This course examines the concepts of minority, migrants, and groups resulting from migrations, racism and racial discriminations, on the basis of case studies in “old” and “new” Europe. Thus, the course will focus upon features of minority/migrant rights claims related to the European construction. Special attention will be paid to the new instruments for the protection of minorities such as the Framework Convention of Council of Europe. We will analyze case studies in minority/majority and minority/state relations such as: multiculturalism and integration, discrimination against minorities and migrants, religious and ethnic tensions in Europe.
PSC350.3 Minorities, Migrants & Discrimination in Europe (Spring)
PSC350.2 Europe, Russia and the Eastern Borderlands (Fall)
To be offered in Fall 2025
The importance of Europe’s eastern borderlands is linked to the current expansion of the European Union eastward, resulting in a new status for a host of countries situated between the Baltic and the Black Sea. In this new configuration, Russia will play an important, though different, role than hitherto, especially when it comes to forging a new relationship with the EU. The first part of the course focuses on the historical question of borders and territorial change, the construction of nations, and the emergence and collapse of empires. The second part examines general problems common to all of these post-communist countries and specific questions of geopolitical character.
Cross-listed with HST 415
PSC350.1 Europe and the ‘Arc of Crises’ (Spring)
With the collapse of the communist system and the end of the Balkan wars in the 1990s, it seemed that Europe had finally become an oasis of peace and stability. Against this island of relative peace and prosperity, however, lies a vast territory stretching from the Western Mediterranean through the Near East and into Central Asia – an arc on the edge of Europe – which constitutes an area of inter-state conflict, ethnic and religious tensions and rivalry, economic under-development and political authoritarianism. This course examines this “arc of crises” with its overt and potential conflicts, and analyzes the role of Europe in their possible solution. Topics covered include the rise of political Islam, geopolitical reconfiguration due to the comeback of Iran, failure of democratic uprisings, the emergence of the Gulf, domestic and international challenges to the existing states as well as European and American perspectives and policies on this turbulent region.
Meets with HST 416.
PSC380.18 EU Integration: Theories & Practice
This course will help you to get hold of the main theories trying to explain the cause and evolution of the European integration process. At the end of the course you will have learned about the most significant scholars of the European integration process and certain events in the history of European integration given as case studies. (EUS 3342)
PSC380.10 Environmental Politics
State structures, the capitalist world economy, environmental organizations and social movements and their interaction in a global geography all affect the politics of the environment. These actors on the global scene have differing and often conflicting views on what the problem is and how to address pollution, conservation, ecosystem destruction, natural resource depletion and global warming. (POL 3353)
PSC428 Contemporary Issues in Chile and Latin America (Signature Seminar; Fall, Spring)
This traveling* Signature Seminar features on-site lectures and activities (Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay comprise a typical itinerary) and introduces important political, sociological, and historical issues in the Southern Cone region. This course is taught in Spanish, with optional tutorials offered in English for students who need extra language support. Students who attend English tutorials or complete assignments in English are not eligible for SPA credit.
May also be registered as IRP/LAS/SPA 334/HST 406, and may be available for enrollment at the graduate level by petition to the Maxwell School.
This is a required Signature Seminar for all undergraduate students in the Syracuse Santiago program.
* Note that the itinerary is subject to any official travel restrictions issued by local and/or national authorities.
PSC424 Dictatorships, Human Rights and Historical Memory in Chile and the Southern Cone
This course is taught in Spanish, with optional tutorials offered in English for students who need extra language support. Students who attend English tutorials or complete assignments in English are not eligible for SPA credit.
This course focuses on the military coup of 1973 and the systematic implementation of violence and fear as an effective method of control over society and as a formula for stability during the military government of Augusto Pinochet. Within this context, marked by the pain and suffering of certain sectors of Chilean society, this course aims to study this time period and evaluate its significances and contributions to the configuration of social, political and economic aspects of Chile today, highlighting the role of U.S. foreign policy in the installation of the Pinochet government as well as the U.S. role in the issue of human rights in Chile. Includes site visits to a former public prison for political detainees and other historical memory sites and institutions in Santiago (these visits are scheduled on Fridays and Saturdays).
Cross-listed with HST/IRP/LAS 424/PAI 624. Additional work is required of graduate students who register at the 600-level.
Prereq: SPA 202 or equivalent
Counts as an IDEA course requirement for Syracuse students.
PSC380.9 Introduction to Latin American Politics
Taught in Spanish at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica and may not be offered every semester. An analysis of the processes, structures and contents of Latin American politics during the 20th and 21st centuries. Pre-requisite: introductory political science course. (UC code: ICP 0105)
PSC380.8 Political Corruption in Latin America
Taught in Spanish at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica and may not be offered every semester. This course will study the ideas, range, levels, and forms of corruption, in terms of both structural and socio-cultural components, with an emphasis in the impact of globalization, privatization, neo-populism, lobbying, organized crime, poverty, and political patronage as factors that help explain the problem. (UC code: ICP 0125)
PSC380.7 International Human Rights
Taught in Spanish at the Universidad de Chile and may not be offered every semester. The purpose of the course is to familiarize students with international regulatory systems that have a growing humanitarian, political and academic interest: the International Law of Human Rights and also the International Humanitarian Law, the Law of refugees and international legislation to combat terrorism. The goal is for students to understand the formation and development of international law of the Human Rights and other humanitarian systems as part of the evolution of political ethics; to know the main native components of such systems, their legal and meta-legal enforcement and protection, their main institutions and movements, as well as their relationship to other topics; to appreciate the moral dilemmas posed; and to detect opportunities in these fields to act both as citizens and as professionals.