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Institute for Politics and Strategy Undergraduate Course Offerings

2022-2023 Courses

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84-104 Decision Processes in American Political Institutions

This is an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of politics and government in the United States. It familiarizes the student with the basic structures and processes of American government, but moves beyond the purely descriptive into the realm of the analytical. The…

84-110 Foundations of Political Economy

Political Economics studies the interplay between economics and politics. Politicians, for example, may deviate from welfare-maximizing policies due to political pressures. Conversely, the economic and political consequences of policy decisions can shape the choices of…

84-215 Tomorrow's Professionals

Professionalism is a pillar of success. It is also a cornerstone of a healthy and productive work environment. But professionalism is not innate. Rather, professionalism is taught and learned. It should be practiced intentionally and developed over time and with…

84-250 Writing for Political Science and Policy

Writing and briefing are essential skills in the policy discipline. This course will equip students with the tools necessary to enter professional policy-related domains. We will use a workshop format that promotes classroom discussions, small group work, and practical…

84-265 Political Science Research Methods

This course provides an introduction to the theory and method of contemporary political analysis. It prepares students to read, interpret, critique, design, and conduct original, empirical research in political science. Tracing the research process, students will learn…

84-275 Comparative Politics

This course is an introduction to the subfield of Political Science called Comparative Politics. In this subfield we use comparative methods to study and compare domestic politics across countries. In this course, we aim to learn about how political systems differ,…

84-303 International Human Rights

This mini-course surveys the causes of human rights violations around the world and the internal and external forces that combat them. The course begins by asking how political scientists conceptualize and measure human rights; we also review the origins and evolution of…

84-304 In the News

This discussion-based course will examine the headlines in international relations and politics, defense, national security and homeland security. We will follow major news stories, breaking down media coverage to go deeper, conducting our own unique analysis as a group…

84-306 Latin American Politics

The world's most unequal region is an area of contrasts. Ethnically diverse, stable and tumultuous, young and old, urban and rural, learned and illiterate, prosperous and poor, independent yet dependent. The disparities that have characterized the region since colonial…

84-307 Economic and Political History of Contemporary China

Global politics is increasingly being shaped by the arrival of China as an economic powerhouse, which is increasingly being viewed as a challenger to the Western model of governance and has been posited as an anti-western economic blueprint for development. To understand…

84-312 Terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

The spread and growth of terrorism on the continent of Africa has increased substantially over the last decade; this mini is an introduction to the major terrorism groups that operate in sub-Saharan Africa. Throughout the course, we will examine the nexus of the terrorist…

84-313 International Organizations and Law

This course provides students with a comprehensive overview of the role and function of international organizations and international law in global affairs. In this course, we will consider the historical development of the international legal system and theories and…

84-315 Political Economy of International Migration

International migration - the movement of people across national borders - is a defining political and economic phenomenon of our time. Rising social and political conflict over migration - not just in advanced democracies but also in the Global South - means that…

84-316 Political Economy of Transatlantic Partnership

The changing international world order due to China's rise as a global economic superpower and the rise of authoritarianism and populism in developed economies have created new challenges and opportunities in the transatlantic community. This course examines the key…

84-317 Defense Resourcing: From Strategy to Execution

A must take class if you have any plans of becoming a civil servant, defense contractor, or work for/own a company that receives defense funding. The Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process translates the national security…

84-319 Civil-Military Relations

Why do militaries (people with guns) ever obey civilians (people without guns)? When, why, and how do militaries achieve autonomy, battlefield effectiveness, or political rule? Students will confront such questions by surveying theories and cases of civil-military…

84-322 Nonviolent Conflict and Revolution

How can everyday people promote justice, equality, and democracy? Throughout history, many have looked to armed struggle and revolutionary violence. But over the course of the last century, nonviolent "people power" movements -- from Gandhi's salt march to the Arab Spring…

84-323 War and Peace in the Contemporary Middle East

This course examines the drivers and dynamics of war and peace in the contemporary Middle East. It is structured around a series of key debates about different facets of conflict and violence in the region, such as the causes of rebellion, the reasons resistance…

84-324 The Future of Democracy

After the Cold War, Francis Fukuyama famously argued that humanity had reached the "end of history" insofar as liberal democracy had become the last viable form of government. Yet today, illiberal democracies and dictatorships persist, the world has witnessed the return…

84-325 Contemporary American Foreign Policy

This course provides a survey of American foreign policy since World War I as a means of explaining why American foreign policy looks the way it does today. We will cover topics such as America's perennial battles between isolationism and internationalism, the creation of…

84-326 Theories of International Relations

This course introduces students to the discipline of international relations. In the first half of the course, students review the modern history of IR from colonialism to today and are introduced to core concepts such as the national interest, power, and international…

84-327 Repression and Control in Dictatorships

How do dictatorships exert physical and social control over their populations through state coercion? What tools and institutions do they use, and what makes dictatorships' use of coercion distinct from that of democracies? Why is so much of the population complicit in…

84-328 Military Strategy and Doctrine

While major interstate warfare has markedly declined since World War II, recent events illustrate that the causes and dynamics of major war remain some of the most important topics in international politics. This course will survey how the causes, conduct, and termination…

84-330 The Shading of Democracy: The Influence of Race on American Politics

This course will explore intersections of race, political influence, and the shaping of America's democracy. Discourse will focus on racial and ethnicity-related policies, practices, and processes designed to influence democratic outcomes. Students will examine complex and…

84-331 Money, Media, and the Power of Data in Decisionmaking

This course focuses on the impact of three critical influences on policy and decisionmaking in Washington DC: money, in the form of political campaign dollars in particular; media, from national to local; and data that can define the policy problem and solution. The course…

84-334 The History and Practice of Economic Statecraft

The use of economic tools in a world of dense international economic networks to coerce other governments to achieve foreign policy aims is central to understanding the world we see and in augmenting our understanding of the wisdom of various policy options. Economic…

84-336 Implementing Public Policy: From Good Idea to Reality

Good public policy doesn't just "happen." Rather, successful policy is the result of thorough research, careful drafting, and successful navigation within the government or non-government organization whose leadership may ultimately promulgate it. The course begins with a…

84-339 Seminar in Public Policy Research

Public policy has high stakes. The taxes we pay, our access to medical care, the quality and composition of the military -- all of these are the direct result of US public policy. Furthermore, public policy often touches on highly contested issues such as private gun…

84-348 Advocacy, Policy, and Practice

This course examines the role that advocacy and advocacy organizations play at all stages of the policymaking and implementation process, from grassroots to professional advocacy organizations, public facing communications initiatives to internal policy-focused actions.…

84-352 Representation and Voting Rights

What does it mean to be represented? Who is represented, who is not? What is the nature of that representation? In practice, does representation result in policy congruence? In this course, we will explore the concept of representation, what it means in theory,…

84-360 CMU/WSP Internship Seminar

The internship is the experiential "core" of the Washington Semester Program. Students intern three days per week, for approximately twenty-four hours, in offices from Capitol Hill to the White House and including opportunities in cabinet agencies, nonprofit institutions,…

84-362 Diplomacy and Statecraft

Diplomacy and statecraft are the driving forces behind foreign policy and international politics. In the first part of the course, students are introduced to the concepts, theories, and history of diplomacy. Students examine key cases and statesmen and women in…

84-365 The Politics of Fake News and Misinformation

This course analyzes the drivers and dynamics of fake news and misinformation in social and political life. From conspiracy theories about COVID and climate change to misinformation about political violence and conflict, how can we characterize fake news and…

84-369 Decision Science for International Relations

Decision Science looks at choices from three interrelated perspectives: analysis, characterizing decision makers' options, in terms of expected effects on outcomes that they value; description, characterizing decision makers' beliefs and preferences; and interventions,…

84-370 Nuclear Security and Arms Control

This course introduces students to the importance and challenges of implementing the safeguards surrounding nuclear energy and arms control. Students will learn the challenges of nuclear and conventional weapons proliferation, current treaties and export control…

84-372 Space and National Security

Space systems contribute a great deal to America's security, prosperity, and quality of life. This course examines how space-based services provide critical support to military and intelligence operations and contribute to national security more broadly. The course is…

84-380 US Grand Strategy

What role should the United States play in the world? Should the US solely protect its own borders or advance democracy, promote human rights, and contain aggressive countries? These are questions that Americans have wrestled with throughout modern US history. In this…

84-383 Cyber Policy as National Policy

The decisions nations make in cyberspace have profound implications for both prosperity and sovereignty. The internet is a digital thread tying together peoples. The nature of our participation in this ecosystem is determined by policy makers. Cyber policy mirrors the…

84-387 Technology and Policy of Cyber War

This course examines underlying and emerging technologies and policies associated with cyber war and cyber threats. The technological concepts reviewed in this course include but are not limited to the Internet, networks and sensors, and trends associated with…

84-388 Concepts of War and Cyber War

This course examines traditional theories, concepts, and practices in international relations and warfare - conventional, unconventional, and modern - and relates them to the emerging dynamics of cyber war. The principle concepts examined in this course reflect,…

84-389 Terrorism and Insurgency

There are many forms of political violence, but not all are created equal. Some, like terrorism, are a tactic, while others, like insurgency, are a strategy. How important is it to define terrorism and insurgency? What causes insurgencies, and what determines the choice of…

84-390 Social Media, Technology, and Conflict

This course will examine the role that social media and technology have had on conflict at multiple levels, both between and within nations. Interconnectedness has expanded dramatically and continues to expand, allowing the formerly disconnected—individuals with…

84-393 Legislative Decision Making: US Congress

This course analyzes decision-making by the United States Congress. The course examines legislative behavior by focusing on the way Congress is organized (institutional and constitutional structure) and the ways legislators, voters, and various other parties interact…

84-402 Judicial Politics and Behavior

This course is a survey of research and insight into one of the most unique American government institutions: the judiciary. Rather than exclusively reading case law (as one would do in a Constitutional Law class), this course examines court structure, rules of law and,…

84-405 The Future of Warfare

Warfare is constantly evolving. In the contemporary conflict environment, irregular actors and tactics are prominent within an overarching context of great power strategic competition that is in many ways reminiscent of the Cold War. Hybrid actors and proxy groups wage war…

84-421 Advanced Topics in American Politics

This upper-level course examines prominent classical and contemporary works in the two major subfields in American politics, political institutions and political behavior. This means the seminar will address topics such as Congress, presidency, bureaucracy, and courts,…

84-440 Collaborative Research in Political Science

Are you interested in joining an inter-disciplinary, collaborative research team that could eventually lead to publishing a co-authored article in political science? This course invites interested students to join as active participants in one of several ongoing research…

84-450 Policy Seminar

The Policy Seminar course takes a critical look at decision making in domestic politics and US foreign policy. It does so through weekly roundtable discussions with a diverse set of thought leaders. Based on intellectually significant essays that students are expected to…

84-451 Policy Seminar

The Policy Seminar course takes a critical look at decision making in domestic politics and US foreign policy. It does so through weekly roundtable discussions with a diverse set of thought leaders. Based on intellectually significant essays that students are expected to…
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