* PLSC 0202a, American Constitutionalism: Power and its Limits  Gordon Silverstein

What happens when a modern superpower tries to govern itself under an 18th Century Constitution? Using original documents, contemporaneous books, and U.S. Supreme Court cases, this course explores the debates that have defined America's struggle to live up to its sometimes conflicting commitments to liberty, equality and the consent of the governed. Enrollment limited to first-year students.  SO
TTh 2:30pm-3:45pm

* PLSC 0223a / ENGL 0711a, Lincoln in Thought and Action  David Bromwich

An intensive examination of the career, political thought, and speeches of Abraham Lincoln in their historical context. Enrollment limited to first-year students.   WR, HU
MW 1pm-2:15pm

* PLSC 0243a / HIST 0125 / HUMS 035 / HUMS 0350a, The American Death Penalty  Lincoln Caplan

This first-year seminar focuses on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 44-year experiment in regulating the American death penalty. The aims of the course are to have students learn about the workings and history of the system of capital punishment in the U.S, which is one of the most controversial elements of American criminal justice, and decide whether, in their view, the experiment is succeeding or failing—why and how. For students interested in the criminal justice system. Enrollment limited to first-year students.   SO
TTh 1pm-2:15pm

* PLSC 306a / CLCV 3340a / HUMS 1770a / PLSC 3369a, Tragedy and Politics  Daniel Schillinger

The canonical Greek tragedians—Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides—dramatize fundamental and discomfiting questions that are often sidelined by the philosophical tradition. In this seminar, we read plays about death, war, revenge, madness, impossible choices, calamitous errors, and the destruction of whole peoples. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were also piercing observers of political life. No less than Plato and Aristotle, the Attic tragedians write to elicit reflection on the basic patterns of politics: democracy and tyranny, war and peace, the family and the city, the rule of law and violence. Finally, we also approach Greek tragedy through its reception. Aristophanes, Plato, Aristotle, and Nietzsche: all these thinkers responded to tragedy. Texts include Aeschylus, Oresteia; Aristophanes, Frogs and Lysistrata; Euripides, Bacchae, Heracles, and Trojan Women; Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy; Plato, Symposium; and Sophocles, Antigone, Philoctetes, and Oedipus Tyrannus. Previous work in political theory, classics, or philosophy is recommended.   HU
M 3:30pm-5:20pm

PLSC 1222a, Introduction to American Politics  Staff

Introduction to American national government. The Constitution, American political culture, civil rights, Congress, the executive, political parties, public opinion, interest groups, the media, social movements, and the policy-making process.  SO  0 Course cr
HTBA

PLSC 1327a, Introduction to Political Philosophy  Staff

Fundamental issues in contemporary politics investigated through reflection on classic texts in the history of political thought. Emphasis on topics linked to modern constitutional democracies, including executive power, representation, and political parties. Readings from Plato, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Madison and Hamilton, Lincoln, and Tocqueville, in addition to recent articles on contemporary issues.  SO  0 Course cr
HTBA

PLSC 1413a, Comparative Politics: States, Regimes, and Conflict  Staff

Introduction to the study of politics and political life in the world outside the United States. State formation and nationalism, the causes and consequences of democracy, the functioning of authoritarian regimes, social movements and collective action, and violence.  SO  0 Course cr
HTBA

PLSC 2103b / PHIL 1180b, Ethics and International Affairs  Thomas Pogge

Moral reflection taken beyond state boundaries. Traditional questions about state conduct and international relations as well as more recent questions about intergovernmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and the design of global institutional arrangements.  HU
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

PLSC 2105a / GLBL 2203a, Globalization and Domestic Politics  Staff

This course offers students a general introduction to the political consequences of economic globalization (e.g., the rise of populist parties). We identify the winners and losers of tariff policy, foreign aid, and monetary policy (e.g., a strong/weak dollar), and examine how domestic institutions—such as lobbying and electoral systems—reinforce the advantages enjoyed by globalization’s winners, while also creating opportunities for losers to advocate for policy reversal.  0 Course cr
HTBA

PLSC 2111a, International Security  Noam Reich

This course provides an overview of the study of international security in the modern era. This course has five parts. First, we begin by using the rational-choice approach to study why wars happen, how states can avoid them, and how they end. Second, there is a historical overview of major power wars. Third, we study the politics of interstate war. Fourth, we study civil wars and counterinsurgency. Finally, we study international security with a look towards the future.  SO
TTh 9am-10:15am

PLSC 2127a / GLBL 2283a, Technology and War  Staff

The course explores the international security implications of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, cyberweapons, hypersonic missiles, and so-called killer robots. The first half of the course offers a deep dive into the transformative military and civilian technologies of the 20th century, examining how doctrine and culture shaped the development, acquisition, and deployment of key systems like submarines, bomber aircraft, and nuclear bombs, and how these technologies, in turn, shaped international security. In the second half of the course, we apply the lessons of the past to make theoretically guided predictions.  What norms will guide the use of new technologies, and what weapons should or should not be developed? Are arms races inevitable? What might improve the prospects for arms control of emerging technologies?  SO  0 Course cr
HTBA

PLSC 2139a, Politics and Regimes of the Contemporary Middle East  Elizabeth Parker-Magyar

Why do some autocratic governments spend decades in power while others collapse overnight? When do regime transitions lead to democratic outcomes? This course examines these questions through the lens of the 2010-11 uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa. After the initial optimism of the uprisings forced a reexamination of decades of scholarship, trajectories of regime retrenchment, conflict, and violence led to renewed interest in long-running debates on the persistence of non-democratic regimes in the region. First, looking beyond the region, this course considers debates on how to categorize political regimes and engages with theories of autocratic persistence around the globe. Moving back to the region, we trace the trajectories of different countries before and after 2010-2011. We then engage with how scholars situated the uprising within long-running debates on how historical and colonial legacies; cultural, ethnic, and religious practices and divides; contemporary patterns of foreign intervention; repression and coercion; economic resources; and contentious politics influence contemporary political outcomes in the region.  SO
TTh 9am-10:15am

PLSC 2140a, Immigration  Staff

This course provides an introduction to the politics of immigration focusing mostly on the challenges of integrating migrants in “host” countries, but also exploring causes of immigration as well as open questions in current immigration policy debates. We define “immigrants” and “migrants” to include people who travel across borders to resettle in other countries temporarily or permanently regardless of motive–so our definition includes both economic migrants and refugees and asylum seekers. In considering barriers to immigrant integration and ways to overcome those barriers, the course connects with theoretical perspectives across the social sciences, as well as real-life examples and experiences of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers as well as with the perspectives of “native” populations who must confront the challenges of accommodating migrant inflows in their countries. The course synthesizes knowledge across the fields of political science, economics, and sociology and exposes students to an inter-disciplinary perspective on immigration politics. Students are exposed to methods used to study immigration-related topics in cutting-edge research.    SO  0 Course cr
HTBA

PLSC 2253a / WGSS 2204a, Women, Politics, and Policy  Staff

This course is an introduction to the way gender structures how we interpret the political world, exploring topics such as women's access to power, descriptive and substantive representation, evaluation of the functioning of political institutions, and analysis of government policy It also serves as an introduction to reading and producing empirical research on gender in the social sciences.   SO  0 Course cr
HTBA

PLSC 2255a, Special Interest Politics in the US  Mellissa Meisels

This class examines how citizens and groups participate in US politics and policymaking via campaign contributions and lobbying. From elections all the way to bureaucratic policy implementation, special interests have many opportunities to attempt to pull policy closer to their preferences. Students become familiar with the regulatory environments structuring current laws regarding the revolving door and campaign finance (e.g. Citizens United), potential avenues of participation for special interests (e.g. political donations, independent expenditures, lobbying), the goals and preferences of different types of special interests (e.g. individual donors, ideological and issue groups, public interest and identity groups, corporations, local governments), groups' organizational structures (e.g. PACs, Super PACs, "dark money" groups), and current evidence on widely-discussed reforms meant to curb the political influence of special interests.  SO
MW 2:30pm-3:45pm

PLSC 2322b / WGSS 2207b, Gender, Justice, Power, Institutions  Jiya Pandya

Welcome to Gender, Justice, Power & Institutions, a mouthful of abstractions that we work together to comprehend and critique throughout the semester. An aspiration of this course, as political as it is pedagogic, is that students approach their world-building projects with an enriched understanding of the ways gender, justice, and power shape and are shaped by institutions, inequality, and theory. Part I opens up some preliminary considerations of our course terms by investigating the case of abortion, abortion rights, and reproductive justice.  The topic is politically loaded, philosophically complex, and emotionally challenging; the point is not to convince you of the permissibility or impermissibility of abortion, but to explore how the contested case configures, imbricates, and puts pressure on our course terms. In Part II, we examine the historical and conceptual coordinates of the courses first three titular terms: is gender a subjective identification, social ascription, or axis of inequality? Is justice a matter of redistribution, recognition, resources, capabilities, or something more hedonic? Where is power located, or where does it circulate? Who are what leverages power? In Part III, we consider ways gender, justice, and power travel within and across several institutions: heterosexuality, the university, the trafficking/anti-trafficking industrial complex, the prison, and the bathroom. Part IV closes out the course by focusing on the reconfiguration of democratic institutions in late modernity; or, can institutions "love us back" under the the political economy we shorthand as "neoliberalism"?   SO  0 Course cr
HTBA

PLSC 2351a, Socialist Political Ideas  Staff

This course explores the history of socialist political thought by focusing on how socialist thinkers addressed the problem of political organization and how they viewed democracy and its institutions. The course looks at Utopian socialism, the problem of political organization in 1848, Proudhon’s arguments for anarchism, the economic and political thought of Karl Marx, controversies over the role of parliaments, political parties and the masses in the Second International, Lenin’s theory of political action, Luxemburg’s debate about imperialism and the mass strike and Gramsci’s interpretation of culture. The course is structured around key primary texts, which are accompanied by secondary readings and suggestions for books and movies. None, but throughout the course, we will be referring to key historical events, which have shaped the course of socialist theorising. I will circulate a list of useful resources to help gather information about these historical moments, as well as some background readings to help students situate the thinkers in their biographical and historical context.  SO  0 Course cr
HTBA

PLSC 2363a / AFAM 1952a / SOCY 2002a, Topics in Contemporary Social Theory  Philip Gorski

In-depth introduction to recent developments in social theory, with particular emphasis on the last twenty years. Focus on three distinct areas of study: the building blocks and contrasting understandings of human persons and social action; the competing theories of the social structure of markets, institutions, cultures, social fields, and actor-networks; and the theoretical controversies concerning nations, states and empires, ethnic and racial identity, and the relation between facts and values in social research. Authors include Judith Butler, Michel Foucault, Jurgen Habermas, Pierre Bourdieu and Bruno Latour. SOCY 151 or equivalent is strongly recommended.  WR, SO  0 Course cr
MW 9am-10:15am

PLSC 2417a / AFAM 1986a / LAST 1214a / SOCY 1704a, Contesting Injustice  Staff

Exploration of why, when, and how people organize collectively to challenge political, social, and economic injustice. Cross-national comparison of the extent, causes, and consequences of inequality. Analysis of mobilizations for social justice in both U.S. and international settings. Intended primarily for first years and sophomores.  SO  0 Course cr
HTBA

PLSC 2427a / AFST 3381a / GLBL 2427a, Government and Politics in Africa  Staff

The establishment and use of political power in selected countries of tropical Africa. The political role of ethnic and class cleavages, military coups, and the relation between politics and economic development.  SO  0 Course cr
HTBA

PLSC 2430a / LAST 1200a, Introduction to Latin American Politics  Staff

Introduction to major theories of political and economic change in Latin America, and to the political and economic systems of particular countries. Questions include why the continent has been prone to unstable democratic rule, why countries in the region have adopted alternatively state-centered and market-centered economic models, and, with the most recent wave of democratization, what the remaining obstacles might be to attaining high-quality democracy.  SO  0 Course cr
HTBA

PLSC 2434a, Law & Political Development  Egor Lazarev

This lecture course investigates the role of law in political development, in how political authority is constructed and contested. The central focus of the course is the political roles of legal actors – judges, prosecutors, and lawyers. The course covers state formation, the role of law in empires and colonialism, the functioning of law under authoritarian regimes and during and in the aftermath of violent political conflicts, during the transition to democracy, and in the programs of transitional justice. We analyze the role of law in the legitimation of authority, contestations for political power, and political resistance. We ask, why do some countries end up with strong and independent judiciaries while others don’t? Why did some countries implement radical and comprehensive transitional justice prosecutions, while other countries chose to forget about the atrocities of the past? The class explores whether significant social and political change can be achieved through the courts. Finally, we delve into the challenges of implementing reforms in the legal field.  SO  0 Course cr
TTh 4pm-5:15pm

* PLSC 2509a / EP&E 328 / EP&E 4328a / S&DS 1720a, YData: Data Science for Political Campaigns  Joshua Kalla

Political campaigns have become increasingly data driven. Data science is used to inform where campaigns compete, which messages they use, how they deliver them, and among which voters. In this course, we explore how data science is being used to design winning campaigns. Students gain an understanding of what data is available to campaigns, how campaigns use this data to identify supporters, and the use of experiments in campaigns. This course provides students with an introduction to political campaigns, an introduction to data science tools necessary for studying politics, and opportunities to practice the data science skills presented in S&DS 123, YData.
   QR
W 1:30pm-3:20pm

PLSC 2600a / EP&E 295 / EP&E 4295a, Game Theory and Political Science  Staff

Introduction to game theory—a method by which strategic interactions among individuals and groups in society are mathematically modeled—and its applications to political science. Concepts employed by game theorists, such as Nash equilibrium, subgame perfect equilibrium, and perfect Bayesian equilibrium. Problems of cooperation, time-consistency, signaling, and reputation formation. Political applications include candidate competition, policy making, political bargaining, and international conflict. No prerequisites other than high school algebra. Political Science majors who take this course may not count ECON 159 toward the major.  QR, SO  0 Course cr
HTBA

* PLSC 2846a / AMST 2246a / ENGL 2826a, The Media and Democracy  Joanne Lipman

In an era of "fake news," when the media is under attack, misinformation is at epidemic levels, and new technologies are transforming the way we consume news, how do journalists hold power to account? What is the media’s role in promoting and protecting democracy? Students explore topics including objectivity versus advocacy, and hate speech versus First Amendment speech protections. Case studies span from 19th century Yellow Journalism to the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements, to the rise of AI journalism and social media “news influencers.”  SO
T 3:30pm-5:20pm

* PLSC 3104a / GLBL 3358a, The Geopolitics of Peace in Ukraine  Lauren Young

This seminar examines the war in Ukraine with a geopolitical lens focusing on its broader implications for both regional security and democracy. The outbreak of war in Ukraine in February 2022 quickly became a flashpoint in the region. Over two years later, the stakes are high and tensions are rising among transatlantic allies supporting Ukraine, both with arms and sanctions. This course evaluates the historical roots of the war and the fallout from a potential failure to effectively deter an authoritarian state from invading a sovereign neighbor. Our course of study includes the role of international stakeholders and multi-lateral institutions in the conflict, regional political and security dynamics and economic consequences. The humanitarian aspects of the war and its impact on civilian populations, human rights violations and the role of the media in shaping perceptions of the conflict is analyzed. Ultimately, what are the responsibilities of the international community in mitigating the human cost of conflict and the broader economic and policy implications? The aim of this course is both a comprehensive understanding of the conflict and its role in changing and shaping both security and democracy in region and further afield.  WR, SO
T 3:30pm-5:20pm

* PLSC 3107a / MMES 1121a, International Relations of the Middle East  Katherine Ingram

In this course, students develop the tools needed to understand contemporary international relations between the states of the Middle East and North Africa. The course focuses on two fundamental aspects of politics: historical context and strategic incentives. Most weeks focus on major events in a specific country or subregion, developing a historical background for that area and for how those events shaped the region more broadly. We also discuss broader topics that affect the region as a whole, including sectarianism, oil wealth, violent non-state actors, and extraregional powers.  SO
W 9:25am-11:15am

* PLSC 3108a / GLBL 226 / SAST 3450a, National Security in India in the Twenty-first Century  Sushant Singh

This course examines the state and dynamics of national security in India in the past two decades. As an emergent power, India is an important country in Asia, with its economic and geo-political strength noticed globally. A major share of the country’s heft comes from its national security paradigm which has undergone a significant shift in the twenty-first century. This course intends to take a holistic look at the conceptions for the basis of India's national security, its evolution, the current challenges and its future course by exploring its various dimensions such as China, Pakistan, global powers, Indian Ocean region, Kashmir, nuclear weapons, civil-military relations and defense preparedness.  SO
T 9:25am-11:15am

* PLSC 3118a, Political Economy of Foreign Aid  P Aronow

Introduction to modern quantitative research methods in international political economy, with a focus on empirical evidence related to foreign aid. The state of knowledge regarding the effects of development assistance on democratization, governance, human rights, and conflict. The challenges of drawing causal inferences in the domain of international political economy.  SO
Th 7pm-8:50pm

* PLSC 3125a / GLBL 3344a / HIST 3783a, Studies in Grand Strategy II  Michael Brenes

The study of grand strategy, of how individuals and groups can accomplish large ends with limited means. During the fall term, students put into action the ideas studied in the spring term by applying concepts of grand strategy to present day issues. Admission is by application only; the cycle for the current year is closed. This course does not fulfill the history seminar requirement, but may count toward geographical distributional credit within the History major for any region studied, upon application to the director of undergraduate studies. Prerequisite: PLSC 321. Previous study courses in political science, history, global affairs, or subjects with broad interdisciplinary relevance encouraged.  SO  0 Course cr
M 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3133b / EAST 4520b, Chinese Thinking on International Relations  Feng Zhang

How have the Chinese thought about international relations and their country’s role in the world? How has such thinking influenced China’s foreign relations past and present? This advanced seminar canvasses Chinese thinking on international relations from the imperial epoch to the present, focusing on the post-1949 era of the People’s Republic of China. It is structured around three core engagements: the historical background of Chinese thinking; policy thinking of the successive PRC leaderships; and new strands of thinking at present. It examines both the evolutionary process of thinking and a body of prominent ideas and doctrines. Throughout the course, students have the opportunity to place China’s foreign policy in a broader and deeper intellectual context than is often the case.  SO
HTBA

* PLSC 3134a / EAST 4521a, China’s International Relations  Feng Zhang

This course examines China’s international relations with a focus on both historical context and contemporary developments. Beginning with imperial China’s traditional foreign relations and the “century of humiliation,” the course traces the evolution of Chinese foreign policy through the Cold War period to the present day. Students analyze China’s relationships with major powers and regions, including the United States, Russia, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and India, while exploring critical issues such as the Taiwan question, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and China’s growing role in global governance. Special attention is paid to understanding the drivers of China’s recent assertive turn in foreign policy under Xi Jinping, theories of international relations as applied to China's rise, and the implications of China’s increasing power for the international order. Through engagement with scholarly works and contemporary policy debates, the course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of China’s foreign relations and its emergence as a global power.  SO
T 3:30pm-5:20pm

* PLSC 3135a, American Foreign Policy  Staff

How does the United States make decisions in how it interacts with other states and actors in the international system? What is a foreign policy and who makes it? How do interests and different groups, institutions, and organizations inform policy decisions? What constitutes an effective foreign policy? This seminar focuses on these questions through examining the sources of U.S. foreign policy and the process of crafting and implementing policy. We analyze and evaluate the sources and execution of key foreign policy decisions in historic and contemporary case studies from the end of the Second World War to the present. Key topics of interest focus on decisions to use military force, employment of economic tools of statecraft, the role of human rights and values, managing great power competition, and U.S. relations with the Global South. By the end of the course, students should have an in-depth understanding of what has guided major American foreign policy decisions and be equipped to think about what factors will inform future policy decisions. Because this seminar seeks to bridge theory and practice, students should be comfortable with applying theoretical insights to structure analysis of major decisions and articulating policy recommendations grounded in theory and empirical evidence.  SO
W 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3211a / HIST 167, Congress in the Light of History  David Mayhew

This reading and discussion class offers an overview of U.S. congressional history and politics from 1789 through today, including separation-of-powers relations with the executive branch. Topics include elections, polarization, supermajority processes, legislative productivity, and classic showdowns with the presidency.  Emphasized is Congress's participation in a sequence of policymaking enterprises that have taken place from the launch of the nation through recent budget difficulties and handling of climate change. Undergrads in political science and history are the course's typical students, but anyone is welcome to apply.   SO
W 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3217a / EP&E 4390a / EVST 3212a, Democracy and Sustainability  Michael Fotos

Democracy, liberty, and the sustainable use of natural resources. Concepts include institutional analysis, democratic consent, property rights, market failure, and common pool resources. Topics of policy substance are related to human use of the environment and to U.S. and global political institutions.  WR, SO
Th 9:25am-11:15am

* PLSC 3220a / EVST 3255a, Environmental Law and Politics  John Wargo

We explore relations among environmental quality, health, and law. We consider global-scale avoidable challenges such as: environmentally related human illness, climate instability, water depletion and contamination, food and agriculture, air pollution, energy, packaging, culinary globalization, and biodiversity loss. We evaluate the effectiveness of laws and regulations intended to reduce or prevent environmental and health damages. Additional laws considered include rights of secrecy, property, speech, worker protection, and freedom from discrimination. Comparisons among the US and  EU legal standards and precautionary policies will also be examined.  Ethical concerns of justice, equity, and transparency are prominent themes.   SO
T 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3221a / EP&E 4306a, First Amendment and Ethics of Law  Karen Goodrow

This course addresses the First Amendment and freedom of speech, focusing on the ethical implications of restrictions on free speech, as well as the exercise of free speech. Course topics and discussions include the “fighting words” doctrine, hate speech, true threats, content regulated speech, freedom of speech and the internet, and the so-called “right to be forgotten.” By the end of the course, students recognize the role free speech plays in society, including its negative and positive impacts on various segments of society. Students also have an understanding of the competing interests arising from the First Amendment’s right to free speech, and can analyze how these competing interests are weighed and measured in the United States as compared with other countries.  SO
W 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3224a, Cities: Making Public Choices in New Haven  John DeStefano

Examination of cities, particularly the relationship of people to place and most importantly to one another, through the prism and experiences of the City of New Haven. Exploration of how concepts of social capital and legitimacy of institutions in policy design and execution, are key to the well being of community residents. How cities, in the context of retreating or antagonistic strategies by the state and  federal governments, can be key platforms for future economic and social wealth creation.  SO
W 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3233a / EDST 2238a / EDST 238, The Politics of Public Education  Staff

Examination of the deep political divides, past and present, over public education in the United States. Fundamental questions, including who gets to determine where and how children are educated, who should pay for public education, and the role of education as a counter for poverty, remain politically contested. The course explores these conflicts from a variety of political perspectives. Students learn journalistic methods, including narrative, opinion and digital storytelling, developing the necessary skills to participate in the national conversation around education policy and politics.  WR, SO
T 9:25am-11:15am

* PLSC 3238a / AMST 4469a / EP&E 4396a, American Progressivism and Its Critics  Stephen Skowronek

The progressive reform tradition in American politics. The tradition's conceptual underpinnings, social supports, practical manifestations in policy and in new governmental arrangements, and conservative critics. Emphasis on the origins of progressivism in the early decades of the twentieth century, with attention to latter-day manifestations and to changes in the progressive impulse over time.  SO
M 3:30pm-5:20pm

* PLSC 3251a / EDST 2232a, US Federal Education Policy  Eleanor Schiff

Though education policy is typically viewed as a state and local issue, the federal government has taken a significant role in shaping policy since the end of World War II. The centralization of education policy has corresponded with changing views in society for what constitutes an equitable educational opportunity. This class is divided into three topics: 1) the federal role in education broadly (K-12) and the accountability movement in K-12: from the No Child Left Behind Act to the Common Core State Standards (and cross-national comparisons to US schools), 2) federal role in higher education, and 3) the education industry (teachers unions and think tanks). EDST 1110 recommended.  SO
T 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3254a, Strategy Across Sectors: Business, Nonprofit, and Government  Chad Losee

How do leaders guide organizations toward success in a world of finite resources, competing interests, and constant change? This course explores the fundamental principles of strategy in business, nonprofits, and government, examining how organizations set objectives, allocate their unique assets, and navigate both market and non-market forces. Using the case method, we analyze real-world strategic dilemmas, considering not only economic competition but also the broader political, regulatory, and societal factors that shape strategic choices. For the final paper, you’ll apply these concepts to Yale itself, evaluating an aspect of the university’s current strategic position and recommending how it can thrive in an evolving higher education landscape. 
M 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3301a, Advanced Topics in Modern Political Philosophy  Giulia Oskian

This seminar explores key concepts in modern political philosophy. This term our thematic focus is on the relation between civil society and state institutions, as it has been conceptualized by political philosophy. Prerequisite: substantial course work in intellectual history and/or political theory. Appropriate for graduate students preparing for the political theory field exam.  HU, SO
W 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3313a / HIST 3292a / HUMS 2790a, Democracy and the French Revolution  Isaac Nakhimovsky

The French Revolution of 1789 and its legacies, as viewed through the late-eighteenth-century debates about democracy, equality, representative government, and historical change that shaped an enduring agenda for historical and political thought in Europe and around the world.  WR, HU
W 9:25am-11:15am

* PLSC 3324a / PHIL 4464a, Justice, Taxes, and Global Financial Integrity  Thomas Pogge

Study of the formulation, interpretation, and enforcement of national and international tax rules from the perspective of national and global economic justice. Prerequisites: previous courses in one or two of the following: law, economics, political science, or political philosophy.  HU
T 3:30pm-5:20pm

* PLSC 3339a / EP&E 4246a, Participatory Democracy  Amir Fairdosi

What does democracy look like without elections? In this class, we discuss the theory and practice of “participatory” forms of democracy (i.e. those that allow and encourage citizens to influence policy directly, rather than indirectly through elected representatives).  SO
T 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3345a, Radical Classics  Mordechai Levy-Eichel

This course dives into the political, intellectual, and social thought and criticism of the late 19th and early 20th century Anglo-American world. Questions posed will include: what is culture? What is religion? What is work? What is leisure? What should one read? How does learn to do good? What is fulfillment? What is happiness, and what is health (and what if the two are not the same)? What does it mean to be divided? And how should one even pose these questions in the first place? Readings include Matthew Arnold, W. E. B. DuBois, William James, and Thorstein Veblen.   SO
M 10:30am-12:20pm

* PLSC 3346b / EP&E 4235b / PHIL 4457b, Recent Work on Justice  Thomas Pogge

In-depth study of one contemporary book, author, or debate in political philosophy, political theory, or normative economics. Focus varies from year to year based on student interest and may include a ground-breaking new book, the life's work of a prominent author, or an important theme in contemporary political thought.  HU
W 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3356a, The Politics of Expertise  Federico Brandmayr

Few societies have been as reliant on experts as our own. As societies grow more complex and technology advances, so does the need for experts who have undergone years of specialized training. Ordinary citizens, firms, state bureaucracies, courts, and legislators constantly rely on experts to guide them in their decisions. However, this reliance is far from seamless. Opportunities to become a successful expert are uneven and often depend on circumstances beyond individual control. Specialists must counter public skepticism and compete with rival groups to establish their authority. Decision-makers are inundated with claims of expertise, making it challenging to discern between valid and dubious advice. Experts can exacerbate issues, fail catastrophically, or neglect public concerns to serve their own interests. Moreover, the increasingly specialized knowledge possessed by experts can seem esoteric and detached from everyday life, leading laypeople to view them with suspicion. For these reasons and others, the very notion of expertise has become highly politicized in recent years. Our society seems to be more and more divided between those who think that experts are indispensable to solve our problems, and those who see them as the root of our troubles. The course adopts an interdisciplinary perspective to explore these issues, drawing from both classical and modern research in sociology, political science, psychology, and philosophy.  SO
TTh 2:30pm-3:45pm

* PLSC 3369a / CLCV 3340a / HUMS 1770a / PLSC 306a, Tragedy and Politics  Daniel Schillinger

The canonical Greek tragedians—Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides—dramatize fundamental and discomfiting questions that are often sidelined by the philosophical tradition. In this seminar, we read plays about death, war, revenge, madness, impossible choices, calamitous errors, and the destruction of whole peoples. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were also piercing observers of political life. No less than Plato and Aristotle, the Attic tragedians write to elicit reflection on the basic patterns of politics: democracy and tyranny, war and peace, the family and the city, the rule of law and violence. Finally, we also approach Greek tragedy through its reception. Aristophanes, Plato, Aristotle, and Nietzsche: all these thinkers responded to tragedy. Texts include Aeschylus, Oresteia; Aristophanes, Frogs and Lysistrata; Euripides, Bacchae, Heracles, and Trojan Women; Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy; Plato, Symposium; and Sophocles, Antigone, Philoctetes, and Oedipus Tyrannus. Previous work in political theory, classics, or philosophy is recommended.   HU
M 3:30pm-5:20pm

* PLSC 3371a / HUMS 3371a / PHIL 3371a, Machiavelli and Machiavellianism  Steven Smith

It is generally agreed that modern political science begins with Machiavelli, but what that means remains a subject of considerable dispute.  What were Machiavelli’s accomplishments?  Was he a political realist who taught us to seek for “the effectual truth” of things?  Was he an advisor to princes or, at the very least, powerful executives who taught the importance of acting by “oneself alone”?  Was he a populist who sought to reanimate a taste for Roman-style republicanism?  Or did he seek to bring about a new kind of expansive territorial state fuelled by war and the desire for empire?  Machiavelli’s influence has been widespread throughout the modern world.  But just because his writings have been used and misused for a range of causes does not mean that we cannot discover an intelligible and coherent core to his work. We read Machiavelli’s two most important works of political theory–the Prince and the Discourses on Livy. The latter is read along with the Roman historian Titus Livy who was Machiavelli’s major source for his theories of political conflict, leadership, and liberty. We then consider his influence on some selected nineteenth and twentieth-century political theorists who have appropriated him as the central figure of modernity. Throughout the course we are attentive to the interpretive and methodological issues at stake in the recovery of the thought of this great Florentine political thinker.   SO
T 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3372a / EDST 1372a / HUMS 3372a, Idolizing Education  Mordechai Levy-Eichel

What is learning? What is education? And why is it so easy to ask, yet so damn hard to answer these questions? Is there something wrong with these queries, with the assumptions we have about them—and what assumptions are those, anyways? This course will be an examination of the history, sociology, politics, and philosophy of education, as well as a critical examination of the scholarly study of education. Although there has probably never been more research into learning and schools, our presuppositions about what education should be have, in fact, narrowed and hardened. This course aims both to break and to refresh them. Examples will range chronologically from ancient to modern times, and will be taken from a broad range of traditions and institutions. Particular attention will be paid to the origins and growth of the research university, and the costs and benefits involved in the modern institutionalization of learning. We will focus on—in the words of a noted, but now neglected Yale psychologist (Seymour Sarason)—how education has, especially in modern western societies like ours, become both “scapegoat and salvation.”
Th 10:30am-12:20pm

* PLSC 3410a, Comparative Constitutionalism and Legal Institutions  Steven Calabresi

Introduction to the field of comparative constitutional law. Constitutional texts, materials, and cases drawn primarily from those constitutional democracies that are also members of the Group of Twenty Nations and that respect judicial independence.  SO
M 9:25am-11:15am

* PLSC 3411a / EDST 1282a, Comparative International Education  Mira Debs

Around the world, education is one of the central institutions of society, developing the next generation of citizens, workers and individuals. How do countries balance these competing priorities? In which ways do countries converge on policies, or develop novel approaches to education? Through the course, students learn the a) impact of colonialism on contemporary education systems, b) the competing tensions of the demands of citizen and worker and c) how a variety of educational policies are impacted around the world and their impact on diverse populations of students. EDST 1110 recommended.  WR, SO
T 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3418a, Democratic Backsliding  Milan Svolik

This class examines the process of democratic backsliding, including its causes, and consequences. Our analysis builds on prominent contemporary and historical cases of democratic backsliding, especially Hungary, India, Poland, Russia, and Venezuela. Implications for democratic stability in the United States is considered.  SO
T 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3439a / AFST 3385a / EP&E 4350a / HIST 2391a / HIST 3344a, Pandemics in Africa: From the Spanish Influenza to Covid-19  Jonny Steinberg

The overarching aim of the course is to understand the unfolding Covid-19 pandemic in Africa in the context of a century of pandemics, their political and administrative management, the responses of ordinary people, and the lasting changes they wrought. The first eight meetings examine some of the best social science-literature on 20th-century African pandemics before Covid-19. From the Spanish Influenza to cholera to AIDS, to the misdiagnosis of yaws as syphilis, and tuberculosis as hereditary, the social-science literature can be assembled to ask a host of vital questions in political theory: on the limits of coercion, on the connection between political power and scientific expertise, between pandemic disease and political legitimacy, and pervasively, across all modern African epidemics, between infection and the politics of race. The remaining four meetings look at Covid-19. We chronicle the evolving responses of policymakers, scholars, religious leaders, opposition figures, and, to the extent that we can, ordinary people. The idea is to assemble sufficient information to facilitate a real-time study of thinking and deciding in times of radical uncertainty and to examine, too, the consequences of decisions on the course of events. There are of course so many moving parts: health systems, international political economy, finance, policing, and more. We also bring guests into the classroom, among them frontline actors in the current pandemic as well as veterans of previous pandemics well placed to share provisional comparative thinking. This last dimension is especially emphasized: the current period, studied in the light of a century of epidemic disease, affording us the opportunity to see path dependencies and novelties, the old and the new.  SO
W 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3456a / GLBL 4405a, Self-Determination, Secession & Accommodation  Maria Jose Hierro

This seminar offers specialized instruction on self-determination and secession, combining insights from scholarly research with in-depth case study analysis to explore the complexity of contemporary secessionist conflicts. We focus on two key multinational states: Spain—an advanced Western democracy—examined through Catalonia’s independence movement, and India—an influential Global South country—through the case of Tamil Nadu. The course also engages with other high-profile cases, such as Greenland, Somaliland, and Republika Srpska, paying particular attention to the role and strategic interests of the United States in shaping international responses and influencing the trajectory of these conflicts. Students should have taken at least one Comparative Politics and/or International Relations introductory course.   SO
T 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3457a / AFST 4406a / GLBL 3363a, Sexual Violence and War  Elisabeth Wood

Analysis of patterns of sexual violence in war. Assessment of how well scholars in various disciplines and policy analysts account for these patterns.  SO
T 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3462a / EP&E 4250a, The European Union  David Cameron

Origins and development of the European Community and Union over the past fifty years; ways in which the often-conflicting ambitions of its member states have shaped the EU; relations between member states and the EU's supranational institutions and politics; and economic, political, and geopolitical challenges.  SO
Th 3:30pm-5:20pm

* PLSC 3464a / HIST 3768a / JDST 3451a / RLST 3240a, The Global Right: From the French Revolution to the American Insurrection  Elli Stern

This seminar explores the history of right-wing political thought from the late eighteenth century to the present, with an emphasis on the role played by religious and pagan traditions. This course seeks to answer the question, what constitutes the right? What are the central philosophical, religious, and pagan, principles of those groups associated with this designation? How have the core ideas of the right changed over time? We do this by examining primary tracts written by theologians, political philosophers, and social theorists as well as secondary literature written by scholars interrogating movements associated with the right in America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Though touching on specific national political parties, institutions, and think tanks, its focus is on mapping the intellectual overlap and differences between various right-wing ideologies. While the course is limited to the modern period, it adopts a global perspective to better understand the full scope of right-wing politics.  HU, SO
M 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 3502a, Design-Based Inference for the Social Sciences  P Aronow

Introduction to design-based statistical approaches to survey sampling and causal inference. Design and analysis of complex survey samples and randomized experiments, including model-assisted approaches. Discussion of recent advances in this paradigm, including inference in network settings. Prerequisite: Probability theory at the level of S&DS 241, PLSC 500 or ECON 135.  QR, SO
Th 4pm-5:50pm

PLSC 3508a or b / CPSC 1230a or b / S&DS 1230a or b / S&DS 5230a or b, YData: An Introduction to Data Science  Staff

Computational, programming, and statistical skills are no longer optional in our increasingly data-driven world; these skills are essential for opening doors to manifold research and career opportunities. This course aims to dramatically enhance knowledge and capabilities in fundamental ideas and skills in data science, especially computational and programming skills along with inferential thinking. YData is an introduction to Data Science that emphasizes the development of these skills while providing opportunities for hands-on experience and practice. YData is accessible to students with little or no background in computing, programming, or statistics, but is also engaging for more technically oriented students through extensive use of examples and hands-on data analysis. Python 3, a popular and widely used computing language, is the language used in this course. The computing materials will be hosted on a special purpose web server.  QR
HTBA

* PLSC 3511a / SOCY 3203a, AI for Social Science Methods  Daniel Karell

Social scientists have begun integrating AI technology into the designs and methods of their research projects. How are they doing so? What are the current standards and best practices? This course uses a seminar format to review, discuss, and critique how AI technologies are currently being incorporated into social science research activities. Students read recently published articles and widely discussed unpublished papers, and, through class discussion, identify the promises and pitfalls of using AI to conduct social science research. Students also learn how to justify and explain the use of AI in their own research projects.  Prerequisite: The required methods courses in Sociology or Political Science.  SO
Th 1:30pm-3:20pm

* PLSC 4203a, Political Preferences and American Political Behavior  Joshua Kalla

Introduction to research methods and topics in American political behavior. Focus on decision making from the perspective of ordinary citizens. Topics include utility theory, heuristics and biases, political participation, retrospective voting, the consequences of political ignorance, the effects of campaigns, and the ability of voters to hold politicians accountable for their actions.  SO
W 3:30pm-5:20pm

* PLSC 4507a, Applied Quantitative Research Design  Shiro Kuriwaki

Research designs are strategies to obtain empirical answers to theoretical questions. This class trains students with the best practices for implementing and communicating rigorous quantitative social science research. We cover econometrics techniques of causal inference, prediction, and missing data. These include fixed effects, time series, instrumental variables, survey weighting, and shrinkage. This is a hands-on, application-oriented class. Students will practice programming, statistics, and data visualizations used in exemplary quantitative social science articles. Formal section enrollment is not required but highly encouraged. Prerequisite: Any statistics or data science course that teaches ordinary least squares regression and p-values, such as S&DS 230. Some past or concurrent experience with a programming language such as R is also presumed. Ph.D. students in political science can join without prerequisite.  QR, SO  0 Course cr
TTh 10:30am-11:45am

* PLSC 4700a and PLSC 4701a, Individual Reading for Majors  Andrea Aldrich

Special reading courses may be established with individual members of the department. They must satisfy the following conditions: (1) a prospectus describing the nature of the program and the readings to be covered must be approved by both the instructor and the director of undergraduate studies; (2) the student must meet regularly with the instructor for an average of at least two hours per week; (3) the course must include a term essay, several short essays, or a final examination; (4) the topic and/or content must not be substantially encompassed by an existing undergraduate or graduate course. All coursework must be submitted no later than the last day of reading period.
HTBA

* PLSC 4900a, The Senior Colloquium  Maria Jose Hierro

Presentation and discussion of students' research proposals, with particular attention to choice of topic and research design. Each student frames the structure of the essay, chooses research methods, begins the research, and presents and discusses a draft of the introductory section of the essay. Enrollment limited to Political Science majors.
W 9:25am-11:15am

* PLSC 4901a, Yearlong Senior Essay (II)  Andrea Aldrich

Each student writing a yearlong senior essay establishes a regular consultation schedule with a department member who, working from the prospectus prepared for PLSC 4900, advises the student about preparation of the essay and changes to successive drafts. After PLSC 4900. Enrollment limited to Political Science majors writing a yearlong senior essay.
HTBA

* PLSC 4903a, Senior Essay (III) for Intensive Majors  Andrea Aldrich

Each student in the intensive major establishes a regular consultation schedule with a department member who, working from the prospectus prepared for PLSC 4900, advises the student about preparation of the essay and changes to successive drafts, as well as reporting the student's progress until submission of the final essay. Enrollment limited to Political Science intensive majors.
HTBA