CAS PO 324 Comparative Public Policy (4 credits)
Prerequisite: CAS PO 141 or CAS PO 151; or consent of instructor.
Comparative study of the public policies of advanced industrialized societies in such areas as health training, unemployment, poverty, and budget. Explores why countries develop different solutions to policy needs, and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of various national approaches.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 325 Campaigns and Elections Around the World (4 credits)
Electoral campaigns in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Changes in campaigns over time; role of international political consultants; influence of party systems, electoral systems, campaign finance regulation, vote buying, and mass media; campaign effects on voting behavior and public opinion. This course fulfills a single unit of the following BU Hub area(s):
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
Social Inquiry II
Teamwork/Collaboration
*Meets with CAS IR 302
CAS PO 329 International Political Economy (4 credits)
Emphasizes the dynamic interaction between politics and economics to understand and explain historical and contemporary issues in international political economy, including international monetary, trade, investment, financial, and environmental relations. Considers emerging challenges and structures in the international political economy.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 330 Special Topics in Comparative Politics (4 credits)
May be repeated for credit if topics are different. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: The European Crisis, Social Movements and Contentious Politics, A Democracy in the Middle East: Israel as a Case for Comparative Analysis.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 333 Democratic Erosion (4 credits)
Trends in American and European politics have engendered fears about a turn toward authoritarianism where it was once unthinkable. This course explores the causes and consequences of democratic erosion, helping students to put recent developments into comparative and historical perspective. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub area(s):
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
Social Inquiry II
Research and Information Literacy
CAS PO 334 Political Violence (4 credits)
This course examines the causes and consequences of political violence around the world. Topics include civil war, electoral violence, riots, protests, and government repression. Particular emphasis on Africa and South/Southeast Asia. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub area(s):
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
Social Inquiry II
Critical Thinking
CAS PO 341 European Politics (4 credits)
Comparative study of politics in member states of the European Union, with emphasis on political development, institutions, major issues in contemporary politics, and the impact of European integration. Selective references to original and new member states of the EU.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
*Meets with CAS IR 362.
CAS PO 344 Democracy: Origins and Breakdown (4 credits)
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 does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 346 Bombs and Bombshells: Gender, Armed Conflict, and Political Violence ( 4 credits)
Prerequisites: Sophomore, Junior, or Senior standing.
Interdisciplinary course surveying women’s relationship to political violence with a focus on the evolution of women’s international participation in non-state, religiously-motivated groups. Women’s roles in political violence throughout Western Europe, North America, and the Middle East are explored.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
*Meets with CAS WS 325.
CAS PO 350 Making of Asia (4 credits)
Explores the diverse experiences of modernization and development in China, Japan, Korea, as well as the countries of Southeast Asia. Also examines the domestic and international impacts of growing social-economic ties, as well as the complex security challenges among Asian states. This course fulfills a single unit of the following BU Hub area(s):
Social Inquiry I
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
CAS PO 351 China From Revolution to Reform (4 credits)
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 1970’s. 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 fulfills a single unit of the following BU Hub area(s):
Historical Consciousness
Social Inquiry I
*Meets with CAS IR 370
CAS PO3 358 Issues in Contemporary Politics (4 credits)
Prerequisite: First Year Writing Seminar (WR 120 or equivalent)
Examines how states administer their nuclear weapons and energy programs at the domestic and international levels. Explores the bureaucracies, military services, and government officials responsible for creating and maintaining nuclear weapons and energy. Also offered as CAS HI 335 and CAS IR 315. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub area(s):
Historical Consciousness
Social Inquiry I
Writing-Intensive Course
CAS PO 360 Introduction to Latin American Politics and International Relations (4 credits)
(BU Hub Pathway: Social & Racial Justice)
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 fulfills a single unit of the following BU Hub area(s):
Historical Consciousness
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
*Meets with CAS IR 367
CAS PO 368 Introduction to Middle East Politics (4 credits)
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.
*Meets with CAS IR 307.
CAS PO 373 African Politics Today (4 credits)
An introduction to the issues dominating African political life today. Core course debates revolve around recent trends in African economic growth, democratic governance, and armed conflict, in addition to several other issues of contemporary concern.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 376 Understanding Modern Northern Africa (4 credits)
Considers political, cultural, economic, and social developments in the modern states of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya as they struggle to gain independence from colonial domination and to consolidate viable, secure, and legitimate states and prosperous national communities.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 378 International Human Rights: Applying Human Rights in Africa (4 credits)
(BU Hub Pathway: Social & Racial Justice)
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. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub area(s):
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
Ethical Reasoning
Teamwork/Collaboration
*Meets with CAS IR 352
CAS PO 379 Religion and Politics (4 credits)
Introduction to the comparative study of the political role of religious institutions and beliefs. Covers issues such as religion’s relationship to violence and terrorism, democracy and human rights, group identity, gender and sexuality, and modernity and secularism. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub area(s):
The Individual in Community
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
Teamwork/Collaboration
CAS PO 425 State Building and Failure in the Developing World (4 credits)
Considers the political significance of failed and fragile states in the developing world in the post-9/11 era. Students analyze historical patterns of state formation and its relevance in contemporary society. Also offered as CAS SO 439.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 458 Immigration and Development in Asia (4 credits)
Transnational immigration and economic development in Asia, focusing on China, India, and South Korea. Cases examined include the rise of manufacturing prowess in China, India’s software industry, and Korea’s corporate competitiveness in the world.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 509 Legislative Behavior (4 credits)
How has Congress evolved from the best club in town characterized by convivial relations between members to being a cockpit for partisan conflict? How do American legislators compare to legislators in other advanced democracies like Canada, Germany, and the UK?
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 528 SEMINAR: The Political Economy of Advanced Industrialized Societies (4 credits)
Undergraduate Prerequisite: CAS PO 321 or CAS PO 324; or consent of instructor.
Graduate Prerequisite: Graduate Standing.
Survey 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 regimes are coping with these threats to the nation-state.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 529 Globalization and Contemporary Capitalism in Advanced Industrialized Nations (4 credits)
Prerequisite: 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.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 530 Readings in Comparative Politics (4 credits)
Topics vary. Topic for Fall 2019: Electoral Politics in Africa. After decades of military and single-party rule, the vast majority of African countries now hold multiparty elections. The course explores electoral politics in contemporary Africa, with a focus on democratic transitions, electoral authoritarianism, ethnic politics, distributive politics, and election-related violence.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 533 Globalization of Nationalism (4 credits)
Focuses on the problem of nationalism, distinguishing types, examining origins, and analyzing political, social, and economic implications. Emphasis is on nationalism’s spread into territories in Asia, specifically China, and under the cover of religion (e.g., ISIL) and secular social movements (e.g., “June Days” in Brazil).
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 535 European Integration (4 credits)
Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor.
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.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 537 The British Political System (4 credits)
Links developments in U.K. politics to broader themes in comparative politics, ranging from identity politics to the evolution of bureaucracies, parties, and voting behavior. Examines the general failure to export the Westminster model in the aftermath of colonialism.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 542 Immigration: Politics and Policy (4 credits)
Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor.
Immigration has become a subject of much debate and controversy in democratic polities. This course explores the politics, economics, and social consequences of immigration policies across a number of countries, including European states and the United States.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 548 Political Economy of China (4 credits)
Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor, AND First-Year Writing Seminar (WR 120 or equivalent)
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. This course fulfills a single unit of the following BU Hub area(s):
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
Social Inquiry II
Writing-Intensive Course
CAS PO 549 Problems and Issues in Post-Mao China (4 credits)
Prerequisite: Junior standing.
An in-depth examination of politics in post-Mao China, this course focuses on several critical issues, uses various conceptual frameworks to try to understand why the reform process broke down and examines prospects for the future.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 553 Taiwan: Politics and Transformation (4 credits)
Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor.
Examines Taiwan’s history, economic development, ethnic identity, democratization, and its controversial position in international politics as a key to understanding questions of political economy, democratic transition, and East Asian security.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 554 Conflict and Cooperation in Asia (4 credits)
Investigates patterns of conflict and cooperation in South and East Asia surrounding issues ranging from water resources and health to borders and war. Analyzes how such issues contribute to instability in the region, as well as methods of cooperation.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
*Meets with CAS IR 501.
CAS PO 562 Political Economy of Latin America (4 credits)
Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor.
Addresses historical and contemporary issues in Latin American political economy. Uses case studies and cross-regional comparisons to assess competing explanations. Analyzes the current political and economic situation facing Latin America in its quest for economic growth and development.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
*Meets with CAS IR 590.
CAS PO 566 Conflict and Conflict Resolution in Latin American (4 credits)
Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing.
Examines a range of historical and contemporary conflicts and wars in Latin America, both internal and regional, examining their causes and consequences, and the most important factors that explain how they were resolved or why they persist.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 569 Money, Guns, and Power (4 credits)
Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor.
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.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 571 Government and Politics of Contemporary Africa (4 credits)
Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor.
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 the developing countries.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
*Meets with CAS IR 534.
CAS PO 576 The Foreign Policy of the People’s Republic of China (4 credits)
Prerequisite: Junior standing or consent of instructor.
Explores China’s perception of its role in the world, its evolution from a regional to a world power, and its security and economic relationships within the international system. Relationships with the superpowers, Third World, and world economy, focusing on technology and capital transfers.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
CAS PO 579 Political Biography and Statecraft (4 credits)
Political biographies and memoir literature are used to evaluate twentieth-century international relations and statecraft. Topics vary but may include biographical literature related to World War II, the Cold War, and Third World political leaders. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas:
Historical Consciousness
Writing-Intensive Course
Research and Information Literacy
GRS PO 751 Approaches to the Study of Comparative Politics (4 credits)
Graduate Core Seminar.
An intensive reading seminar on the political approaches to the study of comparative politics, student get acquainted with the key epistemological and methodological writings that have formed the basic inquiry known today as comparative politics.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.
GRS PO 760 Problems and Issues of Contemporary Africa (4 credits)
The range of problems selected for emphasis varies from year to year but has recurrently encompassed such issues as governance, state-society relations, the ambiguities of independence, nation building, and democratization, the role of the military, the incidence of religion and ethnicity, the problematics of grass roots participation, mobilization, class consciousness, civil society, and electoral systems.
*This course does not currently satisfy any BU Hub requirements.