17.105J | 17.107 | 17.109J | 17.111 | 17.113J | 17.115J | 17.167 | 17.201J | 17.205 | 17.207 | 17.209 | 17.211 | 17.241 | 17.245 | 17.247J | 17.251 | 17.253 | 17.259 | 17.261 | 17.263 | 17.267 | 17.269 | 17.271 | 17.273 | 17.301 | 17.319 | 17.331J | 17.403 | 17.405 | 17.423 | 17.471 | 17.477J | 17.483J | 17.513J | 17.515 | 17.523 | 17.539 | 17.541J | 17.543 | 17.545 | 17.547 | 17.573 | 17.575 | 17.577 | 17.601J | 17.603 | 17.609J | 17.805 | 17.915
17.105J Political Philosophy
17.107 Introduction to Political Theory: Individual and Community
17.109J Philosophy of Law
17.111 Modern Social Theory
17.113J Classics in Political Philosophy
17.115J Justice
See description under subject 24.04J, HASS-D Category 2, Language, Thought and Value.
J. Cohen
Political Economy
17.167 Political Economy of Asia
Comparative analyses of economic and political developments of India, China, Japan, and Korea-Taiwan-Singapore. focuses on the politics of economics planning, relationships between policy and performance, political and social consequences of different developmental approaches, and Asian economics in global perspective.
Z. Cui
Public Policy
17.201J Controversies in Public Policy
See description under subject 11.007J.
L. E. Susskind
17.205 Health Policy
Analyzes the health policy problems facing America including adequate access to care, the control of health care costs, and the encouragement of medical advances. Considers market and regulatory alternatives as well as possible foreign models including Canadian, Swedish, and German arrangements. Emphasis on historical development, interest group behavior, and organizational influences in setting and implementing policy.
H. M. Sapolsky
17.207 Race and Science
Examines the historical and contemporary role of science in constructing knowledge about human differences in terms of race. Particular attention is paid to the social and political context of scientific inquiry and to its political consequences for public policy. Considers comparative study of sexual identity and class position. Topics include: immigration, welfare, and census policies, and IQ and educational testing.
M. Nobles
17.209 Race and the American Legal System
17.211 American Public Policy for Washington Interns
Examines US policymaking process, with special attention to making of policy for science and technology. Spring term attends to origins and development of American policymaking institutions and their roles in settling controversial policy questions. Fall term focuses on development of representative policies in the US, such as pollution controls, biotechnical engineering, and telecommunications.
C. Stewart
American Politics
17.241 Introduction to the American Political Process
17.245 The Supreme Court and Constitutional Law
17.247J Women and Children in the Legal Process
17.251 Congress and the American Political System
17.253 American Political Economy
Analysis of contemporary and historical issues in US political economy, with special emphasis on public finance and economic regulation. Selected topics in trace and tax policy, agricultural, transport, labor, and environmental regulations, and local public finance treated in some detail. Focuses primarily on the neoclassical/rational-choice approach; strengths and weaknesses of this approach are discussed. Where necessary, devotes time to developing tools used in rigorous microeconomic analysis.
J.M. Snyder, Jr.
17.259 Politics of Race and Ethnicity in America
17.261 Congress and the Policy Process
17.263 Dynamics of Electoral Politics
17.267 The President
Examines the US President as constitutional executive; sharer of governing authority with Congress and the Courts; partyleader; chief manager of executive agencies; foreign policy leader; and focus for national political, economic, and social aspirations.
D. T. Kryder
17.269 Presidential Elections
Examines the dynamics of presidential elections: events preceding the primaries, the conduct of the general election itself, and the policy consequences of the electoral process. An important aspect of this subject is participation in the primary campaign of a candidate chosen by the student. Aside from direct participation in a campaign, topics include the participants themselves (candidates, voters, parties, consultants, the Electoral College), campaign resources (money, information, media attention), the major campaign events (primaries, conventions, general elections), and prospects for reform.
C. Stewart
17.271 American Political Development
17.273 American Political Analysis I
Introduces students to the theories and methods of the scientific study of American politics. Organized around three major substantive units: American political institutions, political behavior, and political development. Each unit provides an introduction to basic issues and concepts relevant to that subject, emphasizing the integration of theory, method, and research in these topics.
S. Ansolabehere
Science, Technology, and Policy
17.301J Science, Technology, and American Government
17.319 Environmental Politics and Policy
See description for subject 17.319 under HASS-D Category 4, Cultural and Social Studies.
S. M. Meyer
17.331J Public Policy and Climate Change
International Relations and Foreign Policy
17.403 American Foreign Policy: Past, Present, and Future
17.405 Seminar on Middle East Politics
17.423 Causes and Prevention of War
Examines the causes of war, with a focus on practical measures to prevent and control war. Topics covered include: causes and consequences of national misperception; military strategy and policy as cause of war; US foreign policy as a cause of war and peace; and the likelihood and possible nature of another world war. Historical cases are examined, including World War I, World War II, Korea, Indochina, the Seven Years War, and the Peloponnesian War.
S. Van Evera
Defense and Arms Control
17.471 American National Security Policy
17.477J Technology and Policy of Weapons Systems
17.483J US General Purpose Forces
Examines the evolving roles and missions of US General Purpose Forces within the context of modern technological capabilities and Grand Strategy, which is a conceptual system of interconnected political and military means and ends. Topics include US Grand Strategies; the organization of the US military; the defense budget; and the capabilities and limitations of naval, air, and ground forces. Also examines the utility of these forces for power projection and the problems of escalation. Analyzes military history and simple models of warfare to explore how variations in technology and battlefield conditions can drastically alter effectiveness of conventional forces.
B. Posen, T. Postol
Comparative Politics
17.513J Women's International Human Rights
Considers the nature of international human rights protection for gender-based discrimination and abuse. Examines one set of rules for all states and all people, and the particularity of gender discrimination. Studies the rights sought to be protected by international legal instruments; the strategies to apply these rights to the problems of gender discrimination; and the role of governmental and non-governmental human rights discourse to that of women's rights. Subject commences with an examination of the history of human rights and proceeds to analyze current issues and case studies.
M. A. Burnham
17.515 Democracy in Comparative Perspective
Raises questions about what actually counts as a democracy and what it means to call a regime democratic by examining the functioning of (arguably) democratic political systems in a variety of contemporary and historical contexts. Case studies drawn from Ancient Athens, Africa, the Middle East, the Soviet Union, Europe, and the United States. Theoretical insight provided by thinkers such as Thucydides, Rousseau, Marx, Mill, Schumpeter, Dahl, and Mansbridge.
F. Schaffer
17.523 Ethnicity and Race in World Politics
Advanced Industrial Societies
17.539 Politics and Policy in Contemporary Japan
Analyzes contemporary Japanese politics, focusing primarily upon the post-World War II period. Includes examination of the dominant approaches to Japanese politics and society, the structure of the party system, the role of political opposition, the policy process, foreign affairs, and interest groups. Attention to defense, foreign, industrial, social, energy, technology policy processes.
17.541J Introduction to Latin American Studies
See description under subject 21F 884J, HASS-D Category 4, Cultural and Social Studies.
M. Diskin, E. Garrels
17.543 Political Change in Latin America
Introduction to the dynamics of political change in Latin America today. Emphasis on the conflict between democracy and authoritarianism, the relationship between economic and political change, and the process of empowerment of excluded social groups. Special attention to Mexico, Central America and Brazil, economic development, the environment, ethnicity, the role of women, and human rights.
A. Boron
17.545 Political Change in South Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan
Examines the major political changes occurring in the region: economic liberalization; public policies toward the environment, population growth, and education; the changing role of caste, linguistic, religious, tribal, and class forces; the growth of Hindu nationalism; the structure of ethnic conflicts; the changing role of political parties and the military.
M. Weiner
17.547 Chinese Politics
17.573 Political Dimensions of African Civilizations over the Centuries
See description for subject 17.573 under HASS-D Category 4, Cultural and Social Studies.
17.575 Introduction to Contemporary African Politics