[From the syllabus] This is an capstone course focusing on two sub-fields of political science: International Relations and Comparative Politics. The overarching objectives of this course are (1) to strengthen and refine your research and writing skills as a student of political science, (2) to deepen and enhance your understanding of important theoretical and methodological issues in the two sub-fields, and (3) to introduce you to two inter-related and particularly salient issues of contemporary importance and interest, namely, global terrorism and political violence.

The substantive focus of this course is, as I already noted, global terrorism and political violence. It is important to understand, from the very beginning, that we will examine terrorism and political violence as political and/or social scientists. What this means, in part, is that our study of terrorism will be guided by an effort to understand or explain the "causes," contexts, and consequences of terrorist activity/political violence and responses to it. To do this, we will begin by addressing several basic, but critical questions, including: What is terrorism? Why do terrorists do what they do? What motivates their actions? Is it possible to generalize about the motivations of terrorism? We will also address more general questions related to political violence, including: Under what conditions and for what reasons do humans resort to one form of violence rather than another? And why is it that, faced with similar threats, conditions, circumstances, or pressures, some individuals reach violently when others do not? Click here to read the rest of the syllabus (available as PDF file only).

To find information on this courses--the syllabus, assignments, online readings, grades, etc.--use the links below. If you can't find what you're looking for, let me know. BE ADVISED: Some links may not yet be active or may seem incomplete. For example, only notes from a few selected classes will be available. Assignments, too, may not be posted online. When in doubt, ask me for clarification at tclim@calstatela.edu.

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