Courses

This course offers an introduction to the political systems of post-World War II Europe. Using a country-by-country approach, the course focuses specifically on Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and East-Central Europe. It also contains a unit on the institutions and policies of European Union. We will take a closer look at the impact of immigration on European society, the interaction between domestic and European institutions, the debates on economic reforms and market liberalization in different countries, and the relationship between the EU and the US. 

 The region of Central Asia has emerged from obscurity in recent decades to become a key front in the war against international terrorism and radical Islam. This course explores the political and cultural history of Central Asia, as well as religious and social issues that impact the region's governmental structures, foreign relations, and security. We will explore the impact of Russian conquest and Soviet domination of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan before moving on to an analysis of contemporary issues in government and politics in the region. Emphasis will be on the authoritarian regime variations, rise of Islamism, great power politics, economic and social development, and energy geopolitics.

Surveys Russian power capabilities, foreign policy, and engagement of the world system. Attention to the Soviet period, but focus on the post-1991 era. Relations with the U.S., Germany, and China are highlighted, as are relations with former Soviet Union countries.

This course provides an introduction to the democracy promotion policy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as developed by the US and European Union (EU). The course starts with discussing the key concepts of democracy promotion and continues by analyzing how these influenced democracy promotion efforts from the US as well as the EU. Both global powers have been engaged in promoting democracy throughout the MENA region with various degrees of success and often in contradicting terms.

National interests, issues and conflicts, relations, and influence of domestic politics in interstate relations in East Asia. Graduate-level requirements include an additional research paper.

The purpose of this course is to analyze critically the emergence of China and India as state powers in the global system and the implications of this evolution for the United States and Europe, including countries in and neighboring the European Union (EU).

This course will focus on energy policy and energy security understood in the context of global and Eurasian politics and international relations. The course offers different perceptions of energy security in importing and exporting nations, and aims at identifying contemporary developments in providing energy security on global, regional and national levels.