World Affairs and National Security
The Department of Political Science and its affiliated major, the International Studies Program, offer a rich set of choices for the advanced study of the global political system and understanding America’s place in it at the dawn of the 21st Century. Two sorts of courses are at the heart of this curriculum. The first set are “international relations” courses that focus on the increasingly complex interactions of global actors (nation-states, international organizations, and various transnational actors) across the mix of diplomatic-security, economics, human rights, and development issues. The other set of courses are those in the area of “comparative politics”. The focus on the national actors themselves, recognizing the fundamental diversity of national political systems with respect to institutional structures, political cultures, and histories.
Drawing upon courses in both international relations and comparative politics, a student pursuing the World Affairs and National Security track can shape their choice of courses in one of two directions: (1) Comparative Politics and International Relations or (2) National Security Analysis.
Comparative Politics and International Relations.
This direction enables students to focus on the political dynamics of the international system and of foreign political systems. Students begin this concentration with two intermediate analytic courses: POLS250 Introduction to Comparative Politics and POLS260 Introduction to International Relations. They then select among advanced courses in international relations and comparative politics. The key courses on the international system are POLS360 International Political Economy, POLS361 International Organization, POLS362 Comparative Foreign Policy, POLS363 International Law, POLS364 American Foreign Relations, POLS365: Foreign Policy Decision Making, POLS366 Political Economy of Developing Areas; POLS367 Latin America in International Affairs, POLS368 Politics of War and Peace, POLS369 Far East International Affairs, and POLS461 Transformation of War. Our advanced courses in “comparative politics” are focused on specific regions and countries. They are: POLS350 Governments of Japan, POLS351 Russian and Post-Soviet Politics, POLS352 Politics of the European Union, POLS353 Western Democratic Governments, POLS354 Politics of China, POLS355 Governments of Latin America, POLS356 Governments of the Middle East, POLS357 Comparative Law and Politics, POLS358 Politics of Africa, and POLS359 Politics of Terrorism. Students in this track are also expected to take two history courses, and these can typically complement the student’s political science coursework on a particular region. Students in this track are also encouraged to take advantage of study abroad programs in their particular region of interest. Along with our own Strasbourg Program in European Law and Institutions, the department has special ties to International Summer Universities at the University of Tartu, Estonia and the Marburg University, Germany. A wider array of study abroad include programs also available through the WVU Office of International Programs.
National Security Analysis
The direction is targeted at students who are mainly interested in international affairs from the perspective of American foreign policy and national security. As with the previous track, students take the two core introductory courses in comparative political analysis (POLS250) and International Relations (POLS260). However, much of the advanced course work is focused on policy analysis in foreign policy, intelligence, and national security policy. As such, the core courses for this option are: POLS301 Introduction to Intelligence Analysis, POLS302 Intelligence Analysis Methods, POLS339 National Security Analysis, POLS362 Comparative Foreign Policy, and POLS365 Foreign Policy Decision Making. Another distinguishing set of courses are focused on the domestic sources of American foreign policy. These course include not only POLS364 American Foreign Relations, but also advanced courses on key institutional actors and processes: POLS310 The American Presidency, POLS318 Legislative Process (Congress), and POLS342 Bureaucratic Politics. Finally, advanced work in this area includes comparative political analysis on the politics of a particular region, particularly a so-called “critical need” region and thus such courses as POLS351 Russian and Post-Soviet Politics, POLS354 Politics of China, POLS356 Governments of the Middle East, and POLS359 Politics of Terrorism. Included here is a requirement that students in this option take a third year of a foreign language. The choice of language is based on the student’s preferences, but note that “critical need” languages of Arabic, Chinese, and Russian are offered through the WVU Department of Foreign Languages. Other non-Political Science courses recommended are Philosophy (e.g., Critical Reasoning); History (e.g., U.S. Diplomatic History); or Geography (e.g., Political Geography). Study abroad is obviously relevant here, but the American focus of this option also points to the value of doing an internship in the policy or intelligence community in the U.S. government or private sector.
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Note: within the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, there is a third option for studying international affairs and comparative politics—namely, majoring in International Studies. Although administratively housed in the Political Science Department, the International Studies Program is an entirely separate major and offers a fully multidisciplinary curriculum with courses from Economics, Foreign Languages, Geography, History, Sociology/Anthropology, as well as Political Science. Chick on this link to access the International Studies Program website.
