Political Science

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the principles of American politics and governance. Upon completing the class, students should be more informed about the American political process and better able to explain contemporary American political phenomena, as well as being more likely to engage with politics and elections. 

BARNARD STUDENTS WISHING TO TAKE INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS FOR INTRO CREDIT MUST TAKE POLS-BC1210. If Barnard students enroll in POLS-UN1201, the course will only count toward their elective credits.

Columbia College students who take POLS-BC1210 can only apply the course toward their major for elective credit.

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1210).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1210 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1212.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1210).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1210 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1212.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1210).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1210 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1212.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1210).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1210 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1212.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1210).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1210 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1212.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1210).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1210 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1212.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1210).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1210 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1212.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1210).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1210 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1212.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1210).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1210 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1212.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1210).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1210 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1212.

This course will examine the development of democracies and dictatorships in Europe from the ancien régime 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 consolidated over time.

Required discussion section for POLS-BC1401 Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe

Required discussion section for POLS-BC1401 Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe

Required discussion section for POLS-BC1401 Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe

Required discussion section for POLS-BC1401 Democracy and Dictatorship in Europe

This introductory course surveys key topics in the study of international politics, including the causes of war and peace; the efficacy of international law and human rights; the origins of international development and underdevelopment; the politics of global environmental protection; and the future of US-China relations. Throughout the course, we will focus on the interests of the many actors of world politics, including states, politicians, firms, bureaucracies, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations; the interactions between them; and the institutions in which they operate. By the end of the semester, students will be better equipped to systematically study international relations and make informed contributions to critical policy debates.

BARNARD STUDENTS WISHING TO TAKE INTERNATIONAL POLITICS FOR INTRO CREDIT MUST TAKE POLS-BC1610. If Barnard students enroll in POLS-UN1601, the course will only count toward their elective credits.

Columbia College students who take POLS-BC1610 can only apply the course toward their major for elective credit.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1610).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1610 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1612.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1610).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1610 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1612.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1610).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1610 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1612.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1610).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1610 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1612.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1610).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1610 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1612.

Required Discussion Section for Barnard-taught Intro to American Politics (POLS-BC1610).

Students enrolled in POLS-BC1610 must enroll in a section of POLS-BC1612.

Political theory examines the ideas and institutions that shape political life.  This course introduces key texts and arguments about the best way to organize political power, how it should be used, and for what purpose.

We will address these larger questions by studying how major thinkers, ancient and modern, analyzed political diversity, division, and conflict.  What are the sources of conflicting identities, interests, passions, and values in politics?  How can partisanship and contestation avoid degenerating into open war and unjust domination?  Which institutions, laws, and practices are best able to manage conflict consistent with other political goals, such as freedom, equality, justice?  

Course goals: Demonstrate broad knowledge of key texts, thinkers, concepts, and debates in the history of political thought; compare, contrast, and classify definitions of diversity and their political significance; interpret texts and reconstruct their core arguments and concepts; evaluate arguments, concepts, and theories in terms of consistency, plausibility, and desirability; develop persuasive interpretations and arguments through textual analysis; present and defend ideas and arguments clearly in writing and discussion.

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In this course, students will gain familiarity with some of the major questions and theoretical frameworks in the American Politics subfield of political science and learn how to think theoretically and empirically about politics.

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The course provides a broad overview of the comparative politics subfield by focusing on important substantive questions about the world today.  Particular attention will be paid to understanding differences between democracies and autocracies, on one hand, and between different forms of democracy, on the other.  What influences whether countries become and/or stay democratic?  On this basis, should we expect China to democratize?  Why do we care if a country is democratic or not?  Do democracies perform better (or worse) than non-democracies in policy areas of importance?  What is “good representation” and how do political institutions affect the prospects for achieving it?  How does the choice of democratic institutions influence the prospects for stable and successful democracy?  Are there particular institutional forms that are appropriate in particular contexts (such as ethnically divided Iraq), or do cultural factors overwhelm institutional considerations? 

In addressing these broad questions, the course has three ancillary goals.  The first is to teach students how to pose and evaluate falsifiable theoretical arguments about substantive questions of interest.  The second is to introduce the quantitative, formal and qualitative methodologies that political scientists use to develop and evaluate arguments.  Finally, the course will require students to develop knowledge of the political systems of a number of foreign countries.

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Why do countries go to war? What conditions foster international cooperation? How do alliances between countries function? How are countries affected by global trade and investment, and in turn how does the political economy of individual countries shape international conflict and cooperation? How do ideas and culture (including both positive ideas like human rights and negative ideas like racism) affect international politics? What role do individuals and groups play in shaping international politics? What explains the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic? Why isn’t there significant cooperation on climate change, and can a new global cooperation emerge? What issues have garnered international attention, and how has that shaped the countries’ cooperation? What causes terrorism? Is the proliferation of nuclear (or cyber) weapons a threat to peace, and if so, how should the world response? Does UN peacekeeping work?

In this course we will begin to grapple with these questions. We will use theories developed by philosophers, political scientists and policy analysts, and we will examine the historical roots of today’s problems, in order to explain and predict the patterns of international politics and the possibilities for change. Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to choose and develop their own theories to explain events.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the semester, students will accomplish the following:

• Demonstrate broad factual and causal knowledge of important current and historical issues in international relations.
• Apply contending theories from the political science literature and the policy world to analyze, compare, and evaluate events and trends in international relations.
• Assess the value of competing theories in explaining events.
• Synthesize facts and arguments across cases in order to reason critically and argue creatively, through both oral discussions in section and written essays.

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This course is a study of the development of American political ideas, through critical analysis of the

writings of intellectuals and political leaders from the American Founding to the present. As our central

theme, we will focus on the traditions of American Political Thought (APT) as simultaneously theorizing

freedom and liberty on the one hand, and intense, often violent forms of domination on the other,

especially domination on the basis of race. Consequently, we will devote time to both classic readings in

APT (the Founders, Tocqueville, Lincoln, etc.) and to multiple strands of US political thinking that

challenge the dominant narratives of APT. In analyzing the competing traditions of equality and

inequality in theory, we will also explore the connections between this theory and practices of equality

and inequality.

The origin and development of the contemporary roles of the President as a decision maker and the
importance of the presidency in the American Political System. Studies examining the selection process
and the relationship between presidents and other decision- making actors, such as the Congress,
interest groups, the courts and the bureaucracy, will be used to inform the students to help critically
analyze both continuity and changes in the influence of the office.
This course examines the American presidency from both an academic and applied perspective. The
executive branch of government has changed more than the others, especially over the past century.
As America has moved from a legislative centered government to an executive centered one, it
becomes important to understand the intricacies of presidents and of the presidency. This course
examines the individuals who have held this office and stand as the head of state and government,
along with the institutional structure of the executive branch that consists of departments, agencies,
offices that employ over two million people. The course covers the complexities and struggles
administrations have in navigating internal politics, along with public expectations and approval,
influencing relations with Congress and the courts, and navigating global politics around security and
economic interests.

Feminism is often recognized as a political movement. But is there a feminist way of thinking about politics? In this course, we’ll investigate the core premises, provocations, proposals, and tensions of feminism as they relate to specifically political problems, focusing particularly on feminist political thought as it developed in the twentieth century. Who is the subject of feminist politics? What is the meaning of “difference,” and how can—or should—feminists seek to organize across it? What are appropriate topics for politics, and what should remain private? Is the family a space for politics? The household? The body? How much of the personal can, and should, be made political? Are there feminist ways of doing politics? We will consider these questions with reference to texts from both feminist activists and feminist scholars.

Since Gandhi’s experiments in mass satyagraha over a century ago, nonviolence has become a staple of protest politics across the globe.  From the Occupy movements to the Arab Spring to Movement for Black Lives, it might even be entering a new phase of revitalization.  At the same time, what exactly nonviolence is and what it can accomplish in politics is very much under debate.   This course aims to understand the politics of nonviolence by examining the political ideas and political careers of its most well-known twentieth-century advocates, M.K. Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.  

Though still venerated as founding figures of nonviolent protest, Gandhi and King have come to be remembered in ways that can misconstrue how they understood and practiced nonviolent politics.  To many, Gandhi is a saintly idealist, who wanted to imbue politics with the spirit of ahimsa, truth, and conscience.   Likewise, King is taken to be a spokesman for interracial brotherhood and Christian love.  While partly true, these images also downplay the political side of their nonviolence – the techniques of organizing and strategies of protest that made their movements successful. 

We will examine the evolution of Gandhi’s and King’s political thinking in relation to the movements they led – the Indian independence movement and the civil rights movement in the US.  We will consider how the theory and practice of nonviolence evolved and changed as it moved from one context to another.  We will be especially focused on understanding the dynamics of nonviolent protest.  

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3112.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3112.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3112.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3112.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3112.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3112.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3112.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3112.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3112.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3112.

Nature and politics have often been counterposed in political thought: politics is understood to be a distinctly human activity, perhaps even the defining human activity, while nature describes the material world as it operates independently from human action; politics concerns the realm of decisions about how things will and ought to be, while nature names that which simply is and cannot be changed. What, then, does it mean to think about the politics of nature? We will begin by examining the ways that political thinkers have understood nature in general before moving into specifically ecological thought and ending with reflections on the central challenge of nature and politics today: climate change. Themes addressed include the role of science in politics, the challenges of politics on a global or planetary scale, the political and moral status of nonhuman nature, and the relationship between nature and economics.

How do ordinary people come together to enact social change in society? Focusing on the United States, this course explores how everyday people engage in collective action from the ground up, through social movements, community organizing, and other forms of advocacy and activisms. In particular, we will consider the role of grassroots movements and organizations as agents of democratic representation and catalysts for political transformation for marginalized communities. We will engage key questions about why groups choose to make political demands outside of formal institutional spaces, what kinds of visions for social change they put forward, how they seek to achieve their ideals, and how successful they are. The course will focus on contemporary activisms around racial justice, immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ rights, feminism, and labor.

Examination of human rights within the context of international migration. The course covers topics such as citizenship, state sovereignty, border control, asylum-seekers, refugees, and undocumented immigrants. (Cross-listed by the Human Rights Program.) 

A major challenge for governments across the Western Hemisphere is the complex relationship between illicit drugs, violence, and politics. We can see this relationship operating at multiple levels, from everyday politics in gang-controlled neighborhoods to the global arenas where governments debate and craft international drug policy. These links also reach back in history to global wars of empire and colonial rule, race relations during and following the collapse of the institution of slavery, and contemporary drug wars being waged across the Western Hemisphere and other parts of the world. Today, the dynamics and consequences of the politics of illicit drugs touch all our lives in different ways, including individual and family struggles with substance abuse, everyday encounters with militarized police, and the strains on democracy and citizenship, among many others. This course will examine some of these dynamics and consequences with a theoretical and empirical focus mainly on Latin America and the United States. Throughout our time together we will connect these pressing issues to broader theories, concepts and empirical findings in political science. The course is divided into several individual modules (denoted below with the headings A – G) under three overarching themes for this semester:

1. Politics of Drugs in a Historical Perspective: The first theme is a broad historical overview of the political origins of illicit drugs and the global drug regime. Some of the main questions we will tackle are: When and why did states label drugs as illicit?  How did domestic and global politics come together to shape the global drug regime and the “war on drugs?” What role did race and gender play in the early social construction of illicit drugs?

2. Illicit Drugs, Politics and Governance: The second theme focuses on contemporary linkages between illicit drugs, violence, and politics. Here we will examine the conditions under which illicit drug markets are either violent or (relatively) peaceful. We will tackle questions like: Do states always seek to dismantle drug markets? What is the relationship between illicit drugs and electoral politics? What role do illicit drugs play in governance by armed non-state actors?  Are states and criminal actors involved in the drug trade always at “war” with each other? 

3. Democracy, Citizenship, and the War on Drugs: The third and final theme centers on the political consequences of the war on drugs for questions of democracy and citizenship in the Western Hemisphere. Some of the questions that will help us make sense of these consequences are:  How does the war on drugs impact democracy and citizenship? What is the political economy of imprisonment? And in what ways do imprisonment and police-citizen interactions – stemming from the war on drugs – shape individual and collective political behavior and political subjectivity?

Discussion Section for POLS-UN3565 Drugs and Politics in the Americas

Discussion Section for POLS-UN3565 Drugs and Politics in the Americas

Discussion Section for POLS-UN3565 Drugs and Politics in the Americas

How does what happens inside a country affect what it does in the international arena? In this course we examine how domestic politics influence international behavior. This of course includes regime type--do democracies behave differently from autocracies, whether in initiating conflict or willingness to cooperate? How might democratic backsliding affect a country's foreign policy, including its alliances? How does regime type affect the capacity to fight and win wars? We will also examine the impact of group interests, the electoral cycle, and bureaucratic dynamics, as well as bargaining--national leaders face a two-level bargaining game while dealing with other states as well as domestic actors. In both discussion and writing assignments you will apply theoretical insights to international politics today as well as to selected historical cases.

Why does war happen, given its huge costs for either side? Why do groups of people systematically kill other groups of people? What do we need to know to prevent war if possible, and prepare for it when necessary? Are wars the purposeful, rational pursuit of policy, the result of miscalculation and misperception, or the result of seemingly inexorably forces over which there is little control? Why are wars sometimes avoided in situations that seem likely to breed conflict? In this course we critically examine the major theoretical approaches to these questions. You will select one or more wars and write a research paper addressing an important theoretical question through your analysis of your cases.

This course explores the origins and dynamics of ethnic conflict through the lens of several different theoretical approaches. How and where does ethnic conflict emerge and why does it endure? Is it greed or grievance, identity or interest? Why do some cases of ethnic tension and racial hatred boil over into bloodshed and carnage, while other conflict situations simmer well below the level of violence? Why are some inter-group conflicts so explosive and intractable while others yield to compromise and resolution? How is ethnic conflict influenced by factors such as religious nationalism, regime type, economic inequality, demographic shifts, and climate change? Leveraging a range of theoretical frameworks, students will engage with historical case studies and grapple with contemporary issues to understand the causes and conditions involved in conflict emergence, continuation, and resolution.

Over the past thousand years, modern capitalism has expanded from its European starting point to the entire world. Modern economic activity started with a commercial revolution in the late Middle Ages, concentrated in European city states like Venice and Genoa. From the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, European colonialism spread this commercial revolution around the globe. The Industrial Revolution in northwestern Europe led to unprecedented and sustained economic growth, which allowed European nations to dominate the rest of the world economically, politically, and militarily, with mixed results for the rest of the world. Over the past hundred years, global capitalism has continued to present countries, and the people in them, with enormous opportunities, crushing constraints, and major political dilemmas. 

The course is an introductory overview of the economics and politics of international economic activity in historical and theoretical perspective. 

Over the past thousand years, modern capitalism has expanded from its European starting point to the entire world. Modern economic activity started with a commercial revolution in the late Middle Ages, concentrated in European city states like Venice and Genoa. From the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, European colonialism spread this commercial revolution around the globe. The Industrial Revolution in northwestern Europe led to unprecedented and sustained economic growth, which allowed European nations to dominate the rest of the world economically, politically, and militarily, with mixed results for the rest of the world. Over the past hundred years, global capitalism has continued to present countries, and the people in them, with enormous opportunities, crushing constraints, and major political dilemmas. 

The course is an introductory overview of the economics and politics of international economic activity in historical and theoretical perspective. 

Over the past thousand years, modern capitalism has expanded from its European starting point to the entire world. Modern economic activity started with a commercial revolution in the late Middle Ages, concentrated in European city states like Venice and Genoa. From the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, European colonialism spread this commercial revolution around the globe. The Industrial Revolution in northwestern Europe led to unprecedented and sustained economic growth, which allowed European nations to dominate the rest of the world economically, politically, and militarily, with mixed results for the rest of the world. Over the past hundred years, global capitalism has continued to present countries, and the people in them, with enormous opportunities, crushing constraints, and major political dilemmas. 

The course is an introductory overview of the economics and politics of international economic activity in historical and theoretical perspective. 

Over the past thousand years, modern capitalism has expanded from its European starting point to the entire world. Modern economic activity started with a commercial revolution in the late Middle Ages, concentrated in European city states like Venice and Genoa. From the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, European colonialism spread this commercial revolution around the globe. The Industrial Revolution in northwestern Europe led to unprecedented and sustained economic growth, which allowed European nations to dominate the rest of the world economically, politically, and militarily, with mixed results for the rest of the world. Over the past hundred years, global capitalism has continued to present countries, and the people in them, with enormous opportunities, crushing constraints, and major political dilemmas. 

The course is an introductory overview of the economics and politics of international economic activity in historical and theoretical perspective. 

Over the past thousand years, modern capitalism has expanded from its European starting point to the entire world. Modern economic activity started with a commercial revolution in the late Middle Ages, concentrated in European city states like Venice and Genoa. From the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, European colonialism spread this commercial revolution around the globe. The Industrial Revolution in northwestern Europe led to unprecedented and sustained economic growth, which allowed European nations to dominate the rest of the world economically, politically, and militarily, with mixed results for the rest of the world. Over the past hundred years, global capitalism has continued to present countries, and the people in them, with enormous opportunities, crushing constraints, and major political dilemmas. 

The course is an introductory overview of the economics and politics of international economic activity in historical and theoretical perspective. 

Over the past thousand years, modern capitalism has expanded from its European starting point to the entire world. Modern economic activity started with a commercial revolution in the late Middle Ages, concentrated in European city states like Venice and Genoa. From the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, European colonialism spread this commercial revolution around the globe. The Industrial Revolution in northwestern Europe led to unprecedented and sustained economic growth, which allowed European nations to dominate the rest of the world economically, politically, and militarily, with mixed results for the rest of the world. Over the past hundred years, global capitalism has continued to present countries, and the people in them, with enormous opportunities, crushing constraints, and major political dilemmas. 

The course is an introductory overview of the economics and politics of international economic activity in historical and theoretical perspective. 

Over the past thousand years, modern capitalism has expanded from its European starting point to the entire world. Modern economic activity started with a commercial revolution in the late Middle Ages, concentrated in European city states like Venice and Genoa. From the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, European colonialism spread this commercial revolution around the globe. The Industrial Revolution in northwestern Europe led to unprecedented and sustained economic growth, which allowed European nations to dominate the rest of the world economically, politically, and militarily, with mixed results for the rest of the world. Over the past hundred years, global capitalism has continued to present countries, and the people in them, with enormous opportunities, crushing constraints, and major political dilemmas. 

The course is an introductory overview of the economics and politics of international economic activity in historical and theoretical perspective. 

Over the past thousand years, modern capitalism has expanded from its European starting point to the entire world. Modern economic activity started with a commercial revolution in the late Middle Ages, concentrated in European city states like Venice and Genoa. From the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, European colonialism spread this commercial revolution around the globe. The Industrial Revolution in northwestern Europe led to unprecedented and sustained economic growth, which allowed European nations to dominate the rest of the world economically, politically, and militarily, with mixed results for the rest of the world. Over the past hundred years, global capitalism has continued to present countries, and the people in them, with enormous opportunities, crushing constraints, and major political dilemmas. 

The course is an introductory overview of the economics and politics of international economic activity in historical and theoretical perspective. 

Over the past thousand years, modern capitalism has expanded from its European starting point to the entire world. Modern economic activity started with a commercial revolution in the late Middle Ages, concentrated in European city states like Venice and Genoa. From the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, European colonialism spread this commercial revolution around the globe. The Industrial Revolution in northwestern Europe led to unprecedented and sustained economic growth, which allowed European nations to dominate the rest of the world economically, politically, and militarily, with mixed results for the rest of the world. Over the past hundred years, global capitalism has continued to present countries, and the people in them, with enormous opportunities, crushing constraints, and major political dilemmas. 

The course is an introductory overview of the economics and politics of international economic activity in historical and theoretical perspective. 

Race has served as an enduring organizing principle of American politics. This course will
survey how race shapes politics and how politics shapes race in the United States. In the first of
the semester, we focus on the political processes and institutions that “make” race and
interrogate what we mean exactly when we say race is socially constructed. In the second half of
the semester, we turn to looking at how racialized groups engage in politics on multiple fronts,
paying particular attention to electoral politics and social movements. Throughout the course,
we grapple with both the challenges to and possibilities of diversity and racial justice in the
contemporary America. Topics include but are not limited to political representation, voting,
intersectionality, citizenship, immigration, community activisms, and solidarity.

This class aims to introduce students to the logic of social scientific inquiry and research design. Although it is a course in political science, our emphasis will be on the science part rather than the political part — we’ll be reading about interesting substantive topics, but only insofar as they can teach us something about ways we can do systematic research. This class will introduce students to a medley of different methods to conduct social scientific research.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3720.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3720.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3720.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3720.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3720.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3720.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3720.

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3720.

Seminar in Political Theory. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, and the instructors 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. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. 

Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, and the instructors 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. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. 

Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Seminar in International Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Seminar in International Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Seminar in International Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Seminar in International Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Seminar in International Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Seminar in International Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Seminar in International Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

Prerequisites: Contemporary Civilization or a comparable introduction to political theory course. This course examines ancient political thought from its origins in the archaic Greek poleis through the development of classical Greek political philosophy and the transmission and adaptation of Greek political ideas in the Hellenistic, Roman, and early Christian traditions. Our texts will include major ancient works of political theory by Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero as well as works of poetry, drama, history, and ethical and natural philosophy that offer insight into ancient thought on politics. We will approach these texts not only as reflections on the ancient democratic, oligarchic, monarchical, and republican political systems they address, but also as foundations for modern political discourse that still prompt us to consider the questions they raise—questions about the ideal form of government in theory, and the best form in practice; about the nature of law and justice, and the relationship between law and custom, science, or religion; about the rule of law, and the rights and obligations of an individual citizen living in a participatory state; and about the reach of empire, and the implications when a self-governing people attempts to direct the affairs of non-citizens or of other states.

This upper-level undergraduate comparative politics course applies the basic concepts of comparative political science to the political system of Ukraine. The course provides an in-depth examination of the political system, institutions, and social dynamics of Ukraine. Students will explore the historical, cultural, and geopolitical factors shaping Ukrainian politics, as well as key issues such as democratization, corruption, foreign policy, and the ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The course will also analyze the role of Ukraine in the broader context of European politics and its relationship with Russia. The assigned readings cover theories of voting, the party system development, political protests, transitions to democracy, the choice of political institutions, among other topics. Some of these topics are familiar from the Introduction to Comparative Politics course and other political science courses. In this class, students reexamine these theories in the specific context of Ukrainian politics. They also examine historical development of contemporary Ukrainian institutions and their effects on current policy decisions.

The main goal of this course is to help students develop theoretical tools for understanding political events and challenges of Ukraine. While this course covers some recent history of Ukraine, it also uses Ukraine as an example of the broader, more general issues that come along with democratization reforms. To accomplish this goal, the course draws on readings from comparative political science, economics, and sociology to introduce students to the major debates on economic and political reforms.

This course aims to teach students what, if any, answers social scientists have to the questions that concern anyone with an interest in African politics: 1) Why have democratic governments flourished in some countries and not others? 2) What institutions may enable Africans to hold their leaders accountable? 3) How do people participate in politics? 4) In what ways do aspiring African political leaders build public support? 5) To what extent does persistent poverty on the continent have political causes? and 6) Why is violence used to resolve some political disputes and not others?

This course presents basic mathematical and statistical concepts that are essential for formal and quantitative analysis in political science research. It prepares students for the graduate-level sequence on formal models and quantitative political methodology offered in the department. The first half of the course will cover basic mathematics, such as calculus and linear algebra. The second half of the course will focus on probability theory and statistics. We will rigorously cover the topics that are directly relevant to formal and quantitative analysis in political science such that students can build both intuitions and technical skills. There is no prerequisite since this course is ordinarily taken by Ph.D. students in their first semester. The course is aimed for both students with little exposure to mathematics and those who have taken some courses but wish to gain a more solid foundation.

NOTE: This course does not satisfy the Political Science Major/Concentration research methods requirement. 

This is the required discussion section for POLS GU4700.

This course examines the basic methods of data analysis and statistics, through multivariate regression analysis, 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.

This is the required discussion section for POLS GU4710.

This is the required discussion section for POLS GU4710.

The digital revolution has created previously unimaginable opportunities to learn about political behavior and institutions. It has also created new challenges for analyzing the massive amounts of data that are now easily accessible. Open source software has reduced barriers and inequities in coding, but it also requires different kinds of effort to employ optimally the latest innovations. Harnessing the power of political data is more critical than ever, given the threats that misinformation and alternative “facts” present to democratic forms of government.

This course will teach students both essential tools and general strategies of data science within the domain of politics. Whether students’ goals are to analyze political behavior for academic or professional purposes, successful analysis requires skills for handling a wide array of issues that stand in the way of creating knowledge and insights from data.

This course prioritizes breadth over depth in the sense that we will introduce a broad range of topics relevant for data science to develop basic skills and form a foundation that students can build on. More complete mastery of these skills will require additional engagement beyond this course.

Fitting and understanding linear regression and generalized linear models, simulation, causal inference, and the basics of design of quantitative studies. Computation in R. Textbook: Regression and Other Stories by Gelman, Hill, and Vehtari.

This is the required discussion section for POLS GU4720.

This is the required discussion section for POLS GU4720.

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. Special attention will be devoted to field experiments, or randomized trials conducted in real-world settings.
 

Prerequisites: Students should have taken at least one or two semesters of statistics. Some understanding of probability, hypothesis testing, and regression are assumed. Familiarity with statistical software such as R is helpful. We will be working with data in class throughout the term. The examples used in the textbook and lectures are written in R, and R tutorials will be taught in special sessions early in the term.

This is the required discussion section for POLS GU4724.

This is the required discussion section for POLS GU4724.

In the first half of the course, students will learn a variety of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) models, ranging from regularized regression to random forest, deep learning, and foundation models. In the second half, students will learn how to use such ML and AI methods for the social sciences, e.g., how to use LLMs for text analyses, and how to use flexible ML models for causal inference. Students will collaborate to present discussion papers throughout the semester. The main goal of this course is to help students write a final paper that applies advanced ML and AI methods to social science questions. This course builds on the materials covered in POLS 4700, 4720, 4722, or their equivalent courses (i.e., probability, statistics, linear regression, logistic regression, causal inference with observational and experimental data, and knowledge of statistical computing environment R).

In the first half of the course, students will learn a variety of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) models, ranging from regularized regression to random forest, deep learning, and foundation models. In the second half, students will learn how to use such ML and AI methods for the social sciences, e.g., how to use LLMs for text analyses, and how to use flexible ML models for causal inference. Students will collaborate to present discussion papers throughout the semester. The main goal of this course is to help students write a final paper that applies advanced ML and AI methods to social science questions. This course builds on the materials covered in POLS 4700, 4720, 4722, or their equivalent courses (i.e., probability, statistics, linear regression, logistic regression, causal inference with observational and experimental data, and knowledge of statistical computing environment R).

In the first half of the course, students will learn a variety of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) models, ranging from regularized regression to random forest, deep learning, and foundation models. In the second half, students will learn how to use such ML and AI methods for the social sciences, e.g., how to use LLMs for text analyses, and how to use flexible ML models for causal inference. Students will collaborate to present discussion papers throughout the semester. The main goal of this course is to help students write a final paper that applies advanced ML and AI methods to social science questions. This course builds on the materials covered in POLS 4700, 4720, 4722, or their equivalent courses (i.e., probability, statistics, linear regression, logistic regression, causal inference with observational and experimental data, and knowledge of statistical computing environment R).

The course focuses on the nexus between energy and security as it reveals in the policies and interaction of leading energy producers and consumers. Topics include: Hydrocarbons and search for stability and security in the Persian Gulf, Caspian basin, Eurasia, Africa and Latin America; Russia as a global energy player; Analysis of the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on energy markets, global security, and the future of the energy transition; Role of natural gas in the world energy balance and European energy security; Transformation of the global energy governance structure; Role and evolution of the OPEC; Introduction into energy economics; Dynamics and fundamentals of the global energy markets; IOCs vs NOCs; Resource nationalism, cartels, sanctions and embargoes; Asia's growing energy needs and its geo-economic and strategic implications; Nuclear energy and challenges to non-proliferation regime; Alternative and renewable sources of energy; Climate change as one of the central challenges of the 21st century; Analysis of the policies, technologies, financial systems and markets needed to achieve climate goals. Climate change and attempts of environmental regulation; Decarbonization trends, international carbon regimes and search for optimal models of sustainable development. Special focus on implications of the shale revolution and technological innovations on U.S. energy security.

This course explores key frameworks and issue areas within international political economy. It examines the history and key characteristics of (economic) globalization, the theories of international cooperation, as well as the nature and role of international organizations (such as the World Trade Organization) in fostering trade and international economic cooperation. Furthermore, the course discusses the pros and cons of globalization and its implications on domestic policies of nation-states, with a particular focus on the tensions globalization creates and the lines of cleavages between winners and losers from globalization. Finally, the course reflects on the future of globalization and international trade and the challenges faced by national and supranational policy makers.

This is the required discussion section for POLS GU4865.

This is the required discussion section for POLS GU4865.

This is the required discussion section for POLS GU4865.

This is the required discussion section for POLS GU4865.

Prerequisites: the instructors permission prior to registration. A survey of selected issues and debates in political theory. Areas of the field discussed include normative political philosophy, history of political thought, and the design of political and social institutions.

This is the first course in the two-semester sequence surveying covering foundational research in comparative politics across the developed and developing world. The course is designed for Ph.D. students preparing for comprehensive exams and who intend to conduct research relating to comparative politics, and has two core objectives. The first objective is to expose students to a range of arguments organized around questions motivating major research agendas in comparative politics. The second objective is to expose students to processes of theorizing, hypothesis formation, and testing and to strengthen students’ analytical skills in evaluating and critiquing political science research. It should go without saying that these two classes cannot exhaustively cover the many important works, topics, and methodologies in the field.

The Fall semester of this sequence will primarily focus on citizen-level and politician-level behaviors, while the Spring semester will focus on more macro-level institutions and applications of the building blocks covered in this course. However, it is not necessary to take the classes in a particular order.

This colloquium will study democracy in its most representative contemporary interpretations and its challenges in comparative theoretical perspective. Starting with democracy’s procedures and institutions (the “rules of the game”) the colloquium will examine their main interpretations and most recent variations; it will end with a discussion of plebiscitary leadership, populism and lottocracy. The aim of the colloquium is to give students of political theory and political science some basic theoretical tools for analyzing, understanding and evaluating contemporary mutations in democratic visions and practices in several western countries. 

Concern about the retreat of democracy, democratic recession and/or democratic backsliding are proliferating in the political theoretical and comparative politics literature. While domestic and external threats to democracy and reverse waves are not new, there is widespread agreement that today even long-consolidated, wealthy democracies are now at risk and that new dynamics of de-democratization are at play. This course will involve an in-depth study of the political theory and comparative politics literature on the relevant concepts and dynamics: transition, democratization, de-democratization, democratic backsliding, hybridization, “post-democracy” and the assumptions undergirding them. We will discuss the various concepts of democracy and regime used or presupposed in the relevant literature and assess how these have evolved. The purpose of the first part of the course is to rethink the basic concepts and theories regarding democracy breakdown, transitions to democracy, democratic consolidation, backsliding and hybridization of democratic regimes and to clarify the conceptual and political issues regarding thresholds, cycles, and the like. The last third of the course will focus on cycles of democratization, de-democratization and re-democratization in the case of the U.S.: the oldest representative constitutional democracy and the one most typically taken as the exemplar of a consolidated democratic regime. 

POLS GR8228 is designed as a graduate-level introduction to the study of political communication. As an introduction to the field, it is structured to cover a wide range of topics and methodological approaches. No single course can provide comprehensive coverage of a fascinating subfield with as long and diverse a history as political communication. As such, this seminar will focus on relatively recent work. Students will leave this course with a strong grasp of major theories, trends, methods, findings and debates in this area of study, as well as the gaps in our knowledge and promising directions for future research.

Over the past thousand years, modern capitalism has expanded from its European starting point to the entire world. Modern economic activity started with a commercial revolution in the late Middle Ages, concentrated in European city states like Venice and Genoa. From the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, European colonialism spread this commercial revolution around the globe. The Industrial Revolution in northwestern Europe led to unprecedented and sustained economic growth, which allowed European nations to dominate the rest of the world economically, politically, and militarily, with mixed results for the rest of the world. Over the past hundred years, global capitalism has continued to present countries, and the people in them, with enormous opportunities, crushing constraints, and major political dilemmas. 

The course is an introductory overview of the economics and politics of international economic activity in historical and theoretical perspective. 

This course explores the causes, dynamics and outcomes of civil wars and insurgencies. It addresses when and why violence is employed in place of peaceful solutions to conflict and what accounts for individual and mass recruitment into armed organizations. It aims to understand variation in warring groups’ cohesion, repertoires of violence, and relations with civilians, state counterinsurgency methods, and the political economy of conflict. The course concludes by examining war duration and termination. Students will be pushed to grapple with research written in many traditions including philosophical, statistical, game theoretic, and qualitative materials.