This course introduces the graduate student to the central theories, scholars and questions examined at the advanced level in international relations. In doing so, we will address the behavior of states and international organizations, theories of war, modes of foreign policy decision making and various other approaches and questions posed in the study of international relations. The course is designed to provide the M.A. student with a foundation for further study in international relations, and to provide a foundation of IR scholarship for the M.A. comprehensive exam. Rather than focusing on the development of any particular policy area, we examine the development of institutional structures that craft, propose and implement policy. The first section of the course examines comparative electoral systems.
Electoral systems have an impact on the party system and the durability of government.
Therefore, the electoral system has an indirect influence on the development of policy. The second section of the course examines some of the basic institutional designs of the executive. Over the last ten years, a vast literature has developed examining the impact of institutional design on democratization in developing regions such as Africa, Latin American and the former Soviet Union and on policy-making in industrialized countries such as Japan and the United States. We will discuss the structure, responsibilities and functioning of a presidential, semi-presidential and parliamentary form of government. We will analyze the debate surrounding the efficacy of parliamentary, semi-presidential and presidential systems of government.