International Politics

This course is an introduction to the foundations of politics through the medium of political theory, Canadian politics, comparative politics, or international politics.

This course introduces several of the major theories, structures, processes, and issues in international relations. After introducing the current theoretical approaches to the study of global politics, the course addresses a series of topics from among the following: systems of global governance; the concept 'terrorism'; non-state actors in global politics such as corporations, social movements, and non-governmental organizations; human rights and human security; gender and international politics; poverty,'development', and inequality; and the environment.

This course introduces the study of African politics and development. It examines a number of country case studies and important contemporary issues. Its topics may include critical analysis of colonial and pre-colonial historical contexts, the nature of the post-colonial state in Africa, and the manner in which Africa is integrated into the global economy.

This course examines the factors shaping international politics in the Middle East. It considers issues such as war, conflict resolution, regional alliance behaviour, and the relationships between regional states and the great powers, examining them from the perspective of traditional theories of international relations that emphasize balance of power politics, as well non-traditional theories that emphasize political and economic underdevelopment and dependency.

This course examines the relationship between political, economic, and social development and security. It studies the security environment of a developing world that faces a unique constellation of security threats created by the presence of weak states, divided societies, political and economic dependency, and the pressures of globalization. It uses the perspective of traditional theories that privilege the security of states and regimes as well as non-traditional theories that focus on human and environmental security. The course also examines potential strategies for coping with the various types of insecurity experienced by developing states and societies.

This French grammar course designed for non-Francophones who did not complete high school French, is an intensive review of basic grammatical structures with a particular emphasis on verb conjugation, pronouns, adjectives and syntax.