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School of Law and Political Sciences

Bachelor of arts in Political Sciences

Hybrid
96 credits
For students entering the program at the Sophomore level
(holders of a recognized Baccalaureate or Freshman diploma - equivalent to 30 credits)

Courses

General Education
Artistic Discovery
3 credits
Career Management
3 credits
Digital Literacy and Information Technology
3 credits
Effective Thinking and Quantitative Reasoning
3 credits
English Communication
3 credits
Humanities, Ethics, and Civilizations
3 credits
Intercultural and Religious Fluency
3 credits
Lebanese History and Legacy
3 credits
Psychology and Social Behavior
3 credits
Sciences and Health
3 credits
Common Core
RIN431Diplomatic and Consular Law
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: DRG300.1
DRG210.1General Constitutional Law
3 credits
POL215Introduction to Public Administration
3 credits
This course is designed to introduce broadly the Lebanese Public Institutions. It deals with the nature of public administration, as activity and as discipline. Public administration has two different aspects: enabling and controlling. The course will explore how the law enables government to create institutions and programs to provide public goods and public services, and who oversees and controls the exercise of these powers. Among the topics covered are major theories of management, the policy process, and the relationship between politics and administration. Upon completion of the course, students will have a general understanding of the history and practice of public administration. Students will also learn basic concepts from the fields of public budgeting, human resources, and strategic management.
POL321Modern and Contemporary Political History
3 credits
The course focuses on the political, economic and sociological landscape covering the major issues of the twentieth century: the world wars, colonization, the East­West confrontation, the Cold War, decolonization, the disintegration of the USSR, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the European integration, US hegemony, the new international order resulting from the Gulf War, etc. This course focuses on the major constituent events in the modern and contemporary political history of the Middle East. It highlights fundamental aspects of the emergence and evolution of this region: the fall of the Ottoman Empire and its impact, Franco­British colonization, independences and confrontation with the State of Israel.
POL226Political Economy
3 credits
This course aims, first, to analyze the microeconomic behavior; the subjective individual behavior of consumers and producers. The interaction between these two types of individuals, with the goal of maximizing their satisfaction, leads to the study of the market including the law of supply and demand and the equilibrium price. Thus, the analysis of competition in a market will be studied as well as non­competitive situations, such as, monopoly, monopsony, duopoly, oligopoly, etc. Then, individual behavior will be analyzed as a whole using the macroeconomic approach, including the relationship between large aggregates: GDP, consumption, unemployment, Gross Fixed Capital Formation, Export, and Import. This study will consider the different theoretical approaches concerning the choice of economic policy including monetary and fiscal policies for a country or a group of countries.
POL224Political Science Method
3 credits
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.
Specialization
SPO461Analysis of Political Texts
3 credits
This course aims to introduce students to the analysis of political texts, manifestos, declaration, charter, treaties, constitutions, political speeches and press releases, etc. The analysis of the text allows the student to build a rich and varied political terminology related to the specialization.
SPO432Conflict Theories
3 credits
This course provides a classification of different types of conflicts; for example, intra­state or sub­state, guerrilla wars of independence, etc. It also outlines the forms and economies of violence.
SPO441Contemporary Political Thought in the Arab­Muslim World
3 credits
This course examines the different political thought of the Arab­Muslim world from the late 19th century to present, including fundamentalist political Islam, the Arab national movement of the late 19th century, the liberal modernism influenced by West, Arab nationalism against the Franco­British occupation, projects of Arab unity, Arab socialism, and current political Islamism.
POL331European Union: History, Organization and Political Challenges
3 credits
This course covers the history of the European Union and the political and economic context of its foundation. It deals with its organization, its institutions, its political issues, particularly those of its foreign policy, its economic power, etc. It addresses geographical, cultural, religious and linguistic features and their role in the formation of the European Union and in its enlargement. It focuses on the Euromed project that encompasses the countries of the European Union and the Mediterranean.
POL336History of Political Thought
3 credits
This course covers the history of political thought, from ancient times to contemporary history. Particular attention is paid to concepts such of democracy, citizenship, the birth of the states, revolutionary movements, liberalism, socialism and conservatism.
DRG225International Public Law
3 credits    |    Pre-requisite: DRG240.1
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.
POL340Internship and simulation
3 credits
This course introduces students to the conduct of political training and research using simulation technique, game theory methods and internship in appropriate institutions submitting report at its accomplishment. This will be done in the context of specific political and IR research activities like public opinion surveys, voting behavior, decision making systems, comparisons of political processes in different countries, and the evaluation of public policies making. Students participate in joint class projects and conduct individual projects. This course will be divided in two parts: internship and simulation.
SPO451Lebanon’s Political Regime
3 credits
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.
SPO442Negotiations and Conflict Resolutions
3 credits
This course is of practical nature, intended to prepare students to address the different forms of international negotiations: individual diplomatic negotiations, labor delegations, international trade negotiations, how to resolve political, ethnic, community, and economic conflicts. This education is provided by practitioners in the field, such as diplomats and international businessmen.
POL334Political Regimes of Arab Countries
3 credits
This course reveals the dominant features that constitute the characteristics of political regimes in the various Arab countries by comparing their respective constitutions.
POL335Politics and Mass Media
3 credits
Political power remains voiceless or even nonexistent if it does not communicate with the masses, and it is put in danger if it communicates poorly. At its worst it can become autocratic, communicating one way. This course is responding to the question of how to call upon mass communication without manipulating which, this is the policy issue in democracy and the main focus of this course.
SPO431Principles of Law
3 credits
The aim of this course is to introduce the students to the basic legal principles of law applied in Lebanon, with an emphasis on civil law, the penal code, and the commercial code, etc.
RIN452Regional and International Organizations
3 credits
RIN443The Arab­Israeli Conflict
3 credits
This course considers the history of the Arab­Israeli 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.
POL345Theories and History of the State
3 credits
The main goal of this course is to provide students with the necessary analytical tools to understand the relevance of the State as a political institution. The first part of the course will be focused on the theoretical approaches to understand how important is the State for the political game (Hans Kelsen, Hermann Heller, and Carl Schmitt). The second part of this course will be addressed to the presentation and explanation of the evolution registered by the State, Constitution, and Declaration of Rights. Finally, the course will present the political game between Government and Parliament to understand how these two can affect the political process and policies.
RIN444Water and Energy Issues in Regional Politics
3 credits
This course considers the issue of waters and rivers in Turkey and in the Middle East, as well as the issue of energy in the region, international and interstate conventions and agreements concerning water, strategies and regional water conflicts, large water projects established and executed in the region, the water needs of states and water projects in Lebanon.

Mission

The mission of the Department of Political and Administrative Sciences is to train students in the analysis of the main public policies and its impact on society in order to analyze the relations of power within a society. The department offers a solid academic preparation in social sciences that is characterized by theoretical and methodological diversity and by inter- and multidisciplinary work. Likewise, it promotes the training of competent leaders and professionals, with critical thinking skills and mastery of their discipline, with ethical values, sensitivity, and tolerance of human and socio-cultural diversity, and commitment to the welfare of society. Therefore, the main goal is to provide our students with the basic theoretical and methodological tools in the field of political science to be capable of understanding and explaining the political environment and the main sociopolitical dynamics that affect politics at its different levels. In order to reach this goal, the Department of Political and Administrative Sciences offers a program focused on the following topics:
  • Middle Eastern political systems, with special attention to the Lebanese case study.
  • public affairs, public institutions, and constitutional law.
  • political communication.
  • comparative politics.
  • The history of political thought.
  • contemporary political theories.

Program Educational Objectives

Program aims for students include:
1- a deep understanding of the essential principles and theories of politics to include the structure of government, forms of political participation, and public policy processes.
2- a thorough comprehension and appreciation of contemporary political issues and their effects on the modern political landscape.
3- the development of a strong ability to research, dissect, and analyze key political issues by using political science methodology and essential theoretical foundations.
4- an understanding of the basic political theories, ideologies, systems, and behaviors.

Program Outcomes

Students who complete the full requirements for a BA in Political Sciences will be able to:
1. write clearly and with purpose on domestic political issues, and analyze political and policy problems to formulate policy recommendations.
2. actively participate as civically engaged members of society.
3. demonstrate a strong foundation in critical thinking, forming arguments, detecting fallacies, and collecting evidence on key local and national issues.
4. show competency in the essential methodologies that underlie modern social science research, including statistics and qualitative analysis.
5. deliver well-articulated presentations on research findings while discussing key major concepts and political science theories.
Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
Tel.: (+961) 9 600 000
Fax : (+961) 9 600 100
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