Global Studies (GLOB1-GC)

The demise of the Soviet Union and its empire, the legacy of colonialism, resurgent nationalism and new non-state actors have given rise to a period of complexity and rapid change in international relations. The academic debate reflects this uncertainty, with contending theories about what constitutes power in the post cold war environment, how to identify the basic units of international affairs, the nature of globalization, the utility and legitimacy of the use of force, the dynamics of the balance of power, the nature of threats to peace and stability, and the role of international institutions. This course will examine alternative theories and frameworks for understanding post cold war developments, and test these theories against emergent reality. How, for example, do these contending theories explain the origins and consequences of terrorism and other global threats? What importance do they assign to the persistence of poverty and global inequality; to internal ethno/religious conflict and political instability; to 'globalization and its discontents'? How do these theories assess the potential and implications of renewed great power conflict? How do they address the problem of U.S. hegemony and the reaction of others (states and non-states) to this new reality?

Peace is a difficult-to-define concept, one that often finds itself framed as the absence of something else: of violence, of conflict, of inequality or oppression. Yet, scholars and policymakers are attempting to develop theories and practices that aim to build and sustain peace – not simply the absence of war, but in the mold of what Johan Galtung defines as “positive peace,” characterized not only by a lack of physical violence, but also by the presence of harmonious relationships, equality and mutual interdependence. Conflict itself is not the primary problem making modern society less peaceful than it might be; rather, the use of violence to engage in many different conflicts stands as the main barrier to higher levels of peacefulness. This course will explore contemporary methods for peacemaking and peacebuilding as responses to real and potential deadly conflicts, particularly in a modern world in which the state no longer stands as the principal structure embodying the collective aspirations of the individual. There will be an emphasis not only on addressing conflict through high-level diplomacy – often thought of as peacemaking – but also through peacebuilding – a set of highly interdependent and contextual social, economic and political practices often led by civil society or private-sector actors who aim to establish conditions in which political, social, economic and identity-based conflicts can result in constructive change rather than violence. The course will serve as a practical platform for students to explore how peacebuilding could be utilized as a mechanism to address recent global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and worldwide racial inequality.

This course will examine the problems poor countries face in today's interdependent world and the strategies proposed to deal with them, beginning with an analysis of the ways in which the global trading system and the international financial system operate. It will then review the factors affecting the flow of investment capital to developing countries, either as official development assistance or as private investment, with particular attention to the roles of the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, transnational corporations and governments of both developed and developing countries. Next, it will consider the requirements for sustainable development and the role of non-governmental organizations as well as inter-governmental organizations and national governments, particularly in matters affecting the environment and human rights. The course will conclude with proposals for reform, based on a comparison of the experiences of selected developing countries and of different approaches to governance of the international trading and financial systems.

This course provides an introduction to international political economy - the interaction of economics and politics, of markets and government, in the international arena. The course has three fundamental premises: first, economic factors play an important role in international relations; second, the world economy is becoming increasingly integrated and interdependent; third, political institutions and policies have a significant impact on the world economy. The goal of the course is to give students a better understanding of the world economy, the nature of international economic issues, the roles of international economic institutions and multinational enterprises, and the policy challenges of economic interdependence. The first part of the course is intended to provide an interdisciplinary analytical framework for the subject incorporating political science, economics, and recent history. The remaining parts of the course use this analytical framework to examine contemporary issues of international economic relations. These issues are organized under the headings of globalization, economic development, and managing economic interdependence.

This course will provide the global studies student with an introductory understanding of the role of public international law in international affairs. Each session will focus on an important aspect of the discipline and will reveal how and why international law affects world affairs in such a profound way. Among the questions addressed are: How are disputes between states settled and what mechanism does international law provide for their resolution? What are the sources of international law? Who is bound by it? How is it interpreted? When may a state apply its own laws extraterritorially? The course will examine key international legal institutions such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) as well as core substantive areas including: use of force, law of the sea, law of territory, human rights, and the global environment. Discussions emphasize the importance of international law in history and in current international relations.

In countries around the world, individuals play a key role in deciding which officials and parties get elected, whether conflict occurs or not, how marginalized groups are treated, which policies become law, whether the environment is protected, whether socioeconomic inequalities are addressed, and even whether movements and extremist groups achieve political power. A deeper understanding of global affairs, therefore, requires understanding why citizens around the world think and behave as they do. In this course, we will approach these crucial topics from the perspective of group identities, attitudes and actions. The insights gleaned from this course can not only help clarify various issues in global affairs, but also point toward ways of effecting real change. Students will also gain additional skills in evaluating and critiquing scholarly research.

Latin American regional democracies confront myriad challenges, from U.S. military intervention in Colombia to populism in Venezuela and renewed demands for military accountability in the southern cone. Recent market-oriented policies and globalization have generated economic growth and tamed inflation at the cost of income inequality, environmental stresses, and vulnerability to foreign shocks. University strikes in Mexico, a landless movement in Brazil, and labor organizers on the U.S.-Mexican border challenge the neo-liberal agenda. This class explores key regional trends with a focus on Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, and Argentina.

This course focuses on the changing realities of modern Europe. The continent's main democratic political systems, as well as the European Union, are critically examined. The course reveals how the enlargement of the European Union is creating a supranational political and economic framework from the Atlantic to the Baltic to the Mediterranean, with tremendous economic power but still-nascent political unity and foreign-policy clout. Finally, the course examines the process of democratic change and consolidation in post-communist Europe, including both successful and unsuccessful examples. Two crucial countries straddling Europe and Asia - Turkey and Russia - are examined in depth.

This interdisciplinary course offers a comprehensive study of independent African states, their social, geographic, and economic contexts, as well as their historical trajectories. It seeks to provide students with a nuanced understanding of Africa's diverse political and historical landscape, challenging stereotypes and misconceptions that have shaped perceptions of the continent.

Scholars spend their lives becoming experts on Japan or Siberia or China or India or Iran or Turkey - and much else in between. From Ankara to Shanghai and Novosibirsk to Djakarta, Asia has long been a geographical concept with uneven trans-regional interconnections. This class dissects all these countries in some detail and examines the extent of the interconnections among the societies on the continent called Asia. The course seeks to help students understand how Asia, with half the world's population, is likely to collide or collaborate with the US and Europe in the context of a global economy and shrinking planet.

This course examines the changing landscape of a region critical to global stability. We examine the political, socio-economic, and cultural aspects of the Arab world, Iran, Israel, and Turkey and their far-ranging transformation. Topics include the role played by various ideologies in shaping the evolution of the Middle East since the advent of modernization, the origins, development, and impact of the Palestinian-Israeli struggle, post-Cold War regional dynamics, and the struggle between Islamists and secularists. We review the domestic structures and regional roles of such local powers as Egypt, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Issues such as civil society, demography, resources, the media, and globalization provide guidance in projecting the direction of change. We assess the role of outsiders, whether sovereign states or international institutions, and their contributions to the region's adjustments. Emphasis is placed upon current events and their relationship to the recent history of the Middle East.

The concerns of national and international security have evolved considerably since the days of the Cold War. While states are still concerned with traditional threats such as military aggression from other states, emerging issues present different, yet no less compelling, challenges to security. These new challenges include terrorism, civil war, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, disinformation and narrative warfare, cyberconflict and cybersecurity, organized crime, fragile states, environmental catastrophes and climate change, and major public health crises such as COVID, Ebola, and HIV/AIDS. This course explores how security policy issues are identified and addressed at the national and international level. How prepared are states, international organizations, NGOs, and the private sector meet new security challenges? Are classic doctrines of deterrence still applicable? To what extent can technology be relied upon as a tool to address current security needs? And what new security threats are likely to emerge in the future?

International actors often apply different methodologies to assess conflicts. These methodologies help them determine the best ways to address a conflict and maximize their opportunities to prevent or alleviate crises. This course examines how international actors including the World Bank, UN agencies, bilateral donors and NGOs, analyze conflict and the interaction between conflict dynamics and their own engagement in a given country or region. The class will explore how analytical frameworks can be used to assess the impact of development, humanitarian and peacebuilding programs or projects on existing conflict factors and dynamics. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the concept of conflict assessment, its development and implementation; exploring different approaches to conflict assessment, including an examination of different implicit assumptions and theories of conflict; analyzing specific conflict case studies and identifying real and potential third party responses.

This course examines the dramatic escalation of ethnic conflict in the post-Cold War era. We begin with a thorough analysis of the factors behind ethnic conflicts, including history, culture, attitudes, leadership, outside influences, and the ethnic group's point of view. In our search for resolutions, we explore new approaches to ethnic conflicts using Bosnia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, East Timor, the Sudan, Palestinians, and Kurds as case studies. We conclude by advancing new ideas about the roles that the UN and the U.S. can play in resolving existing conflicts and preventing new ones from escalating beyond control.

Washington's need to manage foreign policy issues arises from America's far-flung concerns abroad, which impinge on U.S. security, economic, commercial, political, military, and ecological interests. Many federal bureaucracies are involved in solving problems, as well as Congress, the media, universities, non-governmental organizations, and the public. This course studies relevant institutions, their procedures, and their interactions in seeking solutions. We examine several recent cases of decision making, and discuss how major pending challenges in the Middle East, East Asia and elsewhere may be addressed.

"Crucially, the research methods that are employed to answer one’s question determine the accuracy of the answer one obtains. Thus, a course like this is concerned less with what we know, and more with how we know it. The goals of this course, therefore, are to introduce students to the research process and the different types of research methods available to answer critical questions about global affairs. Students will learn about both qualitative and quantitative methods and will cover the advantages and disadvantages to different types of data collection and analysis. Further, this course will enhance students’ ability to analyze arguments, evaluate evidence, and convey key ideas and research findings effectively. By the end of this course, students should be able to design a research project, define and measure key social science phenomena, formulate hypotheses, design tests of their hypotheses through qualitative and/or quantitative methods, and effectively present their research designs. In addition, students will learn how to deconstruct scholarly research into its fundamental components (e.g., the author’s research question, variables, hypotheses, sample, research method, etc.) and, as such, become more critical readers of published work and sharper researchers and thinkers. "

America's current global predominance constitutes, for the first time, a unipolar system with far-reaching political, economic, and security implications. Can the U.S. maintain its supremacy for the foreseeable future? Consider sources of U.S. strength, examine how varied and durable they are, and discuss how resources can be channeled to conduct a more coherent and visionary foreign policy. Attempt to answer an even larger question: How should America deal with other significant powers, such as Russia, China, India, and Japan - not only to thwart any attempt to check or diminish its primacy, but to lead with moral authority?

Rapid change, complexity, and uncertainty characterize the unfolding international system. Theoretical tools designed to help us interpret events, prescribe policies and anticipate trends are essential intellectual equipment. They can also become part of the problem, creating a false sense of confidence in how we understand global dynamics. Can we calibrate our actions to a desired effect? When at the service of great power, an exaggerated sense of understanding and control can produce massive unintended consequences. Policy is constantly playing catch up, scrambling to right itself in the aftermath of the latest shock. This course accepts uncertainty and surprise as givens, and then proceeds to build alternate scenarios around emerging forces for change and potential 'wild card' events. The purpose is not prediction, but a fuller understanding of global dynamics, and of plausible international systems that might emerge. In doing so, we will address theories, sources, indicators and consequences of change, and interactively build alternate future scenarios with students, other interested faculty and outside experts.

This course picks up from where the course "The Future of International Relations: Forces for Change and Alternative Scenarios" course ends. Students will be taught how to compose drivers and scenarios in a step-by-step process involving guided practice sessions. This course is an intensive structural exploration of forecasting and scenario work—how to think like a good forecaster; how to craft scenarios; and how to understand the current science of futures forecasting. The course is split into 2 basic sections, the first being a review of current work on futures forecasting, methodological history and the basics of computational prediction (first 2 weekends) and the second focused on case-specific scenario development and application of methodologies.

War, as Trotsky reminds us, is a great locomotive of history. It brings into sharp relief the interplay between social forces, political ambitions, and technological capability. Wars of the past have expanded and ended empires; given rise to revolutions and repression; been built on—and in turn, unleashed—scientific and engineering marvels. In this course, we will trace some of that history; that is, we will explore the history of the future of war by looking at several themes: intent, power, technology, capability, agency, violence, culture, identity, ethics, and uncertainty.

Never before has the world experienced the pollution of the information environment to the breadth and scope that we are experiencing today. Between the rise of authoritarian populists and the pervasive adoption of online behavior modification platforms, we risk the return of a technologically-enabled myth-based society that threatens to undo progress we can trace all the way back to the Enlightenment itself. This course will help the student become aware and make sense of the world of deliberate information manipulation, or disinformation, that has created such historical threats. It will educate them on the motivations behind such actors, from State-level actors to grassroots ones, and help them understand the modern internet-enabled tools available to them. Finally, it will help them identify policy, regulatory, diplomatic, and technological interventions that can help stem the pollution of and help protect our future information environment.

Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, and Radiological weapons, collectively designated as Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), coupled with their delivery systems, continue to pose the greatest existential threat to humanity and the world. As long as they exist, there is every likelihood that they will be used either deliberately, by accident, or by miscalculation. Any WMD use would be catastrophic in human, political, economic, ecological, and moral terms. COVID-19, though not a weapon, has shown the devastating risks of a potential biological attack. Of all WMD, nuclear weapons, which were invented and used in 1945, pose the greatest danger. The ongoing tensions over North Korea's weapons and Iran's potential breakout capability along with the nuclear and missile programs of China, India, Israel, Pakistan, Russia and the United States highlights this peril. All proliferation, arms control, and disarmament issues have global dimensions in an increasingly interconnected world. At the same time, the security and insecurity perceptions that stimulate proliferation also have regional, bilateral, and domestic dimensions. Additionally, sub-state and non-state actors have an increasing role in WMD proliferation and disarmament. Elaborate multilateral, regional, bilateral, and ad-hoc arrangements and institutions have been created to address the challenges posed by WMD. Yet, despite a few notable successes, efforts to either disarm or prevent further proliferation, particularly of nuclear weapons, have stalled.

Intelligence refers to the process of gathering and analyzing difficult-to-obtain information. Accurate intelligence is essential for any government to formulate and implement strategy with regards to counterterrorism, counterinsurgency and foreign policy. This course will introduce students to the diverse methods employed by the United States government for collecting, processing, analyzing and disseminating intelligence in the 21st century. Students will examine the individual organizations comprising America's national intelligence community and identify the historical successes, failures and the future challenges that each agency faces in fulfilling their respective missions. This course will help students to develop an informed appreciation of the capabilities and limitations of intelligence and of the US national intelligence community in particular.

The attacks of September 11, 2001, have brought the issue of transnational terrorism to the forefront of the global agenda. Terrorism, however, is hardly a new phenomenon. The employment of terrorist tactics for purposes of achieving social or political goals dates back at least several centuries. This course explores what terrorism is and how it has evolved. Some of the key questions that this course deals with include: What exactly is terrorism? What kinds of actors employ terrorist tactics? What are the most common terrorist strategies and tactics? How has terrorism evolved since the end of the Cold War? How much of a threat is terrorism? What are the new threats posed by terrorists in the current era? What role do societal factors, such as the media and public opinion, play in dealing with terrorism? How can governments and societies effectively deter and, if necessary, combat terrorism? What alternatives are available to the international community for combating transnational terrorism? What are the tradeoffs and costs societies might be asked to incur in order to wage a war on terrorism? How have recent wars on terror fared? How does terrorism end?

Examine the complexities of climate change and its current impact on a global scale. Topics include the potentially alarming repercussions if the climate crisis is not quickly and vigorously addressed, the history of the issue, what mechanisms are in place to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the growing impacts from climate change, how climate change informs economics as well as domestic and international politics, policy debates and the influence of special interests, the role the media plays in addressing issues of climate change, and the political psychology involved.

This course introduces some of the key challenges the U.S. faced in responding to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and analyzes the U.S.’s response from a legal framework. We will cover basic principles on the use of force, and then apply them to examining the legal foundation for the coalition interventions in Iraq (2003) and Afghanistan (2001, etc.). We will discuss whether the situation should be understood as a “Global War on Terror” (“GWOT”), “war against Al Qaeda and associated entities,” or something else. We will discuss some of the difficult issues as to the conduct of the “war”—including the responsibilities of an occupying power, permissible targets, means of targeting, the scope of the “field of battle,” and legal issues related to conducting counterinsurgency operations. We will cover the various options for U.S. terrorism trials—military commissions, federal court trials, or whether “national security courts” should have been created. We will discuss the International Criminal Court’s “crime of aggression,” as well as drone strikes, and cyberattacks. Another focus will be the use of “enhanced interrogation” techniques and “extraordinary renditions,” and the extent to which there should be accountability as to U.S. practices. Finally, we will examine the domestic ramification of the “GWOT,” as well as how other countries have addressed counter-terrorism post-9/11, critically examining practices through a human rights perspective. Throughout the course, we will consider a broad range of academic, military and government perspectives on the above topics, and a broad diversity of viewpoints is encouraged.

The world is in a transition to cleaner and smarter energy consumption and production. This energy transition is being driven by a number of important factors. Most importantly, governments and businesses are working together to mitigate climate change and this requires new, cleaner energy sources. But clean energy is also finding increasingly favorable economics, drive by rapidly evolving technology improvements and more widespread pricing of CO2. The recent energy crisis stimulated by the war in Ukraine has brought renewed focus on food, energy and natural resource independence and security and that is also driving investment and adoption of clean energy. Clean tech is also pursued as a means to escape from the massive burden of water and air pollution many societies still experience. Sustainable development is no longer a dream. It’s fast becoming a global reality. This course will look at recent developments in clean technology, including renewable energy, digital solutions to energy efficiency and demand management, new systems for electricity storage and efficient transmission and distribution, green buildings, transportation, waste management and sustainable agriculture. We will examine both high-tech businesses in the developed world as well as new tech solution opportunities for the developing world. We will study how governments promote clean tech innovation and adoption and the political and economic roadblocks that might stand in the way of rapid acceleration of deployment."

In today’s fast-changing world, the roles of business, government, and civil society actors are being redefined. Significant challenges related to climate change, inequality, populism, and technology necessitate private sector organizations to rethink their responsibilities and approaches, which provides opportunities as well as challenges. Businesses increasingly realize the importance of integrating social and environmental impact to (re-)gain legitimacy, to attract employees and customers, and to survive. The course will cover questions such as: How can organizations integrate profit and purpose, at scale? How do companies become part of tackling societal challenges, for example, related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? How do we measure social and environmental ‘impact’? What is the role of impact investing? How do multi-stakeholder partnerships evolve that integrate local communities? How do organizations cope with the unexpected/cultivate serendipity? We will discuss the capacity of organizations to play an effective role in tackling society’s most pressing challenges, integrating concepts such as corporate social responsibility, shared value, triple bottom line, social innovation, among others. Senior executives and policymakers will be engaged as guest speakers and mentors. Learning will be interactive, and students will have the opportunity to connect with relevant companies and organizations.

Amid globalization, traditional economic measures like Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment, and stock markets leave governments and citizens with a distorted worldview - and a shaky foundation for policy decisions. In the Information Age, aren't there better indicators to manage our country's well-being? This course investigates problems with conventional statistics used for assessing national output, unemployment, inflation, productivity, and trade, among others. Many conventional statistics for crafting public policies have unintended consequences that have led to financial meltdowns, environmental degradation, and economic inequality, among others negative externalities."

This course teaches monitoring, evaluation and learning (ME&L). How do we deliver better interventions and deliver them better? In other words, how do we use ME&L to design stronger, more effective interventions targeted at the real source of the problem, those able to produce greater positive impact? And how do we use ME&L to deliver those interventions better, more effectively, more efficiently, with less waste and more fun? Beyond studying M&E methods (social science research methods), we seek to build ME&L systems. What is good M&E? How is good M&E executed? And, how do we design organizational structures and incentives to foster learning from M&E? In short, how can we use ME&L to craft better interventions and to deliver better services? This is an introductory course. It provides students with an overview of essential topics and offers resources and directions for those who wish to learn more. As an overview, introductory course, it is useful to both creators and consumers of monitoring and evaluation results.

Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) are a large and influential factor in the global economy. As a global footprint MNEs contribute nearly 1/4 of global GDP, 1/3 of global trade and just the top 100 MNE employ over 15 million people worldwide. MNEs, their management and employees face not only the traditional challenges of the domestic environment but must overlay the additional challenges of political risk, different cultures, legal and regulatory systems, and the potential for arbitrary adverse actions by nation-state authorities. Cross-border managers must deal with a wider range of social and cultural differences where home country perspective may not only be inadequate but potentially detrimental to the success of MNE in its new environment. This course takes the student on an excursion beyond our borders to understand the challenges faced by corporations, managers, and leaders as they expand beyond their home borders. We'll look at why they expand, what baggage they carry with them, how cross border investment supports their corporate strategy and if their organizations are ready for such a leap.

Emerging markets are essential drivers of global economic growth and prosperity. This course provides students with an in-depth understanding of policy, development, business, and entrepreneurship in emerging market countries. Using a broad definition of emerging markets, it covers countries across South East Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. We focus on the pertinent questions of our time as they relate to these economies: How can inclusive and sustainable growth be fostered over time and at scale? How do these countries manage financial flows, technology, and the balance of market and state? What is the role of (multilateral) institutions in promoting economic development and social change? What are the strategies and innovative approaches (e.g., cultivating serendipity; social innovation) that governments, non-governmental organizations, enterprises, and fourth sector actors adapt to navigate in these contexts? And what can these contexts teach us about novel approaches to economic and human development? Learning will be interactive, and based on leading-edge research, case studies, and engagement with senior executives and policymakers. Students will have the opportunity to connect with relevant companies and organizations operating in emerging markets.

This course examines the international and semi-international institutions established to prosecute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The tribunals examined will include the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Criminal Court, and their predecessors - the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg and the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo). The course additionally examines some of the substantive law of the Yugoslav and Rwanda tribunals, particularly, the elements of the crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and individual and command responsibility. We will also examine the prospects of justice for serious crimes committed in places such as Iraq, Darfur and Cambodia.

How do states or societies that have suffered massive human rights abuses deal with the complex legacies of their past as they transition to peace and (often) democracy? What can policymakers or activists do to defuse the bitterness of past conflict or repression and meet rhetorical and political demands for justice? These questions are far from theoretical: a significant and increasing number of countries have pursued such policies in recent years, ranging from Rwanda, Sierra Leone to Peru, as well as many other countries. This course examines the ethical, political, legal, and practical challenges of designing and implementing transitional justice policies. It begins by examining the development of transitional justice as a field. It sets out the developing legal framework, as well as the practical constraints and ethical dilemmas that make transitional justice such a complicated field. Policy considerations derived from best practice are also discussed. The course then examines specific elements of transitional justice strategies in depth. These include, but are not limited to: prosecution of perpetrators, from international-level mechanisms to hybrid and domestic tribunals; truth-seeking, whether conducted as part of official state policy or as a result of unofficial initiatives; the challenges in designing and implementing reparations programs; and complex issues of vetting and institutional reform. Questions related to transitional justice in situations of ongoing conflict will also be explored, as well as the concepts of reconciliation and historical memory. Readings will cover relevant international standards and methodological/theoretical questions. Actual examples from diverse regions will be used throughout the course.newly expanded focus of discussion will include how the US could utilize transitional justice to examine past wrongs committed within and related to this country, including slavery, post-slavery discrimination, Japanese/American internment, treatment of Native Americans, as well as the current need for police and other reforms in light of the “black lives matter” movement.

Bribery. Graft. Blat. Clientelism. Guanxi. Mordida. Corruption goes by many names and comes in many forms, from predatory demands for payoffs through to complex and subtle economies of favors. It penetrates political and economic systems, solidifies inequalities, undermines the rule of law, devours development aid, and mobilizes to resist attempts to control it around the world. Nonetheless, reducing corruption is a crucial necessity for good governance, effective long-term economic prosperity, and social equity. Although there is no single 'silver bullet,' it is crucial not only to understand the challenge, but to explore the many ways in which people are trying to control corruption. These range from global agreements to grass-roots local initiatives, addressing everything from the culture of bribe-taking and bribe-paying, through to issues of business accountability and transparent government. This course is strongly policy-oriented, and explores not only the forms and impacts of corruption, but past and future responses.

International human rights are not vague concepts of justice. They are precisely defined international laws, stemming from a series of international treaties and overseen by a complex of United Nations and other mechanisms. This course provides an introduction to international human rights laws (including special laws for the protection of children, women, racial minorities, and other groups); an explanation of the international procedures for overseeing their protection; and the methods used by NGOs in human rights advocacy. Particular attention is paid to international economic, social, and cultural rights, including the human rights to food, health, housing, education, and work.

This seminar examines national security decision-making from both a theoretical perspective and from its execution in practice, focusing in particular on the dynamics and processes by which national security decisions are actually made and implemented, and the range of factors that influence them. The first half of the course reviews the relevant theoretical approaches to foreign policy decision-making and introduces students to the key actors, structures and institutions of U.S. national security policymaking. The second half of the course focuses on practical application and execution, using case studies and in-class simulations of the U.S. interagency process to reveal decision-makers in action – as human beings operating in complex sociological, bureaucratic and (geo)political systems. This course is designed for all those with an interest in the primary dimensions of national security decision making processes, but is especially suited for those who wish to see theory in practice, including future practitioners. Students will develop their knowledge base of national security theory, structures and processes, their policy writing and analytical skills, and their oral presentation and interpersonal skills.

Civil Military Relations is a challenging, and increasingly, topical subject of study. Exactly how civil and military actors relate affects how states apply the use of force in domestic and international affairs. As a subject of inquiry, Civil Military Relations concerns itself with ideas, structures, processes, groups of people, and individuals. It examines the interplay between all of these, as a means of explaining and evaluating how militaries, governments, and societies interact. As such, Civil Military Relations can be seen to underpin a host of other subjects: military effectiveness, the creation and implementation of strategy, and political development. By understanding how these fundamental relations work we may come to a better understanding of how these other fields function, too. The aim of this course is to enable students to engage with the prevailing concepts of civil-military relations, across a range of geographical settings throughout the contemporary period. At the end of the course, students will have developed an in-depth knowledge of the key theories and concepts of Civil-Military Relations and be able to apply them to a variety of analytical settings and contexts. In so doing, students will also have gained a general overview of how those theories have been put in practice in a number of locations around the world.

"This course is built on the premise that we do no harm - beginning with ourselves. Peacebuilders and practitioners in humanitarian, human rights, development and peacebuilding fields must recognize the importance of trauma awareness and context sensitivity in working with people and communities impacted by potentially traumatic experiences. To do so, we need a critical foundational trauma literacy and biopsychosocial scaffolding for working within trauma-impacted communities, as well as for recognizing and buffering the potential effects of trauma exposure on ourselves in the field. This integrative, science-based, and practical course offers an interdisciplinary overview of research, science, case studies, and culturally-sensitive approaches supporting trauma-informed fieldwork, and emphasizes the experiential integration of practices with psychological first aid, trauma-informed interventions, trauma-sensitive interviewing, and resilience-building as personal and community resources. A foundational knowledge of stress, trauma, and the “experience-dependent” brain, the impact of trauma on the nervous system and cognition, and the impacts of traumatic stress on people in helping professions can strengthen critical capacities for burnout prevention, expand cognitive flexibility in different contexts, sharpen appraisal and response under stress, and learn skills necessary for self-agency, self and collective care, and efficacy in challenging conditions for personal and professional sustainability."

This course addresses respective needs of crime “victims” and “offenders”, as well as the community, which the formal criminal justice system has most often ignored. Retribution is abandoned in favor of a restorative model based on the needs of victims and offenders, as well as the community, achieved through application of conflict resolution processes.

Mediation is one of the most effective processes for transforming conflicts, promoting understanding, and building lasting peace. Mediation has been effective in building peace following destructive interpersonal, inter-community and international conflicts – and yet it remains misunderstood and underutilized in the international context. This course will provide students with the opportunity to learn and practice skills needed in the art of modern mediation. Mediation skills are increasingly necessary at the highest levels of the United Nations and its agencies, by foreign services of national governments, and by international and national non-governmental organizations. Mediation is one of the most universal skill sets needed by diplomats and community development workers alike. However, mediation is often confused with other means of alternative dispute resolution such as arbitration, negotiation or conciliation. Mediation is characterized by self-determination of the parties; mediators do not make decisions but rather facilitate the parties to discuss their viewpoints, generate new options and create effective solutions. Mediations are usually conducted confidentially in private settings. Impartial mediators, often working in teams, guide individuals and groups through a series of stages so they can find their own solutions. The course utilizes simulations drawn from real-life international development conflicts, as well as video, visual arts, group discussions, and popular culture. It is highly interactive, with students participating in simulated mediations – as mediators and disputants – throughout the course."

Grounded in the UN’s goal of eradicating global hunger by the year 2030, this course explores the politics of global food security. While the Green Revolution for several decades managed to limit global hunger despite rapid population growth there are many indications that productivity in the agricultural sector across the world has been stagnating for some time. If agro-technology can no longer the soul solution to the problem of global hunger we have to look to the political arena. This course discusses how politics and policies in their many forms – geopolitics, gender politics, politics of international trade, politics of national security, environmental policies, policies of farm subsidies, policies of nutrition and health, and of famine - impact on food security, food sovereignty, and food justice.

Every field of study whether it is health care, social work, engineering, policymaking, the arts, and even the non-profit world has “problems” that need to be solved. And those problems are “opportunities.” This course will help you convert problems into opportunities through a process that helps you hone your strategy and execution. Entrepreneurship is no longer a domestic field. A small local shoe store, for example, is highly impacted by changes in overseas markets and online competitors. Entrepreneurs globally have made a significant impact as another class of “global actors” influencing political society, civil society and global consumers. Google, Facebook, and Twitter are high profile examples of this where their services have a direct impact in the world. New entrepreneurs must be globally focused in today’s modern world of game changers. This class will empower students with the key process of global innovation and how to turn ideas into sustainable businesses.

The scope for financial crime has widened with the Post-Soviet transition, expansion of European Union and increased integration of financial markets. Money laundering, terrorism financing and tax crime have all changed in both nature and dimension. As new technologies reduce the importance of physical proximity to major onshore financial centers so a new generation of Offshore Financial Centers have emerged. Financial crime affects virtually all areas of public policy and is increasingly transnational. This class provides a deeper analysis of the economic, institutional and political features and addresses both the theoretical and policy issues arising from financial crime and feature a wide variety of case studies, and cover topics such as criminal enterprises, money laundering, the use of new technologies and methods in financial crime, corruption, terrorism, cybercrime and fraud. Taken together, these questions form a must-read collection of works for students majoring in international affairs, law, finance/economics and criminology.

This course will introduce students to the central concepts of modern finance: evaluating a firm’s financial performance to include cash flow analysis and net present value; valuation of financial assets to include the time value of money as well as stock and bond characteristics and cost of capital analysis; and capital budgeting techniques and working capital management. Additionally, efficient market theory, agency theory, and the trade-off between risk and return will be explored. Students will be introduced to both theory and practice however the emphasis will be placed on application in order to assist in a deeper understanding of financial decision making in the multinational firm. Students will learn fundamental financial concepts through real world group assignments, problem solving and term projects. At the center of our study will be the critical examination of how the tools of finance are used today in the global economy. Through assigned readings, class discussions, problem sets and case studies we shall gain valuable insights into financial decision making in the multinational firm. We shall thus highlight the many connections that exist between finance and the plurality of disciplines such as economics, management, political science, public policy, and law that are at the basis of contemporary business practices in the global arena."

Approximately one in every 200 people in the world is a refugee or internally displaced person. Uprooted from homes and communities, and often without government support, refugees look to the international community for protection. This course examines the system created for international refugee protection after World War II, as well as current policy and practice. It also considers the special circumstances and concerns of refugee women, children and adolescents, who account for more than 80% of the world's refugees. Guest speakers from the International Rescue Committee, Human Rights Watch and other organizations address the class.

Citizenship has been conceptualized as “the right to have rights,” isolating citizenship acquisition as central to modern existence. Citizenship is granted, or denied, by states. A non-citizen is any individual who is not a citizen of the state in which he or she is present. This course examines a range of relationships between states and individuals, and considers the modes and legitimacy of restricting human rights on the basis of non-citizenship. Topics covered sit at the intersection of international law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, humanitarian assistance, international development and international politics. We will debate emerging perspectives on the rights and well-being of non-citizens. In doing so, we will focus on the perversities that arise across various sectors as a result of a fundamental tension between the universal aspirations to deliver human rights and human development for all and the realities of state sovereignty in the fields of border control, immigration and citizenship law. The instructor and guest lecturers are international actors engaging in the fields explored through advocacy, strategic litigation, campaigning, and research and documentation.

Humanitarians rush to help starving children, fleeing refugees and others in crisis, but too often what seems like a straightforward solution becomes a dilemma. Aid agencies may be forced to assist combatants in order to gain access to their victims. Food donations may destroy the local economy, making aid a permanent necessity. Warring factions may deliberately cause suffering in order to attract aid, which they then loot. Governments may use humanitarian relief as an excuse not to intervene militarily. This course explores how non-governmental organizations and international agencies wrestle with the complex issues that arise in emergency situations.

In this seminar we will explore the dynamic relationship between gender and international politics, that is, the role gender plays in the construction of (international) politics/policy and, conversely, how (international) politics serves to construct, reinforce, and police gender roles and identities, and the human body is pressed into the service of the nation-state. We will begin by examining, from a theoretical perspective, how gender is constructed. Then, we will explore specific issues and case studies related to core concepts in IR—allegedly universal and gender-neutral—from all over the world that highlight the gendered nature of the international system, including war, security, and peace; women as perpetrators of violence; the debate on women and sexual minorities in the military; how states seek to advance nationalist goals by controlling women’s bodies and using homophobia as a tool to construct a national identity (Russia, Uganda, Jamaica, South Africa); how LGBTQ claims shape international relations; strategies for advancing LGBTQ rights; the gendered character of development policy and women’s leadership in global climate justice; and how globalization affects women—and exploits women’s bodies—in the form of labor migration, the global care chain, sex trafficking, sex tourism, and commercial surrogacy. In the third part, we will highlight some of the many ways in which women self-empower and resist patriarchy through re-claiming public spaces, language, fashion, and practical capacity-building. Prominently, we will feature examples of how women and LGBTQ people are transcending the label of “victim,” have organized, domestically and transnationally, to challenge and undo these structures of oppression, exploitation, and subordination as autonomous agents of political, social, economic, legal and cultural change, as well as how men around the world can and do participate as allies in the struggle for equality and justice. Most important, throughout the seminar, we will critically question—and de-center—the supposed universality of privileged, often Western, understandings of feminist empowerment and disempowerment and read diverse and marginalized voices of black, Latinx, and indigenous feminist scholars and activists. Intersectionality as well as the political economic “benefits” of gender discrimination and GBV for a patriarchal, capitalist system are, I suggest, the key lenses through which to both understand and dismantle gender discrimination, and we will be using them as frameworks for our analysis throughout the course.

In this seminar we will critically examine the current state of women’s rights and activism in the Middle East and South Asia with a particular focus on Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt and the Gulf States. Specifically, we will separate the myth of the veiled, oppressed or fanatically religious “Muslim Woman” from the lived reality of millions of women in this diverse region by exploring how the gendered discourses of power and citizenship, national ideologies, historical legacies, interpretations of religious law and social traditions affect and shape women’s lives in the real world, particularly in matters of family law, participation in the labor market and political process. The picture that will emerge will be a surprisingly complex, nuanced and contradictory one, highlighting the very different political and social realities of women in countries such as Egypt, Iran and the Gulf States. We will pay particular attention to Islamic feminism and political Islam as frames and venues for women’s (self-) empowerment and conclude with an exploration of the contours and effectiveness of women’s resistance, self-empowerment and activism in the region.

In less than three decades, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have transformed themselves from small, oil-rich Gulf monarchies into "global cities," ranking among the most highly developed nations in the world, leading innovators in renewable energy, hubs for international art, media, education, and banking, and at the forefront for women's empowerment in the Gulf States. Faced with finite natural resources and a young population, the Emirati leadership has laid out ambitious plans to transform the country into a vibrant, modern, multicultural knowledge society that seamlessly integrates religion and cultural traditions with high technology. How is this kind of development sustainable, socially, economically and environmentally? How are the Emirates dealing with the inevitable social and environmental transformations and trade-offs such a success story requires? The objective of this course is to explore how the UAE navigate the complicated dynamics of cultural traditions, social change, the post-2015 development agenda, and geo-political imperatives.

"Born out of the ashes of two destructive world wars the United Nations (UN), which boldly pledged “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”, has now evolved to address the challenges of globalization, and a host of daunting transnational issues, including climate change, cyber security, diseases & pandemics (such as Covid-19), refugees, and terrorism. In addition, the UN global governance system has to deliver on peace and security operations, facilitate sustainable development goals, protect human rights, women, and refugees, and provide humanitarian aid in complex emergencies, while also engaging civil society, non- governmental organizations and the private sector. The sheer number and complexity of issues that the UN system is called upon to deal with present substantive and procedural challenges to even experienced professionals working in the UN and related organizations. Presently, UN-centered international cooperation has been complicated by countries pursuing “nation first” policies while questioning multilateralism and global governance. This course is designed to provide an introduction to and essential details of the UN’s structure and operations, the major issues, partnerships, and its controversies."

This practice-oriented course provides an overview of the evolving, professional field of peacebuilding, as well as a critical review of approaches to working in violence-affected environments. Students in this course will be required to develop a peacebuilding project in collaboration with a partner organization with the intention of implementing it as a graduate student consultant during the summer. The instructor will provide a list of consultancy opportunities with international and domestic organizations and NGOs. Students will participate in a matching process at the start of the spring semester to determine with which organization they will work. Consultancies may be completed for internship credit if they meet MSGA requirements and receive department approval. It is expected that students returning to the MSGA program in the fall will participate in a “Reflections from the Field” event in September so that they may share their experiences and learnings with the Center for Global Affairs (CGA) community. The course will explore three intersecting themes: ● Understanding the professional field of peacebuilding (practice paradigms and institutions); ● Peacebuilding design skills (including conflict analysis, theories of change, project life cycles, and the use and limitations of logical frameworks); ● Core competencies for implementation (cultural awareness/sensitivity, communication skills, various process design skills and fund-seeking) The course places emphasis on reflective practice, and both locally-led and decolonized approaches to peacebuilding. Consequently, students and the instructor will explore power dynamics of peacebuilding systems, the emerging Sustaining Peace paradigm and will consciously aim to work in ways that decolonize their own minds and practices.

This course aims to familiarize students with women’s human rights in an international context. We will look at the existing human rights law regime and feminist critiques of it. We will then consider specific human rights issues affecting women, including domestic violence, prostitution and sex trafficking, surrogacy, reproductive rights, health, and women in war. Students will gain an understanding of the underlying ethical and legal issues involved, international legal efforts to protect women’s rights, the international and national procedures for insuring their implementation, and methods used by NGOs in advocating for women’s rights.

"“Groups” are fundamental building blocks for society, commerce, collective action and international engagement. Recent anthropological, archaeological and neuroscience research has affirmed the complex and important relationships between human evolution and cooperative social groups. Groups are powerful. And yet, groups are often battlefields in which competition and destructive conflicts take over and undermine value, relationships and goal achievement. Differences within groups can drive positive change and growth, or it can create polarization, intractability and harm. This course provides an overview of a range of competencies and tools for practitioners interested in helping groups navigate these dilemmas, in order to maximize learning, synergy, value and growth, and minimize destructive conflict. Skilled, reflective professionals are in increasing demand to help groups communicate, engage in dialogue, generate sustainable agreements to increase understanding and catalyze positive outcomes. International organizations, businesses, governments and civil society all need practitioners who can facilitate new forms of dialogue, and design and lead group interventions and learning environments. This course nurtures the creativity of students who want to get involved in such work. The course, grounded in a reflective-practice approach, gives concrete tools and frameworks, from the perspective of seasoned, reflective practitioners.

This intensive online seminar will serve as the platform for development of joint proposals for Participatory Action Research projects in peace studies to be conducted with university partners abroad. Each participating student from the Master of Science in Global Affairs program will join a research team that includes partners from our collaborating universities. During this seminar, these teams will investigate research design processes and methodologies most often used in contemporary peace research. Students will explore primary and secondary source data generation and data analysis, and both quantitative and qualitative methods including, but not limited to, surveys, interviews and observations. The course will be taught in a workshop style with significant opportunities for students to practice and apply research techniques. This course has recently worked in collaboration with the University of Mosul’s College of Arts in cooperation with UoM’s UNESCO Chair in Preventing Violent Extremism and Fostering a Culture of Peace and the Escuela Superior de Administración Pública (ESAP) in Colombia. The location and university partners will be announced each year with the application process to participate in the course.

In most countries, developing and developed, there is a considerable gulf between commitments to gender equality in public policy, and gender equality in public and private life, in states, markets and families. Women’s lack of education, poor health, and lack of independent livelihoods is part of the cycle of underdevelopment and state fragility, and women’s empowerment has therefore been recognized globally as an international priority for peace and development. This course will look at the contemporary gender and development policy field. It will give close attention to the current global policy debate over the post 2015 development framework and the place of gender equality in it (mainstreamed throughout? Or a stand-alone goal?). This will include a practical look at the design of effective universal targets and indicators in the challenging area of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

According to the United Nations, in 2016, about 244 million people, 3.1% of the world’s population, 48% of whom women, were international migrants. Indeed, the past decades have witnessed what is called the “feminization” of migration. In this seminar, we will, from an interdisciplinary and cross-national perspective, explore the gender(ed) dynamics of globalization and migration, and seek answers to the following questions: What are the causes (“push/pull factors”) and consequences of millions of women striking out in search of survival and better economic opportunity? How do global economic and political agendas shape women’s migration patterns? How does migration affect gender relations, family structure, and the social and economic development in the sending countries, for example, through remittances ($436 billion in 2015) as well as the countries of destination? Is migration a tool of empowerment? How does the rise of populism and the increasing “securitization” of the migration discourse and of migration management, laws, and public policies affect women, for example, in refugee camps, and the context of (re-) settlement and integration policies in the US, the EU and Australia? Which countries have integrated migrants and refugees most effectively and how? What is the relationship between climate change and women’s and men’s (forced) migration? Finally, how have the UN and EU responded to the challenges of migration in all its dimensions? These are a few of the questions we will seek to answer on the basis of current cases studies.

‘Good governance’ is central-stage as the essential condition for growth in low-income countries, and for human development as well. A number of the country assistance programs of bilateral and multilateral development agencies are predicated on a minimum set of successful governance reforms including anti-corruption measures and efforts to improve public administration efficiency. ‘Good governance’ was missing from the Millennium Development Goals, and its inclusion in the post-2015 development framework is currently hotly contested, and being used as a bargaining chip by G77 countries in exchange for more relaxed conditions for aid. ‘Good governance’ is the primary focus of efforts to improve the effectiveness of aid in particular in the 19 countries that self-define as fragile and conflict-prone. Definitions of ‘governance’ range from a restricted view focusing on sound management of the economy, and a more expansive one that aims for political liberalization and addresses problems of social inequality. Governance has an important impact on the distribution of resources and public power between women and men. In addition, gendered power relations shape approaches to governance. This course develops an understanding of governance reforms in low-income contexts from a gender-sensitive and feminist political science perspective.

The course seeks to help us understand the importance of energy, environment and resource security in the evolving 21st century including demand for greater energy supplies, and other struggles around resource access and management. The class will examine how the demands of the growing global population will present significant challenges to the United States and international community, which may in turn create opportunities for cooperation. The course is designed to provide students with a basis for better understanding the emergence of energy security and energy diplomacy as critical components in international relations study. The course employs key writings in the areas of energy, the environment, water and other resource management, film, negotiation and guest speakers.

Since the early part of the twentieth century, when the British Empire sought to guarantee its access to Arabian oil, petroleum has profoundly influenced the strategic policy of energy dependent states. This course looks at the most significant geo-political issues, currently and historically, presented by oil exploration, transportation and usage. This course focuses upon three (3) main geographic areas: the Persian Gulf, the Caspian Sea and Alaska.

Energy is a central focus of international economics and finance. The financial markets in North America, Europe and Asia have long been concerned with coal, oil and gas. As with any commodities, their pricing, transportation and insurance are subject to rapid fluctuations reflecting numerous factors. This course examines these factors and includes a discussion of anticipated future trends in demand, consumption, efficiency and safety. How do the recent mergers of major multinational oil companies affect energy economics and finance? The investment opportunities for research and development of alternate energy sources are also considered.

There is no one organization that has the full suite of capabilities, relationships or assets to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. The persistence of disease, malnutrition and poverty highlights the need for solutions that are as multi-faceted, systemic and global as the challenges themselves. And in the context of receding public budgets, government has insufficient capacity to address these social issues. Stepping in to fill this gap, the private sector recognizes a reputational and commercial opportunity to partner with government and civil society to provide assets and competencies that no other sector can provide. These cross-sector partnerships take many forms, and have evolved over the last decade having learned from the experience accumulated to date. This course will use case studies to examine a breadth of partnerships, from the traditional to the innovative, in order to surface the gaps, strengths and future potential for private-sector partnerships.

Among the most profound issues raised by modern energy policy is the question of environmental impact. The use of energy in the form of fossil fuels and other sources is coincident with the high standard of living enjoyed by the developed world. However, the enormous cost in terms of environmental damage (global warming, acid rain, photochemical smog, spent fuel disposal, etc.) to Planet Earth demands a serious and dedicated examination of how to sustain our life style through the use of unconventional resources and renewables, nuclear power, and the application of international law and agreements (such as the Montreal and Kyoto Protocols)

One of the most famous definitions of sustainable development is that it 'seeks to meet the needs of the present world without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.' - Brundtland Commission. This course introduces students to the concept of sustainable development, which combines concern for economic progress and the elimination of poverty with awareness of environmental limits. We explore in depth such issues as wealth and poverty, population growth, political economy of food and hunger, the extinction of species, global warming and climatic change, ozone depletion, energy conservation, deforestation, and misuse of technology. We seek to integrate debates about globalization and sustainability by examining the nature of development, the impact of globalization on environment and quality of life, and the role of global and national actors and institutions in either creating sustainability or moving further away from it.

This course will train students to think like policy and financial analysts. Students will apply fundamental concepts from economics, finance and policy to the power sector, while learning the specifics of how the industry operates. The course is wide ranging and varied and should appeal to any student with an interest in how this industry will decarbonize while continuing to deliver reliable, affordable electricity. Students will work together in teams to make decisions in a simulated power market as they try to make money while decarbonizing the power system. The simulation will allow students to apply the lessons they learn in class in a semi real-world environment, provide thought provoking decision points and make the class environment interactive and – hopefully – fun. Reliable, reasonably priced electricity is essential to human development and progress. It heats and cools our living spaces, lights our communal spaces and homes and powers our technology and the industry that sustains our lifestyles. However, in doing this the industry directly produces one quarter of the world’s CO2 emissions. The power business is one of the largest and most important on the planet and is the key to our ability to move to a net zero emissions world. It is undergoing a revolution driven by intermittent solar and wind energy, batteries and a rapid transition away from incumbent fossil fuel generation. The grid itself is transforming as new technologies empower consumers to generate electricity closer to home.

On any given day, a newspaper reader is likely to come across several reports of contentious politics from around the world: Mass mobilization for racial justice in the U.S.A, protests in London over COVID-19 restrictions; ethnic cleansing in Myanmar; civil war in Syria; military coup in Mali; the rise of nationalist and White Supremacy groups in Europe; or terrorist attacks in Paris or Nigeria. A common feature of these political struggles is the disruptive, non-institutionalized, and episodic nature of political action. In contrast to the institutionalized, rule-based, and regulated everyday business of bureaucratic administration, lobbying, tax collection, law enforcement, information gathering, ceremonies of the state, etc. contentious political action involves public and collective claim-making with the intention of altering specific elements in the rules and regulations that govern the interaction between citizens or between citizens and the state. In this perspective, contentious politics can be viewed as a public and collective deliberation or negotiation of the social contract. Sometimes such deliberations and negotiations have little impact on the existing political institutions, at other times they lead to huge revolutionary changes to the entire political and economic order. Contentious politics is a relatively new, interdisciplinary field of study that covers a wide variety of political conflicts ranging from independence struggles and nationalistic movements to revolutions, democratic transitions, terrorism, ethnic conflicts, indigenous movements, and genocide. This course examines the dynamics of contention and how it relates to the development of political institutions. It explores the competing ideas about citizenship, rights, and justice that motivate political struggles between state and society or between groups within a society. As these ideas have evolved through history contentious politics too have undergone major changes. The course traces these changes and discusses how the impact of globalization on state sovereignty is fueling the emergence of new contentious issues. The course is divided into three parts. It starts out by taking a closer look at how contentious politics as a new, interdisciplinary field was born out of an explicit critique of the various discipline-specific subfields that focus on different forms of non-routine or disruptive politics. Instead of treating democratic transition, nationalism, civil war, independence struggles, revolution, social movements, coup d’état, large-scale ethnic violence and genocide as unique phenomena in need of sui generis explanations, proponents of the new framework call for a broader and more synthetic approach to theory and empirical research. From here, the course moves on to discuss the underlying dynamics that inform and motivate political contention. It discusses how ideas about sovereignty, citizenship, rights, and justice have fueled collective struggles and how new forms of contention have emerged through history in response to the rise of novel ideas. Next, we will investigate a number of different forms of contention ranging from revolution, and genocide to pro-democracy and indigenous movements. Among the many instances of contentious processes that we will cover are Black Lives Matter Movement, the Arab Spring in North Africa and the Middle, the rise of White Supremacy groups in the U.S.A. and genocide in Sudan. The course concludes with a discussion of how globalization, supranational states structures such as the EU, and new information technologies are producing new forms of contentious politics.

This course seeks to help students gain a better understanding of the evolving, complex landscape of climate finance which involves many varied sources and institutions, financial instruments, and approaches to fund climate mitigation and adaptation. The course will examine options to overhaul the architecture of development finance to incorporate concepts of climate justice and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and explore how to create new financial products and international funding partnerships to accelerate available funding for green investment and climate resilient development in the developing world. Coursework is designed to provide students with a better understanding of financing tools such as purchasing power agreements (PPA) for renewable energy, green bonds, debt for climate swaps, and blended finance. A special unit on voluntary carbon offsets markets and compulsory carbon pollution allowance markets is designed to help students gain an in-depth knowledge of carbon pricing in practice and an overview of the potential professional pathways in that arena. The course will employ guest lectures, student-led case study investigations, and key readings in the areas of public climate finance, carbon markets, and the role of private sector finance.

This course delivers students a practical view and associated tools for management of energy in individual facilities as well as throughout larger portfolios of facilities, with a particular focus on evolving sustainability related regulations, including mandated and quasi-mandated reporting. Students will review aspects of the operations involved in roles responsible for energy and sustainability management including how energy markets and policies intersect with facility and portfolio investment, management, and compliance reporting. Through class lectures, industry articles, site visits, assigned readings, and expert speakers, the course will provide students with the ability to understand how energy policy, markets, and regulation intersect with operational personnel, equipment, budgets, and contracts. Case studies where students assess the success of various theoretical concepts and applications are included. Students will progressively learn key aspects of facility/portfolio energy and sustainability management, culminating in a final research project evaluating a timely issue(s) affecting the NYC market.

This course will examine the many ways in which the environment and natural resources affect political governance and can be triggers and drivers of conflict unless consciously managed to be opportunities for peacebuilding. In this course, we will focus on a number of conflicts to understand the role of the environment in the conflict spectrum. We will explore the role of particular natural resources, including water, oil and diamonds. Other topics will include climate change, refugees, and peace parks. Examples will come from particular conflicts such as those of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Israel/Palestine, Bolivia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone and others. Finally we will focus on environmental peacebuilding opportunities as a tool for international diplomacy, cross border conservation and conflict sensitive, community driven, sustainable development capitalizing on the dynamics of shared environmental interdependence.

The preservation of the Amazon plays a key role in the efforts to combat climate change. However, the rainforest is currently undergoing a profound loss of biodiversity on a scale not seen in 65 million years. Infrastructure projects, extractive industries, and deforestation for agriculture are some of the main threats to the region’s wildlife. Deforestation have also put human health, food and water security at risk while diminishing the capacity to adapt to future anthropogenic changes. This course explores the political, social-economic, and environmental conflicts that arise from the struggles over natural resources in the Amazon lowlands and the tropical Andes with a focus on the possibility of promoting a sustainable development and environmental justice agenda. As many biodiversity-rich countries in the region face the challenge of balancing biodiversity conservation and economic growth that alleviates poverty and generates job opportunities, there is an inherent tension between environmental and economic priorities.

This course seeks to explain the differences in the structure and practice of intelligence systems between states. It will begin with an introduction to intelligence systems as an academic subject. It will continue with a comparative treatment of several Western and non-Western intelligence systems, to include those of major actors in the international system as well those of smaller powers. For each intelligence system, we will examine the historical, institutional and cultural factors that make it unique. Finally, the course will examine several functional intelligence challenges and compare how these are addressed by different states. Particular attention will be paid to the identification of pathologies that can have a negative impact on the role of intelligence organizations within a given state, and the reform of intelligence systems to facilitate an appropriate role within a democratic or democratizing society.

While space tourism and the deployment of the US Space Force have made major news in recent years, more subtle (and more critical) issues like space debris, anti-satellite weapons, and space resource utilization are driving terrestrial policy-making and geopolitics. Astropolitik is an interdisciplinary course designed to position today’s space activities within the context of space and technological history, enhance students’ understanding of space-based resources and goals of in-space utilization, expand students’ consciousness of how geopolitics extend behind our atmosphere, and explore the intricacies of space law and policy. This course provides essential insights into the STEM disciplines crucial for space technology and infrastructure development. By course end, students will possess a well-rounded understanding of the commercial, military, and scientific opportunities in space, as well as evolving space politics, policies, and technologies, enabling them to critically analyze and contribute to the discourse surrounding this evolving frontier.

This Global Field Intensive explores the political, social-economic, and environmental conflicts that arise from the struggles over natural resources the Peruvian Amazon. While these struggles have often pitted powerful elites against poor and marginalized groups, women and Peru’s more than 200 recognized ethnic groups have been particularly affected by Peru’s extractive industries. The conflicts are not confined to the Amazon region but reach into the Andes highlands. Here, climate change has made it increasingly difficult to grow traditional crops, which has undermined the livelihood for many small-scale farmers. Hundreds of thousands of highlanders have left scarcity behind to look for better opportunities elsewhere. Many who have moved into the rainforest have taken up farming only to intensify the scale of deforestation. The intensification of resource exploitation has seen the Peruvian government, NGOs, and international organizations seek new ways to address the problem. These initiatives will be analyzed and discussed.

This course seeks to help students gain a better understanding of the evolving, complex landscape of climate finance which involves many varied sources and institutions, financial instruments, and approaches to fund climate mitigation and adaptation. The United Nations estimates that climate adaptation aid will need to rise to between $160 billion and $340 billion between now and 2030, up from $24 billion currently being spent. Monies for global investment in clean energy is equally challenging, with between $600 billion and $900 billion a year being spent, mainly in the industrialized world, versus capital requirements of over $2.6 billion annually if we are to meet net zero by 2050. The impact of inaction is uneven. Roughly 80 percent of people displaced by climate change are women and girls. Island nations and low-income, low lying coastal countries such as Bangladesh are bearing the brunt of a changing climate, even though they contribute only miniscule greenhouse gases to the global cumulative accumulation in the atmosphere. This one-week intensive course will explore the writings and speeches of important climate justice advocates and pair their perspectives with the opportunities and challenges set forth in the evolving world of global climate finance. Students will also familiarize themselves with the challenge of energy poverty in the United States and internationally and consider the policy options to remedy systemic social and economic barriers that contribute to lack of access to affordable and readily available energy for heating, cooling, and transport. Through a combination of lectures, guest speakers, multi-media, in-class exercises, student-led case study investigations, and discussion, students will gain deeper knowledge of this most challenging aspect of climate change policy and its relevance to global climate negotiations. Key readings will be assigned in the areas of public climate finance (including reform of multilateral development finance institutions), voluntary carbon offset and compulsory carbon pollution allowance markets, and the role of private sector finance.

The dynamic nature of global affairs means that sometimes events will arise which are unexpected, cross conventional boundaries, do not fit within existing courses or deserve specific and detailed study. This 'special topics' course will explore a particular breaking development or theme relating to the concentration in question. As such, it will only be offered occasionally, when circumstances demand. Students taking an Advanced Colloquium, though, can expect not just to grapple with contemporary events but also to engage actively in conversations both outside as well as within the class and play a role in furthering the common understanding of the world around us.

Cybersecurity seeks to identify, protect, detect, and defend systems against threats and attacks and includes guidelines, policies, procedures, practices, and measures that are designed to safeguard networks, computer systems, and their data. This course provides a framework for enhancing the cybersecurity posture of private and public critical infrastructure sectors looking in particular at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework, which was implemented pursuant to U.S. Executive Order 13636. This framework provides guidance to public and private critical infrastructure sectors on the ways to identify, protect, detect, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity incidents. This course incorporates these guidelines into a defense- in-depth cybersecurity strategy to protect networks, systems, and data.

This statistics course offers an introduction to the statistical concepts, terminology, and techniques used in a variety of social science disciplines. Using STATA statistical software, the course provides students with a solid foundation in conducting descriptive and inferential statistical analysis, "cleaning" data, data management, and data visualization. The primary goals of the course are to greatly enhance students' statistical literacy as well as strengthen their skills in becoming more critical consumers and producers of quantitative research.

This course will build directly upon Applied Statistics by further enhancing students’ proficiency with using statistical software to execute linear and non-linear regression models, explore interactions between variables, and graphically display data. Students will also independently collect and analyze data of their choosing, as well as present their findings to their peers.

Geographic information systems (GIS) are frameworks designed for the creation, storage, retrieval, analysis, and visualization of spatial data. GIS is applied across fields as diverse as global studies, urban planning, environmental management, law enforcement, industrial location, and marketing, and for scientific research in many disciplines. This course is a hands-on course which will introduce students to foundational concepts and skills in working with spatial data, including finding and creating data, spatial analysis, and GIS-based map production. Specific global affairs topics will be analyzed using ESRI’s ArcGIS software suite. The course also includes a special focus on a final GIS project on a global affairs issue chosen by the student.

The dynamic nature of global affairs means that sometimes events will arise which are unexpected, cross conventional boundaries, do not fit within existing courses or deserve specific and detailed study. This 'special topics' course will explore a particular breaking development or theme relating to the concentration in question. As such, it will only be offered occasionally, when circumstances demand. Students taking an Advanced Colloquium, though, can expect not just to grapple with contemporary events but also to engage actively in conversations both outside as well as within the class and play a role in furthering the common understanding of the world around us.

Water, or more precisely, the lack of clean and abundant supplies has emerged as the next global challenge to human health, prosperity and peace. Although 71% of the globe is covered by water, less than 2% of the world¿s water is fresh, accessible and drinkable, and these resources are by no means equally distributed. The future will see conflicts over access to water, challenges and opportunities relating to efforts to conserve and manage it and its conversion into a crucial economic and political resource.

The dynamic nature of global affairs means that sometimes events will arise which are unexpected, cross conventional boundaries, do not fit within existing courses or deserve specific and detailed study. This `special topics¿ course will explore a particular breaking development or theme relating to the concentration in question. As such, it will only be offered occasionally, when circumstances demand. Students taking an Advanced Colloquium, though, can expect not just to grapple with contemporary events but also to engage actively in conversations both outside as well as within the class and play a role in furthering the common understanding of the world around us.

The dynamic nature of global affairs means that sometimes events will arise which are unexpected, cross conventional boundaries, do not fit within existing courses or deserve specific and detailed study. This `special topics¿ course will explore a particular breaking development or theme relating to the concentration in question. As such, it will only be offered occasionally, when circumstances demand. Students taking an Advanced Colloquium, though, can expect not just to grapple with contemporary events but also to engage actively in conversations both outside as well as within the class and play a role in furthering the common understanding of the world around us.

This course examines the complex relationship between the Earth¿s rapidly changing environment and the protection of civil/political (C/P) and economic, social and cultural (ESC) human rights, particularly in the developing world. Existing environmental conditions are being exacerbated by climate change in ways that will adversely affect residents of developing countries that are already struggling with highly stressed water, land, air and marine resources. Legal and policy options to confront these environmental challenges (and the related challenge of widespread poverty) will be examined in terms of their implications for both P/C and ESC rights.

This course is designed to develop practical advocacy skills to protect and promote human rights. A focus will be developing an advocacy strategy on a current human rights issue, including the identification of goals and objectives, appropriate advocacy targets, and appropriate methods. Students will explore broad-based human rights campaigns, use of the media, and advocacy with UN bodies, the US government, and the private sector (corporations). Over the course of the semester, students will become familiar with a variety of tools to apply to a human rights issue of their choosing. Case studies will illustrate successful advocacy campaigns on particular issues, such as sexual violence in conflict, keeping human rights offenders off the UN Human Rights Council and access to safe abortion.

Both developed and developing societies rely on a complex network of infrastructure to support economic development, and security. Interruptions, originating from a variety of man-made and/or natural hazards, lead to a variety of significant consequences ranging from insecurity, economic decline and impacts to health services. The complex nature of responding to disasters, whether man-made, natural or terrorism, requires a level of integration and preparedness that can be challenging to attain. Thoughtful preparedness planning leads to more resilient organizations and societies. This course provides students with the skills needed to effectively support disaster recovery and preparedness decision-making across private and public sectors.

The dynamic nature of global affairs means that sometimes events will arise which are unexpected, cross conventional boundaries, do not fit within existing courses or deserve specific and detailed study. This 'special topics' course will explore a particular breaking development or theme relating to the concentration in question. As such, it will only be offered occasionally, when circumstances demand. Students taking an Advanced Colloquium, though, can expect not just to grapple with contemporary events but also to engage actively in conversations both outside as well as within the class and play a role in furthering the common understanding of the world around us.

The dynamic nature of global affairs means that sometimes events will arise which are unexpected, cross conventional boundaries, do not fit within existing courses or deserve specific and detailed study. This 'special topics' course will explore a particular breaking development or theme relating to the concentration in question. As such, it will only be offered occasionally, when circumstances demand. Students taking an Advanced Colloquium, though, can expect not just to grapple with contemporary events but also to engage actively in conversations both outside as well as within the class and play a role in furthering the common understanding of the world around us.

The dynamic nature of global affairs means that sometimes events will arise which are unexpected, cross conventional boundaries, do not fit within existing courses or deserve specific and detailed study. This `special topics¿ course will explore a particular breaking development or theme relating to the concentration in question. As such, it will only be offered occasionally, when circumstances demand. Students taking an Advanced Colloquium, though, can expect not just to grapple with contemporary events but also to engage actively in conversations both outside as well as within the class and play a role in furthering the common understanding of the world around us.

This course explores the principles of effective social mobilization informed by both the academic literature as well as the lived experiences of social movement activists. Topics and skills covered include strategic planning, stakeholder analysis, effective communications, international campaigns and solidarity networks, and fighting disinformation. A wide range of cases will be drawn upon, with special attention to movements resisting dictatorship and extreme populist nationalism, as well as movements pursuing racial, gender, and economic justice. Students will be asked to identify a movement of personal interest to them which will serve as the focus of their course-long project.

This intensive three-week seminar will bring together research teams from NYU with collaborating university partner institutions of the Peace Research and Education Program. The teams will carry out research projects designed and developed during the Joint Research Seminar in Peacebuilding (required for participation). NYU students and the instructor will travel to the host university during this intensive course. The research teams will devote the bulk of their field research time to conducting interviews and focus groups, and to collecting any documents and other publications needed as data for completion of their projects. Students from both New York University and the host university will utilize contemporary peace research techniques learned during the prerequisite Joint Research Seminar in Peacebuilding. Once data generation is complete, the research teams will begin data analysis and writing of their final research reports for publication. This intensive course will provide practical experience not only with peace research methods, but also with important issues such as researcher identity, working in cross-cultural research teams, the ethics of peace research, data evaluation, informed consent, and the use of interpreters.

This course will examine the contribution of intelligence activities to the economic power of the nation state. It will begin with a general description of the ways in which states lever the economic instrument of national power. It will then move to a discussion of the relationship between intelligence and economic strength, clarifying the important distinctions between economic intelligence, the collection of foreign economic information for use in formulating national security and foreign policy; and economic espionage, the use of national intelligence resources to collect intelligence on non-government entities for commercial or economic benefit. It will then discuss the U.S. intelligence community's focus on economic intelligence, contrasting this approach with the widespread willingness of U.S. adversaries, rivals, and allies to engage in economic espionage. It will cover the various means by which both economic intelligence and economic espionage are executed, discussing both cyber and more traditional methods. It will note the expanding use of intelligence by the private sector both for legal purposes and to conduct industrial espionage against competing firms. Finally, it will examine the evolution of efforts to defend the vulnerable private sector from economic and industrial espionage.

In this course, students will examine in-depth the challenges confronting the United Nations in the 21st century and efforts to address them. These challenges range from complex great power geopolitical contestations; the growing peacekeeping mandates to protect civilians, counter terrorism, and tackle pandemics; to addressing the political, technical, and financial hurdles in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals; to mitigating the climate change crises, including managing natural disasters, and climate refugee flows; and to understanding the potential of emerging technologies (artificial intelligence, drones, cyberspace, revolution in information and telecommunication, social media) with the objective of enhancing global digital cooperation and reducing digital confrontation. Students will study these challenges through a series of in-person lectures, site visits, official briefings, and simulations & exercises to enhance their policy-making skills.

Global Affairs is an uncertain and complex array of issues and actors, of threats, opportunities, and consequences; how those are understood and managed is largely through a lens of risk. Whether one speaks of the stock market, insurance, public health, climate change, international security, technological innovation, or even space travel, the frameworks used to anticipate, plan, and act in these disparate fields definitely relies on some concept of risk. This course prepares students to better appreciate the functions, pros, and cons of risk, ranging from its evolution as a modern concept; methods for assessing and managing risk; and the ethics, politics, governance, and communication of risk. This course is the core requirement for the successful completion of the Global Risk Specialization within the MS Global Affairs degree.

Over the past three decades, billions of people have been lifted from poverty. Yet today, almost two billion individuals—one-third of adults globally—lack access to basic financial services. Billions more, in both developed and emerging markets, rely on sub-optimal financial instruments to manage their daily finances. In short, they have no financial security. At the micro-level, financial exclusion—or the lack of access to formal financial services—has a serious impact on a person’s quality of life, denying them access to the same opportunities, benefits and choices that many of us take for granted. At the macro-level, financial exclusion undermines economic development efforts at the community and country levels. A wide range of public, non-profit and private entities undertake initiatives to deliver financial services to the base of the pyramid, often with mixed results. Nevertheless, financial inclusion is one of the levers with the greatest potential to improve the daily lives of the unbanked and underbanked, while also advancing global economic and social development goals. This course introduces students to a set of tools which can help to address financial inclusion problems, with a focus on the following four skills: Data Analysis–the ability to consume, interpret and manipulate data sets to formulate solutions; Design Thinking–the ability to leverage principles of consumer-centric design to develop products and solutions; Financial Modeling–the ability to employ Excel to build financial models to assess the viability of a business case; and Business Modeling–the ability to apply methodologies and tools to make decisions and formulate strategies that shape business/commercial decisions. Although these skills are useful in the financial inclusion space, they are also widely applicable to a broad set of careers in the public, private and non-profit sectors.

This course examines the work of the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security in general, and conflict prevention, peace-making, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding in particular, primarily from the perspective of the role of the Secretary-General and the Secretariat. It builds on students’ knowledge of the organization’s place in the system of international relations and global governance. It will provide a deeper understanding of how the UN functions in the area of peace and security at the operational level, and will include illustrative case studies, and a simulation exercise. It focuses on UN institutional entities and components beyond the intergovernmental bodies (Security Council, General Assembly); the mechanisms and tools they rely upon for preventive diplomacy and peace-making, peacekeeping and peacebuilding; the unique advantages and limitations of the organization; the interlinkages between the peace and security, development and human rights pillars of the organization as well as the evolution of its practices and continuing and emerging trends.

The course, Cuba in the World - an Intercambio, will engage up to twenty graduate students in a special spring break study trip examining the realities shaping the largest Caribbean island country today. It will focus on post Cold War Cuba from a socio-cultural perspective, with a specific look at the country?s complex and evolving relationship with the US and Latin America. Through a unique collaboration with the Ludwig Foundation Center, Havana - a non governmental organization dedicated to bridging understanding in Cuba and abroad through cultural exchange - students will gain exclusive exposure to an 'inside out' perspective of a country that is most often viewed from the 'outside in.' The seminar will be composed of organized lectures, site visits and meetings at local organizations and educational institutions. Pre departure (New York-based) sessions will focus on preparing students with a contemporary historical context of Cuban inter-American relations in order to inform the socio-cultural conversation during the onsite portion of the course.

Development in the world's poor countries is one of the great policy debates and moral imperatives of our day. In Ghana, more than a third of the people live in poverty, despite a decade of democratic rule and nearly a quarter century since economic reform began. In this course, we will examine multiple dimensions of development—economic, political, environmental, social, cultural and regional—through the example of Ghana. As the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from colonial rule, Ghana played a major role in the transformation of the continent. Despite its early promise, the country has endured political upheaval, military rule and economic collapse, as have many in the region. Today, its market liberalization, democratic transition and political leadership put it in the forefront of what many hope will be an African renaissance. These are among the reasons that a case study of Ghana will fortify a broader look at development in Africa. The course will be organized in two segments: three sessions in New York before departure for Accra, and 10 days of talks and field visits in Ghana. Pre-departure sessions will provide students with an overview of development issues, a review of African history and political evolution, and an introduction to Ghana's history, politics, economy and culture. The sessions will include talks by scholars and practitioners. In Ghana, sessions will go into depth on major dimensions of the country's development, including political, social and environmental as well as economic. We will learn from talks by political and business leaders, scholars, and representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. We also will visit development projects and other sites in the field.

In the past decade, Israel has undergone a revolution in its relations with its region. From a state looking West towards Europe and the U.S., and seeing itself as a “villa in the jungle” in its immediate neighborhood, it has developed new, overt relationships with several states in the region, including regional powers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, through shared strategic and economic interests. Relationships with Egypt, and to a lesser degree with Jordan, its long-time peace partners, are increasing, including in the wake of the discovery of significant offshore gas deposits, which have fostered energy interdependence with these neighboring states, as well as between them and their other neighbors in the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus and Greece. Strategically, Israel is in the best strategic position since its inception.

This colloquium will explore energy politics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where significant geopolitical transformations have resulted in rapidly changing economic and political trends. The seminar concentrates on the regional players' perceptions of these transformations and the strategies adopted to deal with them, in the context of an ever changing energy landscape. This class is appropriate for students interested in gaining a deeper understanding of a region that is at the cornerstone of energy policy issues today. A review and comparative analysis of the social, political and economic factors that are impacting regional energy policy will be explored in depth allowing students to acquire the necessary skills to conduct in-depth risk analysis of policies that have the potential to impact global energy markets.

Crucially, the research methods that are employed to answer one’s question determine the accuracy of the answer one obtains. Thus, a course like this is concerned less with what we know, and more with how we know it. The goals of this course, therefore, are to introduce students to the research process and the different types of research methods available to answer critical questions about global affairs. Students will learn about both qualitative and quantitative methods and will cover the advantages and disadvantages to different types of data collection and analysis. Further, this course will enhance students’ ability to analyze arguments, evaluate evidence, and convey key ideas and research findings effectively. By the end of this course, students should be able to design a research project, define and measure key social science phenomena, formulate hypotheses, design tests of their hypotheses through qualitative and/or quantitative methods, and effectively present their research designs. In addition, students will learn how to deconstruct scholarly research into its fundamental components (e.g., the author’s research question, variables, hypotheses, sample, research method, etc.) and, as such, become more critical readers of published work and sharper researchers and thinkers.

Over the past two decades, India has undertaken a series of economic reforms that have spurred to a period of unprecedented economic growth; growth rates averaging 3-6 percent in the years 1975-90 have doubled during the first decade of the new millennium. Driven by the ICT and service sectors, India has become the 4th largest economy in the world (based on ppp) and is frequently referred to as an emerging global power. Yet despite the economic growth of the past 20 years the number of people living in urban slum has increased by more than 20 percent over the past decade and according to the Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index 645 million Indians lived below the poverty line in 2010. Recent estimates by the Indian government based on the daily cost of calories in urban and rural areas suggest that nearly 40% of the Indian population, or 380 million people, live in hunger.

Child soldiers, student revolutionaries, migrant workers and legions of unemployed youth are but a few of the important roles that young people play in national and international affairs. This course will consider a wide variety of ways in which young people help to shape the future. The course will begin with a discussion of international standards – the Convention on the Rights of the Child, other human rights treaties, humanitarian law and the Millennium Development Goals. We also will discuss the youth bulges that affect many countries, the graying of other societies, the disparities of gender and cultural definitions of childhood and youth. Next we will turn to the complex positions of young people in societies in conflict – as fighters and casualties, as suicide bombers and drug runners, as perpetrators and victims of sexual violence and human trafficking, and as demonstrators and militias seeking to end or to sustain dictatorships. We will move on to the issues of peace-building that directly involve youth: demobilization and reentry; education, training and jobs for young women and men, and efforts to reconcile ethnic, religious or other groups after conflict. The course will then review the roles that young people can and do play in developing their societies: through their openness to social and economic change, their advancement in education and entrepreneurship, their adoption of better health practices, their engagement in sports, arts and entertainment, and their efforts to establish democracy. The course assignments will ask students to develop ideas for addressing the needs of young people and harnessing the possibilities they bring to global affairs.

Could the global market have predicted the Russian invasion of Ukraine? What were the consequences of Brexit? How would a multinational company navigate the ever-changing geopolitical landscape? Political risk is among the main factors in international economic and trade relationships. It is usually a top concern in any cross-border investment activities and trade flows. The United States recognizes 195 countries around the world. Each one of them may present a unique set of political risks and opportunities. In addition, there are major political and economic zones like the European Union, free trade zones like the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, and international development organizations like the World Bank. One needs to analyze and assess political risk through a multi-dimensional perspective. At the center of our study will be the critical examination of the key components of political risk. Indicators of political risks, including sovereign rating from major rating agencies, market risk premiums, sovereign credit default swaps, CDS, and the depth of liquidity will be thoroughly discussed. We shall study political risk through several cases. Cases in China, Europe, and Latin America are selected for inactive discussion in the classroom. Qualitative tools might be introduced to offer market pricing of political risk in our sample countries. Political risks used to be associated primarily with emerging market or frontier countries. Over the recent decade, it is evident that almost all the developed countries are sources of political risk as well. From Brexit to the U.S.-China trade war, we are seeing a proliferation of political risks in recent years. We emphasize the market approach in our study, albeit, incorporating the historical and cultural perspectives in our analysis. Our goal will be to develop a thorough understanding of the art and science of political risk, from both bottom-up market indicators and top-down holistic view. The course will incorporate many case studies, closely track the real world events. During the past semesters, the Greek financial crisis, Argentine economic reform, Chinese banking system modernization, Brexit, and U.S.-China trade dispute were discussed, among many other cases. Climate change has added a new set of factors for political risk analysis.

This course provides an introduction to country risk – the risk that firms incur in cross-border investment or lending. Country risk is analyzed and managed by multinational corporations, banks, and governments in order to assess and mitigate potential financial loss due to country events. Such events include coups, social unrest, war, and economic shocks including adverse market developments and economic policy changes. The goal of this course is to provide students with the tools necessary to assess country risk and prepare them for jobs that require country risk analysis and management. The class involves lectures and "case study" seminars. Key “clinical” skills will be developed: macroeconomic and balance of payments analysis; domestic and international political risk assessment; analyzing government finances and banking sector risk; knowledge of the extensive resources available on country risk; knowledge of the regulatory environment; and, “case study” skills.

Whether it is an extreme weather event, an outbreak of a pandemic disease, an outpouring of migrants, a civil war that threatens to spill over borders, or a genocide, there are times when critical events require the concerted efforts of a range of actors across the global system. Nevertheless, there exists an array of options and possibilities that might occur, ranging from inactivity to comprehensive responses. In some cases, single countries take the lead in responding, in other cases regional neighbors muddle through, and in some it appears that the entire planet is unified in pulling together to address the crisis. Sometimes our responses are adequate, but sadly there are also times when they are not. How that success is measured and how those failures are learned from are not settled matters. With climate change and conflict showing no signs of abating, how the world responds to emergencies is of utmost importance to us all.

Impact investing focuses on generating financial returns while intentionally improving social and environmental conditions. It plays an ever-increasing role in the work of investors, banks, policymakers, foundations, non-profits, and corporations that aim to tackle societal and environmental challenges. An important set of standards for a company’s behavior are ESG (environmental, social, and governance) criteria. This course will focus on the ideas behind impact investing and ESG, and in particular, the tools and skills needed to understand, evaluate, and measure social and environmental impact. It tackles questions such as: How can we (as policymakers, investors, international organizations, or companies) invest into social and environmental impact? What are emerging platforms and vehicles that facilitate this trend, including B Corporations, social stock exchanges, and social impact bonds? How do (inter-)governmental actors such as USAID, the World Bank, and others collaborate on innovative models? What is the role of related concepts such as micro-finance, Socially Responsible Investing, and alternative resourcing approaches? The course will be based on readings, case studies, interactive guest lectures, and student projects. Impact investors, organizational leaders, and policymakers will be engaged as guest speakers. Learning will be interactive, and students will have the opportunity to connect with relevant individuals.

Armed conflict seems to be on the rise, and related to this is an increase in militarization, with some countries expanding armies, or limiting civil liberties in the name of ‘national security. Shockingly, both of these processes seem to have intensified during the COVID pandemic period – military spending rose to almost $2 trillion in mid 2021, a 2.6% increase on the previous year and the biggest single year increase in over a decade. This trend was significantly exacerbated by the war in Ukraine (since February 24 2022), and the war in Palestine/ Israel (after the 0ctober 7 2023 Hamas attack on Israel), and the defensive response these conflicts have triggered across Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere. Whether conflict is simmering and cyclical (Pakistan, Somalia, Lebanon, Iraq, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, Myanmar, Mindanao/Philippines) or intense and active (Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, parts of Eastern Congo, Ukraine), gender shapes how people are affected and how they get involved in either fighting or in building peace. The headline treatment of this gender difference is usually limited to a focus on women as victims, and usually as victims of one particular type of violence: systematic rape. We hear much less about women’s roles as peace-makers, or about their roles as belligerents. That conflict affects women and men, girls and boys in different ways is hardly a major insight, yet security sector analysts and policy-makers continue to have considerable difficulty accepting that this gendered impact of conflict ought to shape international, regional, or local policies aimed at conflict prevention, resolution, or peacebuilding. Even more challenging is the suggestion that gender relations could be one of the drivers of conflict, or could affect the long-term sustainability of peacebuilding efforts. An immediately obvious consequence is that women and girls figure in popular and policy treatments of conflict mainly as victims, and the roles they play as soldiers, spies, medics, communications officers, let alone as rebuilders and peace leaders, are obscured or ignored. This has resulted in their exclusion from decision-making in peace negotiations and post-conflict recovery processes including transitional justice and economic recovery. Recovery processes can therefore re-entrench or even strengthen conservative or pre-conflict versions of gender relations and women’s rights. The course will be linked to current policy debates on this issue in international peace and security institutions, notably the United Nation’s Security Council, and the UN’s Peacebuilding Commission. The major focus will be women’s role in conflict resolution, reconciliation, and long-term peace building. Students will be encouraged to analyze the politics of international policy-making in the security field and to simulate policy-advocacy through persuasive argumentation (for instance in Op Eds and briefings and a simulation exercise).

With more than 50 million refugees and IDPs worldwide, the largest number since World War II, there is an unprecedented need for humanitarian assistance. While the current situation is critical and has stretched the international humanitarian system to the breaking point, the global refugee crisis will only worsen over the next decades as climate changes are expected to uproot tens of millions of people, particularly in developing countries. This course explores the current state of the humanitarian aid system, and discusses the strategies and practices involved in relief operations. It revolves around two major issues. One, by focusing on the policies, plans, and structures that the host country, NGOs, and the international community in collaboration have put in place, it seeks to provide students with an understanding of the bureaucratic/administrative side of crisis management. Two, the course aims to give students an insight into the daily lives of refugees/IDPs living in camps/urban settlements, and the experiences of aid workers who seek to alleviate the suffering.

Indescribably horrific crimes were committed in 1994 during the genocide in Rwanda, resulting in approximately 800,000 to 1 million fatalities. Roughly three quarters of the adult male Tutsi population, as well as moderate Hutus, were killed in approximately 100 days. This course will examine the following questions: How does a country rebuild after such horribly devastating atrocities? How does it attempt to achieve justice? And, is reconciliation between perpetrators and victims possible? Through our pre-departure class sessions and our field study on the ground in Rwanda, we will explore the background on the events surrounding the genocide; the trial and domestic traditional mechanisms designed to achieve accountability for the crimes committed; the extent to which each mechanism has achieved justice and/or contributed to reconciliation; the grassroots reconciliation efforts within Rwanda; and the memorialization of the genocide.

Contemporary Cambodia is haunted by its tragic past. The period between 1970 to 1979 saw untold brutality inflicted upon its population. The scars from these traumas persist today. But that is not the entirety of its story. Even as the country struggles to reconcile itself with the past, Cambodia is host to a young, vibrant population, looking for opportunities to provide prosperity and security for its people, and a ruling regime seeking stability and longevity. To achieve anything resembling these goals, Cambodia and Cambodians must confront a panoply of options. This course provides a variety of lenses through which we might better appreciate the dilemmas facing the country and people of Cambodia. While doing so, we will address the themes of power, identity, history, prosperity, security, autonomy, inequality, and contestation.

The Independent Research Study should focus on an issue of interest to the student that directly relates to the student's area of concentration. In cases where the topic rests or touches on more than one field, a teamwork project may be substituted for the independent study. Members of the team will be required to contribute material on the selected topic from the vantage point of their respective concentrations. Students will have latitude in selecting their topic but all topics, whether for individual study or a team undertaking, will need faculty approval and will be conducted under the stewardship of one faculty person. The study may be a traditional research paper of a case study based on primary research, extensive interviews, and profiles of the protagonists, be they individuals or institutions and should reflect high standards of scholarship.

Internships are an opportunity for students to gain valuable professional knowledge and skills. They can lead to an expanded professional network and even to a job or career. Moreover, internships allow students to experience how the ideas and concepts they are exposed to in the course of studying towards their MSGA are applied in ‘real-world’ settings. However, without a strategic approach, internships can be little more than long hours of hard work, sometimes without clear value. In order to get the most out of an internship (and professional life more generally) a strategic and self-reflective approach is required. The for-credit internship course is designed to facilitate such a perspective.

The Independent Study course provides the opportunity for specialized and individualized activities that augment a student’s program of study. A student interested in developing competencies in specialized areas of global affairs and cyber can take the Independent Study Course (ISC) either to expand on topics within the curriculum or focus on topics not currently offered. Under the supervision of an academic advisor, a student will independently research a topic in depth and then produce a series of writings or other outputs about the researched topic.

In this course, Consulting Practicum, students are grounded in theory, then asked to apply those theories to specific professional practice areas. CGA Consulting Practicum puts the “applied” notion of student learning to the acid test. Students will not apply their knowledge to an academic assignment, but to real world problems. The goal of consulting is to improve the performance of the organization by analyzing existing organizational issues and challenges and developing plans for improvement. Tasks include but are not limited to: analyzing new markets to enter, examining how to grow market share in a core business, and helping to implement strategic initiatives across business units. The Consulting Practicum will be a 14-week applied course where students will be matched with an organization and charged with completing a specific project determined by the client (company). Case teams will be relatively small and each team will be supported by a faculty supervisor and company mentor. Consulting Practicums can be applied across all eight of CGA’s concentrations. This is meant to be a highly hands-on course with significant client interface, strategic meetings, and includes special consulting workshops for students to enhance the skills necessary to be a successful consulting.