuing impact on the policies of the U.S. and other countries.
  • CAS IR 531: Intercultural Communication
    Examines communicative problems that arise in contact between people from different cultural backgrounds in everyday life, social service encounters, and business transactions. Uses interdisciplinary approaches to study how verbal and nonverbal presentation, ethnic, gender, and cultural differences affect communication. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, The Individual in Community.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • CAS IR 533: Contentious Politics and the Arab Uprisings in the Middle East
    Analyzes divergent outcomes of the Arab uprisings by framing them along historic continuum of domestic, regional, and international political developments. Examines how linkages between regional and international states and actors have affected historical and contemporary statebuilding and transitional outcomes. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing-Intensive Course, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS IR 534: Government and Politics of Contemporary Africa
    Meets with CAS PO 571. 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 developing countries.
  • CAS IR 535: Diplomacy and Statecraft
    Examines the mechanisms and process of diplomacy in historical context, to assess approaches to the implementation of foreign policy, analyze the success and failure of these approaches in different circumstances, and consider wider issues in the application of statecraft.
  • CAS IR 539: History, Policy & Statecraft
    How can we use history to understand the past, contemplate the present, and anticipate the future? How effective is historical analysis to resolve contemporary policy problems? This course connects history with current policy problems to make sense of national statecraft. Effective Summer 1 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing- Intensive Course, Historical Consciousness, Critical Thinking.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Critical Thinking
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS IR 540: Rural Development in the Global South
    Explores rural life, land, and livelihoods in the Global South. Assesses challenges and effective strategies for building thriving rural communities that foster local well-being, sustainable ecosystems, food sovereignty, and broader regional development. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Ethical Reasoning, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Writing-Intensive Course

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