Politics, Law, and International Relations

Introductory study of (1) the nature and origins of the United States constitution; (2) structure, organization, and functions of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the national government; and (3) the evolution and character of elections, media, parties, and interest groups in American political society. 

The concepts, theories, and debates of International Relations, with a focus on contemporary issues across all regions of the globe. Emphasis on the role of states, international organizations, NGOs, and individuals in both cooperation and conflict, and the ways in which transnational issues related to globalization challenge state sovereignty. 

Contexts and range of tasks confronting modern societies in using the law as a special type of process that restores, maintains, or corrects the four basic functions of the law: resolution of disputes, facilitation and protection of voluntary arrangements, molding moral and legal conceptions of a society, and maintenance of historical continuity and consistency of doctrine.

Overview of the politics, elections, institutions, policy practices, and court systems of the states and their local governments in the U. S. federal system. Special emphasis on Virginia politics. Participation in a community service project.

Basic theories and issues in the field of Comparative Politics, issues of economic development and regime type, reasons why different countries work under different political institutions, and the benefits and shortcomings of different institutional configurations. Important political and social issues analyzed from a comparative perspective.

Development and evolution of the institutions of political power under the United States Constitution with particular emphasis on amendments to the Constitution and major decisions of the Supreme Court on the nature and scope of the judicial power, the expansion of national regulation, the changes in the roles of the states and the national governments, and the growth of executive power. 

Reciprocal interaction of international political and international economic relations, the formation of industrial policy and trade policy, and issues related to international investment flows. Cases from Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America.

Interaction of culture, economy, society, intellectual and ideological currents, international environment, and the nature of change and nation-building in selected nations of the Middle East and North Africa. Emphasis on Egypt, Iran, and Turkey; the Levant states of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria; the Gulf states of Iraq and Saudi Arabia; and Algeria in North Africa. This course satisfies the Global core requirement. 

Interaction of history, culture, economy, society, and international environment in shaping contemporary European political systems at the national, regional, and global level. 

Major works from the history of political philosophy with emphasis on the development of major ideas in political philosophy, debates between major thinkers, and the relevance of great works of political philosophy to human self-understanding and major political issues of our time.

Political, economic, and societal dimensions of Japan, China, the Koreas, and India, including security issues in the region and the foreign economic policies of each country. This course satisfies the Global core requirement. 

Basic theories and issues of comparative politics of Latin America, including development, modernization, dependency, populism, authoritarianism, democratization, democratic breakdown, civil-military relations, political institutions, and governance.

Hands-on research experience, assisting in faculty research projects.

Hands-on research experience, assisting in faculty research projects.

Hands-on research experience, assisting in faculty research projects.

Hands-on research experience, assisting in faculty research projects.

How socially-constructed race, class, gender, and sexuality roles influence the lives of women and men in the United States. Similarities and differences between and among forms of oppression and ways in which issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality intersect. Public policies related to these issues. Strategies for coalition-building and redefining differences. Participation in a service project.

Exploration of the role that parties, elections, interest groups, public opinion polls, and the media play in the political system of the United States, including discussions of the evolution of the American party system, the character of contemporary political campaigns, and campaign finance issues. 

Exploring and theorizing various national and international security issues, including nuclear proliferation, shifts in the frequency and nature of wars, genocide, ethnic conflict, and the use of political violence by state and non-state actors. Emphasis on the debates surrounding American primacy, counterterrorism, transnational security issues, and efforts for global and regional security cooperation.

Role of the U.S. Supreme Court in using cases based on the Constitution to protect the rights of citizens from undue or prohibited interference with their protected liberties, including discussions of cases dealing with individual versus group rights, religious liberty, free expression, racial and gender discrimination, political participation, rights of the aged, immigrants, and the criminally accused.

Analysis of the causes and consequences of democracy, including definitions of democracy, democratic breakdown, transition and consolidation, the quality of democracy, and hybrid regimes. Theories drawing on economics, structuralism, rational choice, cultural theory, sociology, and institutionalism will be examined.

The political roles, attitudes, and status of women worldwide, including assessments of women's participation, cultural empowerment, and access to resources across diverse case studies and regions of the world. Emphasis on women and political activism, the construction of gender roles for political purposes, and the impact of globalization on women.

Studies in specific periods or issues in American politics including major events in American political history; major works and important thinkers in the American political tradition; the historical development of political thought and practice in the United States; and  the fundamental tensions present in the American commitment to democratic government, individual liberty, equality, and the public good. Topics may include the American Founding, Rise and Fall of Jacksonian Democracy, the Long Reconstruction, Issues in Current Constitutional Construction, etc.

Selected topics in American government, political history or theory, comparative government, or public policy. Topics chosen by instructors in consultation with student interests. May be repeated for different topics.

Development of student skills in legal research, reasoning, argumentation, and writing. Team preparation of an appellate brief on a moot court case and appellate argument before a panel of faculty and visiting attorneys.

Development of student skills in legal research, reasoning, argumentation, and writing. Team preparation of an appellate brief on a moot court case and appellate argument before a panel of faculty and visiting attorneys.

Peaceful settlement of disputes involving application of international law, including disputes between sovereign states, disputes between states and individuals, and disputes between states and corporations. Institutions concerned with dispute settlement such as arbitral tribunals, the International Court of Justice, and more specialized bodies such as the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the World Trade Organization, and other institutions handling economic, political, and human rights disputes.

Selected political issues associated with the institutions, culture, and politics of the United States; international or comparative politics; or political theory, thought, or philosophy. All students will complete a major research essay on a topic of their choice. May be re-taken for credit with different topics. Repeated courses will count as a 300 level POLS elevtive.

Advanced independent research in a specific area of political science, under the supervision of a faculty member.

Work experience related to the student's major, jointly supervised by the instructor and agency personnel. Although the usual internship will carry either three or six hours credit, a student may elect to arrange an internship carrying between two and six hours credit with the permission of the department. Each hour of credit will require forty hours at the internship site.

Work experience related to the student's major, jointly supervised by the instructor and agency personnel. Although the usual internship will carry either three or six hours credit, a student may elect to arrange an internship carrying between two and six hours credit with the permission of the department. Each hour of credit will require forty hours at the internship site.

Independent research in a special topic for honors.

Independent research in a special topic for honors.