This lecture course provides students with a comprehensive introduction to the international relations of the People's Republic of China. China's foreign relations during the Cold War as well as contemporary diplomatic, security and economic issues will be examined to identify and explain China's foreign policy goals and their implementation since 1949. Throughout, this course will investigate the sources of conflict and cooperation in China's behavior, assessing competing explanations for key events and policies. Readings will be drawn from political science, history, and international relations theory.

" China's rise as a great power raises important questions about how that power might be used in its relations with other states. Nowhere are such questions more salient than in the future trajectory of China's conflict behavior, including its approach to deterrence, crisis management and the use of force. To explore these important questions in China's international relations, this seminar examines the evolution of Chinese strategic thought, in primary sources as well as its reflection in the interactions among Chinese states and between China and other states."

Citizen participation is everywhere. Invoking it has become de rigueur when discussing cities and regions in the developing world. From the World Bank to the World Social Forum, the virtues of participation are extolled: from its capacity to ‰ŰĎdeepen democracy‰Ű to its ability to improve governance, there is no shortage to the benefits it can bring. While it is clear that participation cannot possibly ‰ŰĎdo‰Ű all that is claimed, it is also clear that citizen participation cannot be dismissed, and that there must be something to it. Figuring out what that something is -- whether it is identifying the types of participation or the contexts in which it happens that bring about desirable outcomes is the goal of the class.

Using an inquiry based approach, Michigan high school students will learn about the foundations of American government by studying the Constitution and exploring how it works today.

The Founders did not create our system of government out of thin air. They were well-read and lived at a time when many new ideas about government were being developed. They took their inspiration from the ideas of a variety of thinkers, but each of the following had a distinct influence on what government in the United States would become: Aristotle, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean Jacques Rousseau.

The Declaration of Independence is key to understanding American government. Written in June and July of 1776, by the Committee of Five (Thomas Jefferson of Virgina, John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Robert Sherman of Connecticut, and Robert R. Livingston of New York), the document was forged in a time of crisis. American colonists were engaged in a war on their own soil against their mother country, England , who possessed the most disciplined military in the world. This document was like none previously seen.

In Democracy in America. Alexis de Tocqueville referred to America as “The Great Experiment.” But what did he mean by saying that America’s constitutional democracy was an experiment? America was founded on key principles which, are the same principles that govern our nation today.   America’s Founders initiated the experiment in democracy by trying out a new form of government, including the ideas that power should ultimately come from the people, that government power should be limited, and that individual liberties of all peoples should be protected.

A citizen is someone who is entitled to the legal rights granted by a state, and who is obligated to obey its laws and to fulfill certain duties. Living in the United States does not mean that someone is automatically a citizen. Permanent residents, people who have been lawfully admitted to the United States, are also granted certain legal rights and protections even if they are not citizens. For example, residents can live and work anywhere in the United States, attend public schools, join our armed forces and can also qualify for some Social Security benefits as well. Typically, people who are granted permanent resident status are immigrants who are related by birth or marriage to U.S. citizens or possess important job skills needed in the United States. Unlike citizens, permanent residents may not be able to hold public office or vote in elections. Why should someone consider becoming a citizen if they are not? Check out a list of all of the privileges of citizenship in the United States.

Have you ever stopped to think about why we have certain policies, laws and regulations? For instance, why is the driving age 16 or the drinking age 21? Why are there nutrition labels on all food packages? Why in Michigan, do you have to go to school until you are 18? Do you believe the United States should spend $601 billion dollars in 2016 on our national defense? Do you agree with how the United States handles issues with immigration? Do you even know how immigration issues and situations are handled? These are all examples of public policy.

In a letter written to James Madison in 1797, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The principle of the Constitution is that of a separation of legislative, Executive and Judiciary functions, except in cases specified. If this principle be not expressed in direct terms, it is clearly the spirit of the Constitution…” The separation of powers was one of the fundamental principles of the Constitution’s Framers. The Legislative Branch is sometimes referred as the “people’s branch” since the Founders believed and intended the legislative branch to closely reflect the will of the citizens.

Subject consists of five sections. After a general survey of the field, students consider cases of stable civilian control, stable military rule (coups), and transitions from military to civilian rule. Cases are selected from around the world.

In recent years both scholars and policymakers have expressed a remarkable amount of interest in the concepts of social capital and civil society. A growing body of research suggests that the social networks, community norms, and associational activities signified by these concepts can have important effects on social welfare, political stability, economic development, and governmental performance. This discussion based course examines the roles played by these networks, norms, and organizations in outcomes ranging from local public goods provision and the performance of democracies to ethnic conflict and funding for terrorism.

This course surveys the social science literature on civil war. Students will study the origins of civil war, discuss variables that affect the duration of civil war, and examine the termination of conflict. This course is highly interdisciplinary and covers a wide variety of cases.

A comparative study of the grand strategies and military doctrines of the great powers in Europe (Britain, France, Germany, and Russia) from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Examines strategic developments in the years preceding and during World Wars I and II. What factors have exerted the greatest influence on national strategies? How may the quality of a grand strategy be judged? Exploration of comparative case study methodology also plays a central role. What consequences seem to follow from grand strategies of different types? Open to undergraduates with permission of instructor.

This course focuses on the complexities associated with security and sustainability of states in international relations. Covering aspects of theory, methods and empirical analysis, the course is in three parts, and each consists of seminar sessions focusing on specific topics.

This course analyzes the development of the United States Congress by focusing on the competing theoretical lenses through which legislatures have been studied. In particular, it compares sociological and economic models of legislative behavior, applying those models to floor decision-making, committee behavior, political parties, relations with other branches of the Federal government, and elections. Graduate students are expected to pursue the subject in greater depth through reading and individual research. This course analyzes the development of the United States Congress by focusing on the competing theoretical lenses through which legislatures have been studied. In particular, it compares sociological and economic models of legislative behavior, applying those models to floor decision-making, committee behavior, political parties, relations with other branches of the Federal government, and elections. Graduate students are expected to pursue the subject in greater depth through reading and individual research.

What is race? What is ethnicity? How can communication and relationships between men and women be improved? What causes segregation in our society? How do stereotypes develop and why do they persist? How do an individual's racial, ethnic, and sexual identities form and develop? This course explores these topics and more.

This course focuses on cyberspace and its implications for private and public, sub-national, national, and international actors and entities.

Democracy in Brief touches on topics such as rights and responsibilities of citizens, free and fair elections, the rule of law, the role of a written constitution, separation of powers, a free media, the role of parties and interest groups, military-civilian relations and democratic culture.

Democracy in Brief touches on topics such as rights and responsibilities of citizens, free and fair elections, the rule of law, the role of a written constitution, separation of powers, a free media, the role of parties and interest groups, military-civilian relations and democratic culture.