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Institute for Politics and Strategy Undergraduate Course Offerings

2021-2022 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…

84-200 Security War Game: Great Power Competition, Non-State Actors, and Human Rights

This course is a seven-week national security simulation in which students will have an assigned role as a state or non-state actor and work with teams to develop policy responses to a security crisis that changes and develops over time, in response to team moves and…

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. Scholars in this subfield use comparative methods to study and compare domestic politics across countries. In this course, we aim to learn about how political systems differ,…

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…

84-310 International Political Economy

This course explores how political institutions, processes, and actors influence economic interactions both domestically and internationally. During the semester, we will address two key questions: 1) How do governments collaborate to regulate, and stabilize, the…

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…

84-318 Politics of Developing Nations

Be it on our feet, in our grocery bags, or in the news, our daily lives connect us to people in the developing world. Despite such an intricate relationship, we tend to know very little about developing nations and their challenges beyond a common stereotype of poverty.…

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 will introduce students to major theories and debates in international relations. The first half of the course is dedicated to studying the theoretical traditions within the discipline. In the second half, students will study the implications of these theories…

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…

84-330 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…

84-336 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…

84-337 Biomedical Science Research, Policy, and Governance

This course is designed to explore how the biomedical sciences intersect with policy and governance on a national and international scale. The course will explore how the US funds biomedical science, how Congress and government agencies implement science policies, and the…

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, do the norms of 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, approximately twenty-four hours per week, in offices from Capitol Hill to the White House and including opportunities in cabinet agencies, nonprofit…

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 political leaders and women in…

84-365 The Politics of Fake News and Minsinformation

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,…

84-372 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…

84-387 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 principal concepts examined in this course reflect, have…

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 and governance over the past decade. Interconnectedness has expanded dramatically and continues to expand, not only within coastal cities but also between them and their hinterlands,…

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…

84-405 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,…

84-450 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…
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