600+ Level

This course introduces students to problems and concepts in the study of international relations and provides a building block for subsequent classes. The course is updated annually to address changing scholarships and issues in international relations.

Focuses on practical applications of statistical methods (from descriptive statistics through multiple regression), focusing on applications relevant to issues in international relations.

Provides an overview of key micro and macroeconomic concepts that students will encounter in their careers as international relations professionals, as well as in the broader policy world.

This course will focus on the negotiation skills that are essential to nearly all careers in the field of international relations. Students will develop an understanding of the diplomatic ecosystem and its rules and norms that are crucial in interacting with national governments and international organizations.

The course will begin with general concepts of policy design and analysis, then address specific concepts and cases in the fields of development, environment, and public health. Students will address key concepts, institutions, and actors while addressing several substantive case studies. Major themes will include inequality, management, and state capacity, corruption, and funding mechanisms.

Intermediate level survey of the contemporary politics, economics, and policy questions in the international economy: theories of international political economy and international economics; politics of international economic institutions; analyses of industrial development, foreign investment, global and regional trade, and poverty alleviation.

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, and Critical Thinking.

What is the relationship between money and war? This class 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.

This Forced Migration and Human Trafficking seminar focuses on the history, processes, and institutions of European and EU migration, as well as the evolving European integration of border and internal security issues.

This course traces the United States’ engagement in world affairs by evaluating U.S. grand strategy – its theory of how to ‘create’ security for itself in an often-threatening world. Using history and theory, it identifies changes in U.S. strategy and evaluates policies today.

Examines human development in low- and middle-income countries from an 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.

Introduces core concepts of international security, including deterrence, the 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 a historical and contemporary context.

Surveys forces contributing to national differences in social and economic policy; identifies current challenges to state sovereignty, such as globalization and immigration; and examines how nations from different welfare state regimes are coping with these threats to the nation-state.

Public diplomacy is the principal way in which states engage with overseas publics. The course examines the principles, functions, and practices of public diplomacy, as well as how they are affected by technological and political change.

Explores financial globalization through the lens of the operation of the private global money market, its connection to local public money systems, and how these connections differ between center and periphery.

Explores major aspects of strategic intelligence; interrelationship of intelligence and other aspects of foreign policy; performance of U.S. intelligence community; and intelligence as a tool in the formulation of foreign policy.

The National Clandestine Service spends 5% of the US Intelligence budget but receives 95% of public and private scrutiny. This course examines the unique legal mandate and culture of the clandestine service: espionage, covert operations, counterintelligence, and special operations.

• Syllabus

Focuses on the international relations of the Asia-Pacific region. Analysis of issues that have defined regional relations: the impact of the Cold War and its aftermath, the impact of regional economic growth and dynamism; and the emergence of contention over regional identity and its relationship to global politics.

This course covers the history, theory, and contemporary policies of the Bretton Woods Institutions and their offshoots, as well as the newly established development banks, with special emphasis on sustainability policy perspectives.

Grad Prerequisite: at least 12 credits toward the MA in Global Development Policy or the MA in Global Development Economics.

Capstone course for MA students in Global Development Policy and Global Development Economics. Students, working in groups, design and carry out an interdisciplinary policy analysis comparable to those performed for a government or nonprofit agency.

Provides structure and support to MA Paper writers. Goals include formulating researchable questions, creating viable research and writing strategies, and critiquing intermediate efforts. Students will work with a faculty mentor to complete their master’s papers.

Studies women in nonindustrial countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, stressing empirical research, theory, and methodology. Comparisons between regions and industrial countries. Focus on sex segregation, female labor force participation, migration, fertility, family roles, and women and political power.