This course is a survey of international relations in the Asia Pacific region. Instead of providing a comprehensive examination of the history, culture, and national policies of countries in the region, it mainly addresses four issues here: What are major trends in regional IR? What is the source of conflict in the region? What are the common interests that unite peoples and states of the Asian Pacific? How does the region organise itself? It explains dynamics and patterns of regional international relations in a broad geopolitical and geoeconomic context. Topics in discussion include major powers’ role in the region, the Korean Peninsula, the Taiwan Strait, ASEAN, Southeast Asia and regional institution-building.

This course aims to critically explore some of the major challenges confronting an international community that is faced with unprecedented levels of global interdependency and escalating power asymmetry. The class will provide a detailed analysis of the issues at stake, providing students with the intellectual grounding necessary to critically evaluate many of our most pressing global problems and their proposed solutions. While the list of controversies changes each semester, some past questions have included: Are genetically modified foods crucial to the fight against hunger? Is U.S. hegemony a force for global (in)stability? Is globalization inherently "anti-religious"? Was NATO intervention in Kosovo justified? In exploring these and other controversies, the course will combine perspectives from the academic literature with those of practitioners, including senior diplomats, representatives from non-governmental organizations, government officials, and corporate executives.

This course examines China’s evolving role in international politics and investigates basic questions about China’s foreign relations: Is China’s history relevant for its contemporary foreign policies? Can the United States and China successfully accommodate each other, or will China’s growing role in world politics result in tension and conflict? Do China's military, political, and economic activities abroad help or hurt the interests of other states and societies? This course addresses these and other puzzles through a survey of China’s historical and contemporary foreign relations. The first third of the course focuses on historical Chinese foreign relations. The remaining two thirds turn to contemporary issues in the study of Chinese foreign policy.

This course provides a thorough introduction into the moral issues of war and armed conflict, with a focus on current debates in just war theory, and in particular on such controversial issues as “the moral (in)equality of soldiers”, the principle of discrimination, terrorism, torture, guerrilla warfare and humanitarian intervention.

This course is taught under the assumption that most of the students are not majoring in public international law. It begins with an introduction to the study of international law, its sources, subjects, and its relations with domestic laws. It is then followed by a number of topics including, state sovereignty over territory and jurisdiction, immunities and treaties, UNCLOS, use of force and peaceful settlements of disputes, human rights and humanitarian laws, economic and environmental laws, etc. The course is mainly composed of two parts: lectures and class discussions. As an integrated part, the discussion session demands everyone’s active participation. A list of international legal issues and/or cases shall be distributed in advance and “mock chambers” of ICJ or other judicial bodies shall be formed by the students from time to time to render decisions or give advisory opinions on the legal questions concerned.

This course will explore the historical background and contemporary dynamics of the relationship across the Taiwan Strait, and introduces relevant theoretical concepts and analytical tools in studying cross-Taiwan Strait issues. The Taiwan problem has been a defining issue for China and its rise towards a great power in world affairs. The convergence and divergence between Taiwan and the mainland have troubled the Chinese nation for centuries. The course will examine the historical origin of the Taiwan problem and how cross-Strait relations have evolved since the late 19th century. In studying the evolving Taiwan problem, particular attention will be given on the role of the United States in shaping cross-Strait relations. In studying contemporary dynamics, the course will focus on the issues of economic integration, political dialogues, mutual confidence building, and people-to-people exchanges in the development of cross-Strait relations.

Chinese strategist Sun Zi declared: “War is a matter of vital importance to the state; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin. It is mandatory that it should be thoroughly studied.” Complying with Sun’s exhortation this course provides a composite introduction to the theory and practice of modern warfare based upon the precepts of Strategic Studies. It considers the complex relationship between politics and strategy, and the evolution of strategic thought, through focusing on the application of land/air/naval/space/cyber power. It also exposes questions of nuclear deterrence, revolutionary technologies, irregular warfare and terrorism. Through this course students will gain both conceptual and practical knowledge of warfare, and hone their critical and analytical faculties through the examination of complex strategic problems.

This course is designed to explore a selected area or a set of selected issues in international relations studies. The course applies different theoretical approaches to enhance students’ understanding of the changing international order and environment, the future prospects for international conflict and cooperation, international security, and current problems of world politics.

This course applies different theoretical approaches to important historical and contemporary empirical issues in the study of international political economy. Different from the general survey course International Political Economy, this course examines a set of special topics in international political economy. It examines more recent theoretical developments and applies comparative approaches to real world economic issues. Previous background in the study of international relations and international political economy is helpful but is not a requirement.

This course examines a set of selected topics in the study of Asia Pacific international relations. Different from International relations in the Asia-Pacific, this course focuses on special topics in the study of Asia-Pacific international relations, such as regional stability and cooperation, regional institutions and multilateralism, traditional and non-traditional security issues, regional conflict management and resolution, major powers’ foreign policy towards the region, and international relations in Northeast Asia or Southeast Asia.

This course examines current scholarly debates relating to the interdisciplinary study of global and regional governance in the context of globalization. The current wave of globalization has created opportunities and challenges for governance at both global and regional levels. This course introduces students to the study of a set of selected issues in global and/or regional governance. It examines competing perspectives on globalization, global governance, regionalization, and regional governance. It explores the sources and consequences of globalization and regionalization as well as the key actors, institutions, regimes, and norms of global and regional governance.

This course examines the interaction of global energy concerns with economic and geopolitical issues, with a focus on petroleum. Energy has been central to the formulation of national strategies, regional security dynamics, great power politics, and the macroeconomic stability. The class begins by providing an overview about oil in international security and political economy, and then examines the role of oil in geopolitics and economy in regions such as the Persian Gulf, Central Asia, and East Asia in more detail. The classes will involve in-depth discussions about many of current international issues including Russian relations with Ukraine, wars and conflicts in the Persian Gulf, the recent Iran nuclear deal, as well as China's growth and its diplomacy where the political economy of oil has been a major factor. The course also looks at other current energy issues such as the shale oil boom, the future of nuclear power, and the impact of energy on the environment.

This class explores several questions surrounding the importance of income inequality. Why have some countries grown rich while others have not? Why are some societies more equal than others? Is wealth inequality the only type of inequality? Does inequality even matter? This class examines these questions by studying the political economy of growth and inequality. The main goal of this course is to understand both the causes and the consequences of income inequality. To this end, this course will draw from a variety of theoretical perspectives including economics, political science, psychology, and sociology to examine the sources of inequality and what can be done about it.

This course will assess political and sovereign risk models from an academic, governmental, and business perspective. The course will introduce both quantitative and qualitative models of political and sovereign risk analysis within the framework of theories of international political economy (IPE). The course will apply these models to the sovereign debt crisis of the 1980s, the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, and current issues within the global economic order. Students will learn how to analyze and present contemporary international risk assessments that integrate theoretical models, historical experience, financial market constraints, economic realities, and political exigencies.

This course examines the complex interaction between law, politics and power in international relations. It asks whether international law can tame power politics and, if so, how? The course comprises two broad strands. Firstly, students will be introduced to the concept of international law. What is it? Where does it come from? And, critically, how is it enforced? We will then build on those foundations by analysing key issues in contemporary international relations, including human rights, the use of force, international criminal justice, and state secession. Taking specific cases, such as the NATO intervention in Libya, Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and the conflict against ISIS in Syria, we will examine the challenges of building an international order that is both just and stable. Upon completion of the course, students will have a deep understanding of both the possibilities and limits of international law as a tool for resolving conflict and mediating power in international relations.

This course surveys the field of international security. It starts by examining international relations theory to provide students with frameworks through which they can analyze international security issues objectively and critically. Then it will overview origins of modern wars among countries and discuss tools that the international community and individual states can use to prevent and end conflicts. The course will also examine current topics in international security, such as the rise of China and its impact on international security, maritime security, nuclear proliferation, threats from cyber warfare and artificial intelligence, and humanitarian intervention.

How do we know what we know in international relations (IR)? What are the epistemic underpinnings of IR? What assumptions underlie our knowledge about IR, how factual are our "facts", and how valid are our theories and evidence? This seminar explores these questions from the historical, institutional, sociological, constructivist, methodological and causal-inferential perspectives. The goal is to develop a deeper understanding of where our IR knowledge comes from and the fallibilities of what we think we know. The seminar is designed for students with strong academic interest in specialized and in-depth study. Students are expected to read intensively and contribute fruitfully to seminar discussions.

Governance is about managing complex policymaking processes. It refers to the formal and informal interactions between stakeholders that have different perspectives on how to address the most pressing problems we face. The range of stakeholders with an interest in today’s significant policy problems is vast. For instance, mitigating and adapting to climate change requires action by governmental and non-governmental stakeholders at the local, national, regional and global levels.

Tackling policy problems that have international dimensions requires the coordination of multiple government agencies within states, different levels of government, non-state actors, which include corporations, civil society organizations and think tanks, as well as international organizations and agencies. This complexity is magnified in today’s interconnected world, as policymaking in one region of the world can have significant effects elsewhere. This course covers the concepts, theories and methods required to understand governance and policymaking processes that have significant international dimensions. The course reviews the structure and functioning of serval international organizations (including the United Nations, the European Union and ASEAN), as well as the role of states (including a range of established and emerging countries) and non-state actors (including corporations, civil society groups, and think tanks). The course will apply this knowledge to recent case studies of governance and policymaking from the fields of international security, trade and finance, environment and climate change, health, migration and digital technologies.

Developing countries, sometimes collectively referred to as the “Global South,” have been consistently marginalized yet strategically important in international relations throughout modern history. This course examines the intersection of development and international politics in three parts: the major development bottlenecks faced by developing countries; the role of powerful states and international institutions in shaping the field of global development; and several frontiers in international development including the rise of “emerging donors,” Chinese development finance and China-U.S. coexistence in the Global South, global public health, and climate change. The course will familiarize students with a wide range of political science and other social science research on international development. It will also introduce students to a diverse set of conceptual and methodological research approaches in political science and international relations.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) plays a key role in international relations. This course explores the reasons behind and the consequences of this fact. Topics covered include the role of oil, the formation of ideologies such as Arab nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the war on terror, the Arab uprisings, and more. By employing the conceptual toolbox of International Relations (IR), we will also assess whether dominant IR perspectives facilitate or hinder a comprehensive understanding of MENA’s position within the international order. A central challenge in studying MENA, as with other regions of the Global South, is the tension between autonomy and external influence. To what extent have the peoples of MENA been able to shape their own histories? What types of states, economies, and ideologies have emerged from the region’s complex and often violent contemporary history? The course makes use of a combination of textbook readings, academic papers, and other learning materials, such as videos and podcasts. Studying and engaging with the provided learning content will be essential for a successful outcome.

With new information technologies, states and citizens around the world fight escalated information wars against one another: Governments restrict or contaminate domestic information flow with censorship and propaganda; political and business elites operate domestic or international information campaigns to manipulate public opinions; citizens organize collective actions with new information technologies. In these information wars, who are the players? What are their interests? And what are their strategies? By reading classic and frontier research on political behavior and communication from a comparative perspective, this course introduces students to social scientific findings on how states, elites, and citizens shape the global information environment with new technologies. The first part of the course introduces the behavioral foundations of global information warfare. The second part examines information warfare in domestic politics of both democratic and authoritarian countries. The third part examines information wars in international political economy, with a focus on international online influence operations of governments, tech giants, and the civil society.

This course covers comparative politics of modern Southeast Asia, with a focus on political transformations in the region since the Cold War. The course provides a historically grounded approach to understand the formation of Southeast Asian states as well as the contemporary dynamics of political changes in the region. It starts by reviewing the impact of colonialism and historical trajectories in the region. We then delve deep into specific Southeast Asian countries, overviewing key political events and important leaders, tracing logics of political contestation, and providing a foundation to understand the structures of governments. After the specific country studies, we will focus on a few specific issues and challenges pertaining to the region, such as economic development, political regimes and governance, and regionalization.

This course examines the legal regulation of governmental powers at the constitutional and administrative levels. Topics include: the constitutional development of Hong Kong under “One Country Two Systems” and the Basic Law; principles of constitutional and legal interpretation; constitutional protection of human rights under the Basic Law and the Bill of Rights; the nature of judicial review of administrative actions; exercise of discretionary powers by administrative officials; principles of judicial review and their application in actual cases.

This course examines the relationships between and among the state, market and civil society with particular reference to the work of those not-for-profit organizations and associations which are normally referred to as NGOs. It focuses on the legal-structural dimensions of NGOs and the ways in which they operate in the production, provision, ownership, regulation and facilitation of various goods and services.

This course provides an introduction to program evaluation. The main objective of this course is to familiarise students with a wide range of evaluation methods that are increasingly used to evaluate programs and inform their design and implementation. Students will begin by reflecting on the inherent complexity involved in program evaluation and the importance of evaluation planning and design. Students will then engage with basic statistical techniques that underly evaluation methodologies. The remainder of the course will focus on introducing and applying the major evaluation frameworks. These include quantitative frameworks (e.g. field and laboratory experiments, quasi-experimental methods) and synthetic evaluations. By the end of the course, students will be able to design, implement and run a basic program evaluation, and critically engage with published program evaluations in the academic and grey literatures. No previous university-level quantitative knowledge is required for this course.