Law & Public Policy Electives

This course introduces the concept of sustainable development as a policy goal, and explores the complex role of governance systems in promoting or inhibiting sustainability. Four major barriers to environmental sustainability are examined, including: 1) path dependency of policy choices, 2) collective action dilemmas, 3) conflicts over values and beliefs, and 4) the difficulty of translating scientific knowledge about coupled human and natural systems into effective policy solutions. This course emphasizes the understanding of practical solutions to problems of sustainability that are grounded in theories of public policy and management.

This course is about crime and misconduct in organizations, how much there is, what it is like and what the government can and cannot do about it.  The readings, topics and discussions blend theory and research with current examples of white collar crime.

Exploration of classic and contemporary philosophical issues about law and morality. Topics covered will vary but may include, among others, the limits of social interference with individual liberty, legal paternalism and physician-assisted suicide, legal moralism, freedom of speech and expression, legal punishment and capital punishment, and civil disobedience.

Nature and validity of law; law and morality, judicial reasoning, law and liberty.

Structure, function, and processes of the "third branch" of the American government.

Role of government in management of energy, natural resources and environment; process and policy alternatives; special attention to the Southwest.

The course is an introduction to the culture of the South Asian region (with a focus on India and Pakistan).  It will be a multidisciplinary course that incorporates elements of religion, philosophy, culture, geography, history, sociology and anthropology.  After acquiring sufficient cultural background, students will examine the impact of these cultural variables on the formulation of foreign policy by the governments of the region.

Analysis of constitutional, legal, historical and political consequences of U.S. immigration and refugee policy. Recent trends. Foreign and domestic policy effects of migration.

Surveys Russian power capabilities, foreign policy, and engagement of the world system. Attention to the Soviet period, but focus on the post-1991 era. Relations with the U.S., Germany, and China are highlighted, as are relations with former Soviet Union (FSU) countries.

Intensive examination of selected problems and concepts in political theory.