Global Arc

Develops the use of statistical techniques appropriate for empirical exploration of political topics. Each statistical topic is motivated by a significant question in political science that can be addressed by an available data set. Computers will be used both as part of the lecture and for completing classwork. Emphasis is on hands-on training that will give students the capacity to use these statistical techniques in other courses and independent work. Prerequisites: 345 or instructor's permission. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

An introduction to the use of mathematical models and, especially, game theory in the study of politics. The basics of game theory are presented through applications to a broad range of political phenomena: voting, legislative politics, political campaigns, comparison of electoral systems, the evolution of cooperation, and international relations. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

This course provides a rigorous introduction to some of the central ideas in political economy. Game theoretic models of voting are used to illustrate the way that democratic institutions filter interests. Topics may include the measurement of income inequality, the median voter theorem, models of income redistribution, political agency, and the link between institutions and economic performance. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

A comparative study of politics in selected developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Topics include colonialism, nationalism, class and ethic conflict, political instability, military coups, revolutionary change, and development strategies such as land reforms, green revolution, import substitution, and management of external dependencies. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Explores the dynamic relationship in theory between market-formation and reform on the one hand, and economic ideas and cultural values on the other. The course examines classical and contemporary works in comparative political economy. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

This course examines the workings of legislatures in a comparative setting.The course will look at the internal workings of legislative institutions, and at the relationship between electoral systems and legislative outcomes. We will consider and compare parliamentary and presidential systems, unicameral and bicameral legislatures. The course will look at the determinants of cabinet duration in parliamentary systems, and the emergence of committee systems. We will also take up the linkage between electoral systems and the structure of political parties, and the reasons for political parties to emerge from within and outside the legislature.

This course introduces students to the study of ethnic conflict. It will examine different theories of ethnically based identification and mobilization; cover different types of ethnic conflict such as riots, genocide, hate crime and war; and study past and present cases of ethnic conflict around the world. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

This course will examine where and why women and men are not treated equally, how gender inequality impacts human welfare and development, and what works to minimize gender inequality in the Global South. This course will introduce students to cutting-edge research on gender inequality in countries as diverse as India, China, South Korea, Brazil, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and Mali, as well as the reasons why some government efforts to reduce gender inequality are successful while others fail or even backfire. The course will emphasize the importance of culture and norms.

This course investigates the politics of protest and revolution, examining the conditions under which protest movements emerge, their choice of protest tactics, the effects of repression and concessions, and the determinants of movement success. The second part of the courses focuses on revolutions, examining the forms that they assume and the conditions under which they develop and prove successful. Examples discussed include the civil rights, women's and environmental movements; the French, Russian, and Iranian revolutions; the collapse of communism; and the "colored" revolutions and other waves of revolution in the contemporary world.

Traditional politics; the rise of warlords, nationalists, and radicals; causes of the "Liberation," land reform, Hundred Flowers, Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, and Four Modernizations; policies of Mao and Deng for development, health, law, and rights. Two lectures, one preceptorial.