Core Courses

Description Core Seminars

Methods I: Research Design, Qualitative Methods, and Data Collection

This seminar introduces MACIS students to core issues of research design as well as to basic qualitative methods. Among the core issues of research design, the seminar deals with the relevance of research questions, causality and theory construction, concept formation and measurement, and the selection of variables and cases/observations. Qualitative methods focus on comparative and case-study designs. The seminar puts special emphasis on methodological pluralism and the trade-offs involved in research design choices.

Methods II: Quantitative Methods

This class provides an introduction to quantitative methods for political science and policy analysis. The class covers statistical inference, introductory probability, descriptive statistics, regression, and statistical and database programming. The goal is to provide students with the foundation necessary to analyze data in their own research and to become critical consumers of statistical claims made in the news media, in policy reports, and in academic research.

Methods III: Causal Inference

This course provides an introduction to statistical methods used for causal inference in the social sciences. Using thepotential outcomes framework of causality, we discuss designs and methods for data from randomized experiments and observational studies. In particular, designs and methods covered include randomization, matching, instrumental variables, difference-in-difference, synthetic control, and regression discontinuity. Concepts and methods are applied to examples from political science and political economy.
 

Democracy

This seminar addresses the major challenges to democratic institutions in an era of globalization and international governance. At the level of political theory, the seminar discusses major approaches of democratic theory and their implications for current political developments. Other central issues are: How does the de-nationalization of economic and other social processes impact democracy? What are the consequences of governance in international organizations for the quality of democracy at the national level? What are the prospects and limits of democratizing international governance?

Political Violence

This seminar offers an introduction to political violence and conflict in domestic and international politics. We start by considering classical strategic thought and explanations of interstate wars. The course also covers the theories of civil and ethnic wars as well as regional conflict and diffusion of political violence across state borders. Other topics include new threats, such as transnational terrorism and other non-state actors, and the privatization of political violence. Finally, the seminar also introduces the MACIS students to conflicts resolution and prevention, and the relationship between conflict on the one hand and nation-building and democratization on the other hand.

Political Economy

This seminar emphasizes the interplay of political and economic forces in shaping policy outcomes at local to global levels. This course focuses on the application of economic logic to political questions and the influence of political processes and institutions on economic activity. Consequently, it will draw on a broad range of theoretical perspectives from comparative and international politics, positive political theory, public choice, and economics. We first review basic theoretical models from political science and economics and then use them to investigate a number of specific areas of interest. We examine the effects of special interests on government regulation of economic activity, the determinants of the size of government, economic growth and sustainable development, the politics of international trade and investment, and monetary and fiscal policy. We seek to make students familiar not only with the theoretical and methodological approaches used in this area of study, but also with important research issues in comparative and international political economy.

Research Seminars

Political Order and Conflict  

This seminar builds on the MACIS seminar on “Political Violence” and covers the literature on civil war and other types of conflict in the contemporary world. We will cover topics such as ethnic violence, political economy perspectives on war, the role of political institutions, and the international dimensions of civil conflict. The students will develop an original research question to be dealt with in a research paper.
The seminar will run for one term and will expose students to the literature on political order and conflict. It will provide an overview of core topics and readings, although students are highly encouraged to consult readings not covered on the syllabus when developing their projects. Students will write a research design, which may eventually turn into a full-length paper or thesis, and are expected to present their design during the final sessions of the course.

The Politics of Cybersecurity

This research seminar focuses on the rise of 'cyber security' as a securitiy political issue. We focus on the interrelationship between digital technologies, their development, their use and misuse by human actors on the one hand and enduring negotiation processes between the state and its bureaucracies, society, and the private sector to develop solution on the other.
The aim of this research seminar is to introduce students to different waves of cybersecurity literature, have them reflect criticallally on the development and main focal points, and to give them enough theoretical background so that they can write a research paper on a cybersecurity politics topic of their choice.
 

Comparative and International Political Economy

This research seminar complements the MACIS core seminar in Political Economy. It covers topics such as international trade, environmental policy, sustainable development, international finance and foreign direct investment, and welfare state policy. Each student will develop a research question, a theoretical argument, and an empirical research design. S/he will conduct an empirical analysis responding to her/his theoretical argument, and present her/his research in the form of a seminar paper. This paper may, but need not, form the basis for research leading to the MA thesis. Because the number of students will be very small and the Political Economy core course runs in parallel, the general approach will be informal and decentralized as research interests will be heterogeneous. The main goal is to learn – hands-on – how to carry out high-quality research and write a good research seminar paper.  

Comparative and EU Politics

This advanced research seminar deals with current issues and research in comparative politics and European Union integration and politics. In addition to important fields of research in the literature, it introduces students to current research areas, and allows students to bring in their own research topics of interest. To the extent possible, it provides students with opportunities to discuss their own research areas of interest and discuss possible research questions involving data collection and statistical analysis. After taking this seminar, students should have a good overview of current research and be equipped with the knowledge and skills to write their Master's thesis in this area. Topics usually include (amongst others): (differentiated) European integration, EU decision-making, compliance in the EU, parliaments in the EU and its member states, party groups and parliamentarians, as well as civil society and the role of NGOs in political life.

Technology Governance and International Security

This research seminar at the intersection between Security Studies and Science and Technology Studies focuses on how sociotechnical innovations (cyberspace, chemical and biological agents and robots) impact security politics and military strategy, and will look at the possibilities and limitations for international governance and arms control, with specific attention on the challenge of 'dual-use'.
The aim of this course is to introduce students to fundamental concepts from Science and Technology Studies and Security Studies that are useful in understanding current issues in national security. In specific, they will learn to understand how technological innovation impacts security politics and military strategy, with a particular focus on the issue of 'dual-use'. Students will learn about national technostrategic projects such as strategic bombing, the creation of cyberspace, the weaponization of chemical and biological agents, and the move towards 'Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems'. Furthermore, students will learn about problems and solutions for the international governance of technologies and arms control. By the conclusion of the course, students should be able to frame problems related to technology and security in an analytical framework that makes clear their complexity as well as the points at which policy might intervene successfully.

Methods IV: Causal Inference

This course provides an introduction to statistical methods used for causal inference in the social sciences. Using the potential outcomes framework of causality, we discuss designs and methods for data from randomized experiments and observational studies. In particular, designs and methods covered include randomization, matching, instrumental variables, difference-in-difference, synthetic control, regression discontinuity, and quantile regression. Examples are drawn from the social sciences

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