at Georgia State University
at Georgia State University
Course Description:
The purpose of Political Science 2401 is to introduce students to contemporary issues in global affairs. It assumes no prior knowledge of international relations and is designed for students in business, education, and arts and sciences. The course will examine some of the pressing problems facing the global community at the dawn of the 21st century, as well as the prospects for governments, individuals, and international groups to address those problems in cooperative, competitive, or conflictual manners. Although not all the significant issues can be covered in a single semester, we will focus directly on some of the most pressing ones including: population and demographics, natural resources and the environment, the globalization of the economy, terrorism and threats to security, development and technology, global security, ethics, human rights, and the role of the United States and other regional powers in world affairs.
The course aims to provide you with an initial overview of these issues - certainly not the last word. We will look at different, often opposing, points of view on the same issue and assess their relative merits. The course is designed to stimulate your interest and thinking, and it will provide some of the analytical tools needed to study the issues in more depth on your own, or in upper level courses in comparative and international politics.
Your instructors encourage you to not only stay abreast of the assigned readings but also to raise questions in class, to follow relevant developments in the media (accomplished easily via the internet), and to make full use of their office hours to pursue topics of particular interest beyond the classroom.
Daily
News
Sources
for International
Politics
Central America/Caribbean:
South America:
Europe:
Africa:
Middle East:
Australia/Oceania:
Web
Links
Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) [Formed in 1989 in response
to the growing interdependence among Asia-Pacific economies, APEC has since
become the primary regional vehicle for promoting open trade
and practical economic cooperation]
Association
of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN)[Joint effort since 1967
to promote economic
cooperation and the welfare of the people in
the region]
European Union[Basic
information on the European Union, citizens rights, key issues such as
the euro and
employment; access to official documents, legal texts, publications and
databases, and sources of information]
International Organization
for Migration (IOM) [IOM "acts with its partners in the international
community to: Assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration;
Advance understanding of migration issues; Encourage
social and economic development through migration; Uphold the human dignity
and well-being of migrants]
North Atlantic Treaty Organization[Organization,
history, primary documents, latest news on expansion]
Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe [pan-European security organization
whose 55 participating States span the geographical area from Vancouver
to Vladivostok]
Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) [Paris-based intergovernmental
organization whose purpose is "to provide its 29 Member countries with
a forum in which governments can compare their experiences, discuss the
problems they share and seek solutions which can then be applied within
their own national contexts"]
Organization of American
States [World's oldest regional organization--principal forum
in the hemisphere for political, economic, and social dialogue]
World Health Organization
(WHO) [Dedicated to eradication of disease and promotion of
health and human development worldwide]
World Trade Organization
(WTO) [Good source for information on trade topics—goods, services,
intellectual property, environment, dispute resolution]
Development
Agencies,
Finance,
and Programs
International Monetary Fund["Cooperative
institution that 182 countries have voluntarily joined because they see
the advantage of consulting with one another in this forum to maintain
a stable system of buying and selling their currencies so that payments
in foreign money can take place between countries smoothly and without
delay"]
UN Development Programme
(UNDP) [Site devoted to "sustainable human development;" includes
statistics, programs, news, and publications]
World Bank [Development
economics, speeches, news, strategies and investments in countries and
regions]
Human Rights
Amnesty International
[Full-text Annual Report of human rights practices/abuses in 151 countries]
Carter Center
["Dedicated to fighting disease, hunger, poverty, conflict, and oppression
through collaborative initiatives in the areas of democratization and development,
global health, and urban revitalization"]
Universal Declaration
of Human Rights [1948 primary document]
U.S. Department
of State Human Rights Country Reports [Submitted annually by
the U.S. Department of State to the U.S. Congress, the reports cover internationally
recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights]
U.S.
Government
Web
Sites
U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) ["USAID is an independent federal government
agency that conducts foreign assistance and humanitarian aid to advance
the political and economic interests of the United States]
Bureau of Arms Control[Aims
to "strengthen the national security of the United States by formulating,
advocating, negotiating, implementing and verifiying effective arms control,
nonproliferation, and disarmament policies, strategies, and agreements]
Central Intelligence Agency[Created
in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Truman,
CIA is cornerstone of American intelligence gathering community]
National Security
Council [President's principal forum for considering national
security and foreign policy matters with senior national security advisors
and cabinet officials]
U.S. Department
of State [Policy, departmental organization, Hot Topics]
U.S.
Information Agency (USIA) [Foreign Policy/Security, Economic
Issues, Global Issues/Communication, Democracy/Human Rights, Civic Education,
International Exchange/Training, Links to US Embassy Home Pages]
Conflict
Contemporary
Conflicts [Current armed conflicts across globe with useful
links to each]
PeaceNet
[For those who want to "take action for positive social change in the areas
of peace, social and economic justice, human rights and the struggle against
racism"]
United
Nations Peacekeeping Operations [Current Missions, Past Missions,
Overview by Country, Overview by Date of Establishment, Security Council,
Collective Security System]
International Treaties and Transnational Law
Geneva
Convention [Relative to the treatment of prisoners of war]
Globelaw [Site
"dedicated to serving the international law, environmental law and transnational
litigation communities worldwide"]
International
Constitutional Law [Links to constitutions of more than 100
countries]
International Court
of Justice [Summaries of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders]
Law of
the Sea [1982 convention as amended in 1994]
North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) [North American Free Trade
Agreement Between
The Government of Canada, The Government of the United Mexican States
and The Government of the United States of America]
Treaty
on European Union (Maastricht) [Marks a new stage in the process
of European integration undertaken with the establishment of the European
Communities]
Environment
Environmental Defense Fund
[EDF has become a leading advocate of economic incentives as a new approach
to solving environmental problems—site covers broad range of regional,
national and international environmental issues
Greenpeace [Greenpeace
is "an independent, campaigning organisation which uses non-violent, creative
confrontation to expose global environmental problems, and to force the
solutions which are essential to a green and peaceful future"]
United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) [Established to "provide leadership
and encourage partnerships in caring for the environment by inspiring,
informing and enabling nations and people to improve their quality of life
without compromising that of future generations"]
World Wildlife Federation (WWF) [Largest privately supported international conservation organization in the world, WWF has sponsored more than 2,000 projects in 116 countries directed toward three global goals: protecting endangered spaces, saving endangered species, and addressing global threats]
GSU School of Policy Studies--International Studies ProgramGSU Department of Political Science GSU Office of International Services and Programs
GSU Consortium on Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
GSU College of Business Administration—Institute of International Business
GSU Applied Linguistics and English as a Second Language
GSU Department of Modern and Classical Languages
University
System of Georgia Office of International Education
Dr.
William M. Downs, POLS 2401 Coordinator