International Relations

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  • 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
  • CAS IR 542: The Reemergence of Russia
    Disintegration of the old Soviet system and signs of a reemerging Russia; careers of Gorbachev and Yeltsin and their attack on the foundations of Stalinism; Moscow's role in the 1989 revolutions; the August 1991 coup d'etat. The legacy of communism in the present medical and ecological crises; current political developments.
  • CAS IR 543: The Changing Face of Eastern Europe
    Domestic and foreign policies of East 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 IR 548: Peacekeeping and State-Building
    Examines the challenges facing the United Nations and other international organizations in preventing, containing, and ending armed conflict, as well as their role in creating conditions for reconciliation, transitional justice, institutions building.
  • CAS IR 550: European Integration
    Explores present, past, and potential future of the European Union. Investigates who is in charge and who matters in policymaking and politics. Examines a wide range of EU policies, including economics, security, and trade, and their impact on EU member-states.
  • CAS IR 551: Social Europe: Identity, Citizenship, and the Welfare State
    Meets with CAS PO 536. The past, present and future of "social Europe." Impact of European economic and political integration on national identities, cultures, politics, and citizenship; EU policies affecting these social constructions; and changes over time in the welfare state.
  • CAS IR 556: Current Intelligence Issues
    Examines U.S. intelligence needs, with an emphasis on preparing for international developments in advance. Addresses issues of transnational terrorism and proliferation in additional to traditional concerns such as rogue states, counterintelligence, organized crime, regional rivals, and rising powers.
  • CAS IR 557: Guerrilla Warfare and Terrorism
    Advanced undergraduate course dealing with recent and ongoing guerrilla and terrorist campaigns worldwide. Origins, ideologies, and doctrines.
  • CAS IR 559: Leadership and Cultural Change in Large Organizations
    Analyzes the determinants of successful leadership in large organizations, with particular focus on how to transform dysfunctional organizational cultures. Using case studies from US military and large corporations, addresses how to identify root causes of problems and impediments to change. 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 560: Ethnic Conflict in Global Perspective
    Surveys 20th and 21st century ethno-nationalist movements around the world. Explores how ethnic conflict, including inter-state and civil wars, challenges international peace and security. Addresses both Western and non-Western theories of nations, nationalism, identity and ethnicity to explain group mobilization.
  • CAS IR 561: Religion and International Relations
    Explores the role of religion in contemporary international relations in the context of questions about the common core of modernity. Reviews scholarly and policy literature, and case studies, in order to elucidate religion's intellectual and operational diversity in international relations. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Critical Thinking.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Critical Thinking
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS IR 563: Public Religion and Politics Across Cultures
    The contested role of religion in modern politics and its implications for civil life. Begins with the West and includes Islam in the Middle East and SE Asia, Evangelism in Latin America and Africa, Hindu nationalism, and Buddhism in China.
  • CAS IR 564: Political Economy of Rising Powers
    Offers historical and comparative examination of industrialization and globalization in the contemporary world. Focusing on rising powers, the course examines different waves of industrialization, immigration, and globalization, as well as the business-state relations in different regions and nations. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Social Inquiry II, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Teamwork/Collaboration

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