INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the principles of American politics and governance. Upon completing the class, students should be more informed about the American political process and better able to explain contemporary American political phenomena, as well as being more likely to engage with politics and elections.

• MW 4:10 p.m.-5:25 p.m.
• Instructor: Andrew J McCall
  Info
• 4 points

INTRO-AMERICAN POLITICS-DISC

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

• M 10:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• M 11:10 a.m.-noon
• W 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• W 2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• T 10:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• F 11:10 a.m.-noon
• T 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m.
• W 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m.
• W 11:10 a.m.-noon
• R 11:10 a.m.-noon
• W 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• W 2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: Justin Onwenu
  Info
• 0 points

INTRO-AMERICAN POLITICS-DISC

Required discussion section for POLS UN1201: INTRO TO AMERICAN POLITICS

• R 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m.
• R 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• W 2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• M 2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Instructor: Elina M Rodriguez
  Info
• 0 points

INTRO TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS

This course provides a broad overview of the comparative politics subfield by focusing on important substantive questions about the world today. The course is organized around four questions. First, why can only some people depend upon the state to enforce order? Second, how can we account for the differences between autocracies and democracies? Third, what different institutional forms does democratic government take? Finally, are some institutions more likely than others to produce desirable social outcomes such as accountability, redistribution, and political stability?

• TR 8:40 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
• Instructor: Benjamin P McClelland
  Info
• 4 points

INTRO-COMPARATIVE POLITCS-DISC

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN1501.

• W 8:10 a.m.-9 a.m.
• M 8:10 a.m.-9 a.m.
• W 2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• W 4:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• T 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• R 2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• T 6:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• T 7:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• T 2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• W 9:10 a.m.-10 a.m.
• Instructor: Haejo Kang
  Info
• 0 points

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

This introductory course surveys key topics in the study of international politics, including the causes of war and peace; the efficacy of international law and human rights; the origins of international development and underdevelopment; the politics of global environmental protection; and the future of US-China relations. Throughout the course, we will focus on the
interests
of the many actors of world politics, including states, politicians, firms, bureaucracies, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations; the
interactions
between them; and the
institutions
in which they operate. By the end of the semester, students will be better equipped to systematically study international relations and make informed contributions to critical policy debates.

• MW 6:10 p.m.-7:25 p.m.
• Instructor: Jayme R Schlesinger
  Info
• 4 points

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS-DISC

INT'L POLITICS-DISC

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN1601.

• R 10:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• R 11:10 a.m.-noon
• F 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• F 2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• M 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m.
• W 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m.
• R 6:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• T 6:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• M 10:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• W 10:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• Instructor: Dany L Niangar
  Info
• 0 points

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS-DISC

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS - DISC

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN1601.

• T 5:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• T 4:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• T 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m.
• R 2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• F 4:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• M 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Instructor: Ben Mylius
  Info
• 0 points

Democracy: Principles, Critics and Probl

Demcrcy: Prncpls, Crit, P

This course is about democracy: its theory, principles, critics and challenges. After centuries of vilification, democracy acquired the status of the "best" political order thanks also to the defeat of Nazism and fascism, in 1945. The end of the Cold War and the international order created by the victors of World War II caused some major changes in the perception and practice of democracy. The world has become a unified place for financial markets and a borderless space for the implementation of hegemonic projects. Openness and globalization put pressure on the ideal and practice of democracy, however. On the one hand, democracy seems to be the solution to all problems so much so that "democracy" now means everything on the right side of history. On the other hand, it seems instead to be a source of problems, and many (even democrats) criticize it for being inefficient in decision-making, subject to the prejudices of increasingly uninformed and ignorant voters, and finally a system that breeds corruption. The goal of this course is to understand this conundrum. 

What are the basic principles of democracy and the main objections raised against it? In what sense does democracy embody universal values? Is it desirable that democracy contains partisanship with competence? Is populism a fate of modern democracies? These questions will guide us in understanding the promises of democracy and the disappointments of democrats. We will begin our intellectual journey with the ancient vision of democracy and its early critics, then explore the modern trajectory of democratic theory and finally contemporary populist transformations.

• MW 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Nadia Urbinati
  CULPA: 29 Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

Humans, Nature and the Future: an Introd

This course is about how we understand humans and their relationship to nature – and about how these understandings influence the ways we design our societies, run our democracies, and make plans for the future. We’ll focus on two central themes. First: how does introducing a concern for ‘the environment’ (or the Earth, or ecology) deepen, and often complicate, our understanding of key concepts in political theory? Second: given that ‘the environment’ is an interdisciplinary issue, how do we understand the relationship between the ideas and conversations we have in political theory, and the ideas and conversations people are having in other disciplines? (For example: climate science.)

There is no single prerequisite course for this one, but we will be assuming that you are familiar with the field of political theory in general. This is important, because many of our discussions will aim to map concepts and conversations from environmental political theory onto broader political theory conversations (which requires you to be familiar with those conversations!). Ideally, you’ll have taken a political theory survey before you take this course. If you haven’t, but you still think you’ve got the background necessary to participate fully in the class, please get in touch.

• MW 4:10 p.m.-5:25 p.m.
• Instructor: Ben Mylius
  Info
• 3 points

LOGIC OF COLLECTIVE CHOICE

Much of politics is about combining individual preferences or actions into collective choices. We will make use of two theoretical approaches. Our primary approach will be social choice theory, which studies how we aggregate what individuals want into what the collective ;wants.; The second approach, game theory, covers how we aggregate what individuals want into what the group gets, given that social, economic, and political outcomes usually depend on the interaction of individual choices. The aggregation of preferences or choices is usually governed by some set of institutional rules, formal or informal. Our main themes include the rationality of individual and group preferences, the underpinnings and implications of using majority rule, tradeoffs between aggregation methods, the fairness of group choice, the effects of institutional constraints on choice (e.g. agenda control), and the implications for democratic choice. Most of the course material is highly abstract, but these abstract issues turn up in many real-world problems, from bargaining between the branches of government to campus elections to judicial decisions on multi-member courts to the allocation of relief funds among victims of natural disasters to the scoring of Olympic events. The collective choice problem is one faced by society as a whole and by the smallest group alike.

• TR 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Jeffrey R Lax
  CULPA: 32 h-index: 22 Info
• 3 points

VOTING AND AMERICAN POLITICS

Elections and public opinion; history of U.S. electoral politics; the problem of voter participation; partisanship and voting; accounting for voting decisions; explaining and forecasting election outcomes; elections and divided government; money and elections; electoral politics and representative democracy.

• TR 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Robert Erikson
  CULPA: 20 Wikipedia h-index: 59 Info
• 3 points

ENDING WAR & BUILDING PEACE

This course provides an introduction to the politics of war termination and peace consolidation. The course examines the challenges posed by ending wars and the process by which parties to a conflict arrive at victory, ceasefires, and peace negotiations. It explores how peace is sustained, why peace lasts in some cases and breaks down in others and what can be done to make peace more stable, focusing on the role of international interventions, power-sharing arrangements, reconciliation between adversaries, and reconstruction.

• TR 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Sarah Daly
  Info
• 3 points

RESEARCH DESIGN: DATA ANALYSIS

This course examines the basic methods data analysis and statistics that political scientists use in quantitative research that attempts to make causal inferences about how the political world works. The same methods apply to other kinds of problems about cause and effect relationships more generally. The course will provide students with extensive experience in analyzing data and in writing (and thus reading) research papers about testable theories and hypotheses. It will cover basic data analysis and statistical methods, from univariate and bivariate descriptive and inferential statistics through multivariate regression analysis. Computer applications will be emphasized. The course will focus largely on observational data used in cross-sectional statistical analysis, but it will consider issues of research design more broadly as well. It will assume that students have no mathematical background beyond high school algebra and no experience using computers for data analysis.

• MW 8:40 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
• Instructor: Shigeo Hirano
  CULPA: 3 Info
• 3 points

RESEARCH DESIGN: SCOPE AND METHODS

RESEARCH DESIGN: SCOPE&ME

This class aims to provide students with the tools to conduct social science research and analyze data. We will talk about how to summarize and present data, analyze experiments and quasi- 
experimental designs, conduct public opinion surveys, and discuss other related topics.  This is a course in political science, so there will be greater emphasis on examples in politics.  
However,    our primary goal is to learn how to use methods to answer a broad variety of interesting research questions in the social sciences and engage with different research designs.

Many of the required readings will be technical in  nature,  using  mathematical  and  statistical methods to present and discuss data. However, this class does not assume any background in 
statistics or advanced math.  When we discuss readings with technical material, the focus will be on extracting the “big takeaways" and using statistical methods in a practical  setting.

• MW 10:10 a.m.-11:25 a.m.
• Instructor: Daniel M Corstange
  CULPA: 2 Info
• 4 points

SCOPE AND METHODS - DISC

This is the required discussion section for
POLS UN3720.

• M 3:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• W 3:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• R 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m.
• T 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m.
• W 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• W 2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• M 1:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• W 12:10 p.m.-1 p.m.
• Instructor: Julian E Gerez
  h-index: 2 Info
• 0 points

Experimental Research

Randomized experimentation is an important methodology in political science. In this course, we will discuss the logic of experimentation, its strengths and weaknesses compared to other methodologies, and the ways in which experimentation has been -- and could be -- used to investigate political phenomena. Students will learn how to interpret, design, and execute experiments.

• TR 8:40 a.m.-9:55 a.m.
• Instructor: Yamil R Velez
  CULPA: 1 h-index: 8 Info
• 4 points

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH-DISC

This is the required discussion section for POLS UN3768.

• R 2:10 p.m.-3 p.m.
• R 4:10 p.m.-5 p.m.
• Instructor: Zara Riaz
  Info
• Instructor: Giulia Leila Travaglini
  Info
• 0 points

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH I

• Instructor: Andrew J Nathan
  CULPA: 44 Wikipedia h-index: 40 Info
• Instructor: Michael Ting
  CULPA: 4 Info
• Instructor: Robert Y Shapiro
  CULPA: 4 Wikipedia Info
• Instructor: Lincoln A Mitchell
  Info
• Instructor: Justin H Phillips
  CULPA: 23 Info
• Instructor: Chiara Superti
  CULPA: 3 Info
• Instructor: Yamil R Velez
  CULPA: 1 h-index: 8 Info
• Instructor: Qin Gao
  h-index: 30 Info
• 1-6 points

SEMINAR IN POLITCAL THEORY

THEORIZING CRISIS OF WEIMER DE

Seminar in Political Theory. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• W 10:10 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: Clara Maier
  Info
• 4 points

SEMINAR IN POLITCAL THEORY

Environ & Climate Justice

Seminar in Political Theory. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• R 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Rebecca S Marwege
  Info
• 4 points

AMERICAN POLITICS SEMINAR

20TH C AFR AMER POLIT THOUGHT

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• T 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Instructor: Fredrick Harris
  Wikipedia Info
• 4 points

AMERICAN POLITICS SEMINAR

POLIT PARTIES IN US POLITICS

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• T 10:10 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: Shigeo Hirano
  CULPA: 3 Info
• 4 points

AMERICAN POLITICS SEMINAR

TOPICS IN JUDICIAL POLITICS

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• R 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Jeffrey R Lax
  CULPA: 32 h-index: 22 Info
• 4 points

AMERICAN POLITICS SEMINAR

BUREAUCRATIC POLITICS

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• W 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Michael Ting
  CULPA: 4 Info
• 4 points

AMERICAN POLITICS SEMINAR

EQUALITY AND THE LAW

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• T 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Robert L Amdur
  CULPA: 16 Info
• 4 points

AMERICAN POLITICS SEMINAR

Public Opinion Research

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• R 10:10 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: Greg Bovitz
  Info
• 4 points

AMERICAN POLITICS SEMINAR

POLIT INEQUALITY IN US

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• M 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Instructor: Judith Russell
  CULPA: 49 Info
• 4 points

AMERICAN POLITICS SEMINAR

ISSUES RACE/ETHN IN AMER POL

Prerequisites: the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Seminar in American Politics Seminar. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• W 6:10 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Instructor: Carlos Vargas-Ramos
  CULPA: 4 Info
• 4 points

COMPARATIVE POLITICS SEMINAR

CORRUPTION & RULE OF LAW

Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Please see here for detailed seminar registration guidelines: http://polisci.columbia.edu/undergraduate-programs/seminar-registration-guidelines. Seminar in Comparative Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• W 10:10 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: Timothy M Frye
  CULPA: 8 Wikipedia h-index: 31 Info
• 4 points

COMPARATIVE POLITICS SEMINAR

INFORMATION MEDIA POL BEHAV

Prerequisites: POLS V1501 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Pre-registration is not permitted. Please see here for detailed seminar registration guidelines: http://polisci.columbia.edu/undergraduate-programs/seminar-registration-guidelines. Seminar in Comparative Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• W 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: John Marshall
  h-index: 20 Info
• 4 points

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS SEMINAR

SECURITY TOPICS

Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Seminar in International Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• W 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Jack L Snyder
  CULPA: 27 Info
• 4 points

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS SEMINAR

Pol Multinat'l Enterprise

Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Seminar in International Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• T 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Calvin N Thrall
  Info
• 4 points

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS SEMINAR

POLITICAL VIOLENCE

Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Seminar in International Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• R 4:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• Instructor: Linda M Kirschke
  CULPA: 1 Info
• 4 points

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS SEMINAR

SOLVING GLOBAL PROBLEMS

Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Seminar in International Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• T 12:10 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Instructor: Giulio M Gallarotti
  Info
• 4 points

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS SEMINAR

INEQUALITY WITHIN&BTWN NATIONS

Prerequisites: POLS UN1601 or the equivalent, and the instructors permission. Seminar in International Politics. Students who would like to register should join the electronic wait list. For list of topics and descriptions see: https://polisci.columbia.edu/content/undergraduate-seminars

• R 10:10 a.m.-noon
• Instructor: David E Spiro
  CULPA: 1 h-index: 6 Info
• 4 points

HONORS SEMINAR

Prerequisites: admission to the departmental honors program. A two-term seminar for students writing the senior honors thesis.

• W 2:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: John Huber
  CULPA: 15 h-index: 31 Info
• 4 points

Russian Politics: How Autocracy Works

Russian Politics: Autocra

This course is designed to give students the tools to understand the politics of post-Soviet Russia through the lens of theories of modern autocracy and by putting Russian in comparative perspective. Among other topics, we will explore: Why did the Soviet Union collapse? Why was economic reform in Russian in the 1990s so difficult? How does autocracy influence economic development? How does Russia’s autocracy work? Why has Russia become increasingly repressive in the Putin era? Why did Russia invade Ukraine in 2022? What are the prospects for political change? How does economic inequality influence a country’s form of government? In addition to answering these questions, we will also examine the many difficult challenges in identifying the causes and consequences of studying autocracy. The course not only hopes to use modern theories of autocracy to understand Russia, but also to use the Russian case to build theories of modern autocracy. This course will help students keep up with rapidly unfolding events but is designed primarily to help them develop tools for interpreting and understanding the politics of autocratic Russia.

• TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Timothy M Frye
  CULPA: 8 Wikipedia h-index: 31 Info
• 3 points

LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS

• TR 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Maria Victoria Murillo
  h-index: 37 Info
• 4 points

LATIN AMER POLITICS-DISC

• M 6:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• M 11:10 a.m.-noon
• F 11:10 a.m.-noon
• R 6:10 p.m.-7 p.m.
• R 5:10 p.m.-6 p.m.
• F 10:10 a.m.-11 a.m.
• Instructor: Magali Mayo
  Info
• 0 points

CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN POLITICS

This course aims to teach students what, if any, answers social scientists have to the questions that concern anyone with an interest in African politics: 1) Why have democratic governments flourished in some countries and not others? 2) What institutions may enable Africans to hold their leaders accountable? 3) How do people participate in politics? 4) In what ways do aspiring African political leaders build public support? 5) To what extent does persistent poverty on the continent have political causes? and 6) Why is violence used to resolve some political disputes and not others?

• MW 2:40 p.m.-3:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Kimuli Kasara
  CULPA: 26 h-index: 8 Info
• 3 points

MATH & STATS FOR POLI SCI

This course presents basic mathematical and statistical concepts that are essential for formal and quantitative analysis in political science research. It prepares students for the graduate-level sequence on formal models and quantitative political methodology offered in the department. The first half of the course will cover basic mathematics, such as calculus and linear algebra. The second half of the course will focus on probability theory and statistics. We will rigorously cover the topics that are directly relevant to formal and quantitative analysis in political science such that students can build both intuitions and technical skills. There is no prerequisite since this course is ordinarily taken by Ph.D. students in their first semester. The course is aimed for both students with little exposure to mathematics and those who have taken some courses but wish to gain a more solid foundation.

NOTE: This course does not satisfy the Political Science Major/Concentration research methods requirement.

• MW 11:40 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
• Instructor: Benjamin K Goodrich
  Info
• 4 points

MATH & STATS FOR POLI SCI-DISC

This is the required discussion section for 
POLS GU4700.

• F 3:10 p.m.-4 p.m.
• Instructor: Seowoo Chung
  Info
• 0 points