Political Science
124 Prospect, 432.5241
M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Chair
Ian Shapiro
Director of Graduate Studies
Stephen Skowronek
Professors
Bruce Ackerman, Akhil Amar (Law), Arjun Appadurai (Anthropology),
Seyla Benhabib, Paul Bracken (Management), David Cameron,
William Foltz, Paul Gaddis (History), Alan Gerber, Donald
Green, Stathis Kalyvas, Ilona Kickbusch (Epidemiology), Theodore
Marmor (Management), David Mayhew, Barry Nalebuff (Management),
Douglas Rae, John Roemer, Susan Rose-Ackerman, Frances Rosenbluth,
Bruce Russett, James Scott, Ian Shapiro, Stephen Skowronek,
Steven Smith, Peter Swenson, Ivan Szelenyi (Sociology), John
Wargo (Forestry & Environmental Studies), Ernesto Zedillo
(Center for the Study of Globalization)
Associate Professor
Jose Cheibub
Assistant Professors
Khalilah Brown-Dean, Keith Darden, Anna Grzymala-Busse,
Jacob Hacker, Ange-Marie Hancock, Gregory Huber, Anastassios
Kalandrakis, Pauline Jones Luong, Pierre-François Landry,
John Lapinski, Ellen Lust-Okar, Jennifer Pitts, Rose Razaghian,
Nicholas Sambanis, Kenneth Scheve, James Vreeland
Fields of Study
Fields include contemporary theory, political philosophy,
international relations, comparative politics, American politics,
political economy, and empirical analysis and re-search methodology.
Special Admissions Requirement
The department requires that scores from the GRE General Test accompany an application.
Special Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree
Students are required to pass fourteen term courses
during their first two years in the program, and receive a
grade of Honors in at least two Political Science courses.
Two of the courses may be in departments other than Political
Science. Students are normally expected to complete seven
courses in the first year. Courses are offered in seven fields:
Contemporary Theory; Political Philosophy; International Relations;
Comparative Politics; American Politics; Political Economy;
and Empirical Analysis and Research Methodology. Each student
must demonstrate competence in three of the seven fields by
the beginning of the third year. Competence is demonstrated
by passing the comprehensive examination in the field. The
department also allows students to petition for the creation
of a special field of study and examination in exceptional
cases.
As part of the second year of courses, all students are
required to take the two-term course in Research and Writing,
which is devoted to the preparation of a manuscript based
on original research on a topic of the student’s choice.
The course is conducted as a seminar including all second-year
students and directed by two members of the faculty. Performance
in the first-term course (540a) is graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
basis. The second-term course (541b) carries conventional
letter grades that are assigned retroactively to 540a at the
end of the second term.
Students are required to take a one-term course in statistical
methods, successful completion of which satisfies the statistics
requirement. All students are also required to demonstrate
at least an elementary reading competence in one foreign language.
Such competence is usually demonstrated by taking, or having
completed, two years of undergraduate course work. Alternatively
the language requirement can be satisfied by successfully
completing two terms of formal theory at the graduate level,
in addition to the required course in statistical methods.
In order to be admitted to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree,
the student must have a prospectus approved by a dissertation
director and two other members of the faculty. This must occur
by no later than May 1 of the student’s third year.
Students are admitted to candidacy by the end of the third
year, but only after all courses, including those involving
statistics, language, and Research and Writing, and approval
of the dissertation prospectus have been completed.
Almost without exception, those who successfully complete
the Ph.D. in Political Science will join the faculties of
colleges and universities. For that reason, learning what
is involved in teaching and gaining teaching experience is
an essential and central component of graduate education.
The department normally expects students to devote themselves
exclusively to course work and comprehensive examinations
in their first two years in the Ph.D. program. Students in
Political Science typically teach in their third and fourth
years.
A joint Ph.D. degree is available with African American
Studies. Students must apply to and be acepted by both departments
independently. Consult that department for details.
Master's Degrees
M.Phil. The academic requirements for the M.Phil.
degree are the same as for the Ph.D. degree except for the
completion of the dissertation.
M.A. (en route to the Ph.D.). The M.A. degree is awarded
upon completion of a full year of course work in the program
(i.e., at least seven term courses) with an average of High
Pass or better. The course must include one each in at least
three of the department's substantive fields and a basic course
in statistical analysis. Language requirements are the same
as for the Ph.D. degree.
Program materials are available upon request to the Director of Graduate Studies, Political Science Department, Yale University, PO Box 208301, New Haven CT 06520-8301.
Courses
Empirical Analysis and Research Methodology
PLSC 500a, Statistics. Alan Gerber. TTh 9–10.30
The goal of this course is to introduce basic statistical
theory and techniques for Political Science graduate students.
The first part of the course covers probability theory, while
the second part is devoted to estimation and inference, including
an introduction to the classic multiple linear regression
framework. Although emphasis is on the development of the
relevant theory and statistical concepts, a series of applications
and examples is considered on a variety of political science
problems, such as turnout, crime, elections, party systems,
etc.
PLSC 503b, Advanced Quantitative Methods. Donald
Green. HTBA
This course provides an extensive treatment of the linear
regression model. It covers a wide array of regression techniques
including those which address problems of measurement error,
reciprocal causation, and nonlinearities. Time series and
pooled time-series-cross-sectional models are also covered.
The aim is to make students intelligent consumers of published
quantitative research and to prepare them to conduct original
research in political science. The course assumes students
have command of the material covered in PLSC 500 including
basic knowledge of probability theory.
PLSC 504a, Special Topics in Advanced Quantitative Methods. Kenneth
Scheve. M 1.30–3.20, Th 10–12
This course provides an extensive treatment of the likelihood
theory of statistical inference that underlies many of the
statistical methods used in political science. After the foundational
material is presented, I introduce a large variety of statistical
models. These include dichotomous and polychotomous response
models, models for censored and truncated data, sample selection
models, duration models, and models for count data. We also
cover methods for time series and pooled time-series-cross-sectional
data with an emphasis on approaches for limited dependent
variables. Finally, the course introduces some basic ideas
and methods from Bayesian data analysis. The aim is to make
students intelligent consumers of published quantitative research
and to prepare them to conduct original research in political
science. The course assumes students have command of the material
covered in PLSC 500 and PLSC 503 including basic probability
theory, matrix algebra, and the linear regression model.
PLSC 517a, Fundamentals of Modeling. John
Roemer, Woojin Lee. Th 10.30–12.30
Topics include: preferences, utility functions, Pareto
efficiency, economic equilibrium, voting for public goods,
Nash equilibrium, Downs-Nash political equilibrium, Wittman-Nash
political equilibrium, social welfare functions, the Arrow
Impossibility Theorem, the prisoners’ dilemma, elements
of probability, von Neumann-Morgenstern utility, Harsanyi’s
veil of ignorance, games in extensive form, subgame perfect
Nash equilibrium. The necessary mathematics is introduced
as needed, but students are advised to review elementary calculus
before the class begins.
PLSC 540a, 541b, Research and Writing. Ian
Shapiro, Kenneth Scheve. M 10–12
This is a required course for all second-year students.
Although it is designated as a spring- term course, in fact
it meets for the first six weeks of the fall term and the
first six weeks of the spring term. The fall meetings are
devoted to discussion of research design as well as individual
student projects. These meetings supplement 540a, the individual
meetings with faculty advisers. The spring meetings are devoted
to discussion of drafts of student papers. The work of the
spring-term seminar includes criticism of the organization,
arguments, data evaluation, and writing in each student’s
paper by the instructors and the other students. Using this
criticism, and under the supervision of the instructors, each
student conducts additional research, if necessary, rewrites
the paper as required, and prepares a final paper representing
the best work of which the student is capable. Students must
submit a one-page outline of the proposed project for the
first fall-term meeting and a complete draft of the paper
at the first meeting in the spring. Six weeks in beginning
of fall term; six weeks in beginning of spring.
Contemporary
Theory
PLSC 553a, Justice. Bruce Ackerman. mt 4.10–6
Examines contemporary theories, together with an effort
to assess their practical implications. Also LAW 20104.
PLSC 557au, Theories of Social Justice. Casiano
Hacker-Cordon. T 1.30–3.20
The aim of the course is to provide each student with
the conceptual wherewithal to refine her or his own sense
of the most fundamental political problem. To this end, we
proceed by close reading of theories of distributive justice
in light of some of the urgent social problems that characterize
today’s world and in light of the perennial problem
of adequate justification.
PLSC 558a, Issues in Democratic Theory. Ian
Shapiro. T 3.30–5.20
This seminar deals with contemporary scholarship on democracy.
Among the topics to be covered: competing definitions of democracy;
the causes of transitions to democracy and the sources of
democratic stability; the relations between democracy and
other values such as equality, efficiency, community, justice,
and truth; participation, representation, and delegation in
decision making; the roles for argument, deliberation, contestation,
and opposition; courts and constitutionalism; the impact of
democracy on the distribution of income and wealth; membership,
diversity, and group rights. Students are expected to write
a research paper or take a twenty-four-hour take-home exam.
Graduate students only. A maximum of eighteen are admitted,
with preference to Political Science Ph.D. students.
PLSC 573b, Theory and Practice. Bruce Ackerman.
W 2.10–4
A writing seminar devoted to the exploration of the practical
significance of the theories of justice considered in the
fall-term course Justice, which is generally a requirement
for admission into this seminar. Students with exceptional
backgrounds in political philosophy may be admitted directly
upon satisfying the instructor that they have in fact read
and pondered the texts discussed in the fall-term course.
Also LAW 21130.
PLSC 580b, Aliens, Citizens, and Residents: Political
Philosophy and Political Membership. Seyla Benhabib,
C. Emcke. Th 10.30–12.20
Conditions of membership have not been subjected to rigorous
philosophical examination in liberal-democratic theory. How
can boundaries and borders be justified? In a world of deterritorialized
politics, what is the moral justification, if any, for retaining
nation-state borders? By focusing on Rawls, Walzer, Habermas,
Arendt, and contemporary theories of citizenship (Beiner,
Carens, Nusbbaum, Bauboeck), this course deals with the ethics
and politics of membership. Also PHIL 702b.
PLSC 586au, Feminism, Imperialism, and Global Justice. Casiano
Hacker-Cordon. W 1.30–3.20
This is an exploratory course in political theory with
a constructive purpose. What is the best way to negotiate
the affinities and tensions between feminist and anti-imperialist
political ideals? We take a broad understanding of imperialism
as including both political-economic and cultural domination.
Our analyses are thus applicable to both international relations
theory and theory of multiculturalism.
PLSC 595a, Theories of Distributive Justice. John
Roemer. W 10–12
We survey the main theories of distributive justice proposed
by economists and political philosophers in the last half-century,
critiquing each theory from both the economic and philosophical
perspective. Including Arrow’s impossibility theorem
and its resolution, axiomatic bargaining theory (J. Nash and
followers), utilitarianism according to J. Harsanyi, egalitarianism
according to J. Rawls and A. Sen, procedural justice according
to R. Nozick, resource egalitarianism according to R. Dworkin,
and equality of opportunity according to R. Arneson, G.A.
Cohen, and J. Roemer. The main text is Theories of Distributive
Justice (J.E. Roemer, 1996). political philosophy
PLSC 602au, Ancient and Medieval Political Thought. Robert
Wokler. MW 9–10.15
An intensive study of the foundations of political philosophy.
An analysis of the origins of political philosophy in Socratic
and Platonic thought, followed by Machiavelli’s comprehensive
critique of the Socratic tradition.
PLSC 615au, Freedom in Nineteenth-Century German Political
Thought. Seyla Benhabib. TTh 11.30–12.20, 1 HTBA
An examination of the concept of freedom, and its relation
to property, civil society, and intersubjectivity in the works
of Kant, Hegel, Fichte, and Marx. Also PHIL 506au.
PLSC 619bu, The Problem of Happiness in Political Philosophy. Michael
Kochin. W 3.30–5.20
We explore the problem of happiness by examining the
life of pleasure, the life of political activity, and the
life of theoretical contemplation. We then explore whether
these lives are available to contemporary men and women.
PLSC 621bu, Constitutionalism and Democracy: Montesquieu
and Tocqueville. Steven Smith. M 1.30–3.20
Are democracy and constitutional government compatible
or do they offer contending political goods? Democracy is
a form of popular rule, while constitutionalism provides a
check to political power whether of the one, the few, or the
many. This course examines the problem of how to constrain
the growth of centralized political power through a close
reading of Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws and
Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. A further
goal is to see how American constitutional democracy has been
shaped by the writings of these two French aristocrats.
PLSC 622bu, The Age of Enlightenment and Its Critics. Robert
Wokler. Th 1.30–3.20
Introduction to central themes and currents of European
social and political thought in the eighteenth century, including
notions of religious toleration, civilization and progress,
and the emancipation of women, slaves, and Jews. Analysis
of twentieth-century claims that modern totalitarianism and
even the Holocaust may be traced to Enlightenment principles.
PLSC 649bu, The Hidden Structure of Political Theories. Amelie
Rorty. W 3.30–5.20
Normative political theories depend on a set of presuppositions
about human nature, about the roles of rationality and the
imagination in choice and action. This course explores the
presuppositions of classical political theories, their views
about the aims of political association, and the qualifications
for political participation. It also analyzes and contrasts
the kind of educational system projected by a variety of theories,
those of Plato and Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau,
Mill, Marx, and Rawls. Also PHIL 662bu.
International
Relations
PLSC 650bu, Theories of War and Peace. Bruce
Russett. T 3.30–5.20
Comprehensive review and analysis of the theoretical
literature on the causes of war and survey of some major ongoing
research programs on war and peace. Includes structural systemic,
dyadic, domestic political, bureaucratic/organizational, and
psychological approaches.
PLSC 657au, Foreign Policy Decision Making. Alex
Mintz. T 3.30–5.20
Examination of leading theories of decision making (expected
utility theory, cybernetic theory, bureaucratic politics,
prospect theory, and poliheuristic theory) and their applications
in international relations. Sequential decision making, interactive
decision making, group decision making, framing and affect
in foreign policy decision making. Factors affecting foreign
policy decisions.
PLSC 661a, Business, Government, and Globalization. Paul
Bracken. HTBA
Transformational forces of globalization and technology
are changing the configuration of business and government
throughout the world. This course applies to countries the
tools and frameworks developed for studying business. A comparative
approach (East and South Asia, Europe, the U.S.) is used to
analyze the politics and strategy of the multinational corporation.
Topics covered include technology strategies, risk and the
global corporation, the Global Compact, and organizational
formats for multinational enterprise. Also MGT 580a.
PLSC 662au, Strategy, Technology, and War. Paul
Bracken. HTBA
The interrelationship of strategy, foreign policy, and
military technology since 1900. Examination of classic and
modern formulations of this relationship, including new post-Cold
War theories of the role of force in international affairs.
Topics include multipolarity and the emergence of new competitors;
developments in military technology and their impact on the
balance of power and U.S. international position; proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction; information warfare and the
revolutionary impact of new technologies. Also MGT 586a.
PLSC 664a, A Multi-Method Approach to International
Relations. Alex Mintz. M 3.30–5.20
The purpose of this course is to introduce the student
to the main methodological approaches to the study of international
relations. We do so by applying three sets of methodologies
(statistical, formal, and experimental) to some of the most
important theoretical puzzles in the field of international
relations: deterrence, the arms race, armament and escalation,
democratic peace, decision making, defense and development,
and the diversionary use of force.
PLSC 672bu, NATO in the Post-Cold War World: Adaptation
or Decline? Jolyon Howorth. W 1.30–3.20
The course analyzes the attempts by NATO to adapt to
the post-Cold War world. It assesses the impassioned debates
between Europeans and Americans over burden-sharing, “going
global,” and enlargement. It assesses the lessons to
be learned from NATO’s reluctant involvement in crisis
management and scrutinizes the prospects for genuine alliance
transformation since 9/11.
PLSC 688au, European Union: U.S. Relations Since the
End of the Cold War. Jolyon Howorth. T 3.30–5.20
This course focuses on the changing nature of relations
between the U.S. and the EC/EU since the late 1980s. The course
is predicated on the assumption that two major policy areas
(foreign and security policy and economic and trade policy)
have undergone significant transformations over the past fifteen
years.
PLSC 715a, Studies in Grand Strategy, Part II. John
Gaddis, Paul Kennedy. M 1.30–3.20
This two-term course begins in January with readings
in classical works from Sun Tzu to Clausewitz to Kissinger.
Students identify principles of strategy and examine the extent
to which these were or were not applied in historical case
studies from the Peloponnesian War to the post-Cold War period.
During the summer, students undertake research projects or
internships designed to apply resulting insights to the detailed
analysis of a particular strategic problem or aspect of strategy,
whether of a historical or contemporary character. Written
reports on these projects are presented and critically discussed
early in the fall term. The seminar then turns its attention
to strategic dilemmas currently facing governments, corporations,
and nongovernmental organizations. Students must take both
terms, fulfill the summer research/internship requirement,
and attend additional lectures on grand strategy to be scheduled
throughout the spring and fall terms. For the first term,
students from the Graduate School receive a grade of FY (full
year), which converts to a final grade for both terms upon
completion of the course. Other students receive grades in
accordance with the grading systems of their respective schools.
In both semesters the seminar meets during reading week and
holds a total of fourteen weekly sessions. Admission is by
competitive application only; forms are available at International
Security Studies. Also HIST 985a.
Comparative
Politics
PLSC 702au, South African Democracy in Comparative Perspective.
Courtney Jung. T 3.30–5.20
This seminar is an intensive examination of South African
politics, ranging over the rise and fall of Apartheid, the
negotiated transition to democracy, and the period of democratic
consolidation that has been under way since 1994. The South
African political experience is located in two theoretical
debates. The first concerns the dynamics of transition negotiations:
why they begin and what makes them succeed or fail. Here the
comparative points of reference are other successful transitions
in Latin America and the post-communist world, as well as
failed transition negotiations in the Middle East and the
sputtering one in Northern Ireland. Our question is: What
light, if, any, does South Africa’s success to date
shed on these and other cases? The second debate concerns
the distributive politics in new democracies, with particular
attention to the structure and social composition of inequality
following transitions to democracy. Here the questions revolve
around the failure of previously excluded groups to use their
new access to the political system to achieve significant
redistribution, land reform, or in many cases even minimal
economic security. Again our concern is to understand the
degree to which the South African experience mirrors, or departs
from, patterns in Latin America and the post-communist world,
and to account for the similarities and differences that we
find. Also AFST 702au.
PLSC 712b, Comparative Political Economy. Frances
Rosenbluth. F 10–12
The course introduces graduate students to the basic
theoretical and methodological approaches to political economy
(most notably rational choice and game theory), as well as
analyzing important empirical questions and providing a forum
for students to undertake their own research. Some of the
empirical topics include transitions to democracy and the
market, political competition and economic outcomes, globalization,
deregulation, environment, regional integration, federalism,
and corruption.
PLSC 714a, Corruption, Economic Development, and Democracy.
Susan Rose-Ackerman. T 2.10–4
A seminar on the link between political and bureaucratic
institutions on the one hand, and economic development on
the other. Consideration is given to the role of international
aid and lending organizations such as the World Bank. A particular
focus is the impact of corruption on development. Also
LAW 20098.
PLSC 717bu, The Political Evolution of French-Speaking
Africa. William Foltz. T 1.30–3.20
The political history of French-speaking Africa from
colonization to the present. French colonial theory and practice;
African elites under the Third and Fourth Republics; decolonization;
distinctive properties of francophone states; French postcolonial
influence. A good reading knowledge of French is essential.
Also AFST 717bu.
PLSC 719b, Labor and Capital in Advanced Capitalist
Democracies. Peter Swenson. W 10–12
This course examines some of the economic, social, technological,
political, and institutional logics behind labor and capital
market governance in economically advanced democratic polities.
From the logics of regulation, the course proceeds to analysis
and explanation of major and current macropolitical issues
like the shift from Keynesianism to monetarism, the centralization
of industrial relations, the creation of financial systems
and independent central banks, the foundations and transformations
of welfare states, and international pressures forcing change
if not necessarily convergence on distinct national systems
of governance. Material for the course is drawn largely from
the literature on Western Europe, the U.S., and Japan.
PLSC 728a, Ethnic Violence in South Asia. Arjun
Appadurai. W 10–12
This course focuses on large-scale ethnic violence in
South Asia, especially in the last fifteen years. Major emphasis
is placed on Hindu-Muslim conflicts in India, but some comparative
attention is also paid to violence against various ethnic
minorities in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The purpose of the course
is to explore the relationship between large-scale identities,
new religious movements, and changes in regional politics
and economy linked to globalization. Limited to fifteen students.
Also ANTH 590a.
PLSC 731bu, Pathways from Authoritarianism in Asia. Pierre
Landry. M 3.30–5.20
Drawing on comparative theory, this course analyzes how
and why authoritarian regimes respond to internal and external
pressures for political change, with a focus on East and Southeast
Asian cases. It analyzes why some authoritarian systems “choose”
to democratize (Taiwan, South Korea, Mongolia, Indonesia)
while others have instead incrementally evolved, but fallen
short of full-fledged democratization (China, Vietnam, Cambodia,
North Korea). Students are expected to produce a research
paper and present their finding in class.
PLSC 733au, Power and Authority in China’s Localities. Pierre
Landry. M 1.30–3.20
An examination of the relationship between “reforms”
and the political evolution of Chinese localities in contemporary
China. Topics include the “village” literature,
namely the lowest level of aggregation of China’s local
institutions, and the issue of political authority in the
broader contexts of cities and provinces.
PLSC 734a,b, Comparative Research Workshop. Ivan
Szelenyi, Andrew Schrank. W 6–8
This workshop is a weekly interdisciplinary seminar at
which work-in-progress by distinguished visiting scholars,
Yale graduate students, and faculty from various social science
disciplines is discussed. Papers are distributed a week ahead
of time and also posted at the Web site of the Center for
Comparative Research. Students who take the course for a letter
grade have to present a paper the term they are enrolled for
credit. Also SOCY 560a,b.
PLSC 738au, Resource, Wealth, Political Regimes, and
Economic Growth. Pauline Jones Luong. T 1.30–3.20
Is there in fact a “resource curse”? This
course explores the proposition that a state with abundant
natural resources is more often cursed than blessed by this
wealth. Countless studies document the correlation between
resource wealth, poor economic performance, unbalanced growth,
weakly institutionalized states, and authoritarian regimes.
But what, if any, causal mechanisms underlie this empirical
correlation?
PLSC 739a, Comparative Political Behavior. Kenneth
Scheve. T 3.30–5.20
This course is an introduction to the study of comparative
mass political behavior. The seminar focuses on research questions
about cross-national differences and similarities in public
opinion and voting behavior. Topics covered include cultural,
interest, elite, and media-centered explanations of individual
opinion formation about politics. The seminar also evaluates
recent cross-national voting studies that have examined issue
voting in national elections, coordination problems in alternative
electoral systems, ideology and partisanship in voting decisions,
ethnicity and voting behavior, and individual decision making
in referendums.
PLSC 752bu, The International Political Economy of Development.
Gustavo Vega-Cánovas. M 1.30–3.20
This course focuses on the changing global economy, its
impact on the development of distinctive regions, and the
ways nations and regions are responding to rapid globalization
and economic change. Latin America, Asia, and Africa are the
primary regions of focus.
PLSC 755au, European Politics. David Cameron. W 1.30–3.20
A comprehensive survey of politics in Europe. Attention
is concentrated on the development of the European Union as
a supranational organization—including recent developments
associated with economic, monetary, and political union, and
the developments that have occurred throughout Eastern Europe
since 1989.
PLSC 759a, Issues in the Analysis of African Politics. William
Foltz. M 1.30–3.20
Subjects include the influence of pre-colonial systems
and colonial rule on contemporary politics, states and statelessness,
the politics of economic performance, communal conflict, and
attempts at regional and sub-regional unity. Students prepare
two bibliographic essays, one on the politics of an African
country, one of an analytic problem area. Also AFST 759a.
PLSC 764b, Civil Wars. Stathis Kalyvas. M 5–7
This is a seminar about cutting-edge research on civil
wars, violent ethnic conflict, and the dynamics of violence.
We read recent and forthcoming work, as well as older pieces,
and discuss various approaches and methods. Although the readings
include some historical material and a few case studies, the
emphasis is analytical and theoretical. This seminar also
aims to address questions of research design in comparative
politics, with a particular emphasis on conceptually ambiguous
phenomena and data-poor environments.
PLSC 772bu, Varieties of Capitalism and the State. David
Soskice. W 3.30–5.20
This course examines the relationship between national
and transnational business regimes and the state (including
the political and policy-making systems) in the developed
world, in East Asia, and in Latin America under the impact
of globalization.
PLSC 774bu, Comparative Perspective on Middle East Politics. Ellen
Lust-Okar. T 1.30–3.20
This course has two purposes. First, it examines political
liberalization and regime change in the Middle East. Second,
it considers the extent to which work on the Middle East differs
from comparative theories developed in other areas. It begins
with a brief overview of the recent debates over the relationship
between scholarship on the Middle East and that of comparative
politics more generally. It then examines literature on liberalization
in the Middle East. Works read include Norton; Baaklini, Denouex,
and Springborg; Brynen, Korany, and Noble; Piro and Chaudhry.
PLSC 776au, States and Regimes in Comparative Perspective.
Anna Grzymala-Busse. T 3.30–5.20
This graduate seminar is designed to analyze the state
as a responsive, if not necessarily a unitary, political actor.
Main topics include theories of the state; analytical issues
in “measuring the state”; the rise of bureaucracy,
patronage, corruption, and rent-seeking; state engineering
of economic and administrative policies; the state under a
variety of political systems; the colonization of the state
by political parties, interest groups, and economic classes;
state collapse and regeneration. Principal readings include
Bates, States and Markets; Scott, Seeing Like a State; Bunce,
Subversive Institutions.
PLSC 777a, Comparative Politics I: Research Design. Stathis
Kalyvas. M 5–7
Comparative Politics I and II is a seminar in two parts
designed to introduce graduate students to the fundamentals
of comparative politics, including the major debates, topics,
and methods. Comparative Politics I explores questions of
methodology with an emphasis on research design. Comparative
Politics II focuses on substantive issues. Students read and
discuss several classic and more recent works that represent
a major theme and/or theory in comparative politics, including
Karl Polyani’s The Great Transformation, Charles
Tilly’s Coercion, Capital and European States,
Theda Skocpol’s States and Social Revolutions,
and Adam Przeworski, Michael E. Alvarez, Jose Cheibub, and
Fernando Limongi’s Democracy and Development.
It is strongly recommended that students take both parts of
the seminar and that they do so consecutively.
PLSC 778b, Comparative Politics II. Pauline
Jones Luong. T 1.30–3.20
See description under PLSC 777a.
PLSC 779a, Agrarian Societies: Culture, Society, History,
and Development. James Scott, Michael Dove, Paul
Freedman, Robert Harms. M 1.30–5.20
An interdisciplinary examination of agrarian societies,
contemporary and historical, Western and non-Western. Major
analytical perspectives from economics, history, political
science, and environmental studies are used to develop a meaning-centered
and historically grounded account of the transformations of
rural society. Team taught. Also ANTH 541a, F&ES 753a,
HIST 965a.
PLSC 784bu, Africa and the Disciplines. William
Foltz. W 1.30–3.20
This seminar is designed to introduce students to the
study of Africa from the perspective of the several disciplines,
specifically history, anthropology, politics and economics,
law, literature, linguistics, and art history. It examines
how Africa has been studied from the perspectives of the different
disciplines, and also shows how the study of Africa has in
turn contributed to the disciplines themselves. Also AFST
764bu.
PLSC 790b, Workshop on Political Economy. John
Roemer. W 4–6
In this seminar, outside speakers present their recent
work in the area of formal political economy. Students present
previews of upcoming papers or related material.
PLSC 794b, Political Economy of the Welfare State. Jacob
Hacker, Theodore Marmor. M 1.30–3.20
All the economies of rich democracies are mixed, in that
government spending and regulation modify the free play of
market forces and the distribution of market rewards. Nonetheless,
advanced economies still differ tremendously in the degree
and nature of government involvement, in the organizational
characteristics of production, and in the distribution of
income and economic security. This course considers the nature
and source of these differences, focusing on three leading
areas of inquiry in comparative political economy: the welfare
state, public and private risk-sharing, and the family-workplace
nexus. The key analytic debates concern the power of business
and labor, the influence of partisanship, the role of political
institutions, the effect of path dependence, the impact of
economic integration, and the future of the welfare state.
american politics
PLSC 800a, Introduction to American Politics. David
Mayhew. T 1.30–3.20
An introduction to the analysis of U.S. politics. Approaches
given consideration include classical separation of powers,
political culture, civil society, the state, the public sphere,
attitudes, power and influence, ideology, on-site contextual,
econometrics of elections, rational actors, and formal theories
of institutions. Assigned authors include J. Madison, A. de
Tocqueville, R. Putnam, T. Skocpol, S. Skowronek, D. Mayhew,
J. Zaller, R. Dahl, R. Neustadt, J. Gerring, R. Fenno, D.R.
Kiewiet, R. Erikson, A. Downs, M. Olson, and K. Krehbiel.
Students are expected to read and discuss each week’s
assignment, and, for each of five weeks, write a three- to
five-page analytic paper that deals with a subject addressed
or suggested by the reading.
PLSC 813b, Intersecting Identities: Nation, Race, and
Gender. Ange-Marie Hancock. T 3.30–5.20
This seminar explores the value of approaching political
identity from an intersectional perspective, primarily using
the political philosophies of Hannah Arendt, W. E. B. Du Bois,
and democratic theory. Also AFAM 809b.
PLSC 822a,b, American Politics Workshop. Alan
Gerber. M 12–1.30
For graduate students in American Politics, serving as
a forum for presentation and discussion of the work in progress
of students, Yale faculty members, and invited speakers. Students
taking the course for a grade are required to make a presentation
and submit a research paper.
PLSC 823b, Race and Ethnicity. Khalilah Brown-Dean.
HTBA
This course is an introduction to research on race and
ethnicity in American politics. Topics include the social
construction of race; intersections between race and gender;
black, Latino, and Asian American public opinion and political
participation; minority representation; the relationship between
race, racism, and public policy; immigration and citizenship;
state politics; the psychology of racial politics; and the
role of race in campaigns. We discuss and debate the empirical
contributions of this literature, as well as questions of
theory, methodology, and research design. Also AFAM 814b.
PLSC 831au, The U.S. Congress. Rose Razaghian. W 3.30–5.20
The U.S. Congress is the primary democratic institution
in the American political system. Elections provide the mechanisms
through which Members of Congress are evaluated and held accountable;
congressional rules and internal organization shape the outcome
of legislation; and Congress provides a check on the powers
of the executive and judicial branches of government. The
objective of this course is to develop a detailed and critical
understanding of the U.S. Congress, focusing on the individual
Congresspersons, on the institutional features of Congress,
and on the role of Congress within the larger Separation-of-Powers
system.
PLSC 842b, The Constitution: Philosophy, History, and
Law. Bruce Ackerman. MT
4.10–6
An inquiry into the foundations of the American Constitution,
at its founding and at critical moments in its historical
transformation—most notably in response to the Civil
War, the Great Depression, and the Civil Rights Movement.
Philosophically speaking, do we still live under the Constitution
founded by the Federalists, or are we inhabitants of the Second
or Third or Nth Republic? Institutionally, in what ways are
the patterns of modern American government similar to, and
different from, those in post-Revolutionary (1787–1860)
and post-Civil War (1868–1932) America? Legally, what
is or was the role of constitutional law in the organization
of each of these historical regimes? Through asking and answering
these questions, the course tries to gain a critical perspective
on the effort by the present Supreme Court to create a new
constitutional regime for the twenty-first century. Examination.
Also LAW 21046.
PLSC 844bu, Money and American Elections. Alan
Gerber. M 3.30–5.20
An examination of the role money plays in elections in
the United States and the political consequences of the campaign
finance system. Topics include who gives money to candidates
and why, how money affects election outcomes, campaign fund
raising by women and minority candidates, the effect of campaign
contributions on public policy, constitutional law and campaign
finance, and a careful evaluation of various proposals for
campaign finance reform.
PLSC 845b, The Politics of Tax Policy: Research Seminar. Ian
Shapiro,
Michael Graetz. T
4.10–6
This seminar is designed for Law and graduate Political
Science students who plan to do research papers on the politics
of tax policy making. During the first half of the term we
discuss various books and articles on this topic. After spring
break the seminar becomes a workshop to discuss student research
projects. Among the issues discussed are the politics of the
2001 repeal of the estate tax; the popularity among politicians
of tax credits over direct spending as a means of addressing
the nation’s social and economic problems; the role
of budget rules and the procedural rules of the House and
Senate in shaping the tax law; the role of political contributions
and lobbyists in the tax legislative process; and the role
of tax policy in the distribution of income and wealth. Limited
enrollment. For Law students, substantial paper credit is
available. Also LAW 21393.
PLSC 849a, The American Presidency. Stephen
Skowronek. W 3.30–5.20
An examination in depth of a selected topic on the American
presidency. Topics vary from year to year. Examples include
the presidency of Lyndon Johnson, the Republican presidents,
the politics of leadership, and the reorganization of the
executive branch.
PLSC 853au, U.S. National Elections. David
Mayhew.
W 1.30–3.20
A research seminar centering on presidential and congressional
elections. Topics include electoral realignments, current
presidential alignments, the electoral college, voter turnout,
aggregate House election patterns, House incumbency advantage,
challenger quality, career decisions, election laws, House
and Senate constituencies, campaign finance, Senate elections,
and divided party control. Assigned authors include R. Erikson,
E. Tufte, G. Jacobson, A. Abramowitz, M. Fiorina, R. Wolfinger,
E. Ladd, G. King, J. Snyder, and B. Grofman. Students are
expected to read weekly assignments and write a twenty- to
thirty-page research paper.
PLSC 863bu, Bureaucratic Politics in the United States. Rose
Razaghian. T 1.30–3.20
In this course we examine the organization of the U.S.
bureaucracy in detail. We study the role of information and
delegation, agency design, direct and indirect oversight,
the impact on public policy, and its historical development.
We pay particular attention to the choice of research questions
and the methodology employed to address these questions.
PLSC 867bu, American Political Institutions. John
Lapinski. M 1.30–3.20
This course explores the origins and development of American
political institutions, especially in relation to how institutions
shape the policy process. Issues of temporality, policy feedback,
and policy substance are examined.
PLSC 871b, Health, Law, and Policy. Theodore
Marmor, Jerry Mashaw. HTBA
This course provides a general introduction to health
law, policy, politics, and economics. Topics include, among
others, access to health care, patients’ rights, the
meaning and effects of “managed care,” the relationship
of health care to public health, and selected issues in bioethics.
Treatment of these issues in foreign health care systems is
analyzed to provide perspective on domestic issues. Examination
with a limited paper option. Also MGT 661b, LAW 21416.
PLSC 876au, The American Welfare State in Comparative
Perspective. Jacob Hacker. T
1.30–3.20
An exploration of the causes and consequences of America’s
comparatively distinctive social welfare framework. Consideration
of competing analytic and normative perspectives in the context
of selected policy issues and political episodes, including
health care, retirement pensions, economic inequality, the
New Deal, the Great Society, and current debates over Medicare
and Social Security.
PLSC 883au, New Haven/The Problem of Change in the American
City. Douglas Rae, Cynthia Farrar, Alan Plattus,
Steven Lassant. TTh
11.30–12.20
Examination of the rapid transformation of New Haven
and other American cities over the past century as a case
study of urban change and urban policy. One of New Haven’s
neighborhoods’ history and prospects considered in detail
through studies of amelioration, gateways, gentrification,
and common gain. Themes include the planning and policy implications
of the flow of higher-income populations away from the inner
city. Discussion of the creation of communities of common
gain in depopulated urban cores.
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