Political Science

124 Prospect, 432.5241
M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.

Chair
William Foltz

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), Elisabeth Wood, Michael Wallerstein

Associate Professors
Jose Cheibub, Anna Grzymala-Busse, Nicholas Sambanis

Assistant Professors
Khalilah Brown-Dean, Keith Darden, Bryan Garsten, Jacob Hacker, Ange-Marie Hancock, Gregory Huber, Pierre-François Landry, John Lapinski, Ellen Lust-Okar, Rose Razaghian, James Vreeland, Ebonya Washington

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 accepted 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.  Donald Green.
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 504b, Special Topics in Advanced Quantitative Methods.  Donald Green.
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, we 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 first- and second-term statistics, including basic probability theory and linear regression.

PLSC 517a, Fundamentals of Modeling.  John Roemer, Michael Wallerstein.
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.  David Mayhew, Jose Cheibub.
T 9–11
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 556a, Democracy and Social Justice.  Ian Shapiro.
M 3.30–5.20
An exploration of recent arguments about democracy and distributive justice with particular attention to (1) the relations between the two, and (2) their practical significance. The course is organized around students' research papers. These deal with the implications of arguments about democracy, social justice, or both, for the critical understanding of some domain of social life. The students are encouraged to work on domains—such as family, workplace, education, and religion—that have been relatively under-attended to by political theorists in recent decades. The paper may be either an application of existing theory to novel domains of social life, or an attempt to develop a new theoretical argument.

In the first half of the course we read works by John Rawls, Michael Walzer, Amartya Sen, Robert Dahl, William Riker, Adam Przeworski, and others. During this period students also select the particular domain of social life they plan to investigate. Before October 15 each student turns in a two-page paper prospectus and discusses it with the instructor in office hours. In the second half of the course the seminar becomes a workshop. Participants present drafts of their papers for discussion by the group, supplying opportunities for constructive collective effort and for revision of what will become the final papers. There are no prerequisites.

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 575a, Political Competition.  John Roemer.
W 10–12
Political competition in democracies is party competition. We develop, from the formal viewpoint, theories of party competition in democracies. The familiar “median voter theorem” of A. Downs is the simplest example of such a theory, but it is inadequate in several ways. We develop a theory in which parties (1) compete over several issues, not just one issue, as in Downs; (2) are uncertain about how citizens will respond to platforms; and (3) represent interest groups in the population. Applications, particularly to the theory of income distribution and taxation, are studied. Also ECON 788a.

PLSC 583a, Contemporary Critical Theory.  Seyla Benhabib.
W 3.30–5.20
Is Habermas's theory of communicative ethics a moral theory or a theory of legitimation? Contemporary critics have argued that it fails in both respects. This course examines challenges to communicative ethics through a group of thinkers whom we may name “ethical pluralists” and “political agonists.” Readings from Juergen Habermas, Charles Taylor, Bernard Williams, Barbara Herman, Isaiah Berlin, A. Honneth, R. Forst, James Bohman, Chantal Mouffe, and others. Also Phil 700a.

Political Philosophy

PLSC 602au, Ancient and Medieval Political Thought.  Robert Wokler.
TTh 1–2.15
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 608au, Democratic Rhetoric: Demagogy, Persuasion, and Deliberation.Bryan Garsten.
MW 11.30–12.20
A consideration of the political problems surrounding the democratic practice of persuasion. Does democracy tend to devolve into an “aristocracy of orators”? Readings include classic texts of political thought, recent writings on deliberative democracy, and reflections on contemporary rhetoric, including rhetoric of the ongoing presidential campaign.

PLSC 610bu, Political Philosophy as Education: Plato and Rousseau.  Steven Smith.
W 1.30–3.20
An examination of Plato's Republic, Rousseau's Emile, and Dewey's Democracy and Education as forms of political pedagogy. Particular emphasis is given to the relation between democracy and education.

PLSC 618bu, Political Judgment.  Bryan Garsten.
T 3.30–5.20
What is good judgment, and what is its role in politics? An examination of two competing traditions of thought on this topic, Aristotelian and Kantian, together with other sources from both recent and ancient political philosophy (including Plato, Cicero, Vico, Gadamer, Habermas, and Rawls).

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 638bu, The Philosophy of Freedom: Berlin, Oakeshott, Strauss.  Steven Smith.
M 1.30–3.20
This course examines the philosophy of freedom in the thought of three of the twentieth century's major political philosophers: Berlin, Oakeshott, and Strauss. The course focuses on an in-depth textual analysis of a selection of their most important writing, but it also attempts to situate their thought in the cross-currents of contemporary politics to which they respond. Berlin's theory of “negative liberty” and his views on the ultimate pluralism of values, Oakeshott's conception of tradition and the role of authority in securing liberty, and Strauss's rehabilitation of the “quarrel between the ancients and the moderns” were all attempts to articulate the basic grounds of a viable idea of liberty in the modern age. Among the topics to be covered in the course are the legacy of the Enlightenment and the Counter-Enlightenment, the critique of the social sciences, the proper relation between liberalism and moral pluralism, the relation between the authority of tradition and the rise of individualism, and the connection, if any, between the ancient tradition of civic and moral virtue and the modern defense of liberal democracy.

International Relations

PLSC 655au, Nationalism and Identity.  Keith Darden.
T 1.30–3.20
Exploration of the formation of national identity and the expression of nationalist sentiments through ethnic parties, autonomy movements, resistance to occupation, and warfare. Particular focus on Europe and post-Soviet Eurasia.

PLSC 656bu, American National Security Policy.  William Odom.
M 3.30–5.20
The course examines the institutions and processes for making U.S. national security strategy and policy; reflects critically on inherent tensions in the way Americans view the nature of war, the use of force, the aims of diplomacy, and America's role in the world; and addresses several contemporary challenges facing the U.S. national security policy making.

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 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 679bu, Theories, Methods, and Approaches in the Study of International Relations.  Keith Darden.
T 1.30–3.20
This course examines theories of international relations and the methods used for evaluating them. The course begins with a review of different philosophies of science, surveys the main theoretical traditions in IR, and then examines the different empirical methods that can be used to identify causation, using examples from IR. The course is designed to marry comprehensive conceptual training with the tools to do original research. Students gain practical experience in selecting a problem, developing or selecting a theory, coding and analyzing their own data, and demonstrating causation with a case study.

PLSC 684au, War and Public Health.  Bruce Russett.
W 3.30–5.20
The immediate combat casualties in wars represent only the tip of the iceberg of long-term casualties due to malnutrition, disease, and social disruptions that derive indirectly from war. We examine how these casualties arise and their humanitarian and political implications. This is a research seminar, following some common readings with major papers.

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 689au, Secession and Political Boundaries.  Nicholas Sambanis.
W 7–8.50
This course analyzes the political economy of decentralization, secession, and political boundaries (both internal to states and international). We explain why some countries have stable systems of political decentralization and others do not. We develop a framework to explain why (and which) regions demand more self-determination and where these demands might lead to violent conflict.

PLSC 715a, Studies in Grand Strategy, Part II.  John Gaddis, Paul Kennedy.
M 3.30–5.20
Part II of the two-term linked seminar offered during the calendar year 2004. Research seminar. Also HIST 985a.

PLSC 715b, Studies in Grand Strategy, Part I.  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 terms 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 985b.

Comparative Politics

PLSC 711bu, Comparative Equality.  Michael Wallerstein.
W 3.30–5.20
Investigation of the causes of differences between countries over time in the distribution of income and wealth before taxes, and in the design and generosity of social insurance policies. Consideration of the relationship between democracy and economic inequality, between inequality and economic performance, and between inequality and poverty.

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.
W 2.10–4
A seminar on the link between political and bureaucratic institutions, on the one hand, and economic development, on the other. A particular focus is the impact of corruption on development and the establishment of democratic government. Paper or self-scheduled examination. Enrollment limited to fifteen. Permission of instructor required. (Taught on the Law School schedule; first class September 8.) Also LAW 20098.

PLSC 720au, Sexual Violence and War.  Elisabeth Wood.
M 7–8.50
In this seminar we analyze patterns of sexual violence in war. While sexual violence occurs to at least some degree in most wars, it occurs to sharply varying extent and in radically different patterns. We study a number of cases in detail, including Rwanda and Bosnia where sexual violence was extremely widespread; Colombia and Guatemala where it was frequent on the part of one of the factions of the war; Sierra Leone and Liberia where it included sexual slavery; and El Salvador and Sri Lanka where it was relatively limited. We also examine two well-documented cases of sexual violence in interstate wars, by the Soviet Army in World War II and the Japanese in Nanking. We analyze how well the relevant literatures in sociology, political science, criminology, psychology, biology, and gender studies account for these patterns.

PLSC 722au, Authoritarian Regimes.  Pierre Landry.
W 3.30–5.20
The course introduces students to the key literature on authoritarian regimes and their political evolution.

PLSC 723b, Comparative Political Institutions.  Jose Cheibub.
M 1.30–3.20
The seminar covers in turn basic modern democratic institutions including electoral systems, political parties, party systems, parliamentary government, government formation, presidential institutions, courts and judicial power, bicameralism, legislative committees, federalism, and so on. Readings include both classic and contemporary comparative politics literature including Cox, Duverger, Laver, Lijphart, Powell, Sartori, Shepsle, Strom, Tsebelis.

PLSC 730bu, Decentralization in Developing Countries.  Pierre Landry.
W 1.30–3.20
A comparison of decentralization strategies and their political consequences. Focus on developing countries with authoritarian or transitional regimes as well as on stable democracies.

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 744bu, Dynamics of Russian Politics.  William Odom.
T 1.30–3.20
Issues of political stability, constitutionalism, and institutions for political participation and governing are examined in light of contemporary events as well as the legacy of the Soviet period. Concepts from political development literature are used to devise alternative interpretations of the most critical determinants of Russian political change and stability, today and in the future. Huntington's Political Order in Changing Societies, Dahl's Polyarchy, Barrington Moore's The Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy, as well as selected journal articles on transitions to democracy, provide the analytic tools for analysis. Students write a short midterm essay on concepts for analysis, and choose a research paper topic in one of the main issue areas, basing their research on the contemporary Russian press and other available sources on Russian affairs since 1985. Also INRL 545b.

PLSC 749bu, The Political Economy of Gender.  Frances Rosenbluth.
T 9.30–11.20
This course examines gender using standard analytical tools of political economy. The course is divided into three parts: The first reviews classical and modern political theories of gender. The second takes up neoclassical and bargaining models of gender. The third lays out a sequence of topics from historical and contemporary cases including gender gaps in wages, career trajectories, and political representation for theoretical evaluation.

PLSC 755au, European Politics.  David Cameron.
T 1.30–3.20
A comprehensive survey of politics in Europe. Attention is given to a variety of issues such as the role of the state in the economy; party systems and electoral change; migration, immigration, and demographic change; political and economic transformations in post-Communist Europe; and social and economic policy in the European states and to the origins, development, and current performance of the European Union. With respect to the latter, the course concentrates on institutional arrangements within the EU, relations between the EU and its member states, and recent developments such as the creation of an Economic and Monetary Union, enlargement, and the negotiation of a constitutional treaty.

PLSC 756bu, European Union.  David Cameron.
T 3.30–5.20
An examination of the origins, development, institutions, contemporary policy-making processes, and challenges facing the European Union. Topics include theories of European integration; the creation of a single internal market; the creation of an Economic and Monetary Union; the several enlargements; the contemporary role of the Union in economic policy, justice and home affairs, and foreign and defense policy; efforts to address the so-called democratic deficit in the Union; and the recent negotiation of a constitutional treaty.

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 770au, Party Politics.  Anna Grzymala-Busse.
M 3.30–5.20
This is an advanced undergraduate/graduate seminar to examine party politics, their development, and its ramifications for democratic governance. Main topics of the course include the rise of political parties, electoral laws and their effects, parties as organizations, parties and patronage/corruption, fragmented political systems, consociational arrangements, and the roles of parties in ethnic conflict. Broader theoretical themes addressed in the course include the specificity of political party organizations, “difficult choices” (responsiveness to the electorate versus responsibility as the government), and the threats to democracy from the parties themselves, both in the interwar period and at the end of the twentieth century. Principal readings include Kitschelt, The Transformation of European Social Democracy; Sartori, Parties and Party Systems; Horowitz, Ethnic Groups in Conflict. As a graduate seminar, the format includes a research/theoretical paper, suitable for publication or a conference presentation. There may be student presentations.

PLSC 777a, Comparative Politics I: Research Design.  Elisabeth Wood.
T 1.30–3.20
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.  Stathis Kalyvas.
HTBA
See description under PLSC 777a.

PLSC 779a, Agrarian Societies: Culture, Society, History, and Development.  Michael Dove, Linda-Anne Rebhun, James Scott, Steven Stoll.
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 780au, Institutions and Transitions of Democracy.  Ellen Lust-Okar.
T 3.30–5.20
An examination of the institutional choices of regime transitions and their implications. Consideration of why some states create presidential systems and others parliamentary ones; the choices of various electoral rules; and political implications of these institutions for future regime change.

PLSC 783au, The IMF at the Crossroads.  James Vreeland.
M 1.30–3.20
The International Monetary Fund is at a crossroads. Originally intended to provide exchange rate stability, the IMF has gradually become involved in the economic policies of most countries in the world. Since the East Asian financial crisis, however, the IMF has come under closer scrutiny than ever before. For the first time, calls for its reform and even its dissolution come from across the political spectrum. Many argue that the IMF has failed in its mission and that its fundamental goals should be altered. In this course we study the purposes of the Fund, the effects of its economic programs, and the various reform arguments.

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

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