Political Science (POS)

POS 101 Political Ideologies. (3) F, S
Leading political ideas and belief systems, e.g., Marxism, liberalism, conservatism, theories of democracy, and alternative futures. General Studies: SB.

POS 110 Government and Politics. (3) F, S
Major institutions of modern government and processes of individual and group political activity, with emphasis on the American experience. Meets the federal government requirement for teacher certification. Not open to students with credit for POS 310. General Studies: SB.

POS 150 Comparative Government. (3) F, S
Political institutions and processes in selected foreign countries, including origins, strengths, and weaknesses of contemporary political systems and political development. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 160 Global Politics. (3) F, S
The nature of contemporary world politics through the study of both general theoretical topics and specific geographical areas. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 220 Political Issues and Public Policy. (3) A
Contemporary social problems and political issues, particularly development of public policy. General Studies: SB.

POS 230 Current Issues in National Politics. (3) F, S
Major issues facing national governments in the domestic field. General Studies: L/SB.

POS 240 Introduction to Southeast Asia. (3) F
An interdisciplinary introduction to the cultures, religions, political systems, geography, and history of Southeast Asia. Cross-listed as ASB 240/GCU 240/HIS 240/REL 240. Credit is allowed for only ASB 240 or GCU 240 or HIS 240 or POS 240 or REL 240. General Studies: G.

POS 260 Current Issues in International Politics. (3) F, S
An analysis of major current problems in world politics. General Studies: L/SB, G.

POS 270 American Legal System. (3) F, S
Concepts, institutions, classifications, and functions of law. The role of the courts and the impact of judicial decision making on social change. General Studies: SB.

POS 300 Contemporary Controversies in Global Politics. (3) F, S
Exploration of key controversies in global politics including security, economic stability, poverty, gender, race, and the environment.

POS 301 Empirical Political Inquiry. (3) F, S
Logic of political inquiry, including research problems, concepts, hypotheses, theories, measurement, data collection, and analysis. General Studies: SB.

POS 310 American National Government. (3) F, S
Powers, functions, and agents of American political institutions. Meets the federal government requirement for teacher certification. Not open to students with credit for POS 110. General Studies: SB.

POS 311 Arizona Constitution and Government. (2) F, S
Constitution and government of the State of Arizona. Not open to students having credit for POS 316 or 417. Meets the Arizona constitution requirement for teacher certification. May not be counted for the major or a teaching major or minor in Political Science.

POS 313 The Congress. (3) A
Lawmaking process in the U.S. Congress. General Studies: SB.

POS 314 The American Presidency. (3) A
Office, role, and power of the American presidency in the American political system. General Studies: SB.

POS 315 The Supreme Court. (3) A
Role of the Supreme Court in American society and politics; examination of decision-making process and impact of decisions; restraint versus activism. General Studies: SB.

POS 316 State and Local Government. (3) A
Survey of the operations, problems, and policies of state and local governments in the United States. General Studies: SB.

POS 320 Public Administration. (3) A
Role of the administrator in the political process with an examination of the basic concepts of bureaucracy. General Studies: SB.

POS 325 Public Policy Development. (3) A
Examination of one or more aspects of public policy development including agenda setting, policy formulation, policy implementation, and policy analysis. General Studies: SB.

POS 330 Contemporary Controversies in Domestic Politics. (3) F, S
Exploration of key controversies in domestic politics including the environment, the economy, poverty, gender, race, and security.

POS 331 Public Opinion. (3) A
Formation, expression, and influence of individual and organized opinion on political institutions. General Studies: SB.

POS 332 American Political Parties. (3) A
Development of the American party system. Party organization and functions. General Studies: SB.

POS 333 Interest Groups. (3) A
Examines how minority, corporate, labor, farm, consumer, environmental, health, education and public interest groups, and single issue movements influence government. General Studies: SB.

POS 336 Electoral Behavior. (3) A
Voting behavior and the attitudes, perceptions, and activities of the citizenry in the political process. General Studies: SB.

POS 340 History of Political Philosophy I. (3) A
Western political philosophers and their theories to the 17th century. General Studies: HU, H.

POS 341 History of Political Philosophy II. (3) A
Western political philosophers and their theories from the 17th to the 20th century. General Studies: HU, H.

POS 346 Problems of Democracy. (3) A
Issues and problems in democratic theory, e.g., the nature of democracy, majority rule, representation, equality, and the value of political participation. General Studies: HU.

POS 350 Comparative Politics. (3) A
Theoretical approaches and political institutions, such as parties, pressure groups, legislatures, and executives, from a cross-national perspective. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 351 Democratization. (3) F
Examines the consolidation of democracies in postauthoritarian and postcommunist settings (e.g., Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia).

POS 355 Russia and Successor States. (3) A
Description and analysis of political institutions and practices in Russia and successor states. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 356 Western Europe. (3) A
Structures and behavior of governmental institutions and political processes in selected countries of Western Europe. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 357 South Asia Politics. (3) A
Analysis of the political culture, politics, and political systems of South Asia. Lecture, discussion. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 358 Southeast Asia. (3) A
Political background, governmental institutions, political dynamics, and developmental problems of Southeast Asian nations. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 359 African Politics and Society. (3) N
Comparative analysis of socioeconomic forces, political processes, and government institutions in Africa south of the Sahara. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 360 World Politics. (3) A
Theory and practice of statecraft as applied to selected issues, regions, or eras. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 361 American Foreign Policy. (3) A
United States in world affairs; foreign policy since World War I. Techniques in formulating American foreign policies. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 364 U.S. National Security Analyses. (3) A
A theoretical and empirical assessment of U.S. national security policy in the post-cold war era. General Studies: SB.

POS 370 Law and Society. (3) A
Analysis of debates among social scientists and legal theorists concerning the relationship between “law” and “society.” General Studies: SB.

POS 401 Political Statistics. (3) F, S
Basic concepts in statistics as they facilitate the description, explanation, and prediction of social and political phenomena. General Studies: CS.

POS 410 Urban Government and Politics. (3) A
Governmental organizations, decision-making structures, and problems of urban political systems. General Studies: SB.

POS 417 The Arizona Political System. (3) N
Contemporary political problems within the context of Arizona’s constitutional, political, and social frameworks. Meets the Arizona Constitution requirement for teacher certification. Not open to students having credit for POS 311. General Studies: SB.

POS 422 Politics of Bureaucracy. (3) N
Bureaucracy as a political entity; internal dynamics of public agencies; the relationship between public agencies and other political entities. General Studies: SB.

POS 423 Politics of Budgeting. (3) N
The policy process in budgeting; strategies used to influence this process and recent reforms in public budgeting. General Studies: SB.

POS 426 Elements of Public Policy. (3) A
Each section may cover one of the following topics: consumer protection, natural resources, criminal justice, environmental protection, science and technology, or theories of public policy. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. General Studies: SB.

POS 431 Campaigns and Elections. (3) A
Examines campaigns from a multitude of perspectives including the politician, reporter, campaign strategist, and voter. Lecture, discussion. General Studies: SB.

POS 433 Money and Politics. (3) A
The role of money and special interests in elections, campaign politics, and public policy-making in American politics. Lecture, discussion. General Studies: SB.

POS 434 Media and Politics. (3) A
The study of mass media and politics in the United States, e.g., media and elections, media and government. Lecture, discussion. General Studies: SB.

POS 435 Women and Politics. (3) N
Women’s roles in various political contexts. Focus varies with instructor. General Studies: SB, C.

POS 439 Minority Group Politics in America. (3) N
Role of minority groups in American politics. General Studies: SB, C.

POS 442 American Political Thought. (3) A
Political theories and movements from the colonial period to the present. General Studies: HU.

POS 443 Topics in Contemporary Political Theory. (3) A
Major problems and theories in contemporary political thought. General Studies: HU.

POS 445 Asian Political Thought. (3) A
Contemporary political ideas and theories in selected Asian countries, including the impact of Marxist and non-Marxist theories on revolutionary processes. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 451 China, Japan, and the Koreas. (3) A
A comparative analysis of the political modernization experiences of China, Japan, and the two Koreas, focusing on their differing reactions to the West. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 452 China. (3) A
Background of the Communist revolution, political processes, and developmental problems in China from a comparative perspective. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 453 South America. (3) A
Governmental institutions, political processes, and developmental problems of the South American states. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 454 Mexico. (3) A
Mexican federal, state, and local governmental institutions. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 455 Central America and the Caribbean. (3) A
Governmental institutions, political processes, and developmental problems of the nation-states and dependent areas of Central America and the Caribbean. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 459 South and Southern Africa. (3) A
Post-apartheid South African government and politics; South Africa and the southern African region; regional security and development. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 463 Inter-American Relations. (3) A
Diplomatic relations among the Latin American states. Development of U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 465 International Organization and Law. (3) A
History, practical political significance, and future of international institutions, transnational regimes, and international law. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 467 International Security. (3) A
Examination of issues affecting the international security of states and peoples, e.g., military, economic, technological, environmental, and demographic. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 468 Comparative Asian Foreign Policies. (3) A
Foreign policies of the Asian states, emphasizing their security relations and movements toward regionalism. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 471 Constitutional Law I. (3) A
Development of the U.S. Constitution as reflected in decisions of the Supreme Court; jurisdiction and organization of the federal courts; judicial review; separation of powers; federalism; the commerce clause; national taxing and spending power; state police power. General Studies: SB.

POS 472 Constitutional Law II. (3) A
Development of the U.S. Constitution as reflected in decisions of the Supreme Court: due process; equal protection of laws; individual rights; civil liberties. General Studies: SB.

POS 480 Methods of Teaching Government. (3) N
Methods of instruction, organization, and presentation of subject matter in political science. Prerequisite: 15 hours in political science or instructor approval.

POS 484 Internship. (1–12) N

POS 485 Political Economy. (3) A
Problems, policies, and possibilities of various political-economic systems and the interrelationship of capitalism, socialism, and democracy. General Studies: SB.

POS 486 International Political Economy. (3) A
Contending approaches to historical and contemporary issues of international political economy, including global welfare, equality, ecology, and peace. General Studies: SB, G.

POS 498 Pro-Seminar. (3) A
Small group study and research for advanced students within their major area. Prerequisite: major in the department or instructor approval. General Studies: L.

POS 499 Individualized Instruction. (3) N

POS 501 Methods of Political Science. (3) N
Problems of method and knowledge in political science, strategies of political inquiry, and issues in philosophy of social science.

POS 502 Philosophy of Political Inquiry. (3) A
Problems of knowledge and method in political science, with attention to both empirical and evaluative analysis.

POS 503 Empirical Political Inquiry. (3) A
Research methods and techniques of the discipline, emphasizing empirical foundations and analytic methods employed in subfields. Prerequisites: POS 401 (or equivalent); instructor approval.

POS 530 American Politics. (3) A
Examines major debates in the study of American political processes and institutions. Covers parties, media, elections, public opinion, interest groups, and the three branches of government. Seminar.

POS 532 American Political Institutions. (3) N
Examines major debates in the study of American governmental institutions. Covers legislative branch, executive branch, judicial branch, and interest groups. Seminar.

POS 545 Themes in Political Thought. (3) N
Examination of a particular theme or problem in political thought from both a historical and contemporary perspective. Course may be repeated with approval of the director of graduate studies. Seminar. Prerequisite: instructor approval.

POS 550 Comparative Politics. (3) A
Surveys major approaches across topical areas such as revolutions, authoritarianism, policy processes, interest groups, and electoral politics. Focus varies with instructor. Seminar.

POS 560 International Relations. (3) A
Surveys major theoretical approaches and debates in international relations. Seminar.

POS 563 Comparative Asian Security Policies. (3) N
Analyzes domestic and international constraints, belief systems, and economic components in security decisions by major powers and Asian nations. Seminar. Prerequisite: instructor approval.

POS 590 Reading and Conference. (1–12) N

POS 592 Research. (1–12) N

POS 591 Seminar. (3) A
(a)American Politics
(b)Comparative Politics
(c)Global Politics
(d)Political Theory

POS 598 Special Topics. (3) A
(a)American Politics
(b)Comparative Politics
(c)Global Politics
(d)Political Theory

POS 599 Thesis. (1–12) N

POS 601 Advanced Experimental Research. (3) N
Introduces experimental and quasi-experimental research designs in political research, including laboratory techniques and topics in the analysis of variance. Prerequisite: POS 503 or equivalent.

POS 602 Advanced Survey Research. (3) N
Presents design and conduct of political surveys, including sampling, instrument design, scaling, and statistical and graphical analysis of survey data. Prerequisite: POS 503 or equivalent.

POS 603 Polimetrics I. (3) A
Introduces theory and practice of linear regression analysis. Provides skills to read, understand, and evaluate professional literature using regression analysis. Prerequisites: POS 401 and 503 or instructor approval.

POS 604 Polimetrics II. (3) A
Apply quantitative techniques to research topics producing publishable papers through exposure to time-series, logit and probit, and simultaneous equations. Prerequisites: POS 401 and 503 and 603 or instructor approval.

POS 606 Qualitative and Textual Analysis. (3) S 2001
Method and theory for the analysis of qualitative materials, systematic approaches for case studies, content analysis, critical analysis of texts. Discussion, seminar.

POS 635 State Politics and Public Policy. (3) N
Introduction to comparative state policy emphasizing policy or performance differences among the states and the reasons for these differences. Seminar. Prerequisites: POS 530 and 603 or instructor approval.

POS 636 Electoral Behavior. (3) N
Introduces fundamental concepts of electoral behavior. Emphasizes presidential elections and examines why people vote and how their votes are determined. Seminar. Prerequisites: POS 530 and 603 or instructor approval.

POS 638 Law and Politics. (3) N
Emphasizes research into such topics as constitutional law, women and the law, American legal system, judicial process, and judicial selection. Seminar. Prerequisite: instructor approval.

POS 651 Politics of Change and Development. (3) N
Examines contending approaches to national, social, and political change. Seminar. Prerequisite: instructor approval.

POS 660 The Modern World System. (3) N
Theoretically driven, historical analysis of the organization and operation of the international political economy since the 16th century. Seminar. Prerequisite: instructor approval.

POS 661 The State. (3) N
Examines theories of state, state-society relations, and interstate politics emphasizing questions of sovereignty, territoriality, violence, representation, democracy, and change. Seminar. Prerequisite: instructor approval.

POS 662 International Organization. (3) N
History, practical political significance, and future of international institutions, transnational regimes, and other approaches to international organization. Seminar. Prerequisite: instructor approval.

POS 664 War, Peace, and Conflict Processes. (3) N
The systematic analysis of the causes of war, the preconditions for peace, and approaches to the resolution of conflict. Seminar. Prerequisite: instructor approval.

POS 665 Foreign Policy Theory. (3) N
Examines foreign policy theory and methods. Development and critique of research designs analyzing foreign policy processes within and among nations. Seminar. Prerequisite: instructor approval.

POS 691 Seminar. (1–12) N

POS 790 Reading and Conference. (1–12) N

POS 792 Research. (3) F, S
Projects in various areas of political science. Prerequisite: doctoral student.

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