POL 296 - Special Topics in Global Politics

FDR: SS2
Credits: 3 in fall and winter, 4 in spring

Prerequisites vary by topic. Meets the global politics field requirement in the politics major. A seminar in political science for students at the introductory or intermediate level. Topic, hour, and instructor are announced prior to registration. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.

Winter 2018, POL 296-01: Special Topics in Global Politics: Global Challenges to Democracy (3). Prerequisite: POL 100 or 105 or instructor consent. This seminar explores contemporary challenges to democracy from theoretical and practical perspectives. Following an examination of the theoretical foundations of democracy, students then analyze measures of democratic performance around the world, and how the structure of governmental systems conditions that performance. We then assess shifts in global attitudes towards traditional visions of liberal democracy, including notions of sovereignty and, in the current global context, secession. (SS2) Rush.

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Spring 2018, POL 296-01: Special Topics in Global Politics: International Crises and National Security (4). Prerequisite: POL 105 or instructor consent. This course examines international crisis behavior through a combination of classroom instruction and participatory National Security Council simulation scenarios. Students study theories of international crisis alongside historical case studies such as the July Crisis of 1914, the Suez Crisis, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, among others, with students assuming a role on a model National Security Council. Using crisis scenarios derived from the Council on Foreign Relations Model Diplomacy series, students research past and present policymakers on the NSC, adopt a policy persona, and work toward the resolution of crises guided by the instructor and guest participants from the policy community. The combination of readings and enactment encourages critical examination of both theories of national security and the vicissitudes of its practice. Multiple outside-of-class meetings are required. (SS2) O’Dell.

Spring 2018, POL 296-02: Special Topics in Global Politics: Comparative Constitution-Building (4). This course introduces students to how a constitution is formed. Constitution-building processes have played a critical part in the history of many countries, including the USA, Spain, and Germany. Often they marked an important break with the past, leaving behind authoritarian rule or colonial government. Constitution-building may take place in the wake of traumatic events such as military defeat or revolutionary upheaval. It can have powerful consequences–both good and ill–for the future of the country in which it takes place. Through historical analysis, case studies, and international comparison, students investigate different processes of creating a constitution. (SS2) Blick. Spring 2018 only.

Summer 2017, POL 296-01: Special Topics in Global Politics: South Africa (3). This course provides students with an introductory account of the post-apartheid political landscape in South Africa. The course gives an overview of the political and economic forces that shaped South African society during the colonial period. It examines the Apartheid era, emphasizing the domestic and global politics that led to the rise and fall of the National Party Government, and it examines the system of apartheid and how the transition process structured the post-apartheid political system and societal landscape. The course also considers key questions facing South Africans, from national identity to economic inequality. (SS2) Le Blanc. Summer 2017