International Relations

• CAS IR 592: Economic Development and International Institutions
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor. - Examines the role of international institutions in economic development. Analyzes how development- related international institutions makes rules and affect national policy choices. Applies those lessons to concrete policy challenges, including possibilities for institutional reform.
• CAS IR 593: Technology and Economic Inclusion in the Developing World
  How can firms and governments use new technologies to provide clean energy, drinking water, and other services to rural and frontier communities in the developing world? The course investigates how rural communities, particularly those without access to formal and other services, manage their money, provide energy and other services they need, and general live their lives. We will then examine how firms and governance can design products, governance mechanisms, and policies which can most effectively tap into such communities. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Social Inquiry II, Teamwork/Collaboration.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • Social Inquiry II
  • Teamwork/Collaboration
• CAS IR 594: Global Environmental Negotiation and Policy
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Provides an overview of key actors, issues, and treaties in global environmental governance, paying particular attention to historical and contemporary differences in perspectives and interests of industrialized and developing countries. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Social Inquiry II.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS IR 596: Globalization and Contemporary Capitalism in Advanced Industrialized Nations
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Considers the impact of globalization on advanced industrialized nations. Explores global and regional governance of finance, trade, and multinationals. Examines changes in national economic practices in Europe, Asia, and the US, and their effects on jobs, inequality, welfare, and democracy.
• CAS IR 597: Development and Environment in Latin America
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Junior standing and above or consent of instructor. - Examines the social, political, and environmental dimensions of economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean, tracing historical patterns and their connection to contemporary challenges facing the region.
• CAS IR 600: Topics in Global Policy
  Examines contemporary global issues, based on sustained investigation of case studies and practical application of general principles. May be repeated for credit if topics are different. Range of topics include development, public health, human security, governance, and ethics of public policy. One topic is offered Spring 2026. Section A1: Public Speaking and Speechwriting. Develops students' skills in speechwriting and delivery for policy, government and political contexts. Students study historical examples, write and deliver their own speeches, and critique their own speeches and those of fellow students. Covers structure, content, rhetoric and style.
• CAS IR 601: Fundamentals of International Relations
  Offers a rigorous introduction to the basic concepts of international relations, including analytical approaches, state system and non-state actors, international legal principles, diplomatic practice, and international ethics. Emphasizes history, case study, and practical application. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered GRS IR 701.
• CAS IR 602: Quantitative Analysis for Global Affairs
  Introduces international affairs practitioners to statistical reasoning through hands-on practice using real social, political and policy data. Covers key principles and methods of multivariate statistics for public policy analysis. Addresses interactions between quantitative reasoning, international policy analysis, and decision-making. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course entitled "Research Methods for International Relations Practitioners" that was previously numbered GRS IR 702.
• CAS IR 603: Economics for Global Policy
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: graduate standing in the Pardee School or consent of instructor. - Surveys key economic theories, trends, tools, and debates that affect international affairs. Thematic focus includes: stability and growth, global inequality, and global climate change. Covers theory and history, statistical analysis, case studies, and political economy applications.
• CAS IR 604: Negotiation and Diplomacy
  Graduate Prerequisites: graduate standing in the Pardee School or consent of instructor. - Investigates building blocks and challenges of diplomacy, with special emphasis on negotiation. Addresses history, legal underpinnings, infrastructure, and practice of diplomacy. Provides a foundation in principles and practice of negotiation, with focus on dynamics of diplomatic negotiations, using hands-on exercises.
• CAS IR 605: Global Policy Analysis
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: graduate standing in the Pardee School or consent of instructor. - Investigates how public policy is made and implemented at global level, as well as global impacts on local policy. Surveys academic literature and case studies in environment, development, and public health. Ends with team project on real-world policy problem.
• CAS IR 606: Global Economic & Development Policy
  Introduces international affairs practitioners to statistical reasoning through hands-on practice using real social, political and policy data. Covers key principles and methods of multivariate statistics for public policy analysis. Addresses interactions between quantitative reasoning, international policy analysis, and decision making. This course cannot be taken for credit in addition to the course with the same title that was previously numbered GRS IR 704.
• CAS IR 626: NGO Management and Leadership
  Examines roles and methods of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in social change and international development. Reviews theory and practice of NGOs in development, NGO strategies, and internal management. Students will engage directly with international development NGOs. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, The Individual in Community, Critical Thinking.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Critical Thinking
  • The Individual in Community
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS IR 630: Money, Guns, and Power
  (Meets with CAS PO 569.) What is the relationship between money and war? This course explores the relationship between money, guns, and power through the lens of American and European military spending and through larger theoretical conversations on the concept of power.
• CAS IR 653: Forced Migration and Human Trafficking: Virtual Policy Incubator
  Causes and impact of forced migration and human trafficking. Role of conflict and state formation; emergence of international human rights and domestic asylum laws; role of international organizations, private sector and security forces in both combating and enabling human trafficking.
• CAS IR 660: Rwanda: Genocide and Its Aftermath
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Freshman Writing Seminar. - Explores the factors that led to the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda, how Rwanda compares to other cases of genocide and extreme violence, and the efforts in post-genocide Rwanda to rebuild, pursue justice, and promote reconciliation. Effective Spring 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, Ethical Reasoning, Research and Information Literacy.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Ethical Reasoning
  • Research and Information Literacy
  • Writing-Intensive Course
• CAS IR 680: Political Economy of Human Development
  Examines human development in low- and middle-income countries from applied economics perspective. Topics include: (1) economic growth, inequality, and poverty; (2) health, nutrition, and education; (3) agriculture, environment, and resource management; and (4) social and political factors in economic development. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning II, Critical Thinking.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Critical Thinking
  • Quantitative Reasoning II
  • Social Inquiry II
• CAS IR 700: Topics in International Relations
  Examines aspects of international relations. May be repeated for credit if topics are different. Topic for Spring 2026. Section A1: Project Management. A practical course providing students with a deep understanding of infrastructure project management, from policy to practical implementation using live projects from economic infrastructure sectors such as energy, transport or ICT. Special focus on the role of government, the private sector and financial institutions in successful project delivery.
• CAS IR 703: International Security
  Introduces core concepts of international security, including deterrence, balance of power theory, alliance politics, arms races, asymmetric warfare, and non-traditional security concerns such as terrorism. Topics are considered from both a theoretical basis and in historical and contemporary context.
• CAS IR 713: Latin America Past and Present
  Prerequisites: Graduate student standing. Open to select undergraduate students who have demonstrated the ability to be successful in a graduate seminar. Undergraduates must hold junior or senior status and a GPA of 3.3 or above. - The interdisciplinary study of Latin America through history, from pre-colonial indigenous times to contemporary achievements and challenges, including culture and the arts, archaeology, society, politics, and international affairs.