Political Science

POLS V1013x Political Theory I 3 pts. What is the relationship between law and justice? Are capacities of political judgment shared by the many or reserved for the few? What does human equality consist of and what are its implications? Can individual freedom be reconciled with the demands of political community? What are the origins and effects of persistent gender inequalities? These are some of the crucial questions that we will address in this introductory course in political theory. The course is divided into five thematic sections, each addressing an enduring political problem or issue and centered on a key text in the history of political thought: 1. Laws, Obligations, and the Question of Disobedience; Sophocles, Antigone; 2. Democratic Citizenship and the Capacities of Political Judgment; Plato, Republic; 3. Origins and Effects of (In)equality; John Locke, Second Treatise of Civil Government; 4. Paradoxes of Freedom; Jean Jacques Rousseau, On the Social Contract; 5. The Woman Question; John Stuart Mill, The Subjection of Women.Discussion Section Required.

POLS W1201x or y Introduction To American Government and Politics 3 pts. Lecture and discussion. Dynamics of political institutions and processes, chiefly of the national government. Emphasis on the actual exercise of political power by interest groups, elites, political parties, and public opinion. Discussion Section Required.

POLS V1501x or y Introduction to Comparative Politics 3 pts. Lecture and discussion. Introduction to some of the major approaches and issues in the contemporary study of politics within nations, including the causes of revolution, the roots of democracy, and the nature of nationalism, through systematic study of politics in selected countries.

POLS V1601x or y Introduction to International Politics 3 pts. Lecture and discussion. The basic setting and dynamics of global politics, with emphasis on contemporary problems and processes. Discussion Section Required.

POLS W3002y Human Rights & Immigration 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: Any course on political theory or human rights. This course inquires into the challenges posed by international migration to the existing system of human rights. It provides a theoretical understanding of the importance of citizenship and sovereignty within this system. It combines theoretical readings on human rights with case studies on asylum-seekers, refugees and undocumented immigrants.

POLS W3100y Justice 3 pts. An inquiry into the nature and implications of justice, including examinations of selected cases and issues such as Roe v. Wade, the O.J. Simpson case, the Pinochet case, affirmative action, recent tobacco litigation, and the international distribution of income and wealth.

POLS W3120x Democratic Theory 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Focuses on the theory and practice of democracy, from the examination of its classic and modern foundations to the analysis of its transformations in advanced industrial societies facing class, gender, race, and regional differences.

POLS W3125x Citizenship & Exclusion 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Citizenship has always been a battleground in struggles for inclusion and exclusion. This course aims to familiarize students with contemporary theories of citizenship from the lens of boundaries. What kind of 'good' is citizenship, and why is it denied to some? How do politically, socially or culturally marginalized groups use the discourse of citizenship to claim equal participation and recognition? How is access to citizenship status and rights regulated in contemporary democracies?

POLS W3165y Secularisn & Its Critics Not offered in 2013-2014. In recent years, the role of religion in the social and political life has increasingly become a subject of debate and controversy. As an important dimension of this debate, the idea of secularism and the main assumptions behind the secularization thesis have been questioned. Sharing the fate of many other dualities of modernity, the distinction between the secular and the sacred has also been challenged. The aim of this course is to study the main arguments behind secularism and secularization thesis and those behind its contemporary critics. In the first part of the course, we will explore the meaning of the secular and the main arguments behind secularism and the secularization thesis. The aim is to understand the role of the distinction between the secular and the sacred in the emergence of the idea of modern self, modern society and modern state. These debates would set the background for the analysis of contemporary debates on and critics of secularism, which will be the subject of the second part of the course. Readings include Kant, Marx, Weber, Blumenberg, Gauchet, Chadwick, Casanova, Keddie, Asad, Connolly, Taylor and Habermas

POLS W3170y Nationalism, Republicanism & Cosmopolitanism 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Do we have obligations to our co-nationals that we do not owe to others? Might our loyalties or obligations to our fellow citizens be based on a commitment to shared political principles and common public life rather than national identity? Do we have basic duties that are owed equally to human beings everywhere, regardless of national or political affiliation? Do our commitments to co-nationals or compatriots conflict with those duties we might owe to others, and if so, to what extent? Is cosmopolitanism based on rationality and patriotism based on passion? This course will explore these questions from the perspectives of nationalism, republicanism and cosmopolitanism. We will consider historical works from Herder, Rousseau, Kant, Fichte, Mill, Mazzini and Renan; and more contemporary contributions from Berlin, Miller, Canovan, MacIntyre, Viroli, Sandel, Pettit, Habermas, Nussbaum, Appiah, and Pogge, among others.

POLS W3180x Liberty & Empire Not offered in 2013-2014. Recent geopolitical developments have brought the notions of empire and liberal imperialism to the fore. This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the history of Western imperialism, including the ancient empires of Athens and Rome, the Respublica Christiana, Europe's overseas expansion during the Early Modern period, Western colonialism and twentieth-century totalitarianism. Our focus will be on how these developments are reflected and conceptualized in the works of leading political theorists like Aristotle, Machiavelli, Tocqueville and Arendt. Particular emphasis will be placed on the dual theme of liberty and empire, and the classical republican idea of liberty at home and empire abroad. In a contemporary context, the course will touch on questions concerning national sovereignty, religious universalism, identitarian politics, the doctrine of human rights, and American exceptionalism. From a normative perspective, we will addresses a series of interrelated questions of great current import: Is empire compatible with liberal and democratic values broadly defined? What, if any, are the alternatives to empire and Western hegemony? And what is the price - political, economic, military, and social - of empire? To gain a more in-depth understanding of how these theoretical issues are played out and experienced on a more personal level, we will turn to literary and cinematographic works of fiction.

POLS W3202x Labor & American Politics 3 pts. This course examines the role and impact of organized labor in American politics. It will explore the history and development of the American labor movement; its significance as a central political actor in major social policy debates of the 20th century; as a mobilizing force in elections; its complex and often uneasy relationship with other political actors including business, urban political machines, and the civil rights movement; and contemporary dilemmas facing labor in a period of union decline and resurgence.

POLS W3208y State Politics 3 pts. This course is intended to provide students with a detailed understanding of politics in the American states. The topics covered are divided into four broad sections. The first explores the role of the states in America's federal system of government. Attention is given to the basic features of intergovernmental relations as well as the historic evolution of American federalism. The second part of the course focuses on state-level political institutions. The organization and processes associated with the legislative, executive, and judicial branches are discussed in depth. The third part examines state elections, political parties, and interest groups. Finally, the fourth section looks closely at various policy areas. Budgeting, welfare, education, gay marriage, and environmental policy are each considered.

POLS W3209x Business and Politics 3 pts. This class provides an overview of modern business strategy in non-market (that is, political, social, or legal) environments. The cases and readings emphasize strategies to improve the performance of companies in light of their multiple constituencies. Cases are set both internationally and within the United States and illustrate how managers are called upon to interact with the public and governments in local, national, and international settings. Topics include legislation affecting business, regulation and antitrust, intellectual property, international trade policy, activists and the media, and ethics and corporate responsibility.

POLS W3210y Judicial Politics 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. This course provides an introduction to the study of law and courts as political institutions and judges as political actors. The topics we will consider include: what courts do; different legal systems; the operation of legal norms; the U.S. judicial system; the power of courts and constraints on judicial power; judicial review; the origin of judicial institutions; how and why Supreme Court justices make decisions; case selection; conflict between the Court and the other branches of government; decision making and conflict within the judicial hierarchy; trials and juries; plea-bargaining and pre-trial settlement; the impact and implementation of court decisions; courts as agents of social change; the place of courts in American political history; and judicial appointments. Our main focus will be U.S. courts, but we will discuss other courts as well. This is not a course on constitutional law. The focus will not be on doctrinal analysis or the exegesis of cases.

POLS V3212y Environmental Politics 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. The political setting in which environmental policy-making occurs. The course will focus on grassroots and top-down policy-making in the United States with some comparative examples.Topics include the conservation movement and national agenda politics, pollution control and iron triangle politics, alternative energy policy and subsidy politics, climate change and issue networks, and transnational environmental issues and negotiation of international policy regimes.

POLS W3215x or y Workshop in Media and Politics 2 pts. Prerequisites: POLS W3218 or equivalent Mass Media course. 2-credit workshop. Permission of the instructor is required before signing up for this course. Interested should contact instructor by email. The Workshop in Media and Politics is the academic component of a media internship, and is available to both Barnard and Columbia students. Through it the student receives two units of academic credit while working in a media-related job. The internships themselves must be pre-arranged independently or through the Office of Career Services. Any kind of media-related internship (radio, television, magazines, the music industry, public relations firms, government agencies, political campaigns, and so on) is potentially acceptable, but only if the student can relate the internship to larger issues of the role/impact of the mass media in contemporary politics. It is advised that students download the application form, fill it out, and bring it with them to the first meeting with the professor. An appointment for the first meeting should be arranged with the professor via email, or during office hours.

POLS W3218y Mass Media and American Democracy 3 pts. The course considers the development and current practices of the mass media in the United States in terms of the expectations of democratic government.

POLS W3220x Logic of Collective Choice 3 pts. Much (most?) of politics is about combining individual preferences or actions into collective choices. We will make use of two theoretical approaches. Our primary approach will be social choice theory, which studies how we aggregate what individuals want into what the collective "wants." The second approach, game theory, covers how we aggregate what individuals want into what the group gets, given that social, economic, and political outcomes usually depend on the interaction of individual choices. The aggregation of preferences or choices is usually governed by some set of institutional rules, formal or informal. Our main themes include the rationality of individual and group preferences, the underpinnings and implications of using majority rule, tradeoffs between aggregation methods, the fairness of group choice, the effects of institutional constraints on choice (e.g., agenda control), and the implications for democratic choice. Most of the course material is highly abstract, but these abstract issues turn up in many real-world problems, from bargaining between the branches of government to campus elections to judicial decisions on multi-member courts to the allocation of relief funds among victims of natural disasters to the scoring of Olympic events. The collective choice problem is one faced by society as a whole and by the smallest group alike.

POLS W3230x Politics of American Policy Making 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. This is a course on US federal level domestic policymaking. It is a study of the theoretical foundations of public policy research, of alternative models of public policy formation, their methodologies, and the relationship between the theory and practice of the policy sciences. We look at the institutional framework, procedures and interests that shape American public policy and examine American political institutional behavior (Congress, the bureaucracy, federalism…) and their role in producing public policy. The course considers policymaking, implementation, and policy analysis in the US political framework and focuses on substantive policy areas in a case study format. Attention will be paid to the budget process and specific policy areas including economic policy, employment policy, healthcare policy, antipoverty policy and environmental policy.

POLS W3245y Race and Ethnicity In American Politics 3 pts. Historical and contemporary roles of various racial and ethnic groups; initiation, demands, leadership and organizational styles, orientation, benefits, and impact on the structures and outputs of governance in the United States.

POLS W3260x The Latino Political Experience 3 pts. This course focuses on the political incorporation of Latinos into the American polity. Among the topics to be discussed are patterns of historical exclusion, the impact of the Voting Rights Act, organizational and electoral behavior, and the effects of immigration on the Latino national political agenda.

POLS W3280y 20th Century American Politics 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. In what sense was the New Deal/Fair Deal era led by Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman a 'watershed' and a 'defining time'? What policy choices were made, and which were not? What has been their enduring impact? Probing these issues at the crossroads of political science and history, the class aims both to explore key themes in American politics and to examine how approaches scholars use in each of the major subfields of political science-Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory, and American Politics-can clarify important historical subjects.

POLS W3285x Freedom of Speech and Press 3 pts. Examines the constitutional right of freedom of speech and press in the United States. Examines, in depth, various areas of law, including extremist or seditious speech, obscenity, libel, fighting words, the public forum doctrine, and public access to the mass media. Follows the law school course model, with readings focused on actual judicial decisions.

POLS W3288x A Free Press for a Global Society 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. A Free Press for a Global Society examines both the U.S. experience in developing a system of freedom of the press and the international experience as well. The course will then consider how a more integrated system might evolve over the coming decades. This is a pressing issue, for individual nations and for the worldwide community, because the increased interconnectedness of the global economy, the rise of global problems (such as climate change and financial regulation), and the emergence of technologies that make global communication possible all depend upon a free flow of information and ideas. Students will undertake in depth examinations of First Amendment law, international treaties and principles, public policies affecting the press, and a range of perspectives on these issues. Miklós Haraszti, former OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, will co-teach the course with President Lee C. Bollinger

POLS W3290x Voting and American Politics 3 pts. Elections and public opinion; history of U.S. electoral politics; the problem of voter participation; partisanship and voting; accounting for voting decisions; explaining and forecasting election outcomes; elections and divided government; money and elections; electoral politics and representative democracy.

POLS V3313x American Urban Politics 3 pts. Patterns of government and politics in America's large cities and suburbs: the urban socioeconomic environment; the influence of party leaders, local officials, social and economic notables, and racial, ethnic, and other interest groups; mass media, the general public, and the state and federal governments; and the impact of urban governments on ghetto and other urban conditions.

POLS W3322x The American Congress 3 pts. Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, or instructor's permission. Inquiry into the dynamics, organization, and policy-making processes of the American Congress. Particular emphasis on the relationship of legislators to constituents, lobbyists, bureaucrats, the president, and with one another.

POLS V3401x Democracy & Dictatorship in Europe 3 pts. This course will examine the development of democracies and dictatorships in Europe from the French Revolution to the present day. It will analyze the nature and dynamics of European political history and use the European experience as a foundation upon which to build a broader understanding of how different types of political regimes emerge, function and are sustained over time. Prior knowledge of European history and comparative politics is welcome, but not presumed.

POLS W3503x Political Economy of African Development 3 pts. Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites, but introductory or intermediate macroeconomics is recommended. This course is concerned with a few key questions: Why has Africa remained poor, volatile, and violent? Will Africa see future growth in incomes, stability, and freedom? What role has the West played in past failures, and what role (if any) should it play in the future? The course will cover the history, politics and economics of development in Africa, and dabbles in geography, sociology and anthropology as well. We start in prehistory and work our way up to the present day, with a focus on the 20th and 21st centuries. We interrogate the effects of Western intervention in Africa, from slavery and colonialism to modern-day foreign policy, aid, trade, peacekeeping, and democratization. We cover material ranging from qualitative case studies to formal theories of growth to statistical analyses to post-modern critiques. No prior exposure to any of these fields is required-the material is designed to be accessible to all, and technical material is presented in a relatively non-technical fashion.

POLS W3506x Comparative Party Politics 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. In this course, we will study political parties and party systems in an attempt to understand why they exist and to what degree they promote or harm representative democracy. Questions to be explored include the following: Why do some countries have only a few parties in their parliament/congress while other countries have many? Why does the United States have only two major parties while countries with similar electoral systems-Great Britain, India, Canada-have more? Why do major parties generally survive over decades and even centuries while new parties often collapse rapidly? Why do professional politicians lead most political parties, and does this undermine democratic principles?

POLS W3585y Political Economy of Development 3 pts. Why are some countries rich and other countries poor? This course examines the politics of economic reform and development. More specifically, it explores debates about whether globalization, democracy, corruption, natural resources, state policies, social capital and foreign aid improve the quality of people's lives in countries outside of the developed world. The course includes extensive discussions about how to design research to help answer these questions. In addition, it applies these theories to a range of countries in four regions of the world. By combining an emphasis on research design with applications of theoretical arguments to specific countries, the course aims to improve student's analytic skills as well as make them familiar with the politics of economic reform in a broad range of countries. There are no easy answers to these questions and we will have to work hard to determine which arguments are most convincing. You will develop skills to evaluate theories of economic development and assess evidence with the goal of confirming or disconfirming arguments. The most important requirements for the course are a willingness to keep an open mind, ask difficult questions, and search for answers.

POLS W3595x Social Protection Around the World 3 pts.

POLS V3604x Civil Wars & International Intervention in Africa 3 pts. Why does violent conflict persist in post-independence Africa? Why do nearly half of the countries that emerge from war lapse back into violence after five years? Why do most international interventions fail to bring peace to affected populations? This class focuses on recent conflict and post-conflict situations in Africa as background against which to understand the distinct dynamics of violence and international interventions in civil wars.

POLS V3615x Globalization and International Politics 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Explores how globalization affects the structures and functions of the international economy, state sovereignty, international security, and international civil society. Emphasis on problems of international governance, legitimacy and accountability, and the evolving organizational processes that characterize contemporary international politics.

POLS W3616y Global Order: Civilizations & Society in International Relations 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014."Global Order" is a course designed to help students make sense of one of the fundamental questions we can ask about international relations and politics in general: how is order established, maintained, or destroyed? In an important sense, order is what the "study of politics seeks to discern and the practice of politics seeks to achieve" (Zartman 2009: 3). A focus on order in world politics can help us answer several interesting questions: Are we seeing the modern era of world politics ending and a new postmodern era beginning? What do these changes mean for the current period of American international political dominance?

POLS W3619y Nationalism and Contemporary World Politics 3 pts. Nationalism as a cause of conflict in contemporary world politics. Strategies for mitigating nationalist and ethnic conflict.

POLS V3620y Introduction to Contemporary Chinese Politics 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Introduction to some basic aspects and major events in Chinese political life under the communists since 1949, focusing on the post-Mao reform period since 1978. Examination of economic and political development in China in a broader context of global transition from authoritarianism and state socialism.

POLS W3626y Gender & International Relations 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. This course is designed as a comprehensive introduction to a way of analyzing and researching global politics and international relations that takes gender seriously as a category of analysis. The course is particularly concerned with the ways in which gender is implicated in the construction of international relations, how this impacts the foreign policies of states, and what this means for the actions of other actors in world politics, such as non- governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations (IOs), and social movements.

POLS W3630x Politics of International Economic Relations 3 pts.

POLS W3631x American Foreign Policy 3 pts. Introduction to American foreign policy since 1945 with an emphasis on post-cold war topics. Will cover major schools of American thought, the policy making process, and key policies and issues.

POLS W3659y International Cooperation & Institutions 3 pts. Why do governments and leaders cooperate? What is the role of international institutions in world politics? This course is an introduction to the systematic study of international cooperation and institutions. The course emphasizes recent empirical and theoretical research across issue areas.

POLS W3673x Power & Progress in International Relations Not offered in 2013-2014. To understand the current geopolitical competition between liberal democratic states and other global forces, we will try to integrate the insights from the realist logic of struggle for domination and security-the logic of power-with the logic of political development and modernization -the logic of progress. Historical and contemporary themes will include the origins of the modern states system, the rise of nationalism and democratization, the management of the global market economy, decolonization, human rights activism, changing norms for the use of force, and multiple paths to modernity. Prerequisite: Students should have taken (or be simultaneously taking) POLS V1601, Introduction to International Politics, or have the permission of the instructor.

POLS V3675y Russia and the West Not offered in 2013-2014. An exploration of Russia's ambiguous relationship with the West, focusing on the political,cultural, philosophic,and historical roots of this relationship, as well as its foreign policy consequenses. Cases are drawn from tsarist, Soviet, and post-Soviet periods. Special emphasis is placed on issues of political economy and international security.

POLS W3690y International Law 3 pts. What is public international law, and what does it influence the behavior of states, corporations, and individuals in the international system? This introductory course engages these questions as well as the politics of applying and enforcing public international law in various contexts and issue areas. An understanding of basic international legal principles, institutions, and processes is developed through exploration of foundational cases, and by means of (required) participation in a multi-week group simulation of an international legal dispute.

POLS W3704y Data Analysis & Statistics for Political Science Research 3 pts. This course examines the basic methods data analysis and statistics that political scientists use in quantitative research that attempts to make causal inferences about how the political world works. The same methods apply to other kinds of problems about cause and effect relationships more generally. The course will provide students with extensive experience in analyzing data and in writing (and thus reading) research papers about testable theories and hypotheses. It will cover basic data analysis and statistical methods, from univariate and bivariate descriptive and inferential statistics through multivariate regression analysis. Computer applications will be emphasized. The course will focus largely on observational data used in cross-sectional statistical analysis, but it will consider issues of research design more broadly as well. It will assume that students have no mathematical background beyond high school algebra and no experience using computers for data analysis.

POLS W3708x Empirical Research Methods 3 pts. Prerequisites: his course is intended for political science majors, and some exposure to political science is assumed. Familiarity with statistical software is helpful but not required. Students will be working with data in class throughout the term. This course provides an introduction to selected research methods that are widely used in political science. The aim of the course is to familiarize students with the conceptual and methodological challenges that arise when researchers attempt to measure political phenomena, assess change over time, or demonstrate a causal relationship between policies and social outcomes. In order to reinforce core ideas and link them to ongoing political debates, students will conduct a series of small research projects that will involve statistical software, sampling, questionnaire development, and experimental design.

POLS W3720x or y Scope & Methods 3 pts. Why do citizens vote? Do Get-Out-the-Vote campaigns work to increase turnout? Does campaign spending increase the likelihood of electoral success? How do electoral rules aff ect the political representation of the poor? What determines the success of ethnic insurgencies? Why do some civil wars last longer than others? Do international laws protect civilians during military conflict? How we go about answering these questions (and other important questions about politics and our world) determines the quality of our answers. This course is about evaluating the quality of answers to political and social science research questions, and introduces fundamental topics in research design, choice of method, and data analysis. Although the material introduces concepts that are relevant to both quantitative and qualitative research methods, this course emphasizes quantitative research and provides an introduction to basic statistical analysis. At the successful completion of the course, students will be well-prepared to conduct independent research, including senior honor theses.

POLS BC3805x International Organizations 4 pts. Prerequisites: Priority given to Barnard political science majors. POLS V1601 or the equivalent and the department's permission. Applications available at 417A Lehman or at http://www.barnard.edu/polisci. Explores the various structures, institutions, and processes that order relations among states and actors in the international system. Emphasizes contemporary issues such as dilemmas of humanitarian interventions, the politics of international institutions, the rise of nongovernmental organizations, and globalization. May not be used to fulfill seminar requirement.

POLS W3911x Seminar in Political Theory 4 pts. Prerequisites: Instructor's permission is required to register. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in Political Theory. Pre-registration is not permitted. For most seminars, interested students must attend the first class meeting, after which the instructor will decide whom to admit. Senior majors receive priority, followed by junior majors, then all other students.

POLS W3912y Seminar in Political Theory 4 pts. Prerequisites: Instructor's permission is required to register. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in Political Theory Pre-registration is not permitted. For most seminars, interested students must attend the first class meeting, after which the instructor will decide whom to admit. Senior majors receive priority, followed by junior majors, then all other students.

POLS W3921x Seminar in American Politics 4 pts. Prerequisites: Instructor's permission is required to register. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics. Pre-registration is not permitted. For most seminars, interested students must attend the first class meeting, after which the instructor will decide whom to admit. Senior majors receive priority, followed by junior majors, then all other students.

POLS W3922y Seminar in American Politics 4 pts. Prerequisites: POLS W1201 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics. Pre-registration is not permitted. For most seminars, interested students must attend the first class meeting, after which the instructor will decide whom to admit. Senior majors receive priority, followed by junior majors, then all other students.

POLS W3930x Constitutional Law Seminar 4 pts. Prerequisites: Application required; Due August 30, 2013. To apply, please explain, in 250 words or less, why you wish to take this seminar. Please also indicate your class, school, and major and list the courses you have taken in your sophomore and junior years. Please email your response to srosdeitcher@paulweiss.com no later than Friday, August 30, 2013. This seminar explores major features of U.S. constitutional law through close examination of selected decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. Through student discussion and some lecturing, the seminar addresses issues arising from the Constitution's allocation of power among the three branches of government; the allocation of powers between the National and State governments, including, in particular, the scope of Congress' regulatory powers; and the protection of the individual from arbitrary and discriminatory government conduct, including the evolution of the concept of liberty from its protection of economic interests before the New Deal to its current role in protecting individual autonomy and privacy, the protections of the Fifth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments against unequal treatment based on race, gender and sexual orientation, and some aspects of the First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech and press. More generally the seminar aims to enhance understanding of some main aspects of our constitutional tradition and the judicial process by which it is elaborated.

POLS W3951x Seminar in Comparative Politics 4 pts. Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Please see here for detailed seminar registration guidelines: http://polisci.columbia.edu/undergraduate-programs/seminar-registration-guidelines Seminar in Comparative Politics. Pre-registration is not permitted. For most seminars, interested students must attend the first class meeting, after which the instructor will decide whom to admit. Senior majors receive priority, followed by junior majors, then all other students.

POLS W3952y Seminar in Comparative Politics 4 pts. Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Please see here for detailed seminar registration guidelines: http://polisci.columbia.edu/undergraduate-programs/seminar-registration-guidelines Seminar in Comparative Politics. Pre-registration is not permitted. For most seminars, interested students must attend the first class meeting, after which the instructor will decide whom to admit. Senior majors receive priority, followed by junior majors, then all other students.

POLS W3961x Seminar in International Politics 4 pts. Prerequisites: POLS V1601 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Please see here for detailed seminar registration guidelines: http://polisci.columbia.edu/undergraduate-programs/seminar-registration-guidelines Seminar in International Relations. Pre-registration is not permitted. For most seminars, interested students must attend the first class meeting, after which the instructor will decide whom to admit. Senior majors receive priority, followed by junior majors, then all other students.

POLS W3962y Seminar in International Politics 4 pts. Prerequisites: POLS V1601 or the equivalent, and instructor's permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Please see here for detailed seminar registration guidelines: http://polisci.columbia.edu/undergraduate-programs/seminar-registration-guidelines Seminar in International Relations. Pre-registration is not permitted. For most seminars, interested students must attend the first class meeting, after which the instructor will decide whom to admit. Senior majors receive priority, followed by junior majors, then all other students.

POLS C3998x-C3999y Senior Honors Seminar 4 pts. Prerequisite: admission to the departmental honors program. A two-term seminar for students writing the senior honors thesis.

POLS G4133y Political Thought - Classical and Medieval 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: One course on the history of political theory (this is an advanced undergraduate/introductory graduate level course, not meant for students with no prior knowledge of political theory) Selected writers and doctrines in the tradition of Western political and social thought from Plato and Aristotle through Middle Age.

POLS W4134y Modern Political Thought 3 pts. Interpretations of civil society and the foundations of political order according to the two main traditions of political thought--contraction and Aristotelian. Readings include works by Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke, Montesquieu, Hume, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Saint-Simon, Tocqueville, Marx, and Mill.

POLS W4205x Politics, Crime and Punishment Prerequisites: POLS W1201 Intro to American Politics or equivalent This course investigates the politics of crime and the criminal justice system. We investigate the origins of the politics of law and order from the mid-twentieth century to today, against a broader backdrop of partisan competition, urban de-industrialization, and socio-cultural tensions. Particular attention is paid to the role of politicians and political institutions such as the Congress, the Judiciary and federal, state and local bureaucracies such as local police in conceptualizing the need for a "war on crime;" and developing the political and institutional mechanisms for carrying out this war. The course reviews the current political, institutional and societal developments arising from the war on crime and current debates amongst politicians and policymakers. Issues such as sentencing disparities; racial differences in death penalty cases; New York City's "stop and frisk" policy; and, felon disenfranchisement, are among some of the topics that will be covered in this course. Students will analyze a mix of social science research, legal cases, and policy analyses, as a means of understanding the political development of the American criminal justice. Readings and in-class discussions will be supplemented by guest speakers drawn from organizations involved in the crime/criminal justice system.

POLS W4209y Game Theory and Political Theory 3 pts. Application of noncooperative game theory to strategic situations in politics. Solution concepts, asymmetric information, incomplete information, signaling, repeated games, and folk theorems. Models drawn from elections, legislative strategy, interest group politics, regulation, nuclear deterrence, international relations, and tariff policy.

POLS W4210x Research Topics in Game Theory 3 pts. Prerequisites: POLS W4209 or Instructor's Permission. Advanced topics in game theory will cover the study of repeated games, games of incomplete information and principal-agent models with applications in the fields of voting, bargaining, lobbying and violent conflict. Results from the study of social choice theory, mechanism design and auction theory will also be treated. The course will concentrate on mathematical techniques for constructing and solving games. Students will be required to develop a topic relating political science and game theory and to write a formal research paper. Prerequisite: W4209 or instructor's permission.

POLS W4226x American Politics and Social Welfare Policy 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. The politics and development of the American welfare state. Study and analysis of the origins and growth of domestic social programs that provide income support (welfare and Social Security), employment opportunities, health care, and protection against poverty.

POLS W4270x A Free Press for a Global Society 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. A Free Press for a Global Society examines both the U.S. experience in developing a system of freedom of the press and the international experience as well. The course will then consider how a more integrated system might evolve over the coming decades. This is a pressing issue, for individual nations and for the worldwide community, because the increased interconnectedness of the global economy, the rise of global problems (such as climate change and financial regulation), and the emergence of technologies that make global communication possible all depend upon a free flow of information and ideas. Students will undertake in depth examinations of First Amendment law, international treaties and principles, public policies affecting the press, and a range of perspectives on these issues. Miklós Haraszti, former OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, will co-teach the course with President Lee C. Bollinger. Guest speakers will be invited to address the class. Students are invited to participate in a variety of ways in the conference of the same name held in November.

POLS W4291y Advanced Topics in Quantitative Research 3 pts. Instruction in methods for models that have dependent variables that are not continuous, including dichotomous and polychotomous response models, models for censored and truncated data, sample selection models and duration models.

POLS W4292x Advanced Topics in Quantitative Research: Models for Panel & Time-Series Cross-Section Data 3 pts. This course covers methods for models for repeated observations data. These kinds of data represent tremendous opportunities as well as formidable challenges for making inferences. The course will focus on how to estimate models for panel and time-series cross-section data. Topics covered include fixed effects, random effects, dynamic panel models, random coefficient models, and models for qualitative dependent variables.

POLS W4311x American Parties and Elections 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. The changing role of political parties and elections in the American political system, including the historical development of party conflict; the structure of party organization at the local and national levels; the roles of party and the media during presidential elections; who votes and why; and the future of American political parties.

POLS W4321y The Constitutional Law of Presidential-Congressional Relations 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Examines the constitutional issues involved in presidential-congressional relations, including assertions of presidential emergency powers, control of the administrative agencies, congressional investigations and the independent counsel, and the constitutional law of presidential diplomatic and war powers.

POLS W4360x Mathematical Methods for Political Science 3 pts.

Provides students of political science with a basic set of tools needed to read, evaluate, and contribute in research areas that increasingly utilize sophisticated mathematical techniques.

POLS W4365y Design & Analysis of Sample Surveys 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: Basic statistics and regression analysis (for example: POLS 4911, STAT 2024 or 4315, SOCI 4075, etc.) Survey sampling is central to modern social science. We discuss how to design, conduct, and analyze surveys, with a particular focus on public opinion surveys in the United States.

POLS W4368y Experimental Research: Design, Analysis & Interpretation 3 pts. Prerequisites: One or two semesters of statistics; basic understanding of probability, hypothesis testing, and regression are assumed. Basic familiarity with statistical softward (Stata and R) is helpful but not required. In this course, we will discuss the logic of experimentation, its strengths and weaknesses compared to other methodologies, and the ways in which experimentation has been -- and could be -- used to investigate social phenomena. Students will learn how to interpret, design, and execute experiments.

POLS W4401y Europe After Lisbon 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: The course is open to MA students in European Studies and to undergraduates who have completed either the introductory course in Comparative Politics (V1501) or the introductory course in International Relations (V1601). Other students may be included at the instructor's discretion. This course takes as its starting point the latest constitutional "statement" from the European Union, the Lisbon Treaty which took effect in December 2009, and is designed to give qualified undergraduates and Master's students an understanding of contemporary politics and institutions as they are experienced within Europe today. Because scholarship on both Europe and the European Union is constantly evolving, the course is marked by a focus on readings from the contemporary literature and by references to online information data sets that will permit you to undertake your own research.

POLS W4406x Democracy & Institutional Change in Latin America 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or an introductory course in Latin American politics. The purpose of this course is it to analyze the central features of new democratic regimes in Latin America and the institutional transformations they have experienced since 1978. The course is divided into three sections: democracy and political institutions, performance and quality of democracy, and institutional reform.

POLS G4407y Nine Thought Trends in China 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Prerequisites: Fluency in Chinese (the course will be taught in Chinese, and a large number of readings will be in Chinese). This is an elective course designed for both undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in the contemporary politics in China. The course focuses on nine major thought trends in China today that include 1) the Liberalism; 2) the New Authoritarianism; 3) the New Left; 4) Mao Left; 5) the Democratic Group within the Communist Party; 6) Governing through Confucian Theory; 7) Constitutional Socialism; 8) the so-called " Neither-Left and Nor-Right " Governing Theory; and 9) the New Nationalism Calling Tough Foreign Policies. China is deep in the social and political transition process, and the thoughts and actions of intellects themself have formed an important part in this transition. In this sense, the course not only helps understand the thoughts of intellects, but also better help understand today's China affairs as a whole.

POLS W4445x Politics of the Middle East and North Africa 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Comparative analysis of regime types, political development and political decay, nation-state building, and the role of political groups in the Middle East and North Africa.

POLS W4454x Comparative Politics of South Asia 3 pts. This course first compares the post-independence political histories of South Asian countries, particularly India and Pakistan. It then explores selected topics across countries: social and cultural dimensions of politics; structures of power; and political behavior. The underlying theme is to explain the development and durability of the particular political regimes - democratic or authoritarian - in each country.

POLS W4461x Latin American Politics 3 pts. Comparative theoretical and empirical analysis of political development and regime change in the region through close study of the interrelated nature of polity, society, and economy in selected cases.

POLS G4471y Chinese Politics 3 pts. An introduction to the politics of the People's Republic of China since 1978 that examines why and how a Leninist system attempts to reform and the consequences. Topics covered include one party rule, market transition, property rights, and grassroots democracy among many others.

POLS G4472x Japanese Politics 3 pts. Surveys key features of the Japanese political system, with focus on political institutions and processes. Themes include party politics, bureaucratic power, the role of the Diet, voting behavior, the role of the state in the economy, and the domestic politics of foreign policy.

POLS W4476x Korean Politics 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. This course examines both North and South Korea's politics and foreign policy. The course will survey the Korean peninsula's modern history from Japanese colonialism, partition and the establishment of two separate Koreas, Cold War politics, the Korean War, and South Korea's democracy movement to the present-day North Korean nuclear crisis. Since the division of the Korean peninsula in 1945, South Korea has developed into one of the largest trading nations in the world with a vibrant democratic polity. North Korea, isolated, destitute, and now ruled by a third-generation hereditary dictatorship, has descended into a perpetually aid-dependent state that maintains internal control through extreme repression. What does the future hold for the two Koreas? Special attention will be given to the North's strategy of brinkmanship, the implications of possible regime collapse, and an analysis of U.S. North Korea policy.

POLS G4491x Post-Soviet States and Markets 3 pts. Recommended preparation: some familiarity with Communist or post-Communist states. Considers the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union and the challenge of building new political and economic systems in the post-Communist space. Evaluates contending theories of markets, transitions, constitutions, federalism, and democratic institutions. Primary focus on the post-Soviet states, with some reference to Eastern Europe and China.

POLS W4496x Contemporary African Politics 3 pts. Prerequisite: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, or the instructor's permission. Topics include the transition from colonialism to independence, ethnic and class relations, the state, strategies for development, international influences, and case studies of selected countries.

POLS G4610y Recent Continental Political Thought 3 pts. This course will compare and contrast the theories of the political, the state,freedom, democracy, sovereignty and law, in the works of the following key 20th and 21st century continental theorists: Arendt, Castoriadis, Foucault, Habermas, Kelsen, Lefort, Schmitt, and Weber.It will be taught in seminar format.

POLS G4626x Global Justice & Democracy 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. Traditionally theories of justice and democracy have assumed the sovereign state as the relevant context and referent. Today many issues and claims of injustice transcend the sovereign state as do the regulatory responses to them. What is the appropriate context of justice today and how can claims to sovereignty, political autonomy, and self determination mesh with human rights claims and demands for global justice? Is it meaningful to speak of global democracy? How does the globalisation of law and politics affect domestic democracy? This course will consider the relevant literature on these questions.

POLS W4808y Weapons, Strategy & War 3 pts.Not offered in 2013-2014. An examination of how the interrelationships among military technology, strategy, foreign policy, and the cultural ethos have shaped warfare from the introduction of gunpowder to the present; special attention to selected cases from World Wars I and II and the development of US strategy for nuclear weapons.

POLS G4845y National Security Strategies of the Middle East: A Comparative Perspective 3 pts. At the crossroads of three continents, the Middle East is home to many diverse peoples, with ancient and proud cultures, in varying stages of political and socio-economic development, often times in conflict. Now in a state of historic flux, the Arab Spring has transformed the Middle Eastern landscape, with great consequence for the national security strategies of the countries of the region and their foreign relations. The primary source of the world's energy resources, the Middle East remains the locus of the terror-WMD-fundamentalist nexus, which continues to pose a significant threat to both regional and international security. The course surveys the national security challenges facing the region's primary players (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria and Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinians and Turkey, Jordan) and how the revolutions of the past year will affect them. Unlike many Middle East courses, which focus on US policy in the region, the course concentrates on the regional players' perceptions of the threats and opportunities they face and on the strategies they have adopted to deal with them. It thus provides an essential vantage point for all those interested in gaining a deeper understanding of a region, which stands at the center of many of the foreign policy issues of our era. The course is designed for those with a general interest in the Middle East, especially those interested in national security issues, students of comparative politics and future practitioners, with an interest in "real world" international relations and national security.

POLS W4871y Chinese Foreign Policy 3 pts. The course describes the major elements of Chinese foreign policy today, in the context of their development since 1949. We seek to understand the security-based rationale of policy as well as other factors - organizational, cultural, perceptual, and so on - that influence Chinese foreign policy. We analyze decision-making processes that affect Chinese foreign policy, China's relations with various countries and regions, Chinese policy toward key functional issues in international affairs, how the rise of China is affecting global power relations, and how other actors are responding. The course pays attention to the application of international relations theories to the problems we study, and also takes an interest in policy issues facing decision-makers in China as well as those facing decision-makers in other countries who deal with China.

POLS W4895x War, Peace, and Strategy 3 pts. Survey of the causes of war and peace, functions of military strategy, interaction of political ends and military means. Emphasis on 20th-century conflicts; nuclear deterrence; economic, technological, and moral aspects of strategy; crisis management; and institutional norms and mechanisms for promoting stability.

POLS W4910x Principles of Quantitative Political Research 3 pts. Introduction to the use of quantitative techniques in political science and public policy. Topics include descriptive statistics and principles of statistical inference and probability through analysis of variance and ordinary least-squares regression. Computer applications are emphasized.

POLS W4911y Analysis of Political Data 3 pts. Prerequisite: POLS W4910 or the equivalent. Multivariate and time-series analysis of political data. Topics include time-series regression, structural equation models, factor analysis, and other special topics. Computer applications are emphasized.

POLS W4912x Multivariate Political Analysis 3 pts. Prerequisite: basic data analysis through multiple regression (e.g., POLS W4910) and knowledge of basic calculus and matrix algebra. More mathematical treatment of topics covered in POLS W4911. Examines problems encountered in multivariate analysis of cross-sectional and time-series data.