Globalization and International Affairs (NYC Campus)

Course:	BGIA 301 Non-State Actors in International Affairs
Professor:	Richard Harrill
CRN:	15650		Schedule/Location:	TBA
Distributional Area:		SA Social Analysis
Credits: 4					Class cap: 18
Crosslists: Environmental & Urban Studies; Global & International Studies

Non-state actors have gained increasing importance in international affairs. From transnational advocacy groups to terrorist networks to multinational corporations, a diverse range of actors are challenging and limiting the power of traditional nation-states and changing the landscape of the international system. This course explores the theoretical debates and practical policy effects of non-state actors in international affairs. How should we define non-state actors? Given the diversity of non-state actors and their goals, can we study them from a single perspective? Under what conditions do non-state actors “matter” and what effects do they have? What strategies do different non-state actors use to influence policy-making? What role do non-state actors play in global governance? The goal of the course is to provide students with a working knowledge of the major academic debates and controversies about the definition, emergence and evolution of non-state actors in international affairs. We will investigate the changing roles and influence of non-state actors in a variety of issue areas, including global governance, security affairs, human rights, public health, international development and international economics, among others. In addition, the course will contextualize students’ internship experiences within this broader discussion to critically examine how ideas about the role of non-state actors in world politics play out in practice. We will take advantage of our New York City location with guest speakers from a wide spectrum of organizations within the field, such as the United Nations, US State Department, Human Rights Watch, Council on Foreign Relations, World Policy Institute, Open Society Foundation, Central American Legal Assistance, Control Risks Group, East/West Institute, Asia Society and many others. The overriding objective throughout the course is to link students’ academic experience with their practical experience.

This course provides a general overview of determinants of health in the developing world and principles within the field of global public health. It will include a review of some current and historical public health problems, such as tuberculosis, malaria, AIDS, small pox, maternal and infant mortality and reproductive health and rights, and the approaches used to understand and address them. Students will also examine the roles of a range of international organizations involved in global public health efforts, including local and international non-governmental organizations, multilateral agencies such as the WHO, UNAIDS, bilateral organizations like the CDC and USAID, governments and donor organizations. The course aims to convey an understanding of the complexity of health problems in developing countries, the impact of health on social and economic development, the contributions of various disciplines and analytical perspectives in decision-making about public health priorities, and the range of players that contribute to developing and implementing the programs to address them. The course will be structured primarily around a series of case studies of public health policies and practices around which there has been controversy or debate about the appropriate course of action. The case studies will include a major focus on HIV/AIDS and sexual and reproductive health, and will examine such issues as quarantine, testing of new technologies on vulnerable populations, commitment of resources to treatment versus prevention, and the influence of conflicting "moralities" on public health program approaches. These debates will examine the tensions that sometimes arise between efforts to ensure public health and safety, while promoting health equity and rights. It will incorporate perspectives of stakeholders in the developing world, as well as scientists, policy makers and activists. The analysis and readings will draw from various disciplines, including epidemiology and medical anthropology.

This course is essentially about the relationship between information, analysis, risk and decision makers. On one level, this means that it is about something you do yourself all the time -- but we will be looking specifically at how analysis is produced for those who work in both the public and the private sectors and face critical political, investment, or even humanitarian decisions. Concentrating on three crucial components – collection, analysis and communications – the goal is understand processes behind the production of good analysis and the ways in which it can be conveyed to decision makers. At the same time as studying some of the instances in which intelligence analysis has resulted in success -- and, because it tends to be more revealing, those where it has not -- we will be trying out some of the techniques involved in professional analysis, including writing, presentations, and team work, and looking at analysts working in the government, financial, and non-profit sectors. The intention is to offer an appreciation of what professional analysts do in an intelligence and political risk context, and how their work can feed into the conduct of international relations and international business.

This course will put a heavy emphasis on reporting, writing and developing the sensibilities needed for success as an international news correspondent. We will focus heavily on the techniques of the craft, always in the context of contemporary world events and the realities of modern English-language media. A series of lecturers, and a visit to one of New York City's great newsrooms, will be included during the semester. This is not a course for purists, but rather a broad look at a varied, complex discipline. We will examine briefly many of the topics an international journalist will confront today. We also will touch upon the broadcast and Internet skills that no journalist who strives to be in interesting places at interesting times can afford to ignore in this modern world.

Course:	BGIA 335 (Neoliberal) Globalization and Empowerment
Professor:	Aniruddha Mitra
CRN:	15654		Schedule/Location:	TBA
Distributional Area:		SA Social Analysis
Credits: 4					Class cap: 18
Crosslists: Global & International Studies

Foreign policy is among the things that the Internet has revolutionized. No longer is diplomacy confined to oak-paneled rooms and gilded corridors. This change, as New York Times reporter Mark Landler noted, "happened so fast that it left the foreign policy establishment gasping to catch up." This course examines how foreign policy and international affairs are being shaped in the age of the Internet. Topics include democracy versus censorship, conflict, climate change and the environment, big data and privacy, global economics and the movement of capital. Among the questions we will explore are: • What is the changing nature of power? Are there actors? • How is the concept of the nation-state changing? • What constitutes world order in this new era? • How have the Internet, the mobile phone, and other technologies changed the conduct of foreign affairs?

BGIA 319 Issues in Global Public Health

Professor:

Scott Rosenstein

Schedule/Location:

Distributional Area:

HA Historical Analysis

Credits: 4

Class cap: 18