Master of Arts in Political Science-Capstone Option

This course examines how the international political system---the patterns of interaction among world political actors---has changed and how some of its fundamental characteristics have resisted change. Students will investigate how the global system works and how the process of globalization is remaking the political and economic world.

This course examines the way government policies emerge from the political process and are implemented through participating institutions. In this class students will investigate how good analysis can contribute to informed policy-making and review the factors that go into developing effective implementation strategies. In addition, today’s need for enhanced public accountability and the challenging problems of measuring program performance are examined.

This course critically examines the complex and ongoing role of courts in the public policy process. With renewed emphasis on economic stability, financial and non-financial regulation, decentralization, downsizing and re-engineering, there is an increasing awareness that public policy, and the administrative law system that manages it, are subject to intense political and cultural pressures. The attempt to address social concerns with new laws and regulations has created increased pressure on the administrative law process in the courts and legislative chambers. This course examines the sources, influences, operation and consequences of law and public policy formation, and analyzes public policy initiatives from political and legal aspects as to their intentions, achievable aims, and intended and unintended outcomes.

RECOMMENDED AS FIRST PROGRAM COURSE. REQUIRED AS ONE OF FIRST THREE PROGRAM COURSES. This course presents the research methods commonly used by all social scientists. Consequently, the course will prepare the student to understand material and issues associated with but not limited to the logic of the scientific method, research design, and statistical analysis of data. The course is intended to provide a foundation from which the student may use the knowledge and practices acquired throughout the rest of their graduate program in their selected field of study.

This course takes the student into the exciting world of ideas that have always captivated mankind and inspired the great advances in Western civilization. The course examines some eternal questions: On what philosophical precepts does the rule of law depend? What are the philosophical justifications for respect for the individual? What legal and moral implications arise from these precepts? How should we behave? How should we govern ourselves and each other? Through reading, studying, and reflecting upon the works of the great philosophers ranging from Socrates to Marx and beyond, the class will enter into these “great conversations” and examine how political philosophers throughout time have relevance to the modern world.

The course covers a combination of theories and applications that will provide the student with basic tools required to understand, navigate, and communicate with the three administrative elements of the federal government. The emphasis of the course is based on a study of composing, legislating, implementing, and enforcing public policy set against a background of both historical and current elements.

This course examines a broad range of governments utilizing the comparative method of analysis. Students will study democracies, monarchies, dictatorships and authoritarian forms of government. Students will participate in various class projects emphasizing contemporary problems of the various forms of governments of nation states today. This will take into consideration cultural differences and similarities, human nature, and the approaches of individual governments different from that of the American norm in carrying out their basic responsibility to maintain and strengthen society by equal justice for all of its citizens.

This course introduces issues surrounding the two major categories of international institutions: intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) such as the United Nations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as the International Committee of the Red Cross. The course studies the theories, origins, principles, organization, activities, legal authority and performance of major international organizations as world actors in areas of economic development, international security, trade, and humanitarian assistance. IGOs serve as forums for communications, as regulators, as distributors, as organs of military security, and as peacekeepers. A few IGOs, such as the European Union (EU), have taken on supra-national political functions; they have power to make decisions that bind member-states, and their failures are not inherent, but are often caused by the reluctance of states to surrender sovereignty.

This course of study examines the history of political, tactical and strategic developments and concepts regarding geopolitical concerns regarding political and military planning and execution from the mid-20th Century through the modern era. The comparative analysis of these concepts from the applicable secondary literature will provide a stepping stone to understanding the nature of modern combined arms and joint forces warfare.

An examination of the governments and the militaries of the two Koreas. This course will closely examine the reasons behind the Korean peninsula playing such a pivotal role in overall Northeast Asian security. The course will examine domestic political, economic and social problems and prospects of North Korea and South Korea; the prospects for reunification; the military balance and the changing strategic environment; and the relations of Pyongyang and Seoul with their key allies. Includes an examination of U.S. relations with Korea.

Latin America continues as one of the most important areas to the United States -- even as it remains one of the least understood. In particular, the internal dimension of security has not yet been resolved in many Latin American nations to the extent that domestic stability can be taken for granted, a reality which could have profound consequences for the United States.

This course examines evolution of the contemporary Middle East politics. It studies political, social, and cultural, interactions both within and among the countries located in the Eastern Mediterranean basin, the Persian Gulf region, and the North Africa. The course aims to present detailed and multidimensional analysis of the political attitudes and behaviors of prominent players biased through religious motives, regimes, patterns of patrimonial leadership, and diverse aspirations and goals of traditional social groups rooted in the Middle East. In this framework, focusing, first, on the birth and rise of Islam and religious motives in social life, the course sets the stage for historic developments which brought about structural dilemmas of today. Emphasizing on the period starting with the industrial revolution early in the nineteenth century, it also draws attention to the political economic motives of the region shaped by petroleum as well as the rise of mass politics. Correspondingly, involvement of the great powers into the politics of region is, in the final analysis, another topic that adds up flavor to the discussions and perspectives related to the Middle East politics. Finally, it takes up the analysis of current developments, like the U.S. led Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and democratization efforts in the Broader Middle East area in the context of U.S. war on terror.

This course examines the political, economic and security forces that impact on the government and politics of countries in the Middle East, specifically the Persian Gulf, as well as U.S. foreign policy toward this important region. It will touch on the historic, religious, social and cultural aspects that have helped shape the political dynamics of the Persian Gulf as well as the strategic factors which have tied the region to the West generally and to the U.S. in particular. The first part of the course will focus on the historical background of the region, the role of religion, and the emergence of nation-states after centuries of foreign domination. The latter part will concentrate on contemporary issues and problems -- The issue of terrorism and the recent Gulf conflict caused by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. The course will examine the political systems and the political elites of the major players in the Middle East including Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. The course will conclude with an overview of current U.S. involvement in the region.

This course covers the geography, culture, society, economy, and religions of the major ethnic and linguistic groups in the Middle East. The course will introduce students to important events and developments, such as the changing concepts of politics in Islam; the evolving sociological bases of states and societies in the Middle East; and the early impact of Europe on the Middle East, first through trade and then through colonialism.

This course will enable students to put the contemporary Islamist challenge to the West into historical, political, and cultural context and to understand Islam and the Islamic world more broadly. It does not focus on Islamism specifically, but does include it. The breadth of the course content reflects the inconsistent and uncertain usage of the term Islam. Strictly defined, Islam refers only to the religion founded by Muhammad. It is not a political, ethnic, geographic or cultural term any more (or less) than Christianity is. The central theme of the course will be to address the question of whether the relationship of theology to polity within Islamic societies is unique to that religious tradition.

The Master’s Capstone Seminar option includes a thesis, or a major research project or paper in lieu of the final comprehensive examination, which has no credit hours. Those who elect this option may reduce their electives by three semester hours to accommodate the seminar option credit. This option is desirable for those students who wish to focus on specific subject matter of an interdisciplinary nature or who would like to continue their education at a higher level. Students electing this option must use this as one of the graduate electives.