An introductory course on global issues taken predominately by non-political science majors. I prime students to think critically about global events, using political science research and more broadly social scientific methodology, as their framework. After giving a brief introduction the IR theories and the foundations of the international system, I review pressing topics of concern, such as conflict, nuclear weapons, and climate change. I provide students with an overview of research on each topic while dedicating extended periods of class time to student engagement and reflection.

When does democracy emerge and when does it recede? Why do some countries descend into civil war and others manage their divisions peacefully? Who are the stakeholders in authoritarian states like China and Iran, and how do these manage the interests of different sectors of society? This course provides students with the tools and knowledge to think critically and form their own answers to these questions.

As an introduction to the study of Comparative Politics, this course overviews different types of government and political systems, the politics of a small number of specific cases in-depth, and ways of analyzing different political systems and contemporary problems in global politics.

This course provides an overview of the most pressing international security problems today and examines how states and other international actors and institutions respond to and manage such problems. Why do states go to war with one another? What do the United States and China hope to gain from a rivalry? What can be done to prevent terrorism and hold war criminals accountable?

To answer these questions, this course will provide an overview of some of the central theories of international relations pertaining to security: realism, liberalism, constructivism, bargaining theory, and critical theories. With these as a foundation we will turn to pressing issues impacting international security: alliances, great power competition, civil wars, and humanitarian intervention, among others.

How we understand the pressing issues facing Middle East and Nrth African (MENA) societies in the context of their political institutions? This course takes a broad view in an attempt familiarize students with the context needed to make sense headlines from the region. We begin by reviewing the distant and not so distant history of the region as well as the tensions and regime resiliency exposed by the Arab Spring. We examine the distinctions between regime types in the MENA, from the republic of Egypt to the monarchies of Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and the Islamist government of Iran. We conclude by examining trends in Lebanese and Palestinian politics.

In this course we will examine pressing questions and debates related to authoritarianism in today’s world. We’ll start by asking broad questions: what is authoritarianism, how does it emerge, and how does it attract supporters?

To help answer these we’ll turn to tangible examples of countries with authoritarian governments like China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Burkina Faso. How are these governments structured? Who’s in control and how do they maintain control over the population? How have these regimes strategies to maintain control evolved to fit populations that are more online, media savvy, and globally connected?

We’ll wade into an ongoing debate among scholars who study authoritarianism: is the world becoming less democratic and more authoritarian? If so, how? Why? To what degree? Finally, we’ll ask what “went wrong” in countries that experts argue have recently transitioned from democracies to dictatorships.

Required quantitative methodology course for Ph.D.-level graduate students. The course begins with lessons on conceptualizing causal relationships and hypotheses. We then move through the basics of descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing before covering bivariate and multivariate OLS models. We complete the course with several weeks on maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and logistic regressions. In addition to becoming familiar with the theory of these items, students also demonstrate the capability to conduct analysis using R. Students leave the course with the ability to both critically analyze quantitative methodology in the literature, and conduct the type of independent analysis necessary for a Ph.D. in the social sciences.

UMD’s introductory course to international relations. We examine the core paradigms political scientists use to understand international relations: realism, liberalism, and constructivism, as well as recent efforts to create a more Global IR theory. We then examine the most impactful ways states interact, through conflict, international organizations, and trade and investment agreements. Finally we apply these lessons to understand threats to global security such as climate change, pandemics, and terrorism.

Is globalization really changing dictators’ modus operandi? Is democracy under siege? This course examines theories that autocrats have adopted new tactics to co-opt liberal international institutions in order to promote their governance and undermine liberal norms. After wading into the theoretical debates on autocracy promotion and a global democratic decline, we examine the use of tactics such as transnational repression, foreign election interference, and sportswashing.

In addition to performing research tasks for faculty mentors, students in GVPT’s UGRA program develop, undertake, and present their own research projects. To this end, students meet biweekly for a course on social science research covering research design, methodology, and presentation, which I instructed as the program GA. In addition, on alternating weeks students meet with their GA for individualized mentoring on their research program.