Department of Political Science (GRAD)

This course explores how presidents select policy options, how they decide timing, what shapes their congressional support, and how they build successful coalitions.

Problems of the national government in managing capitalist development and economic growth; political constraints; patterns of conflict among domestic actors.

This course provides a survey of the literature on race, immigration, and urban politics in the contemporary United States. The goal is to understand the complex relationship between racial/ethnic identity and local political processes. Students explore topics such as police brutality, immigration, the education system, and coalition politics.

This course provides an overview of the politics of local governments in the United States. Topics covered include the economics and history of urban agglomerations, local governments' place in the American federal system, the role of race and immigration in how parties and coalitions govern, whether local governments are responsive to voters, and the role cities play in shaping housing, education, climate, and criminal justice policy.

Advanced topics in state government and politics, including political behavior and processes, governmental institutions, public policies. Emphasis on how states serve as the laboratories of democracy in a federal system.

Students employ their understanding of political philosophy and practical politics to write a new constitution for the United States. Emphasis is on creative blending of theory and practice.

A study of the fundamental principles of constitutional interpretation and practice in the United States by means of lectures, textbooks, and cases. Emphasis will be on the political context surrounding and the impact following Supreme Court decisions.

An analysis of the complex political problems created by the expansion of protection for individual liberties in the United States. Emphasis will be on contemporary problems with some supplemental historical background. Honors version available.

Course studies United States presidential and congressional elections. Emphasis on individual vote, changing party strengths, and the relation of outcomes to policy. Honors version available.

This is a course about how we administer elections in the United States. The people, processes, and rules by which we administer elections in the United States are critically important to the exercise of free and fair elections that is a cornerstone of a democratic form of governance. A major component of this course is your work as an elections official in the Fall 2024 election. Must be a registered voter in Orange County, NC.

Analysis of the structure and functions of judicial systems emphasizing the organization, administration, and politics of judicial bureaucracies and roles of judges, juries, counsel, litigants, and interested groups in adjudication processes.

Examines in greater depth issues in the field of political psychology, including conflict and conflict resolution, socialization, attitude formation, mass movements, leader-follower relationships, and psychobiography. Honors version available.

Junior-senior standing required. Examination of the role, behavior, and influence of the mass media in American politics.

Restricted to juniors and seniors. Surveys the vast literature on race and politics in the contemporary United States and examines the complex relationship between racial and ethnic identity and political outcomes. It explores broad political science concepts in the context of racial and ethnic groups. Honors version available.

Examines the politics of the United States Congress. Emphasis on representation, the legislative process, and policy making. Honors version available.

This course will focus on the process by which policies get framed, or defined, in public discussions. Framing is focusing attention on some elements of a complex public problem rather than others. Readings combine psychological background with case histories of United States and comparative public policy changes over time.

This class explores the political representation of blacks, Latina/os, women, and gays and lesbians in the American states. How do these groups achieve descriptive and substantive representation? How does state context shape the political representation of these minorities? Students taking this course should have a strong interest in state politics.

Examines legislative procedure in Congress. Requires active participation in a Model Congress.

Analyzing the impact of the descriptive representation of marginalized communities on public policy, legislation, and social change. Sexual orientation, identity, gender, ethnicity and race, and the intersectionality of these communities. We seek to understand the role that elected officials can have in driving change, affecting their colleagues and constituents.

Diversity is sometimes cited as a facilitator of political cooperation but more often it is considered a challenge for constructive civic engagement. This course engages the various ways in which different forms of diversity (e.g., racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, national origin) and politics interact across a wide range of societies.

Course explores contemporary threats to national security, approaches to national security strategy, policy instruments, the role of military force, and the policy-making process.

The problems of race, class, and ideology are explored in the countries south of the Zambezi River, along with the political and economic ties that bind these countries.

This course will compare the theory and practice of tolerance in the United States and Europe, with particular attention to Great Britain and France.

Examines the politics and political economy of institutional change and policy making in the European Union in comparative perspective. Honors version available.

This course provides a survey of 20th-century politics in Mexico, including the construction of the single-party regime under the PRI and the political and economic changes in the second half of the century that marked the end of the one-party regime and inaugurated a new era of political competition.

The analysis of central issues of democracy and development in Latin America. Honors version available.

Explores the collapse of communist rule in 1989 and the reaction of international institutions to the challenges of democratization, economic transition, ethnic conflict, and European integration in an undivided Europe.

The course introduces students to the theory and practice of studying European public opinion. The course is split into four parts. In the first part, we will discuss core concepts and important problems in the study of public opinion. In the second part, we will study tools and common data sets for the analysis of European public opinion. In the third part, we will examine several recent contributions on different aspects of European public opinion.

Dictators do not rely on consent of the people to stay in power. But they do still face constraints and must perform a delicate balancing act to maintain enough support to stay in office and reap its rewards. This class seeks to understand when autocrats are successful and when they fail.

This course will explore Israeli society, Israeli politics, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Theories of international political economy, major trends in international economic relations, selected contemporary policy issues.

The role of Congress, the press, public opinion, the president, the secretary and the Department of State, the military, and the intelligence community in making American foreign policy. Emphasizes the impact of the bureaucratic process on the content of foreign policy.

The U.S. 9/11 attack represents the defining terrorist attack to Americans, but in most of the world, terrorism has long been part of politics. We will examine what motivates individuals to consider violence, how individuals organize to protect their political interests, the types of tactics used by violent groups and the state's response, before concluding with a study of collapsed states, the international implications of political violence, and possibilities for conflict resolution.

Immigrant integration has been one of the most intense political issues in Western Europe in recent decades. The extent to which these immigrants have successfully integrated is a hot topic of debate across Europe, and there is no consensus about the best way to promote integration. This course explores these debates. Honors version available.

Political authority is changing around the world. Decision making has shifted down to state and local governments, such as Catalonia and Scotland, and up to international organizations such as the European Union and the World Health Organization. What does this mean for the future of the national state?

This course explores the politics behind taxation, foreign aid, natural resources, and debt, focusing on how each affects accountability and state capacity. Topics include when governments tax; whether taxation causes democratization; the effects of foreign aid and oil money on corruption and conflict; and how government debt shapes domestic politics.

A comprehensive analysis of hemispheric international relations and foreign policies of individual Latin American nations. Honors version available.

The course examines the interplay of race, ethnicity, political institutions, and political mobilization in modern state and nation-building. Through the use of broadly drawn international case studies, the politics of ethnicity and race is analyzed from the perspective of global processes of state building, colonialism and decolonization, and capitalist development as well from local development of ideology and political organizations.

The purpose of this course is to examine Africa's conflicts using an historical examination and advances in international relations theory. We will examine European colonial intervention, the wars of independence, the Cold War, and the use of proxies, insurgencies, the African World War, the Sudanese War, and the "war of terrorism."

What happens when countries go broke? This course considers the complex historical relation between revenue generation and the development of the nation-state, and details a variety of major crises facing governments today, including the political determinants of and responses to major recent financial crises.

Analysis of international conflict and the causal mechanisms that drive or prevent conflict. Emphasis is on the conditions and processes of conflict and cooperation between nations.

Examines the management and resolution of international and civil wars. Honors version available.

The course explores the development of Euro-Atlantic security institutions (NATO, EU) and compares security policy in the United States and Europe. Cases include policy toward the Balkans, Afghanistan, Russia, and Ukraine. Includes review of concepts of security and selected international relations approaches to international organizations. Honors version available.

Focuses on ethnic and political conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and efforts by the international community to end conflict and promote peace and reconstruction. Honors version available.

An examination of the logic of social and political thought with an analysis of such concepts as society, state, power, authority, freedom, social and political obligation, law, rights. Honors version available.

Survey of the historical foundations, central tenets, and political consequences of prominent 20th-century political theories. Topics include contemporary liberalism and Marxism, fascism, theories of development, populism, feminism. Honors version available.

Major problem areas in democratic theory including definitions, presuppositions, and justifications of democracy, liberty, equality, minority rights, public interest, participation, dissent, and civil disobedience. Honors version available.

Identifies and interprets political ideas using historical and contemporary literary sources. Examines literature as political practice.

This course brings the tools and techniques of political theory to bear on contemporary environmental challenges. Students will examine different conceptions of nature and of human-nature relations, investigate arguments about the moral and political status of nonhuman others, think about the role of individual responsibility in addressing climate change, and grapple with issues of inequality, environmental justice, and power.

A role-immersive simulation of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Students employ their knowledge of the political theory and science of the founding period to become the Convention of 1787 and write a constitution.

Examines in greater depth and complexity current issues in feminist political theory. Topics: theories of subjectivity and solidarity, feminist poststructuralist and post-Marxist thinking, gender in the public sphere.

The course explores the politics, philosophy, and economics of US education. We will cover topics such as the goals of education; education politics at the local, state, and federal levels; school finance; accountability; markets in education; the role of philanthropy; and student debt.

Increasingly, political and social scientists are using game theory to analyze strategic interactions across different settings. This course aims to give students a deep technical understanding of the most relevant concepts of game theory and how these concepts have been applied to the study of political and economic phenomena.

A detailed examination of advanced special topics in political science. Honors version available.

Examines recent developments in the European integration process by exploring the potential for political contestation concerning European Union matters in national politics. Familiarizes students with the main theoretical approaches and the extensive empirical work dealing with the effects of European integration.

Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. Since the collapse of communism from 1989 to 1991, the European Union has faced a fundamentally different geopolitical neighborhood and an evolving relationship with the United States. We will explore how Europe has addressed new challenges to its security in its neighborhood and beyond.

Permission of the instructor for undergraduates. This seminar introduces students to basic theoretical approaches to both international relations and the European Union by focusing on the European Union's external relations and foreign policies.

Required of all students in the honors program in political science.

Required of all students in the honors program in political science.

Required of all students in the honors program in political science.

Permission of the department. This capstone course advances PHIL 384, focusing on such theoretical and philosophical issues as the analysis of rights or distributive justice and the institutional implications of moral forms.

An overview of research on American politics that introduces students to a wide range of sustentative understandings and theoretical perspectives.

Theory and practice of political institutions in the American context.

This course examines diverse theoretical perspectives on national institutional change and stability, using as our institutional focus the United States Congress between 1789 and 1989.

Survey of the substantial literature and research on the American Presidency.

Survey of recent literature on the politics of judicial institutions and the behavior of judges, lawyers, litigants, and other actors in the judicial process, emphasizing relationships between judicial and other policy-making processes.

This course surveys the major topics and research programs in subnational American politics and policy, with special attention to the vertical and horizontal intergovernmental interactions inherent within federal political systems.

Selected problems and issues in the study of American and comparative parties and party systems.

Theoretical study of mass behavior (i.e., participation, voting, protest) in the American context.

A study of public opinion, its formation, expression, and impact on political systems and public policy.

Change within mass electorates. Topics include issue and attitude change, political realignments, and models of electoral competition.

The learning process by which individuals acquire values, attitudes, and norms affecting their behavior in the political community, with emphasis on major agencies of socialization: family, schools, peer groups, and media.

This course surveys and evaluates current and past research in political psychology. Topics may include: personality, attitudes and values, socialization, political reasoning, information processing, decision making, political identity, and political affect.

The course examines the major theories and empirical research on how organized interests mobilize and maintain themselves, interact within populations, exercise influence through lobbying, and impact public policy. It includes the full range of interest organizations operating in American politics at any level and in all institutional venues.

The theory of power sharing tries to explain how stable democracy is possible in deeply divided societies.

This class will focus on theoretical and empirical approaches to the study of agenda-setting in both American and comparative settings. Begins in the 1950s through current literature, covering a wide range of methodological approaches. Assignments include participation in seminar discussion, short papers on readings, and substantial original research paper.

The role(s), function(s), and strategy of public administrators in the formulation, adoption, and implementation of public policies. Policy from the perspective of the policy maker; cases exploring the relationship of theories to actual policy processes. Spring.

Alternative explanation of public policies and policy-making processes; introduction to policy analysis as a way to inform choices among policy options; policy implementation through administrative practices and procedures.

In this course, students will learn about a variety of mechanisms for resolving or transforming conflict on interpersonal, community, state, and international levels. The pedagogy of this course will be both theoretical and practical. Through readings, assignments, and class discussion, we will wrestle with questions about the efficacy, significance, and ethical implications of various methods of conflict transformation; and we will learn some techniques of conflict resolution from experienced practitioners.

Field theory, motivation, communication, and systems perspectives as theoretical bases for organization design.

Second course in a two-course sequence introducing students to applied research design, data collection, data management, data analysis, and analytical reporting to allow students to conduct original research, be informed consumers of other research, and ultimately improve public program planning and evaluation decisions.

Conflict and cooperation among governmental officials representing national, state, and local governments in the United States; changing roles of governments and new mechanisms for intergovernmental collaboration.

This class will focus on the theoretical and empirical studies of individual and collective framing. Readings will be from journalism, sociology, psychology, and political science and will include both US-based and comparative studies. Assignments include participation in seminar discussion, short papers on readings, and substantial original research paper.

Application of theories and techniques of policy analysis and planning to current public problems for actual clients. Focus on design and execution of policy research, and interpretation and presentation of results.

Explores the psychological underpinnings of collective politics from the perspective of both individuals and groups. Political behaviors examined include deliberation, protest, nationalism, and intergroup conflict.

The seminar introduces the beginning graduate student to the central issues and major developments in the field of comparative government and politics.

The theories, concepts, and mechanisms of political change, with particular attention to processes of development and modernization in the new nations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

The vertical distribution of governmental authority is changing around the world. Decision making, resources, and power are shifting downward (to state and local governments) and upward (to supra-national bodies like the European Union, other regional or international organizations). This course examines theories and empirical studies that explore the causes and consequences of these trends.

This seminar introduces students to key concepts and developments of European integration and critically assesses the evolution of the European Union.

Political behavior of the public in cross-national or non-American settings. Political culture, belief systems, participation, protest, revolution, voting behavior, civic behavior, socialization, and media.

A cross-national examination of functions, career patterns, role behavior, and relationships of bureaucratic elites within the context of national political systems. Research on particular countries is emphasized.

Examination of contrasting theoretical approaches to understanding democracy. Comparative study of Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America elucidates challenges and opportunities that affect possibilities for democratization and consolidation.

Political thinking of politicians and civil servants in domestic and foreign policy. Perception, cognition, learning, attitude change and persuasion, aging, motivation, emotions, and personality.

Motives of power and morality in rational choice theories and theories of power sharing. Empirical findings and normative evaluations.

An examination of the political evolution and process in societies governed by communist parties.

Explores the central issues of Latin American politics and analyzes major theoretical debates.

Reviews major works and theoretical perspectives in the literature, assesses contemporary political science research on Latin America, and examines problems of field research.

Examines effects of state, regime-type, and political processes on agricultural and industrial policy in Latin America. Also considers the informal economy, international debt, and relationship between policy and politicization.

Analysis of the central conceptual concerns and major theoretical approaches to the study of inter-American relations, with a focus on United States foreign policy toward the region.

Study of the politics of development in contemporary Africa, with emphasis on changing state society relations, the roles of peasants and women in politics, and prospects for democratization.

This course will examine the development of different types of welfare states in Europe and North America.

Capstone course for the REEES concentration in the Global Studies MA program. Interdisciplinary course focusing on the variety of problems encountered by the societies of East European countries and successor states of the former Soviet Union in their transition from communism to democracy.

Diversity is sometimes cited as a facilitator of political cooperation but more often it is considered a challenge for constructive civic engagement. This course engages the ways in which different forms of diversity (e.g., racial, ethnic, religious, linguistic, gender, national-origin, sexuality) and politics interact across a wide range of societies.

Introduction to the central issues and major theoretical developments in the field of international relations, focusing on system structure, political and security issues, and decision making.

Introduction to the central issues and major theoretical developments in the field of international relations, focusing on the politics of international economic relations, law and organization, and fundamental system change.

Theories and approaches to the study of international organizations and regimes, plus selected noneconomic case studies.

An examination of international conflict and cooperative processes in the context of the evolution of the international system.

An examination of research that uses formal models to analyze decision making in international relations, with a focus on non-cooperative game theory.

Positive theories of political choice in trade, monetary relations, foreign investment, and regional integration.

Analysis of the interaction between the external sector of the economy and domestic politics in weak capitalist states.

This course is an introduction to the field of foreign policy analysis. Its primary goal is to expose students to the theories and methods of foreign policy research and analysis.

Advanced doctoral-level course. Builds off POLI 750 to explore current lines of research on conflict and cooperation. Each student will develop potential research projects and one expanded research project. The project should be suitable for subsequent development into a thesis and/or publication. Course focuses on research and the research process.

When a society is deeply divided along racial, ethnic, religious or linguistic lines, this classical model brings the risk that the majoritarian segment of society always stays in power.

A survey of feminist approaches to politics and political inquiry.

An introduction to modern political thought, its major thinkers and issues.

An introduction to the major issues of political theory, with emphasis on the major thinkers in the history of Western political thought.

An introduction to ancient and medieval political thought, its major thinkers and issues.

Survey of issues and problems in American political thought, with analysis of major thinkers and selected topics and emphasis on the role of family, society, and economy in political theory.

An introduction to recent and contemporary political thought, its major thinkers and issues. Emphasis on Continental thought.

An in-depth study of the primary and secondary literature on one or two major figures in the history of political thought (e.g., Plato, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Marx).

This course is a comprehensive introduction to the burgeoning literature on the formal theory of institutions.

Permission of the instructor. A discussion of the theory and process of political analysis, including philosophy of science, research design, the methods of drawing causal inferences, and of generating data.

A critical examination of models of political inquiry. Empirical (naturalist), interpretive, and critical metatheories are considered in terms of each model's ontological, epistemological, and practical/political consequences and presuppositions.

Introduction to probability theory and basic principles of statistical inference, including estimation and tests of hypotheses; basic programming in R.

Introduction to linear and nonlinear regression models for continuous and categorical data. Topics include ordinary least squares estimation, maximum likelihood estimation, casual inference for observational studies, graphical model interpretation techniques, and data analysis in R.

Discusses the problems that arise when regression methodologies are applied to time series and pooled time series data.

Survey of important contemporary trends in advanced data analysis. Likely topics include multilevel models, measurement models, machine learning, modeling dependence, and advanced computation in R.

This course focuses on the application of statistical analysis to quantitative data in order to study theoretically and substantively interesting questions about politics and policy.

This class provides graduate students with an introduction to game theoretic modeling, focusing on noncooperative game theory. Topics covered include normal form games, extensive-form games, and games of incomplete information.

This seminar surveys applications of rational choice models across the subfields of political science. It also considers critiques of national choice approaches and alternative theoretical approaches to modeling human behavior.

This course is designed for students who desire greater proficiency in the more advanced topics. The course focuses on games of incomplete information that are widely used in political science like signaling and cheap-talk games and on topics that are starting to play a prominent role like principal agents models.

Participants consider the scientific literature and conduct innovative research. Topics focus on different media institutions' structure, political actors' communication strategies, and the ways that citizens engage with social, print, and electronic media. The aim is to better understand political news, public opinion, and the character of electoral democracy.

POLI 799 includes both an internship and an academic component. The student intern is required to work at least 8 hours per week, for a minimum of 100 hours, at the internship agency. In addition to the hours worked, the student must, under the supervision of the faculty supervisor, write a research paper or complete a comparable project, and keep a journal of internship activities.

Exploration and examination of the ways in which political behavior research can be applied to understanding and ameliorating public problems.

The relationships between social structure and political decisions. Regimes and social structure; bureaucracies, political associations, and professions; science and politics; closed and open politics; political movements and change.

This course examines the development, achievements, present crisis, and future of welfare states in advanced industrial democracies.

The course covers the major traditions of democratic theory from ancient Greece to the present, ethnographies on political organization, and 19th- and 20th-century observations on democracy.

Active participation of students in a research project on career motives and ethical principles in European countries.

Examination of commonalities and differences of European societies and of the tensions and difficulties attending the European integration process.

Reading and research in selected topics. Focus in recent years has included global news flow, communication and social change, communication in the collapse of communism, Western dominance in international communication, global culture, and the influence of technology.

Topics relating to the development of theory in the realm of international politics.

Special topics in international relations, such as alliances, bargaining, decision making, economic interdependence, and international human rights.

One credit course designed to enhance students' understanding of transatlantic studies through lectures from and discussion with experts in the field. Topics will focus on European Union and/or United States foreign and domestic politics as well as on contemporary transatlantic relations.

Investigates the linkages between politics and economics in various realms of global finance, including exchange rates, sovereign debt, and foreign direct investment. Consider efforts to govern global finance, as well as the intersections between domestic politics and the international economy. Classical works and recent research in this area.

Reviews alternative data collection techniques used in surveys, concentrating on the impact these techniques have on the quality of survey data. Topics covered include errors associated with nonresponse, interviewing, and data processing.

Examines the stages of questionnaire design including developmental interviewing, question writing, question evaluation, pretesting, questionnaire ordering, and formatting. Reviews the literature on questionnaire construction. Provides hands-on experience in developing questionnaires.

A practicum on conducting experiments in Political Science.

Special topics in political theory such as Marxism and Socialism, Democratic theory, contemporary political thought, or related topics.

Introduction to the use of experimental and survey research methods in political science. Topics include: factorial designs, repeated measures design, ANOVA, sampling theory, survey errors and costs, and questionnaire design.

This course is designed to train graduate students to serve as teaching assistants. It will focus on how to teach at UNC and how to run a good section. Topics covered will include rules and regulations, resources available through student services, emergency procedures, classroom management, how to stimulate discussion and keep up participation, and how to develop supplementary syllabi.

This course is designed to enhance students' understanding of trans-Atlantic studies through lectures from and discussion with experts in the field.

Introduction to Bayesian modeling and data analysis. The course focuses on basic Bayesian and MCMC theory, as well as applications in the context of common regression and measurement models, including multilevel (generalized) linear models, mixture models, item-response theory models and models for text classification. Basic knowledge of mathematical statistics is desirable, and working knowledge of both the R programming language and the maximum likelihood estimation framework is required.

A seminar-style course providing an introduction to the main concepts and models of machine learning. Prior completion of POLI 883 is recommended.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an introduction to behavioral decision research and its applications. Behavioral decision research is intensely interdisciplinary, employing concepts and tools from economics, statistics, and other disciplines, as well as the core discipline of psychology. BDR has had an impact on the fields of medicine, law, military science, environmental sciences, and public policy.

This course is designed to get students to expand multivariate data analysis skills and to think critically about the presentation of information in professional settings and the media. A key goal is to give participants the confidence to critically evaluate whether the presentation of data is professionally sound. Another central goal is to expand skills in multivariate analysis by engaging in a semester-long research project that culminates in a publication quality paper.

Permission of the department. Directed readings in a special field under the direction of a member of the graduate faculty.

Permission of the instructor. Seminar in selected areas of political science. Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated for credit.