Examines the empirical, conceptual, and ethical dimensions of international development policies and US foreign aid. What is the present character of development in poor countries/regions? How should development be conceived? What development strategies are best? What is and should be the purpose of U.S. foreign aid and development assistance? Restricted to students in a major in PLCY.
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Provides an overview of state of the art topics in development economics, in particular the main factors and variables that affect growth and well-being around the world. Topics include how to measure growth, education, health, gender discrimination, labor and migration, micro credit, agriculture and the role of institutions in development.
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Issues and choices facing the United States in today's global economy. Primary, but not exclusive, emphasis is given to "competitive interdependence" among advanced industrial societies. Restricted to students in a major in PLCY.
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Survey and analysis of the governmental institutions and processes which shape U.S. global engagement on national security and international economic issues. Particular emphasis is given to executive-congressional relations and the broader domestic roots of foreign policy. Restricted to students in a major in PLCY.
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Enhances the student's negotiation and leadership skills for managing differences between individuals and groups. Students study the nature of conflict, learn how to handle two and multiparty conflicts, exerting leadership where there are no hierarchy leaders, and explore the impact of facilitators and mediators on the negotiating process. Blends skill building exercises and theory discussions about the behavior of groups and individuals in groups to understand negotiation dynamics. Restricted to students in a major in PLCY.
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Reviews the major human physiological systems and their integrated toxicological functions; considers key bodily defenses; and discusses classic, emerging, and ambiguous risks; in all ecological context. Applies to scientific controversy, the methods of policy formation, such as risk analysis, social-cost analysis, "outcomes" analysis, and decision analysis, all in political-economic context.
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Addressing the formidable challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and the unjust distribution of environmental harms and benefits necessitates a philosophical understanding and reassessment of the ethical frameworks, norms, and concepts that inform and drive public policy and shape society. This course examines diverse modes of valuation of and obligations to the natural environment, particularly as related to the normative bases of environmental policy. Topics discussed include the different roles of economic and environmental values and norms in policy, obligations to nonhuman animals and ecosystems, obligations to future generations, biodiversity conservation, and the “slow violence” of environmental harms towards the poor and marginalized. The course considers contemporary debates in climate justice, including questions about intergenerational and intragenerational justice, the distribution of responsibilities for mitigation and adaptation among countries, inequalities and vulnerabilities exacerbated by climate change, and moral hazard and other ethical problems involved in geoengineering solutions to the climate crisis.
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This course examines issues in U.S. environmental policy. It covers the history of the rise of the conservation and environmental movements in the United States, how the major environmental laws came to be enacted, and the specific requirements of each law. Leading scientific, economic, legal and ethical issues relating to the development and implementation of environmental legislation over the past 50 years are analyzed. The course explores a number of case studies in environmental policy, as well as the general policy concerns that have emerged.
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Reviews the principal features of international security as currently practiced. Traces the evolution of contemporary policy beginning with the initiation of nuclear weapons programs during World War II. Particular emphasis is given to experience of the United States and Russia, since the historical interaction between these two countries has disproportionately affected the international security conditions that all other countries now experience. Restricted to students in a major in PLCY.
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This course provides an interdisciplinary introduction to the science, technology, economics, and politics of energy use in human societies. After an introduction to the scientific principles of transforming energy sources into usable services, we investigate specific technologies and discuss their impact on geopolitics and the environment. In doing so we seek to address these questions, among others: What is the role of energy in national security? What is the future of oil and how do new resources and new demand centers affect energy security? What are the implications of new, long-term supplies of unconventional gas from fracking? What role can nuclear power serve for the next century? Do wind and solar power have the potential to supplant other energy sources? What will climate change policy mean for our energy mix? How might developing countries undertake a low-carbon energy transition? What is the proper balance of regulation and free market operation in energy and electricity markets? What new technologies are on the horizon, and how promising are they? Given extensive current activity on this topic, the course will retain flexibility to take advantage of relevant DC-area academic, government, or agency events, hearings, and/or conferences.
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