Spring semester, odd years. This course focuses on the role played by international organizations in world politics. Most attention is given to international governmental organizations, such as the United Nations, the European Community, and other regional organizations. Non-governmental organizations from multinational corporations to the International Red Cross are discussed as well. The course investigates the extent to which all of these organizations contribute to the development of a peaceful and just world community of nations.
Students do a term project as well as smaller papers on the readings.
Students will develop a term project on a foreign policy issue of their choice, as well as discuss the central dilemmas and assumptions about U.S. foreign policy in the present and near future. The purpose is to help students clarify their own substantive views on the major foreign policy issues for our time. The course, therefore, has a substantive focus more than a focus on how foreign policy is made. This advanced course in comparative politics addresses various current topics and theoretical issues in the comparative field. Topics are examined in a broad comparative framework and explored through discussion and criticism in a seminar format.