Beyond any theoretical perspective, this course presents the current state of international relations following the fall of communism; emphasizing the new world order, globalization, the role of the United States and its reappraisal.

This course trains students on two levels: linguistic and reflexive. Its objective is to prepare students for the rigorous study in the Bachelor program. It aims to assist students in learning the working methods of political science. Several methodological tools will be taught for this purpose: linguistically, analysis and summaries of texts adapted to different areas of political science, lecture notes, presentations and oral argument, and on the reflexive level, mastery of techniques of dissertation writing, so students can learn to differentiate between personal thinking and personal opinion, engage in synthetic reflection, and present a mini­dissertation “research” applying the methods learned throughout the semester. This course is meant to be participative and students are advised to take this course at the beginning of their degree program.

The course presents the concepts of constitutional law based on two main ideas: authority and freedom. This vision is founded according to the bodies constituting the public powers, their functions and their relationships between each other and the governed population.

This course aims at introducing students to the different theories of political economy and the study of the political economy of states around the world. Students will learn about the relationship of globalization and international political economy, and how it affects the political economy of states. In addition, there will be discussion of different regional economic integration around the world. The course also will introduce students to the relationship between large aggregates: GDP, consumption, unemployment, gross fixed capital formation, export, import to one another and to the welfare system of the state.

This course is designed to review and analyze foreign policy, based on the outcomes and decisions taken by major countries and actors in both the present time and the past. It deals with leading issues in foreign policy-making from a single case study and a comparative perspective as well. It explores the ways states formulate their foreign policies and how these policies are decided upon and then implemented. The class also examines external and internal factors that shape nations’ foreign policies; how states interact; and why foreign policy choices may differ between states and over time. It analyzes not only political systems but also cultural, historical, and societal factors that influence foreign policy processes.

This course covers the evolution of politics in the Middle East after the break-up of the Ottoman Empire until today. Students will learn about the state formation processes in the Middle East, the different forms of nationalisms, wars between states, civil wars, political systems and democracies. In addition to that, the course provides ample literature on development and economic growth in the region. This means we will cover the political economy of states in the Middle East and the role of natural resources, mainly oil and gas in the region, at the domestic, regional and international level.

This course offers an introduction to geopolitics, its development through history and, its different schools of thought. An analytical approach to the geopolitics of Lebanon and the Middle East is a key aspect of the course.

This course enables students to learn about the subjects of international law and their legal status; such as, states, organizations, and private persons, and the sources of international law; such as, treaties, customs, general principles, unilateral acts, jurisprudence, etc. The course also discusses the general questions of international law, i.e. questions of law making, sovereignty, jurisdiction, responsibility, enforcement, the settlement of disputes, and specific topics such as the use of force.

This course is designed to introduce students to the multiple European realities and challenges faced by the European Union (EU). All the political risk factors obliged us to reconsider what EU represents as a model of regional integration and as an important player of the international politics. Throughout the first part of this course, we will provide students with the analytical tools and intellectual frameworks needed to understand the historical development registered by this sui generis actor of the current international relations. Likewise, the course tackles the link on the one hand, between multilateralism and multilateral diplomacy, and on the other, between regionalism and the impact of regional integration. In the second part, this course presents the complex organization of the EU. The course aims to explain the role displayed by its main institutions (European Council, Council of the European Union, European Commission, European Parliament, etc.) in order to prove whether these institutions are being effective concerning the main political challenges facing the EU. In the last part, this course analyzes the main political challenges that EU is actually facing from three different perspectives: historical, theoretical, and empirical. Among them, the course points out BREXIT, international terrorism, ultra-Nationalism, Euro-skeptic movements, refugee challenges, lack of solidarity, energy dependence, and other security threats like the revival of the Russian impetus.

The relationship between mass media and politics has become an increasingly controversial topic in the public debate ever since the US elections 2016. Technological developments and social changes increased the influence of mass media on public opinions and thus outcomes of elections. Besides benefits such as a broader political understanding amongst parts of populations that had little interest in political participation in the past, the changes in the role of mass media in politics also brings several internal as well as external challenges and threats to democracies.

As Shakespeare wisely surmised, the past is simply the prologue of the present. The times we live in were crafted and forged by the traumatic and revolutionary events of the past century. It stood as an era when great empires fell, nationalist fervor arose, and our present international system came to fruition.

This course is an introduction to the constitutional framework, institutions, and political processes of American government and politics. It covers a range of substantive topics, including the historical and constitutional foundations of American politics alongside its institutional structures, such as congress and the presidency. The class also examines external influences on US government such as interest groups, the mass media, political parties, and mass political attitudes, culture, and behavior.

This course is designated to introduce the subfield of Comparative Politics. It is intended to offer a Comparative understanding.

This course is about the organization of diplomatic and consular posts, and the immunities and privileges attached to it according to the Vienna Conventions.

This course aims to familiarize students to the overall study of international political economy with a specific focus upon energy and energy markets. Energy resources have shaped - and continue to shape - global politics, economics and societal changes which requires an in-depth theoretical, empirical, and contextual appreciation of both national-level policies and international affairs. As a result, this module will introduce students to leading contemporary debates ranging from energy geopolitics to sustainable transition, and the central issue of cooperation versus conflict in the international system.

This course will give students an overview of different conflict scenarios and approaches towards conflict resolution that are crucial to understand the underlying aspects that have led to impactful developments in the fields of politics, business and international relations.

Over the past 20 years terrorist attacks and reactions to political violence have strongly influenced academic debates, international politics and news reporting around the world. The overflow of terrorist threats and global counterterror campaigns have drastically impacted the worldviews of millions of people and encouraged political and military decisions that changed international alliances and led to ideological shifts in regional and world politics.

This course addresses the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict since the founding of the State of Israel and its impact on the regional and international political map, including: the interference of international powers in this conflict, the political contexts of the wars of 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982, and the process of peace (the peace conference in Madrid, the Oslo Accords, and the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan), the problem of the Golan Heights and the Shebaa Farms.

This course is a thorough investigation on politics in divided societies. The course covers the nature of divided society, the formation of political communities around ethnicity, religion or language. It covers the theoretical framework of power sharing systems based on consociational democracies and centripetalist systems. The cases studies covered are Lebanon, Iraq, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Belgium and Northern Ireland.

In times of rise of populism in the west and conflicts between democratic and autocratic political systems, it is more important than ever to understand the psychology behind political participation, or the lack of such, and political decision making.

We are faced with many challenges in the twenty-first century. Despite progress being made in global issues, there is still much work more to be done. This course offer an in-depth study into one of the problems confronting the world in our contemporary times. Rotating topics will include peace and security, climate change, populist politics, poverty and social inequality, and others. The class will provide students an opportunity to develop and sharpen their research skills and practical experience in writing case studies.

Regional and International Organizations is designed to introduce you to the scope of the field and the major approaches, actors, and actions in global politics. We begin by exploring the major paradigms for understanding international governance. Then we consider the key actors and actions in international relations with a particular emphasis on the international organizations and law. The next section of the course introduces issues about international challenges and the last section of the course engages topical issues of specific international organizations paying special attention on the United Nations, and its chart of special agencies, and the role displayed by regional organizations (European Union (EU), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), etc.).The course is designed to provide you with the analytical tools and intellectual frameworks needed to understand the behavior of international organizations and other actors in contemporary world politics (multinational corporations, international non-governmental organizations, and transnational movements). In fact, we will tackle the question “What are international governance, multilateralism, international institutions, and international and regional organizations? From three different perspectives: historical, theoretical and empirical.

The understanding of different contexts in which negotiations take place and techniques that are applied to reach certain goals is a crucial foundation for work in legal and political settings in an ever faster changing world with quickly shifting stakeholder interests and thereby naturally arising conflicts, from regional to global levels. Thus, an overview of different conflict scenarios and approaches towards negotiations and conflict resolution needs to be established in order to understand the underlying aspects that have led to impactful developments in the fields of politics, business and international relations. The main objective of this course is to give the students a broad introduction to different forms of conflicts and their causations as well as measures that led to progress towards resolutions. It also aims to provide the basic analytical and psychological foundations to see through the main aspects of conflicts and to develop tactical and strategic awareness. The first part of the course will focus on the broader theoretical foundations of negotiations, covering psychological aspects, the role of narratives and the broader international and intercultural playing field. Once these foundations are established the students will apply these skills in the analysis of conflict scenarios based on a broad range of case studies and interactive negotiation activities.

This course covers, in detail, aspects of the Lebanese political system, the various political powers and their ways of operating, including, the Office of the President, Cabinet, Parliament, and judicial practices. This course also explains the community structure in Lebanon. It also introduces students to the Lebanese Constitution and its evolution since1926.