-
The University of British Columbia
- a place of mind
- The University of British Columbia
- Department of Political Science
POLI 100 (3) INTRODUCTION TO POLITICS
Section 1– 1st term M W F 10:00-11:00
Section 2 – 1st term M W F 12:00-13:00
Section 3 – 2nd term T R 09:30-11:00
plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Chris Erickson
Required Reading:
Danziger, James, Understanding the Political World, Pearson Longman
Other readings as assigned
Essays and Exams:
-Tutorial participation 15%
-Midterm examination 25%
-Essay 30%
-Final examination 30%
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
Politics surrounds us on a daily basis, whether we are aware of it or not. This course is designed to introduce a range of key concepts and essential tools for the understanding and appreciation of political life.
POLI 100 (3) INTRODUCTION TO POLITICS (Coordinated Arts Program)
Section 227 – 2nd term T R 12:30-14:00
plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Jocelyn Praud
Required Reading: TBA
Essays and Exams:
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
This course introduces students to the concepts needed to understand Western politics and, more specifically, the interactions between society and the state. First, we will examine the ideas and ideologies that influence society, state, and government actors. Next, we will focus on society actors (such as citizens, social movements, interest groups, and political parties) and state and government actors and institutions (such as executives, legislatures, judiciaries, and bureaucracies). Related topics such as democracy, political participation, elections, and constitutions will also be addressed. Lastly, we will consider the impact of globalization on national politics.
POLI 101 (3) THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
Section 1 – 1st term M W F 14:00-15:00
Section 2 – 2nd term M W F 15:00-16:00
Plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Gerald Baier
Required Texts:
Textbooks: Patrick Malcolmson and Richard Myers, The Canadian Regime 4th edition (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, Higher Education, 2009) and a tutorial reading package.
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: None
Course Website: TBA
This course examines the structure and operation of Canada’s political system. Understanding the logic of Canada’s institutions will help students to assume their roles as engaged democratic citizens. Class lectures will focus on the principles underlying Canada’s political system and a detailed explication of its rules and institutions. Current and historical events will be employed to illustrate these principles and concepts. Students can expect a number of short writing assignments, a term paper and a midterm and final examination.
POLI 101 (3) THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
Section 3 – 1st term M W F 14:00-15:00
Plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Paul Kopas
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams:
- Short written assignment(s) 15%
- Participation 10%
- Mid-term test 15%
- Essay 25%
- Final Exam 35%
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: A course WebCT will be established
The course introduces students to the basic principles, structures and practices of Canadian politics and government. The objective is to develop an understanding of the process of (mostly) national politics and of the relationship between the individual and the Canadian state. For students interested in further study of political science, it will provide a solid foundation on which to build . For those interested in a general knowledge of politics, it will reveal a full spectrum of the institutions and processes of politics thus enabling individuals to understand or engage their roles as citizens. Since this is an introductory course, some attention will be given to developing academic skills (such as research and writing) that are relevant across the university.
POLI 101 (3) THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA (Coordinated Arts Program)
Section 099 – 2nd term M W F 11:00-12:00
plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Allan Craigie
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: A course WebCT will be established
The Canadian state presents a unique opportunity to explore politics within one of the world’s oldest constitutional democracies. Canadian politics is not simply about winning elections. Politics in Canada deals with the basic nature of what Canada is, who we are, and the type of society we want to live in. The Government of Canada engages students in the exploration of government structures and political cleavages in Canada. The State, Nationalism and Regionalism, Foreign Affairs, Elections and Political Parties are some of the topics covered. Students will come away with a strong understanding of the Canadian context, as well as broader political themes, to prepare them for more advanced study within political science.
POLI 220 (3) INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS
Section 1 – 1st term T R 14:00-15:30
Plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Antje Ellermann
Required Texts:
- O’Neil: Essentials of Comparative Politics (2010, 3rd ed.)
- O’Neil & Rogowski: Essential Readings in Comparative Politics (2010, 3rd ed.)
- O’Neil, Fields & Share: Cases in Comparative Politics (2010, 3rd ed.)
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
This course introduces students to the field of Comparative Politics.
The course concentrates on five broad themes: comparative analysis, the state, nations and society, political regimes, markets and development. Within these themes, we will examine topics such as the logic of social science, state development, state failure, religious and secular nationalism, ethnic conflict and civil war, democracy and its alternatives, political institutions, political culture, welfare states and inequality, globalization and development. Each theme will be empirically explored through a set of case studies that include both advanced democracies and developing countries.
POLI 220 (3) INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS
Section 2 – 2nd term M W F 12:00 – 13:00
Plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Kuniaki Nemoto
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
The principal aims of this class are: To introduce students to major questions in comparative politics; To acquaint them with theoretical answers to those questions; and To give tools to think critically about those answers.
Comparative politics is a puzzle-solving discipline to approach a set of real-world political questions. What is the state? What is democracy? Why are some countries democracies whereas others are dictatorships? How can we explain democratization? Does a country's political regime have any effects on citizens' welfare? What can citizens do to improve their welfare through political process? How do governments respond to those demands from citizens?
The class will introduce answers to these important real-world questions, by theoretically exploring the issues of democratic and authoritarian regimes, democratic institutions, elections and electoral systems, party systems, and veto players. We will also examine policy consequences and implications of these political institutions.
POLI 240 (3) CURRENTS OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Section 1 – 1st term T R 15:30-17:00
plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Emily Beausoleil
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
One of the biggest contributions of political theory has always been the cultivation of fresh eyes for familiar landscapes of thought and action we so often take for granted. In doing so, a study of political theory heightens our understanding of current society and individual experience and broadens the scope of what we can imagine is possible for each. This course will offer an introduction to some of the major themes, ideas, questions, and pursuits of western political theory over the years, each a fresh eye for its own time and yet ultimately helping to shape the world in which we live. Across a wide range of themes and perspectives, we will map the continual efforts of key thinkers to make sense of the political world and our place in it, whether in terms of a certain definition of truth and rationality, human nature, power, freedom, or democracy and diversity. By examining the worlds of each of these thinkers, we not only come to see traces of each within our own historical moment, but develop our own creative and critical capacity for thought and action within it.
POLI 240 (3) CURRENTS OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Section 2 – 2nd term T R 12:30-14:00
plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Brian Thomas
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
In this course we will critically trace the history of the social contract tradition and determine its importance within political philosophy. The appeal of the social contract lies in its being a device that ties the legitimacy of political arrangements to the agreement of the members of a community. The appeal of the social contract also lies in the ways in which we can understand certain fundamental concepts found within political philosophy including “Political Obligation,” “Equality,” “Justice,” “Liberty,” “Democracy,” and “Liberalism.”
We begin our survey with such enlightenment figures as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean Jacque-Rousseau, culminating with contemporary understandings of the social contract found in John Rawls and Robert Nozick. We will find the social contract used to justify liberal arrangements as diverse as the egalitarian liberalism of John Rawls to the Libertarian liberalism of Robert Nozick. With our remaining time, we will then undergo a brief survey of various critiques of the notion of a social contract and of the tradition paying special attention to Feminist, Marxist, and Race based critiques.
POLI 260 (3) INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Section 1- 1st term M W F 14:00-15:00
plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Scott Fitzsimmons
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
This course will introduce students to a range of theories and issues associated with international politics. Specifically, it will outline several of the major theories that may be used to analyze and understand international politics, including realism, liberalism, marxism, constructivism, and feminism. In addition, this course will critically assess several post-Cold War political issues, such as human rights, the use of military force, international development, and humanitarian intervention. Finally, the course will also introduce several theories that may be used to analyze and understand major foreign policy decisions, such as the decision to go to war.
POLI 260 (3) INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Section 2 – 2nd term M W F 11:00-12:00
plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Allen Sens
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
This course is designed to introduce students to the field of Global Politics (or International Relations). Accordingly, the course will examine international relations theory, decision-making analysis, international security and conflict management, the evolution and future of the international economy, development, the role of institutions and non-state actors, globalization, and the politics of climate change. The course material is oriented toward issues of contemporary and future relevance, and students will be expected to incorporate current issues into their work.
POLI 260 (3) INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Section 3 - 1st term T R 12:30-14:00
plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Arjun Chowdhury
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
Who is going to fight and who is going to trade: these are the central concerns of International Politics. This course will introduce students to these areas of inquiry, namely, the causes of war and peace; and international political economy. We will analyze central concepts in the field, such as anarchy, the balance of power, and the role of international institutions, and study the history behind the development of the international system.
POLI 260 (3) INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Section 227 – 1st term M W F 13:00-14:00 (Coordinated Arts Program)
Section 4 – 2nd term M W F 13:00-14:00
plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Robert Farkasch
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with some of the basic principles of global politics. It is not a course about current events per se though an effort will be made to integrate contemporary events and issues as a way of understanding the world beyond our borders. The lectures and readings will be used to illustrate basic principles that are both historical and contemporary.
POLI 303 (3) FEDERALISM IN CANADA
Section 1 – 1st term M W F 10:00-11:00
Instructor: Allan Craigie
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: POLI 101
Federalism is a form of organizing decision making which constitutionally divides state power between a central government and regional governments. Canada is one of only a handful of federal states in the world today. The Canadian state is a continent-spanning multinational federation whose true nature is a source of great political debate. Building upon students’ knowledge of Canadian politics and the Canadian state, Federalism in Canada will examine the structures, histories and processes of Canadian federalism within a broad theoretical context to gain in-depth understanding of the continually evolving Canadian federal system. The course culminates in a day-long simulated First Ministers’ Conference.
POLI 303 (3) FEDERALISM IN CANADA
Section 2 – 1st term M W 15:30-17:00
Instructor: Gerald Baier
Required Texts:
- Bakvis, Herman, Gerald Baier and Douglas Brown (2009) "Contested Federalism," Oxford University Press
- Bakvis, Herman and Grace Skogstad (2011) "Canadian Federalism" 3rd ed, Oxford University Press
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: POLI 101
The course is designed to introduce students to the idea of federalism and its contemporary Canadian variant. The opening weeks of the course will focus on the theory of federalism and why states choose federalism as a means of political organization. The course will then turn to a more detailed examination of Canadian federalism in the 21st century. The interaction of the federal model with present economic and social policy as well as the accommodation of minorities and First Nations will be considered. The major activity of the course is a day-long simulated First Ministers’ Conference in which class participants will conduct negotiations as representatives of provincial, federal and territorial governments.
POLI 306 (3) LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN CANADA
Section 1 - 1st term M W F 13:00-14:00
Instructor: Paul Kopas
Required Texts: Reading package
Essays and Exams:
-Short written assignments (2) 25%
-Essay 35%
-Final exam 40%
Prerequisite: POLI 101
Course Website: A course WebCT will be established
This course will examine the structure of governing institutions and political processes at the municipal level concentrating on Vancouver and other British Columbia communities, but with reference to experience elsewhere in Canada. It will also explore the relationship with provincial and federal governments and assess the influence of senior governments at the local level. Attention will be given to critiques of local government from political economy, feminist, indigenous and multicultural perspectives.
POLI 307 (3) QUEBEC GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Section 1 – 1st term M W F 15:00-16:00
Instructor: Allan Craigie
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisites: POLI 101
Website: none
Quebec's ongoing struggle to define its place within or outside Canada has thrust the issue of national identity onto the political agenda throughout Canada's history and shaped how Canadians think of themselves and their country. Quebec Government and Politics examines the political dynamics within the province and how they relate to the wider Canadian body politic. The course focuses on the federal-secession axis, party competition within Quebec at the provincial and federal level, the trajectory of Quebecois nationalism, the politics of language, and the role of the Quebec state in the development of Quebec's economy and culture. The course explores how political discourse in Quebec shapes politics not only in Quebec, but within the rest of Canada as well.
POLI 308A (3) TOPICS IN CANADIAN POLITICS – PUBLIC OPINION, POLLING, AND SURVEY RESEARCH
Section 1 – 2nd term M 15:00-17:00
Plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Andrew Owen
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisites: POLI 101
Website: none
This course examines the nature of public opinion in contemporary Canada. The primary focus of this course concerns theoretical claims about factors that influence public opinion and the empirical evidence that supports these claims. We will also discuss how best to conceptualize and measure public opinion and the effects that public opinion has on public policies. By the end of the course students will be able to identify and understand the factors that shape public opinion in Canada and other mature democracies. This course will also help students become more discerning consumers of public opinion data by providing them with the tools needed to critically evaluate claims about public opinion commonly found in media coverage and popular discussions of politics. Much of the reading material for this course involves quantitative analysis of public opinion survey data. Accordingly, students are strongly encouraged to take POLI 380 prior to, or concurrently with, this course.
POLI 309 (3) CANADIAN PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 – 2nd term T R 11:00-12:30
Instructor: Samuel LaSelva
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams:
- Test: 10%
- Major Research Essay: 50%
- Final Exam: 40%
Prerequisite: POLI 101
This course examines key issues in the history, theory and practice of human rights in Canada. The methodological orientation of the course is critical, analytical and philosophical. The main themes of the course include: (A) The Philosophical, Comparative and International Background to Human Rights, (B) Human Rights and the Human Good in the Old and New Canada, (C) Charter Rights and Charter Problems. When appropriate, historical and contemporary Canadian issues are considered in terms of their wider international and comparative contexts.
POLI 316A (3) GLOBAL INDIGENOUS POLITICS
Section 1 – 1st term T R 9:30-11:00
Instructor: Sheryl Lightfoot
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
With the onslaught of European colonialism beginning in the 1400s, Indigenous peoples around the world were subjected to various forms of colonial rule. This course examines this history of colonialism and considers some of the various responses Indigenous peoples have invoked, both on the national and international levels. Its purpose is to situate Indigenous peoples? political struggles in global politics. The first part of the course will examine Indigenous peoples? experience with colonialism in both historical and theoretical perspective. The second part of the course will explore colonialism’s direct and indirect effects on Indigenous peoples and their reactions to it, through the use of regional case studies. In the third part of the course, the international Indigenous peoples? movement, operating both within and outside the United Nations system, will be analyzed. The course culminates in a simulated United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues where students will serve as representatives of either Indigenous NGOs or state governments.
POLI 320A (3) GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Section 1 – 1st term T R 17:00-18:30
Instructor: William Bendix
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
This course is an introduction to the study of U.S. politics and government. It will examine the three main governing institutions of the United States: Congress, the presidency, and the courts. It will also cover a number of important players that affect either political processes or political outcomes in the U.S., including political parties, interest groups, and the news media. Special attention will be paid to the Obama election and the Obama presidency.
POLI 320A (3) GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Section 2 – 2nd term M W F 09:00-10:00
Instructor: Gyung-Ho Jeong
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
This course surveys a variety of topics of contemporary concern in US politics. The topics include political participation, ideology and opinion, parties and elections, interest groups, Congress, the Presidency, the bureaucracy, and the Supreme Court.
*Students may take both POLI 320A and POLI 320B for credit
POLI 320B (3) THE POLITICS OF POLICYMAKING IN THE U.S.
Section 1 – 1st term T R 11:00-12:30
Instructor: Paul Quirk
Required Text: TBA
Essays and Exams:
-Midterm
-Research paper
-Final exam
Prerequisites: none
Why was the US the last developed nation in the world to establish nearly universal health care? Why does it now face a burden of public debt that threatens the country with long-term decline in prosperity and influence? On the other hand, why was the U.S. the wealthiest, most powerful, and often most admired country in the world for most of the past century? And why has it done more than Canada (yes, more!) to address the problem of climate change?
This course analyzes the nature and performance of the policymaking process in US national government. Topics include: the role and effects of institutions (especially Congress, the presidency, and the bureaucracy); the influence of interest groups and public opinion; the political causes of economic inequality; and the nature and influence of policy analysis and expert advice. Policy areas include economic policy, health, environment, “social” issues, and foreign policy. Leading questions: Can US government make intelligent decisions? What explains the distinctive tendencies of US policies on health, crime, and gay rights? What shapes US policies toward Canada?
POLI 321 (3) CHINESE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Section 1 – 2nd term T R 09:30 – 11:00
Instructor: Yves Tiberghien
Required Texts:
1. TWO REQUIRED BOOKS:
• Lieberthal, Kenneth. 2004. Governing China: from Revolution Through Reform. 2d edition. New York: Norton
• Huang, Shu-Min. 1989. The Spiral Road: Change in a Chinese Village through the eyes of a community party leader. Westview Press.
2. ADDITIONAL REQUIRED READINGS available as PDF files from the Class Website. This set is a valuable collection of key articles and book chapters taken from the best books on China. It is something to keep for the long-term as a great reference.
3. EMAILS AND WEBLINKS, as sent by the instructor.
Essays and Exams:
Think Piece 1 (Due Oct 27) 25%
Think Piece 2 (Due Nov 24) 30%
Class Participation or one News Analysis 5%
Final Exam (2 hours, December, set by Registrar’s Office) 40%
Prerequisite: none
This course unravels some of the most fascinating questions of political science through a look at Chinese political processes over the Mao, Deng, and modern periods. The course will start with a historical overview, then analyze the Mao years, before spending more than half on the reform period. A particular focus will be given to the challenges of China’s interactions with globalization.
We begin with a review of China’s long-term trajectory and the particular dilemmas and traumas that China faced at the beginning of the 20th century. We then unpack the pillars of governance put in place under the Mao regime, as well as the tensions that led to the Cultural Revolution. The larger second half of the course focuses on the reform period that began exactly 30 years ago, in the Fall of 1978. We analyze the lessons from the Chinese pathway of gradualism and experimentation in many issue-areas. The course also focuses on the debate over political change, the rising social tensions, the entry of China into globalization, and the growing global impact of Chinese foreign policy.
POLI 322 (3) JAPANESE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Section 1 – 1st term M W F 12:00 – 13:00
Instructor: Kuniaki Nemoto
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
The principal aims of this class are: To offer solid backgrounds about political systems in Japan; To foster an understanding about key political issues in Japan; and To situate Japan in a broad comparative perspective.
Japan is an important and interesting empirical case for comparative politics. It is important, as it is one of the advanced industrial democracies outside Europe and North America, and as it is the second largest economy with its significant economic influence in the world. It is interesting, as it offers many theoretical and empirical puzzles: For example, the same ruling party stayed in office for more than 50 years (with only a minor interruption), although people talk about rampant corruption scandals and intra-party factional struggles. The class will therefore try to address these theoretical and empirical puzzles.
The class will mainly cover the historical development of Japan's political institutions (democratization, party systems, electoral systems, and regime types), main political actors and their interactions with institutions, and the consequences (economic, public, and diplomatic policy) of such interactions.
POLI 322 (3) JAPANESE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Section 2 – 2nd term T R 11:00 – 12:30
Instructor: Yves Tiberghien
Required Texts:
1. TEXT BOOK: Stockwin, J.A. 2008. Governing Japan. Oxford University Press.
2. SET OF ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS – to be downloaded from the class website
3. Emails and Online articles, as sent by the instructor.
Essays and Exams:
Think Piece 1 (Due Oct 27) 25%
Think Piece 2 (Due Nov 24) 30%
Class Participation or one News Analysis 5%
Final Exam (2 hours, December, set by Registrar’s Office) 40%
Prerequisite: none
By any yardstick, Japan is one of the most important countries in the world: second largest economy, first country outside Europe and North America to industrialize, most important US ally in Asia, largest aid donor in the world, largest and most established democracy in East Asia…
Yet, its political system and its decision process are among the most poorly understood in the world. To many outside observers, the lengthy proceedings of the Diet, the sequence of ever-changing Prime Ministers, and the odd policy outputs are just too mysterious to be explained in simple sentences.
Moreover, Japan's historical path over the past 50 years offers a string of deep puzzles. How could a country so thoroughly destroyed by the US in WWII form with its former enemy the most enduring alliance of the modern world? How could the country engineer the most amazing economic miracle for three decades and suddenly be unable to reform itself in the face of a decade-long crisis? How could Japanese voters keep the same ruling party in power even in the face of 10 years of deep crisis? How could a country known for the passivity of its civil society suddenly witness the blooming of NGOs in the fields of environment and women's rights?
The aim of this course is to uncover the mysteries of the Japanese political system and to use the tools and theories of political science to understand its workings and outputs. The course is organized around three main parts. First, we review the key historical foundations and some theoretical lenses that will help us understand Japanese political processes. Second, we review the key debates of Japanese politics during the economic miracle (1950-1985): who has power in the Japanese system, what explains the LDP dominance, what explains the economic miracle? Third, we focus on the key puzzles and debates of the 1990s: the long economic crisis, the rise of civil society, the debates of foreign policy, the see-saw of party politics and the protracted political and administrative reforms.
POLI 323A (3) POLITICS OF INDIA
Section 1 – 2nd term T R 9:30-11:00
Instructor: Anjali Bohlken
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
With its high levels of ethnic and cultural diversity and its record of democratic stability in the context of low levels of economic development, India provides an ideal setting to investigate questions such as: Why does large-scale violence break out in certain parts of the country at certain times and not others? When and why do ethnic groups break out in conflict? When can democracy be successful in a (relatively) poor country? Is corruption and patronage beneficial for democratic stability? Motivated by these questions, this course provides an introduction to the politics of India focusing on the period after independence. The course is divided into two parts. The first part provides an overview of the political, social and economic features that characterize the Indian political system and the historical events that have shaped its development. The second part focuses on integrating this factual knowledge with analytical frameworks to shed light on some key questions and puzzles. The first subpart of the second half of the course focuses on explaining separatist violence and inter-ethnic conflict while the second subpart of the second half of the course attempts to unravel the puzzle of India’s democratic stability.
POLI 324A (3) POLITICS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
Section 1 – 2nd term M W F 11:00-12:00
Instructor: Nathan Allen
Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
Political and economic trajectories of modern Southeast Asian countries vary widely. There has been enduring single-party rule and unstable military regimes, successful revolutions and shocking genocide, economic miracles and economic collapses, encouraging democratic transitions and surprising authoritarian reversions. The goal of the course is to provide an introduction to both the countries of the region and the enduring questions that have captivated the attention of analysts. Countries will be studied in the context of broader themes, including democratization, development, and civil conflict. Students will be expected to keep up with assigned country-level reading to participate in classroom discussion on big questions, such as: Why has been Singapore able to develop? Is Malaysia a democracy? Why did the Khmer Rouge commit genocide? What are the legacies of colonialism in the region?
POLI 327 (3) EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
Section 1 – 1st term T R 12:30-14:00
Instructor: Kurt Hübner
Essays and Exams:
Class Participation 5 %
Short Analysis 1 25 %
Short Analysis 2 30 %
Final Exam 40 %
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
We will analyze the past, present, and future of European integration from various theoretical perspectives. The course will offer explanations about the character of the European Union and its contemporary challenges by reviewing some of the milestones of the European project. Given the economic impetus of European integration, the course will give particular attention to the creation of the Common Market, the launch of the Euro and its international status as a reserve currency as well as the several rounds of enlargement. We will also look carefully at the EU as a global climate policy actor.
POLI 328A (3) THE COMPARATIVE POLITICS OF IMMIGRATION
Section 1 – 2nd term T R 12:30-14:00
Instructor: Antje Ellermann
Required Texts:
Course material available electronically (free of charge)
Essays and Exams:
-Midterm exam 25%
-Research paper 40%
-Final exam 35%
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
This course provides students with the analytical tools to understand the dynamics driving the politics of immigration in advanced democracies, focusing mostly on Canada, the United States, and Western Europe. Part I examines the dynamics driving crossborder migration. Part II investigates the factors that shape the making of immigration policy. In Part III we engage with the normative question of whether liberal democracies should have the right to close their borders. Part IV grapples with the challenge of immigration control. We take a look at how states try to control their borders and what the consequences of these control efforts have been. In Part V we focus our attention on the politics of integration. What is the meaning of citizenship, and how can we explain crossnational variation in naturalization rates? We will examine the economic, social, and cultural integration of immigrants and grapple with the challenges that linguistic and religious diversity poses to host societies.
This course has an optional Community Service Learning (CSL) component which allows a limited number of students to complete a placement in community organizations serving immigrants and refugees.
POLI 328C (3) COMPARATIVE POLITICS: PARTIES AND PARTY SYSTEMS IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE
Section 1 – 1st term M W F 17:00 – 18:00
Instructor: Kuniaki Nemoto
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams:
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
The principal aims of this class are: To introduce students to fundamental concepts about what political parties are and what they do; To foster theoretical knowledge about political institutions and structures that shape parties' behaviors and organizations; and To explore their real-world political consequences in comparative perspectives.
Political parties are the central institutions in modern representative democracies as well as many authoritarian regimes. Parties compete for votes, formulate policy platforms, and exercise executive power. Throughout the class we will investigate a set of questions like: What is the optimal strategy for a party to win votes? How electoral systems and political structures shape such a strategy? What kinds of candidates are recruited for public office, and in which way? Why do parties appeal to voters with some policy platforms and not with others? What would parties in government do in order to stay in office?
The class will address these important real-world questions with comparative perspectives: Parties in presidential vs. parliamentary regimes; Parties in majoritarian vs. proportional systems; Parties in established vs. nascent democracies; and Parties in authoritarian vs. democratic regimes. Therefore the class will deal with several cases in different countries, including but not limited to Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.
POLI 328D (3) COMPARATIVE POLITICS: INVESTIGATING POLITICS
Section 1 – 1st term T R 11:00-12:30
Instructor: Alan Jacobs
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
How do we, as social scientists, learn about how politics works? The challenges of political analysis are legion. Many of the most important political concepts – democracy, good government, fairness – are also the hardest to define and to measure: so how do we characterize the objects of our investigations and make useful observations of them? Human behaviour is notoriously complex, and social interaction is messy: so how do we identify meaningful patterns? Major political outcomes – wars, public policies, electoral results, regime change – may have numerous potential causes: so how do we isolate potential influences, and distinguish among alternative explanations? And how, ultimately, can we make political analysis useful to politicians, policymakers, and citizens? How do we draw practical recommendations from social-scientific findings?
This course aims to introduce students to the logic, challenges, and major strategies of empirical political research. It will address core research tasks including: asking answerable questions, defining concepts, formulating hypotheses, gathering evidence, measuring variables, constructing comparisons, drawing causal inferences, and reporting findings. Students will confront these issues by grappling with three major topics of political investigation: one to be drawn from the realm of public policy (e.g., health care), one from the realm of domestic politics (e.g., the effects of ethnic diversity), and one from the realm of world politics (e.g., the causes of war). The course will prepare students to undertake their own research and research-based writing, while also making them more astute readers of the political science literature. The course will impart and hone skills that will be useful in a wide range of upper-level courses offered in this department.
POLI 329 (3) GENDER AND POLITICS
Section 1 – 1st term T R 12:30-14:00
Instructor: Jocelyn Praud
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
This course focuses on the role that gender, or the social construction of femininity and masculinity, plays in politics. After an examination of key feminist concepts and perspectives, we will focus on women’s long-lasting involvement in extra-parliamentary and parliamentary politics. Special attention will be devoted to the legislative gender parity and quota reforms that countries in different regions of the world have implemented so as to enhance women’s presence in democratic institutions. Finally, we will assess how globalization and economic development have affected women’s political involvement in developing countries.
POLI 332 (3) LATIN AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS
Section 1 – 2nd term T R 15:30-17:00
Instructor: Raul Pacheco-Vega
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
This course is designated as Writing Intensive
Prerequisite: none
While environmental issues are increasingly relevant worldwide, Latin America as a region offers an excellent laboratory to explore the interplay of governmental architectures, political regimes, development, sustainability and democracy. Using a comparative politics analytical framework, we will explore issues of inequality, resource scarcity, environmental management, development and democracy. A sample of five countries will be explored in detail: Mexico, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Brazil and Chile, although the course will provide a cursory examination of environmental issues across Latin American nations.
POLI 333A (3) POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES
Section 1 – 1st term T R 12:30-14:00
Instructor: Gyung-Ho Jeong
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
This course introduces political institutions of the United States. Students will examine the roles, powers, and limits on Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court and explore how these institutions have interacted.
POLI 333C (3) ISSUES IN COMPARATIVE POLITICS
Section 1 – 1st term T R 9:30-11:00
Instructor: Christopher Kam
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
This course introduces students to the wide variety of electoral systems that are in use around the world. Readings and lectures will discuss the strategic aspects of electoral systems. In-class simulations will be used demonstrate the operation and implications of various electoral systems.
POLI 333D (3) MEASURING DEMOCRACY
Section 1 – 2nd term T R 12:30-14:00
Instructor: Benjamin Nyblade
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
This course is designated as Writing Intensive
Orwell wrote that "defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using that word if it were tied down to any one meaning." In this course we consider how we might overcome this challenge, assessing competing conceptualizations of democracy, evaluating attempts to measure democracy cross-nationally and over time, and reviewing attempts to systematically evaluate the consequences of democracy for economic development, citizen welfare, and domestic and international peace.
In this writing intensive course there are no examinations: the focus is on using writing to explain politics and political science research to non-academic audiences. In particular we will focusing on writing for the general public as well as for NGOs and governments. Students will maintain a blog (shared with class members) and are assigned to write several (short) blog posts each week. There are two longer writing assignments: a 2000-word research report (targeted at an NGO audience) and a 4000-word synthetic literature review (targeted at a government audience). Students will work online and in-class in small groups to discuss and improve their blog posts and paper assignments, and have the opportunity 'revise and resubmit' papers based on extensive feedback from the instructor and/or teaching assistant.
POLI 334 (3) COMPARATIVE DEMOCRATIZATION
Section 2 – 1st term M W 14:00-15:00
plus 1 one-hour discussion group
Instructor: Lisa Sunstrom
Required Texts: TBA
This course is designated as Writing Intensive
Essays and Exams: Policy memo paper proposal – 5%
Peer review of memo proposals – 5%
10-12 page policy memo paper – 35%
5-7 page critical response paper to one week’s readings – 15%
Revision and resubmission of critical response paper – 20%
Online responses to weekly readings – 10%
Tutorial attendance – 10%
Prerequisite: None; POLI 220 recommended
Course Website: None
This course will introduce students to the burgeoning literatures and theories on regime democratization. Many popular and scholarly sources now take for granted the idea that a "wave of democratization" has swept the world. The course will consider different theoretical approaches to processes of democratization, such as the "preconditions" and "transitology" schools, and debates between strategic-actor and structuralist explanations for regime change. It will also examine the roles and importance of various political, economic, and social institutions in encouraging or impeding democratization, with special attention paid to the role of international factors, particularly foreign assistance. We end the course with a critical examination of the dominant paradigm of transition theory and speculation about trends and challenges for democratic regimes. Lectures and readings will use cases from various countries where processes of change from authoritarian to democratic regimes, and institutionalization of democratic regimes, are taking place.
This is a "writing-intensive" designated course. As such, the course focus will be on engagement with the scholarly literature on democratization and its intersections with real-world events through the writing process.
Student assignments will emphasize "low-stakes" written reflections on this literature, revision and resubmission of essays, and peer-group feedback on one another's research paper proposals. Of the three class sessions each week, one will be set aside for tutorial sessions with class discussion of the arguments and writing styles presented in the week's readings.
POLI 335A (3) COMPARITIVE FEDERALISM
Section 1 – 2nd term M W F 14:00-15:00
Instructor: G Campbell Sharman
Required Texts:
- Watts, Ronald L, Comparing Federal Systems, McGill-Queen's University Press, 3rd edition, 2008;
- Hueglin, Thomas O, and Alan Fenna, Comparative Federalism: A Systematic Inquiry, Broadview Press, 2006.
Essays and Exams:
- In-class mid-term exam 15%
- Research essay 40%
- Essay presentation 5%
- Final exam 40%
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
Why do federations form? How do they work? Why do they persist (or fall apart)? Why are there arguments about federalism? This course looks for answers to these questions by analyzing federalism as a way of structuring political life and institutions in industrialized democracies. It includes an examination of the idea of federalism as a way of dispersing power, the dynamics of the political process in a federal system, and theories of federalism, both analytical and normative. The course makes extensive reference to the federal systems of Australia, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and the United States, and to countries which have quasi-federal systems like Belgium and Spain.
POLI 340 (6) HISTORY OF WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT
Section 1 – both terms T R 12:30-14:00
Instructor: Laura Janara
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams:
-4 short papers
-2 exams (December and April)
-1 short presentation
Prerequisite: none
A critical approach to some historically consequential or influential texts (by Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Wollstonecraft, Marx, Mill, Nietzsche). Texts situated as political acts in their specific historical circumstances.
POLI 341A (3) CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL THEORY
Section 1 – 2nd term T R 12:30-14:00
Instructor: Emily Beausoleil
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisites: You are strongly encouraged to take Poli 240 or 340 (or a comparable course in Philosophy or Sociology) before taking this course.
This course will trace some of the most significant theoretical shifts and political issues since the beginning of the twentieth century, which continue to define, inspire and challenge current politics: the birth of consumer culture and the politics of inaction in modern liberal democracies; the growing ‘banality of evil’ with the rise of bureaucracy; post-colonial responses to the Age of Empire; contributions of indigenous theory and praxis; competing models of multiculturalism; and creative alternatives for democratic engagement. To do so, we will use some of the most influential and provocative texts from contemporary theory, among them Michel Foucault, Herbert Marcuse, Hannah Arendt, Iris Marion Young, Martin Luther King Jr., Judith Butler, and Edward Said.
POLI 342A (3) POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY AND THE POLITICS OF FEAR
Section 1 – 1st term T R 15:30-17:00
Instructor: Chris Erickson
This course is designated as Writing Intensive
Required Texts:
Plato, (C.D.C Reeve translation), The Republic, Hackett, 2004.
Machiavelli, The Prince: 2nd Norton Critical Edition, W.W. Norton, 1992.
Hobbes, Leviathan: Norton Critical Edition, W.W. Norton, 1997.
Nietzsche, Beyond Good & Evil (edition TBD) Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth, Grove Press, 2005.
Baudrillard, The Spirit of Terrorism (New Edition), Verso, 2003.
Other readings as assigned
Essays and Exams:
-Short paper (5-7p) 20%
-Long paper (10-12p) 50%
-Final examination 30%
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
We live in a time where fear is predominant. Yet it can be argued that this is nothing new. Fear and power have been intimately linked from the very beginnings of Western culture. This course will proceed with an eye to answering a series of questions: Is fear a given that politics works to hold at bay, or is it a creation towards some other end? Who is most harmed by fear? Who most benefits? How does one respond politically to fear? The course will use the current War on Terror as a starting point to examine the intersection of fear and politics as found in the work of Homer, Sophocles, Plato, Hobbes, Machiavelli, Baudrillard, Fanon and Nietzsche, among others.
This is a 'writing intensive' designated course. Students will be expected to engage critically with the various reading assignments and themes of the course. The focus on writing will be reflected in weekly reading responses and three essays covering the course material. The topics for the first two essays will be given in class, and the third will be decided by the student in conjunction with the instructor.
POLI 343 (3) SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT: THEORIES OF STATE AND SOCIETY
Section 1 – 2nd term T R 15:30-17:00
Instructor: Mark Warren
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
This course surveys classical origins of contemporary theories of the state and society in Smith, Tocqueville, Marx, and Weber, and relates these origins to several contemporary debates about state-society relations. From an explanatory perspective, these theories deal with relations between the society, market, and state: Why are these domains differentiated in modern societies? How do social and economic kinds of power relate to political power? What capacities and limitations in here in each domain? How is the domain of “the political” changing in modern societies? From a normative perspective, these theories frame accounts of society in ways that relate to the ideals embedded within them, ideals such as order, justice, community, wealth, democracy, individual autonomy, and good political judgment. The course is reading and writing intensive, with about 75 pages per week of readings from complete original sources, and about 30 pages of essay assignments.
POLI 344 (3) SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT: THE POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY OF PLATO
Section 1 – 2nd term M W 16:00-17:30
Instructor: Patrick Malcolmson
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
This course will begin with a study of Socrates’ encounters with two of the most famous thinkers of his time: Protagoras and Gorgias. These famed sophists professed to teach “virtue” or what we might today call “human excellence.” This excellence was understood in primarily political terms: the ability to rule others successfully. Their understanding of what constitutes the “political art” of ruling, and how this art is related to the art of rhetoric and to the idea of justice, will be themes of the course. The examination of these themes will by way of a careful reading of the dialogues Protagoras, Gorgias, and The Republic, and will conclude with an examination of Aristotle’s criticism of Plato.
POLI 346 (3) DEMOCRATIC THEORY
Section 1 – 1st term T R 15:30-17:00
Instructor: Philip Resnick
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams:
-a mid-term 20%
-a term paper: 40%
- final exam: 40%
Prerequisite: none
This course will examine the changing nature of democratic theory from the model of direct democracy associated with the Greek city-states to forms or representative democracy in the modern era. It will examine a number of themes in contemporary discussions of democracy and democratization, and conclude with a discussion of the possibility of democracy beyond the nation-state.
POLI 347A (3) LAW AND POLITICAL THEORY
Section 1 – 1st term T R 11:00-12:30
Instructor: Samuel LaSelva
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams:
- Class test: 10%
- Major research essay: 50%
- Essay format final exam: 40%
Prerequisite: none
This course examines key theories and issues in jurisprudence and political philosophy. Its main concepts and themes include: sovereignty, adjudication, the obligation to obey the law, equality rights, free speech and pornography, rights in time of emergency, as well as various critical approaches to law such as legal positivism, American legal realism and Critical Legal Studies. The orientation of the course is analytical, critical (including self-criticism), and dialectical. Students who register in Political Science 347 should have either a background in or an aptitude for political theory and a taste for rigorous (but polite) philosophical argument.
POLI 350A (3) PUBLIC POLICY
Section 1 – 1st term M W F 16:00-17:00
Instructor: Raul Pacheco-Vega
Required Texts:
Essays and Exams:
-Midterm exam
-Final exam
-Written assignments related to case studies
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
Public policy is the study of “who gets what when and how”, as posited by Theodore Lowi in 1972. Understanding the underlying government rationales for specific policy choices enables us to better design and implement policy instruments. This course serves both as an introduction to theories of the policy process as well as a cursory examination of policy analytical techniques. The course uses practical case studies from all three levels of government (Federal, provincial and municipal) to analyze the public policy-making process. This course explores the domestic level of Canadian public policy, as POLI 352 (Comparative Politics of Public Policy) examines the comparative dimension using a cross-national lens. We do, however, look at some theoretical and empirical discussions that draw on cross-national and cross-regional comparisons. This course uses current policy debates including (but not limited to) the politics of homelessness policy in the Metro Vancouver area, the complexities of transportation policy in British Columbia, public policy debates around legalization of sex-trade and substance use (and abuse), etc. POLI 350A Public Policy is primarily a skills-building course where students will learn how to design theoretically-informed, empirically-grounded public policy analysis.
POLI 351 (3) SUSTAINABLE ENERGY: POLICY AND GOVERNANCE
Section 2 – 2nd term T R 14-15:30
This course is cross-listed with Conservation 425
Instructor: George Hoberg
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: Midterm and final exam, and group project (simulated multistakeholder consultation on major energy policy issue)
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: http://courses.forestry.ubc.ca/cons425
This course examines sustainable energy policy and governance from a western Canadian perspective. It focuses on the question of how policies and institutions should be changed to pursue a more sustainable energy path. It develops the argument that our current energy path is unsustainable, and that a shift to a more sustainable path is impossible without significant policy intervention. We examine the policy tools available for promoting this transition, and the governing structures and processes for selecting and implementing those tools.
The course contains three sections. First, it will analyze energy as a policy problem, focusing on demand, supply, and environmental constraints. The global and Canadian energy context will be surveyed briefly. Second, the governance framework for energy policy will be explored by examining alternative policy instruments, the division of powers, the National Energy Program and its aftermath, and the continental energy pact embodied in NAFTA. The remainder of the course focuses on prominent issues in Western Canadian energy policy:
• the oil sands, including the possibility of using new nuclear plants to fuel the oil sands, and the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline to take oil sands products to Asian and US markets;
• filling the electricity supply gap in BC, including the relative contributions of conservation and energy efficiency and renewables.
The course will provide students a substantive understanding of energy policy in the context of policy analysis and Canadian politics. Specific learning objectives include:
• A basic understanding of regional, national, and global energy systems
• Concepts of energy sustainability
• Alternative policy instruments relevant to energy policy
• Governing institutions for Western Canadian energy policy
• Interests, resources, and strategies of energy policy actors
• Multiple criteria analysis
• Environmental assessment
• Attributes of energy alternatives
POLI 352A (3) COMPARATIVE POLITICS OF PUBLIC POLICY
Section 1 – 2nd term M W F 15:00-16:00
Instructor: Alan Jacobs
Required Texts: Course pack to be made available at UBC bookstore
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
This course investigates how democratic governments make public policy. In this course, we will explore a basic puzzle: Why have Canada, the United States, and West European democracies responded to broadly similar social problems with a wide range of different policies? We will first consider possible answers to this question suggested by major theoretical approaches to the study of politics: How do national political institutions, interest groups, public opinion and elections, ideas, and previous policy choices shape the politics of policy making in different countries? We will then apply these approaches to specific policy fields, including health care policy, immigration policy, and the environment. The course focuses on North American and West European democracies, with some reference to Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. While the course has no prerequisites, POLI 350(A) is a useful complement.
NOTE: This course may not be taken by students who have already taken POLI 350B with Professor Jacobs in 2003-4 or 2004-5 ("Public Policy: The Comparative Politics of Public Policy"). Also, students who have previously taken POLI 390A or 390B with Professor Jacobs should consult him before registering for this course.
POLI 360A (3) SECURITY STUDIES
Section 1 – 1st term M W 10:00-11:00
Plus one 1-hour discussion group per week
Instructor: Brian Job
This course is designated as Writing Intensive
Required Texts: No single required text. Readings assigned
Assignments:
- a series of short critiques and debate pieces (1 page) on weekly readings
- a book report (5 pages) on a volume focused on a contemporary conflict
- a preliminary conflict report paper (10 pages)
- conflict report paper revised with a policy memo component (12-13 pages)
Prerequisite: Poli 260
Course Website: www.polisci360.moonfruit.com
This course will be devoted to consideration of explanations of "internal conflict", (variously described by the terms intrastate conflict, regional conflict, civil war, ethnic conflict, etc.). We will examine the debates surrounding answers to questions concerning the causes of such conflicts, the role and strategies of leaders, the motivations of people who engage in violence and in the commitment of atrocities (including sexual violence), and the role and dilemmas confronting humanitarians and post-conflict peacebuilders. Several contemporary cases will be examined in some detail—possibilities include Somalia, Peru, Burma, the DRC, and Libya.
This is a “writing-intensive” designated course. As such, students will look to apply alternative scholarly explanations of conflict phenomena to current, real-world events. Student assignments will explore different modes of writing about conflict (opinion pieces, book reviews, conceptual framing pieces, and policy memoranda. Emphasis will be placed upon honing students’ analytical skills through class discussion and writing assignments. The weekly tutorial session will be devoted to focused debate and to student presentations of their work.
POLI 360A (3) SECURITY STUDIES
Section 2 – 2nd term T R 14:00-15:30pm
Instructor: Arjun Chowdhury
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
Why do groups of people go to war? In this course, we will have three goals: 1) analyze different types of conflicts, including interstate war, civil war, and terrorism; 2) explain why they occur; 3) explore policy strategies, like deterrence, peacekeeping, and intervention. We will examine these questions in relation to particular conflicts, including World War I, the Cold War, and the Rwandan genocide.
POLI 360A (3) SECURITY STUDIES
Section 3 – 2nd term M W F 15:00-16:00pm
Instructor: Scott Fitzsimmons
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
This course will introduce students to a range of concepts and issues associated with international security. Specifically, it will provide an overview of the ideas of Carl von Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, and other major philosophers of strategic thought, and critically assess a number of security issues, such as the use of land, air, and sea power, nuclear proliferation, espionage, terrorism, the use of mercenaries and private security contractors in warfare, and insurgencies.
POLI 363A (3) CANADIAN FOREIGN POLICY
Section 3 – 2nd term M W 15:00-16:30pm
Instructor: TBA
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
This course is designed to introduce students to the core issues and debates in Canadian foreign and security policy. Some attention will be paid to the historical evolution of Canada's external relations; however, the bulk of the course will focus on contemporary foreign and security policy issues. This course will also incorporate a specific focus on defence policy in the Post Cold War Era. Attention will be paid to the formulation of official policy in order to increase understanding of some of the current controversies and future challenges facing Canada.
POLI 364A (3) INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Section 1 – 1st term T R 12:30-14:00
Section 2 – 2nd term T R 09:30-11:00
Instructor: Katharina Coleman
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
• Midterm paper critically comparing three theories of international organizations
• Case study paper testing the predictive power of these three theories
• Final exam
Prerequisite: none
This course examines the role of formal international organizations and international regimes in world politics. Its purpose is to introduce several key contemporary organizations and regimes and analyse whether and how they affect state behaviour.
The first part of the course examines how various theoretical approaches to international relations understand the role of international organizations and regimes. The second part is more empirical and focuses on contemporary international organizations and regimes in three broad issue areas: international security, economic development, and human rights.
POLI 364B (3) INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS
Section 2 – 2nd term M W 18:00-19:30
Instructor: Adam Bower
Required Texts: No single required text. Readings will be assigned primarily from electronic sources.
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: This course follows Poli 364A. Students who have not taken Poli 364A should ask for the instructor's permission before registering in Poli 364B.
This course builds on POLI 364A and provides students with the opportunity to explore the development and impact of a set of international organizations (IOs) in greater detail. It begins by reviewing prominent theories of international cooperation, paying particular attention to how they conceive of the emergence and functions of IOs. The balance of the course focuses on contemporary organizations in the fields of international security (with emphasis on arms control and disarmament) and international criminal justice. These sectors have witnessed a dramatic expansion in recent decades, and are the subject of vibrant scholarly research. Cases studies include the nuclear non-proliferation regime, the ban on antipersonnel landmines, the International Criminal Court, and a proposed arms trade treaty. While important in their own right, the cases also draw attention to fundamental debates in the discipline: Why do some cooperative efforts succeed while others fail to gain momentum? Are powerful states like the United States essential for effective multilateral efforts, or can policymakers proceed even without their support? And what role(s) should non-governmental actors play in these processes? The course therefore aims to familiarize students with important areas of international policy-making and expand their theoretical and conceptual “toolkit” for assessing whether and how IOs may affect state behaviour and ameliorate complex international challenges.
POLI 365A (3) ASIAN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Section 2 – 2nd term M W F 10:00-11:00
Instructor: Brian job
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
That the “centre of gravity” of global politics is moving or has moved to the Asia Pacific is largely accepted. This course is designed to explore the ongoing dynamics—political, security, economic, and social – among the states and people of the contemporary Asia Pacific. Specific attention will be devoted to (a) the role of major powers (the US, China, India), (b) continuing disputes over territory and maritime jurisdiction (e.g. Taiwan, the South China Sea), (c) intrastate and transnational conflicts (e.g. S. Thailand, the Philippines), and (d) the human security dilemmas presented by repressive regimes such as Burma and North Korea. Given the breadth of issues to be covered, the course will be largely focused upon Northeast and Southeast Asia, including also the United Stated and Canada.
POLI 366 (3) INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY
Section 2 – 2nd term M W F 12:00-13:00
Instructor: Robert Farkasch
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
This course provides an integrated approach to understanding some of the basic themes of the international political economy (IPE). A multi-disciplinary perspective encompassing insights from the modern disciplines of history, sociology, politics and economics will be called upon to better understand and explain the process of globalization. The tension between market pressures to disperse or concentrate various forms of economic activity and state efforts to enhance or resist those pressures is a theme that will run throughout. Whether markets are embedded within or autonomous from political institutions depends on the theoretical perspective employed. An introduction to the economic liberal, realist, and Marxist/alternative perspectives will provide an overview of the underlying issues and competing ideologies that shape the global political economy.
The course will then consider issues conventionally associated with the study of IPE including the political economy of international trade, the role of multinational corporations, international finance, and international development. The course then shifts to topics not normally associated with the study of IPE even though their impact is crucial for understanding causality. The impact from migrations and culture on the processes shaping the contemporary global political economy calls for a wider approach to the study of IPE.
POLI 367B (3) INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THEORY AND THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM
Section 1 – 1st term M W 15:00-16:30
Instructor: Robert Crawford
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: POLI 260 is recommended but not required
This course examines the origins, development, and current status of theoretical inquiry in world politics. It examines past and unfolding debates over the defining features, core problems, and appropriate theoretical methods and aspirations for International Relations (IR), and critically evaluates the various “schools” of IR identified by its practitioners. The course also traces the pre-disciplinary roots of what is today called “IR theory” in the broader traditions of ancient and modern political philosophy and related fields, offering detailed, sustained analysis of the formative era of IR as a self-standing academic discipline in the years following the First World War. It also addresses unique aspects of the practices and discourses of IR that have shaped, distorted, and complicated its often acrimonious debates.
POLI 369A (3) ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Section 1 – 2nd term T R 14:00-15:30
Instructor: Robert Crawford
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
This course examines the evolving relationship between Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and states in the modern era, evaluating the perceived benefits and costs of foreign direct investment in a number of selected countries, regions, and industries. Our primary objectives are to assess the impact of MNCs on the politics, economies, and societies of states, and to evaluate the effectiveness or desirability of various attempts to control, limit, and regulate MNC behaviour. Special attention is paid to countries, industries, and practices where the potential for exploitation and conflict is greatest.
POLI 369D (3) ISSUES IN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
Section 1– 1st term M W F 12:00-13:00
Section 2- 2nd term M W F 10:00-11:00
Instructor: Robert Farkasch
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: Poli 260 strongly recommended
This course will analyze various aspects of terrorism in both the international and domestic communities including the structure and dynamics of terrorism, terrorist weapons, strategies and tactics, their use of the media, and theories of counterterrorism are all covered. The course will also explore Jihadism/Islamism, a political movement dating from the early-20th century Middle East given the extensive coverage in today’s contemporary media. With its radical interpretations of the Koran, the Muslim holy text, Islamism calls upon its supporters to engage in acts of violence against those in the West and elsewhere who are said to suppress and humiliate Muslims and seek the annihilation of Islam and Islamic civilization. We will seek to explain why Islamists commit acts of violence, draw parallels between Islamism and other forms of terror in the West. The course also asks about the meaning and practice of “state terror”.
POLI 373A (3) ETHICS IN WORLD POLITICS
Section 1 – 2nd term M W F 14:00-15:00
Instructor: Christopher Erickson
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
It is commonplace to speak about the traditions of International Relations theory as pragmatic guides to statecraft. It is not difficult to see how the assumptions of realism, for example, are intended to guide the behavior of those in power. They can also be considered from an ethical perspective. This course will examine the ethical dimensions of the traditions of IR theory. We will look into the ethical implications of some of the central theoretical traditions of IR, including realism, idealism, Marxism, and various critical, constructivist or post-structural approaches.
POLI 374A (3) INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING
Section 1 – 1st term M W F 14:00-15:00
Instructor: Allen Sens
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
This course will introduce students to the theory, evolution, and practices of International Peacekeeping. The course will explore the development of peacekeeping within and outside the United Nations system, and how peacekeeping has evolved as an instrument of conflict management.
POLI 375A (3) GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS
Section 1 – 1st term M W F 15:00-16:00
Instructor: Raul Pacheco-Vega
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisites:
Website: none
Environmental problems don’t recognize national frontiers. Climate change, desertification, deforestation, increasing chemical pollution, cross-national biodiversity loss and global water scarcity, are all problems that affect us regardless of geographical location. Cross-boundary environmental degradation and over-exploitative access to common pool resources have frequently lead to conflict and confrontation. How can we protect our shared biophysical resources? This course explores the politics of cross-national environmental problems from a global perspective. The course provides a cursory examination of a broad variety of current global environmental issues, including but not limited to climate change, transboundary hazardous waste movement, fisheries depletion, biodiversity loss and desertification, transboundary water and conflict, environmental refugees and migration and electronic waste. This course provides a broad set of theoretical approaches to the study of international and global environmental politics, focusing primarily on techniques for the analysis of international regimes and international environmental agreements. We will discuss the role of policymakers, scientists, non-state actors and nation-states in establishing and maintaining environmental protection efforts worldwide. The course provides the student with tools and techniques to analyse international environmental regimes and use these analyses to explore the role regimes, intergovernmental secretariats, nation-states and non-state actors have in building a robust architecture of global environmental governance.
POLI 375A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS
Section 2 - 2nd term TR 9:30-11:00
POLI 380 (3) QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE
Section 1 - 1st term T R 11:00-12:30
plus 1 two-hour computer lab
Instructor: Andrew Owen
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
An introduction to quantitative methods as utilized in the study of Political Science.
Note: This course is required for students in the Political Science Majors or Honours program. It is not available for credit to those who have already taken an introductory statistics course.
POLI 380 (3) QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN POLITICAL SCIENCE
Section 2 – 2nd term M W F 15:00-16:00
plus 1 two-hour computer lab
Instructor: Fred Cutler
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams:
-Assignments based on computer lab tutorials 40%
-Mid-term exam 25%
-Final exam 35%
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: none
This is an introduction to quantitative techniques as used in political science including frequency distributions, descriptive statistics, correlation and regression. Lectures are coordinated with computer lab instruction in data analysis. No mathematical ability beyond basic high school algebra (Algebra 11) is assumed.
Note: This course is required for students in the Political Science Majors or Honours program. It is not available for credit to those who have already taken an introductory statistics course.
POLI 385A (3) ELECTIONS AND PARTY SYSTEMS
Section 1 – 1st term MW 16:00-17:30
Instructor: Richard Johnston
Required Texts: None, all materials online
Essays and Exams: Two short papers, mid-term and final exam, participation in course blog
Prerequisites: none
This course offers a comparative perspective on elections and party systems. The Canadian system will be a quite central focus but always in comparison with others. Topics will include the role of electoral systems in channeling and shaping the vote, the social and economic bases of choice, the independent role of parties as organizations and in interaction with other electoral institutions, the sources and impact of electoral turnout, and the impact of campaigns.
POLI 390 (6) HONOURS SEMINAR
Section 1 – 2nd term W 09:00-12:00
Instructor: Ben Nyblade
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisites: Admission to Honours Program
This year's honours seminar will focus on empirical political theory, and specifically on the building blocks of causal theories in the empirical study of political science. The unifying question for the course is quite simple, but challenging: "How can we explain political behaviour?" The topics covered in this course are common not only across all subfields of political science but across all of the social sciences, thus the course will draw extensively on scholarship from other fields as well as key works in political science. Topics will likely include rationality and cognition, beliefs and desires, norms, path dependence and learning, transaction costs, collective action problems and other social dilemmas, bargaining and credible commitment, hierarchy and delegation.
POLI 402A (3) LAW AND POLITICS OF THE CANADIAN CONSTITUTION
Section 1 – 2nd term R 14:00-17:00
Instructor: Samuel LaSelva
Required Reading:
Reading package
Essays and Exams:
-Two oral presentations with two short essays: 2x 15%
-Major research paper 50%
- Participation: 20%
Prerequisite: none
The course examines key problems of the Canadian constitution, with special emphasis on federalism and the Charter of Rights. Its purpose is to encourage philosophical discussion of Canadian constitutional problems, while placing them in historical and comparative perspective. Topics include: the Canadian, British, and American constitutional models; theories of judicial review before and after the Charter; the notwithstanding clause; free expression and hate literature; multiculturalism and aboriginal rights; equality as a political and constitutional precept; emergency powers and human rights; Quebec and the secession reference; and questions about political unity and fundamental values in Canada and the European Community
POLI 404A (3) SUSTAINABLE FOREST POLICY
Section 1 – 1st term T R 11:00 – 12:30
This course is cross-listed with FRST 415 – Sustainable Forest Policy.
Instructor: George Hoberg
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: Midterm and final exam, and group project (simulated multistakeholder consultation on major forest policy issue)
Prerequisite: none
Course Website: http://courses.forestry.ubc.ca/frst415
This course examines the challenges in designing policies for the sustainable management of renewable natural resources by focusing on forest policy in British Columbia. The course focuses on the following policy drivers:
• A diversity of political actors, including environmentalists and First Nations
• International forces
• Market forces
• Climate change
These themes are explored by examining conflicts over old growth rainforests and the challenges of the mountain pine beetle epidemic.
POLI 405A/504A (3) CANADIAN POLITICAL THOUGHT
Section 1 – 1st term M 09:00-12:00
Cross-listed Seminar
Instructor: Philip Resnick
Required Reading: TBA
Essays and Exams:
Seminar presentation and participation 20%
Reading Summaries 10%
Seminar paper 35%
Final Exam 35%
Prerequisite: POLI 101
Course Website: Vista website
This seminar will be focusing on the question of Canadian identity. This is an old question, reflecting the way in which Canada came to be created, and some of the particular problems arising from the existence of more than one community with the claim to constituting a nationality within the Canadian polity. The purpose of the seminar is to familiarize the students with ongoing theoretical issues in Canadian politics and to encourage original work related to Canadian political thought.
Format of the course:
This course will be conducted as a seminar. All students will submit a 600 word written summary and critique of two of the non-core readings in the course of the term. In addition, each student will take responsibility for presenting one of the non-core readings during the term. This presentation and general participation will be graded. Each student will be expected to submit a seminar paper of approximately 3000-3500 words by the end of the term. There will also be a final exam.
POLI 405B/504B (3) THE SUPREME COURT AND THE CONSTITUTION
Section 1 – 2nd term W 09:00-12:00
Instructor: Gerald Baier
Required Reading:
- Peter Russell et al. The Supreme Court and the Constitution
- Additional readings posted to Vista website
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: POLI 101
Course Website: WebCT Vista
The Supreme Court of Canada plays a privileged role in fleshing out the meaning of Canada’s constitution. Judicial review allows the Court an opportunity to have profound effects on the nature of Canadian federalism and constitutional rights protections. This course examines the place of the Court in Canada’s political system, largely through the lens of the leading cases that have marked the historical and contemporary impact of the Court on the meaning of the constitution. The course will also consider the fact that the Court’s legitimacy is often contested, and that the Court’s wisdom does not always go unquestioned. Students will also be introduced to the reading of judicial opinions and legal commentary.
POLI 405C/504C CITIZEN INPUT AND IMPACT IN CANADIAN POLITICS
Section 1 – 2nd term R 14:00-17:00
Instructor: Andrew Owen
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite:
Course Website: none
This seminar course explores one of the defining features of democracy:
government responsiveness to public preferences. We will consider the relationship between public opinion and public policy by addressing the following questions: (1) what is public opinion and how closely should public policy reflect public opinion, (2) does public opinion influence public policy, (3) how do different political institutions facilitate or impede the influence of public opinion on policy, and (4) how effective are policy makers' efforts to influence public opinion. Our discussion of these questions will focus primarily on the Canadian political process but we will also consider findings from other mature democracies. Much of the reading material covered in this course employs quantitative methods. Students are strongly encouraged to take POLI 380 (or equivalent) prior to taking this course. Students will also write empirical research papers that will involve the application of concepts and skills taught in POLI 380.
POLI 420A (3) POLITICS OF UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY
Section 1 – 2nd term M 14:00-17:00
Instructor: Gyung-Ho Jeong
Required Reading: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: POLI 220 and 3 credits from POLI 320-335
This course examines the dynamics of the U.S. foreign policymaking. Students will examine how President, Congress, bureaucrats, interest groups, and the public interact to affect the U.S. foreign policies, from national security to international trade policies.
POLI 420C (3) GENDER, SOCIAL ETHICS, AND PUBLIC POLICY
Section 1 – 2nd term W 14:00-17:00
Instructor: Antje Ellermann
Required Reading: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: POLI 220 and 3 credits from POLI 320-335
This course explores the ethical issues raised by the intersection of public policy and gender. The purpose of the course is to explore what role public policy can play in overcoming—or perpetuating—gender inequality. We will explore ethical debates and policy choices on a range of issues such as marriage law, abortion, care work, workplace discrimination, political representation, gender-based violence, and the relationship between gender equality and freedom of religion. We will study different policy choices in cross-national perspective to help determine which options best serve the goals of gender equality. Beyond focusing on these policy-specific issues, the course will address a range of fundamental questions: What is gender equality? What is the proper role of the state in dealing with gender inequality? How should the line between public and private be drawn? What are the potential dangers of using public policy to address problems of gender inequality?
POLI 421B (3) THE POLITICS AND GOVERNMENTS OF THE MODERN ARAB WORLD
Section 1 – 2nd term T 14:00-17:00
Instructor: Hani Faris
Required Texts:
Two Custom Course Reading Package
Essays and Exams:
-Class participation 5%
-Midterm: 20%
-Term paper: 25%
-Final examination 50%
Prerequisite: Two courses in Comparative Politics or approval of instructor.
Course Website: none
This course focuses on modern Arab politics and governments. It examines the political dynamics of Arab societies in terms of a set of common issues, namely: identity; heritage; interrelationships of religion, society and State; modernization and political development; political culture; ideologies; political legitimacy; minorities and the relationship with the West. The course divides into three parts. Part one covers the period extending from the disintegration of the Ottoman State and the introduction of direct European rule to the rise of the national state. Part two deals with the post colonial independence era extending from WWII to 1990. Part three addresses the contemporary period.
POLI 421C (3) COMPARATIVE POLITICS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Section 1 – 1st term W 09:00-12:00
Instructor: Anjali Bohlken
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: Any two courses in Comparative Politics (POLI 220, 320-333, 350, 351)
Course Website: none
This seminar will focus on key questions in comparative politics that are particularly relevant to countries in the developing world. The course will be thematically organized and will cover topics such as the salience of ethnic identity and its effect on development and conflict; the political difficulties of decentralization and grassroots democracy; the determinants of patronage and corruption; the role of institutions and elections in authoritarian regimes and the effect of colonialism on later economic development. These general topics will be studied in the context of particular countries or regions primarily in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. The course will begin with an overview of key analytical methods used in political science following which we will read research articles and book chapters in political science on the aforementioned substantive topics. The seminar will involve student presentations, active class participation and a research paper.
POLI 423A (3) ISSUES IN COMPARATIVE POLITICS
Section 1 – 1st term W 14:00 – 17:00
Instructor: Christopher Kam
Required : TBA
Essays and Exams: Evaluation based on seminar participation and a research paper
Prerequisite:
Course Website: none
The course introduces students to the assumptions, notation, and mathematics formal models (game theory, spatial modeling, etc.) in political science. The aim is to equip students to read and understand formal papers and/or to prepare them for more advanced courses in game theory. The course will also introduce students to the empirical estimation of the spatial model. Evaluation is based on a small set of short homework assignments and an exam.
POLI 440B/547C (3) CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL THEORY
Section 1 – 1st term R 14:00-17:00
Instructor: Samuel LaSelva
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams:
-Seminar participation mark: 20%
-Two oral presentations with two short essays: 2x 15%
-Major research essay: 50%
Prerequisite:
Website: none
This course examines some of the most important contemporary political thinkers and their contributions to the theme of “human rights in theory and practice.” As such, it considers the historical origins and philosophical significance of human/natural rights as well as the challenges posed by their critics and the difficulties encountered by their implementation in a heterogeneous world. Topics include: rights, moral pluralism and the foundations of modern constitutionalism; Burke, Bentham and Marx as critics of natural rights; the political, legal, and philosophical foundations of contemporary human rights; human rights in liberal constitutional theory; the communitarian critique of rights; the question of socio-economic rights; indigenous peoples and constitutionalism; human rights in a violent world.
POLI 443A/547B (3) MODERN POLITICAL THOUGHT/TOPICS IN POLITICAL THEORY
Section 1 – 2nd term M 14:00-17:00
Instructor: Laura Janara
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams:
-Seminar presentation
-Analytical paper writing
-Presentation
Prerequisite:
Website: none
Nineteenth-century Europe is characterized by its valuation of liberty, bourgeois ideals of gender and family, and practices of global capitalism and colonialism. In this course we explore texts by Karl Marx, Alexis de Tocqueville and John Stuart Mill (supplemented by secondary literature) to interrogate gender, family and empire as interrelated phenomenon united by the new biopolitics that entwines the intimate and the global.
POLI 448A/547D (3) DEMOCRATIC THEORY
Section 1 – 2nd term T 09:00-12:00
Instructor: Mark Warren
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: Instructor’s Permission and any six credits in Political Theory. Graduate students will also be enrolled in this course. Undergraduates interested in enrolling should contact Prof. Warren at warren@politics.ubc.ca
Course Website: none
Contemporary democratic theory is now diverse, expansive, and exciting, and offers multiple opportunities to combine normatively significant problems with empirical research. This seminar provides an opportunity to explore many of these connections. The first part surveys traditional and received problems in democratic theory. The second part focuses on comprehensive approaches to deliberative democracy within complex, large-scale societies, such as those of Arendt, Rawls, and Habermas, and at least one recent exemplar, such as Iris Young, James Bohman, or Seyla Benhabib. The final part of the seminar is devoted the research and theorizing of seminar participants. Readings are drawn from complete original texts, and assessment is based on a research essay. Note: POLI 448A is combined with graduate seminar POLI 547D, and conducted at a graduate level. Enrolment in POLI 448A is limited to six seats, and is by permission of the instructor only.
POLI 449A (3) POLITICAL THEORY, POLITICAL THINKING, HUMANS AND NON-HUMANS
Section 1 – 1st term M 14:00-17:00
Instructor: Laura Janara
Required Texts: TBA
Prerequisites: TBA
Course Website: none
We will deploy resources from political theory, including from Marxist, Foucauldian, post-humanist and Indigenous perspectives, to reflect upon human disenchantment and alienation from 'nature', including as promoted by Western political theory itself. We will consider the cost to humans and to non-human life of dominant Western conceptualizations of non-human life, and will work to re-imagine how to think politically about this life. The course features service to a community group, an experience students will connect to their classroom learning.
POLI 449B (3) Topics in Political Theory - Theorizing Indigenous Politics
Section 1 – 2nd term W 14:00-17:00
Instructor: Glen Coulthard
Required Texts: TBA
Prerequisites: TBA
Course Website: none
This upper-level undergraduate seminar will explore the relationship between Western political theory and the project of settler-colonialism through four broad lenses: liberalism, Marxism, feminism and anarchism. In doing so, we will attempt to answer the following two questions: in what ways have these diverse traditions within Western political thought served, either implicitly or explicitly, to justify the dispossession of Indigenous peoples’ lands and self-determining authority on the one hand, and in what ways have Indigenous peoples and their allies been able to critically appropriate and transform these theoretical frameworks to support Indigenous peoples’ struggles for land and freedom on the other? Theorists examined will include, among others, John Locke, Karl Marx, Peter Kropotkin, Dale Turner, Andrea Smith and Taiaiake Alfred.
Glen Coulthard (Yellowknives Dene First Nation) will be your instructor for the semester. Glen is an assistant professor in the First Nations Studies Program and the Department of Political Science and will be responsible for evaluating course assignments, introducing and leading focused lectures and discussions on the course themes and assigned materials. Each class will be oriented around a theme relevant to the course topic and reading materials. The course will be comprised of a combination of introductory lectures, guest speakers, in-class videos, student presentations, and group discussions.
POLI 449C (3) TOPICS IN POLITICAL THEORY – PRACTICAL WISDOM
Section 1 – 2nd term F 09:00-12:00
Instructor: Maxwell Cameron
Required Texts: TBA
Prerequisites: TBA
Course Website: none
You can’t be a good friend or a good citizen or a good leader without good character. So argued Aristotle and his contemporary descendents like Alasdair MacIntyre and Martha Nussbaum. That’s because the daily moral choices we make in almost any human practice demand practical wisdom, what Aristotle called phronesis. Friends and lovers need to balance honesty and kindness. Students and soldiers need to choose between recklessness and courage. Corporate management must balance efficiency and profit with honesty to customers and environmental stewardship. Political leaders who have overthrown tyrants need the know-how to balance justice, reconciliation, and future political stability. Doctors need to balance empathy and detachment. Lawyers need to balance zealous advocacy with good counsel. Statesmen need to balance budget cutting and national health care, national security with respect for human rights. Choices like these can’t be made by simply relying on laws or rules or principles or algorithms. They demand judgment. What is practical wisdom? Why is it so important? How is it learned—and undermined—by the kind of universities, law firms, medical practices, and political institutions we have created? How do wise leaders build institutions which teach such practitioners the practical wisdom to flourish at what they do? To explore such questions this course will draw on readings in political science, philosophy, psychology, cognitive science, economics, professional ethics, literature and current events. This team-taught course will give students an opportunity to study with Ken Sharpe from Swarthmore College, and author of Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing (New York: Penguin/Riverhead), who will be a visiting professor in the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions at UBC in 2012. It will be held in conjunction with a colloquium series in Green College in which students will have an opportunity to participate. Students from other departments are welcome and should contact Max.Cameron@ubc.ca (2-3129).
POLI 461 (3) HUMAN SECURITY – CONCEPTUAL PUZZLES AND PRACTICAL DILEMMAS
Section 1 – 1st term T 14:00-17:00
Instructor: Brian Job & Erin Baines
Required Texts: Assigned readings to be provided
Prerequisites: TBA
Course Website: none
During the last decade, "human security" as a general principle and priority concerning the protection and provision of security to civilian populations has become solidified in international parlance. However, in academic and policy circles, reference to "human security" and related terms such as “responsibility to protect” remain controversial. Dilemmas over how to implement human security in practice have come to the fore, e.g. the moral hazard presented by provision of aid to the North Korea regime, the confrontation with the Burmese regime over allowinghumanitarian access, the impact of ICC indictments on the prospects for resolution of conflicts, such as that in northern Uganda or the Ivory Coast; or the justification for the international military intervention in Libya.
This seminar will explore both the conceptual puzzles and the practical dilemmasconcerning human security. Experts with direct experience in the field or with institutions such as the ICC, will be invited into the seminar. Students will work in teams focusing upon the problems and possibilities of delivery of human security to civilian populations in four case study countries, e.g. Somalia, Zimbabwe, or Burma. Students will be expected to participate actively in seminar sessions, to prepare short written position papers for weekly debates, and to engage in individual and group work on their team’s case study country situation.
POLI 461A (3) POLITICS OF HUMANITARIANISM
Section 1 – 2nd term W 10:00-13:00
Instructor: Erin Baines
Required Texts: TBA
Prerequisites: TBA
Course Website: none
Storytelling is central to humanitarian action; stories of suffering elicit sympathy and empathy and galvanize the stranger to act to alleviate the pain of others. Yet stories of suffering are subject to appropriation and used to legitimize political actions; humanitarianism can be a foil for the powerful and further silence and subjugate the victim. The politics of what scholars call the 'new' humanitarianism, a coordinated, coherent and politicized process to respond to the perceived deepening of human tragedies since the end of the Cold War, is illuminated by an investigation of stories told about today's humanitarian victims, crises and responses. This course will conduct such an investigation, examining how different actors identify, name and design responses to the humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda.
POLI 464A (3) GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY AND NGOs IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Section 1 – 2nd term T 10-:00-13:00
Instructor: Lisa Sundstrom
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: Class participation – 15%
Class presentation – 25%
5-7 page readings-based paper – 20%
Term paper prospectus/ initial CSL reflective journal submission – 5%
12-15 page research paper or CSL reflective journal– 35%
Prerequisites:
Website: none
This course will examine the growing and changing roles of nongovernmental organizations in international politics. We will ask whether a “global civil society” may be said to exist today, and examine the components of it that have been discussed in international relations literature, including nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), advocacy networks, protest movements, and aid organizations. The course will also consider the impact of “uncivil” nongovernmental actors, such as organized crime and terrorism. Fundamental topics for discussion will include how much impact nongovernmental actors have in global governance, the organizational dynamics within and among NGOs, and the positive and negative aspects of NGOs’ global activities.
The course is anticipated to contain a Community Service Learning (CSL) component in 2011 (pending success of implementation!). The CSL component is aimed at deepening students’ learning and community engagement by placing them in volunteer work positions within relevant NGOs in Metro Vancouver. The evaluated assignment associated with CSL will be a journal that students write throughout the term, reflecting upon their experiences and how they relate to the academic course materials.
POL 464C (3) PROBLEMS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Section 1 – 1st term W 09:30 – 12:00
Instructor: Robert Farkasch
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: Poli 260
This course studies the relationship between politics and economics in order to understand the process of late development -both theoretically and empirically. Specifically, we will study questions such as: How important are political institutions to economic development and what role do they play? How does economics affect political institutions and government policies? Why do inefficient and/or harmful institutions survive? Topics include the role of the state in alleviating or exacerbating poverty, the politics of industrial
policy and planning and the relationship between institutional change and growth. We will also examine the economic effects of different growth strategies in Latin America, Africa and East Asia, and investigate some of the pitfalls of natural resource wealth and the difficulties of foreign aid.
POL 464D (3) PROBLEMS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: CURRENT DEBATES IN COMPARATIVE POLITICAL ECONOMY
Section 1 – 2nd term W 14:00-17:00
Instructor: Yves Tiberghien
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: TBA
Prerequisite: Enrolment is restricted to fourth year students. A background in International Relations and basic International Economics is helpful, but is not formally required. To ensure high levels of participation, the size of the seminar is restricted. Students are expected to be highly motivated and willing to do some extra work.
Website: none
The format of the course will be one seminar per week. Although short lectures may be included in the course, the bulk of the seminar will be devoted to debates and discussions. For that reason, it is critical that all students COME PREPARED. The most effective preparation consists in drafting on a piece of paper the questions and arguments presented in each of the articles. It is also good to think about your own position ahead of time.
Does Globalization represent a fundamental break in international politics? How did it come about and what was the role of politics? Has globalization changed the role and power of states? Have citizens lost the ability to make crucial social choices through the domestic democratic process? This seminar explores the range of current political debates on globalization. It seeks to unpack the various components of globalization so as to identify their precise nature, origins, and diverse consequences. The seminar also aims at separating out purely economic phenomena from social and political processes. It emphasizes the role of politics, both at the domestic and international levels, and identifies areas where political choice is crucial. This seminar thus probes the intersection between international relations and comparative politics and tests theories from both sub-fields over a range of critical issues of international political economy. There are no lectures and seminar participants are encouraged to engage in lively debates over the different issues explored.
POLI 492 (6) HONOURS THESIS
Section 1 –1st and 2nd term R 15:30-17:30
Instructor: Richard Johnston
Required Texts: TBA
Essays and Exams: The writing of an original research essay of 35-50 pages on a topic chosen in consultation with the instructor.
Department of Political Science
C425 – 1866 Main Mall
Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z1
Tel:604.822.6079