Global Governance Course Subfield

Sociology is the study of human behavior, social relationships, and societies. This course will introduce the "sociological perspective" as a tool for understanding the connections between an individual's everyday life and large-scale processes and structures within society. One main theme of the course is that individuals' lives and life chances are profoundly shaped and impacted by a great number of social forces and structures external to the individual, including history, economic systems, political systems and various hierarchies (social class, gender, race, etc.), many of which are often invisible to us.　　

What is development, and how do nations seek development? Why have countries achieved different levels of development? What are the endogenous and exogenous determinants contributing to development? The course explores the origin and evolution of socio-economic development in select developing economies across the globe. It will deal with the essential theories of development studies and several case studies on economic growth and socio-economic changes. The course will consist of intensive reading and discussion. How and why have foreign policy and international relations been structured and implemented in the states of South Asia? This graduate course explores the domestic and external determinants of foreign policy-making in the states and how and why the policy has been executed in the areas of security, defense cooperation/conflicts/competition, trade and investment, and regional economic cooperation. It will engage in the crucial theoretical debate on the cutting-edge area of international relations in South Asia through the intensive reading and discussion on the select case studies.　

Social Institutions are one of the key social structures that we study in sociology. In this course we will examine some of the main social institutions common in societies all over the world, in a comparative light. These institutions include the family, education, work, healthcare, political and economic systems, religion, crime and punishment, and even the nation state. 　

The field of IR and within it the field of security studies have undergone a major change in the post-Cold War era. The change resembles the big-bang of sorts - there are now lots of small satellites -- many subfields of security studies -- and the core which was once the bulk of the field -- namely, theology of systemic International Relations theories -- has shrunk significantly in terms of the attention given to it by the scholars of the discipline. Accordingly, this course is structured in a way that will cover not only the main theories on the core questions of the origins of wars and how they shed light on different IR theories, but will also delve into some of the troubling issues that are of concern for policymakers in the world today.

This course explores the factors that determine international rules and norms in the world's oceans and seas. The most significant of these is the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). First, we will review the historical foundation of how modern international law draws boundaries between sovereign and non-sovereign areas in the sea; and how it balances the interests of state control over coastal waters with the demands of global powers for freedom of action. Then, students will familiarize themselves with UNCLOS' provisions on maritime entitlements. The latter parts of the course will be devoted to contemporary policy issues such as maritime disputes, trans-national crimes, and environmental protection. The instructor shall make use of his extensive experience previously as a policy analyst at a topnotch research institution in the United States, to make students better understand the intersection of international law, policy and politics in global ocean governance. 　

This course aims to present a panorama of public international law, which covers rules that govern the relations basically between states. The course will start with an introduction to the international legal order as compared to domestic law and society. It will then focus on core areas of public international law which involve the following: subjects and sources of international law, jurisdiction, diplomatic relations, the law of the sea, settlement of international disputes, and prohibition of the use of force.

This is a survey course on international politics. The course examines various issues on war and peace from theoretical and historical perspectives. Specific questions to be addressed include: Why do people and nations resort to violence to resolve conflicts? Is the logic of state behavior different from that of human behavior? Under what conditions are nations more likely to cooperate? Prior knowledge on the subject is not required.

Is there any possibility of "cooperation" among individual states? True, the international system has been called an "anarchical society". Historically, however, it has been searching for the organizations such as the League of Nations and the United Nations after the scourge of each War. In this course, after analyzing their historical origins, functions and operations in detail, we will focus on some specific global issues now we face: the collective security under the United Nations, international criminal justice and climate change.

This course introduces students to the emergence of global human rights and humanitarian practice. Following an introduction to human rights in international relations, students will examine the emergence of human rights systems at a global, regional, and local level with attention to the emergence of the global human rights movement and how human rights came to matter in the context of world politics. This course will therefore familiarize students with key international and regional human rights bodies, such as within the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Organization of American States, and ASEAN. In addition, students will address key debates in, and critiques of, human rights.

This class will help students to better understand their role as citizens in a democratic society and to think critically about political issues. A major focus of this class will be to not only describe how the political world is but also how it should be. Topics will include: democracy, distributive justice, liberty and human nature. Furthermore, this course will help students to strengthen their reading and writing skills. Finally, students should be able to better understand the historical development of ideas, gain a better understanding of their own political views and acquire more tools with which to become involved in politics.　

This course helps students to understand the major concepts, debates and reflections related to political, economic and cultural globalization. The course also discusses the transnational problems caused by globalization such as human and drug trafficking as well as environmental degradation. In addition, the global security threats such as poverty and health problems, terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction will also be examined. The course encourages students to observe and evaluate the impacts of globalization to their personal life, for example, how could their living place and home country be affected. The in-class discussions (or flipped classrooms) aim to offer an interactive and stimulating environment for students' learning experience.　

This course examines how the development of nations can be started and what types of structure are necessary to promote growth on each country. Income increase is firstly necessary for economic development, but sound political and civil structures are essential to enhance development on each country. Discrepancy of income and poverty are also main issues to be studied on this course. I have the experience at the work in Saudi Arabia for four years and also at several Think Tanks' work to make survey more than 60 countries as a senior economist, so this experience and knowledge can be distributed to the students on the course.　　

The course surveys leading transnational (international and regional) environment issues facing the globe from a few perspectives.Issues to be considered include:air pollution(e.g.,acid rain,ozone depletion),climate change&associated disasters,deforestation,fisheries,land degradation,and water resources.The course will seek to establish the current state of scientific understanding regarding the selected issues, before considering past&ongoing efforts to address environmental problems.Insights from economics, political science and international law,and other social science disciplines will be considered in terms of the causes and solutions to transnational environmental problems.Challenges of collective action, shared resource use,&institutionalization of environmental policy will be themes.　　

Brexit in 2016 was a great shock to the world as well as Europeans. International integration beyond national ego is one of the best approaches to achieve regional and global peace, let alone common economic goals. In this course, we try to make comparative analysis of integration phenomena between world regions, including Asia, Europe and America. Responding to the interests of students, Africa, Pacific and MENA regions are added. The theory and reality of European Union is emphasized as the typical integrational success. Newspapers and academic articles are introduced to explain the trends of worldwide regionalism.　

This course explores the international relations of Europe since 1945. The focus of this course will be on understanding the external relations of the European Union and its member states. It will include examining the EU's external policy-making process with a focus on core institutions of the European Union such as the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the European Court of Justice. There will also be a survey of European Union external policies towards key strategic partners. The course will conclude with a discussion of challenges faced by the EU and an exploration of foreign polices of its member states. This course will also include practical examples drawn from my work on confidence building and conflict resolution in Moldova. 　

This course is an introduction to the IR of Southeast Asia. Our focus is analytical, using historical accounts, case study papers, and academic articles to analyze how Southeast Asian states interact with each other and with the wider world. We will also address some of the central questions related to ASEAN regionalism, economics, security, and politics. The instructor will make use of his experience with a major think tank to relate theories with real world cases.　

This class will introduce students to qualitative methods of research in the social sciences. In the first half of the semester students will learn about research methods, theories, ethics, and design. Students will also experiment with a variety of research methods, including interviews, participant-observation, and focus groups, and learn how to analyze and share their findings. In the second half of the semester students will apply what they learned in the first half to the design and implementation of an original research project, which will lead to the production of a draft report. 　

How do we define the nature of Asian entrepreneurs? How have the states in Asia developed various policies to facilitate entrepreneurship? This course will deal with the varieties of entrepreneurship in Asia by exploring case studies on many countries across Asia. In the classes, various institutional arrangements such as innovation policy, financing, and intellectual property, business climate, social network, and culture will be discussed as well. Students will be asked to submit a term paper either an individual level or a group level. Also, there will be the class field trip(s)* at least once throughout the semester. *Field trip(s) will be scheduled according to the availability of the trip venue(s).

This class will focus on different theories, ideas and research in resource politics. We will survey a wide range of studies and ideas in the field of research policy. Furthermore, we will examine the role that resources have played in the development of specific states. Finally, we will compare different governance strategies that states can pursue in the resource sector.　

This course introduces major theories and analytical frameworks of international relations to students, which offers them ability to understand the fast changing world and the skills to analyze the driving forces and implications of major international issues. The course covers major theories such as realism, neo-realism, liberalism, neo-liberalism, and social constructivism. Other school of thoughts include rational and strategic choice theory, clash of civilization, Marxism, world system theory and nuclear strategy. The seminar course emphasizes on the understanding and application of theories with empirical evidences through student presentations and the critical comments from other participants in the seminar.　

Description coming soon.

This introductory course discusses global changes in diplomatic practices and political communication. While state-to-state traditional diplomacy still matters in international politics, it now co-exists with a series of innovative practices that are often outgrowths of corporate practices. We will discuss the emergence of public diplomacy, nation branding and soft power politics. We will cover theoretical challenges posed by the new public diplomacy and soft power politics but also promotional practices such as nation branding. Additionally, we will focus on case studies and discuss empirical applications and consequences of new trends in global political communication.

This is an introductory course in Comparative Politics. This course will introduce students who are new to the field of Comparative Politics to the leading theories and debates of this field while simultaneously introducing students to the history of political, economic, and cultural relations of various regions. By comparing how political systems develop and function in different countries, we will theorize about the historical development and future trajectories of domestic politics in the various parts of the world.

Questions of how to deal with past human rights abuses, conflict, mass atrocity, and authoritarianism are of continued relevance in the context of a wide range of societies in transition, whether from conflict to peace, or transitions from authoritarianism. This course will provide students with an introduction to the practice of transitional justice and will introduce students to transitional justice dilemmas through an exploration of a number of geographically diverse case studies. The course will introduce students to transitional justice mechanisms such as criminal trials and truth commissions. Topics explored will also include transitional justice and the politics of memory, reconciliation, and peacebuilding. In particular, I will bring my consultancy experience advising transitional justice processes in Libya and Iraq to this class to highlight practical challenges in implementing transitional justice processes.