The Curriculum

The undergraduate curriculum is designed to provide students with an understanding of the structure of governments; governmental policies and political institutions and processes. Students majoring in Political Science acquire a broad view of the field.

American Government, Politics and Law

POLS 100, 100H. Power and Politics in America (3 cr)
Introduction to American government and politics.

POLS 221. Politics in State and Local Governments (3 cr) [ES][IS]
Broad introduction to the political structure and operations of state and local governments. Role and power of state and local governments; government institutions; political parties and interest groups; public policy; state constitutions.

POLS 225. Nebraska Government and Politics (3 cr)
Various aspects of Nebraska government and politics. Unicameral Legislature, the governor and executive branch, the courts, political parties in Nebraska politics, political participation, and current issues of concern to Nebraskans.

POLS 227. The Presidency (3 cr) [ES]
Creation, development, structure, powers, and functions of the office of the President of the United States.

POLS 230, 230x. Elections, Political Parties, and Special Interests (3 cr) [ES]
Roles of political parties and interest groups in government and politics, focusing on their efforts of elections and lobbying.

POLS 232. Public Issues in America (3 cr) [ES][IS]
Major public issues in American politics. Government spending, civil rights; welfare and health care; poverty; education; urban problems; crime, violence and repression; defense policy; agricultural policy; environment/energy policy.

POLS 234. Government Regulation (3 cr) [IS]
Development of regulatory agencies, their functions, intended and unintended impact, and organizational and philosophical critiques of existing regulation. Relationship of regulation to the constitutional separation of powers and tenets of democracy. Emphasis on questions of democratic accountability and other aspects of political context in which regulatory agencies operate. Proposed reforms evaluated.

POLS 238. Blacks and the American Political System (ETHN 238) (3 cr) [ES][IS]
Role of the Blacks in the American political system, with emphasis on strategies used to gain political power and influence decision makers; problems faced in the southern and urban political settings.

POLS 325. Legislative Process (3 cr) [ES][IS]
Legislature's role in the American arrangement of legislative-executive-judicial responsibilities. Attention to the internal operation of the Congress with focus on the standing committee stage. State legislative experiences and proposals to reform the legislative system emphasized.

POLS 334. Polls, Politics and Public Opinion (COMM 334) (3 cr) [ES]
Attitudes and behavior of citizens with respect to politics, how these attitudes and behaviors are shaped, how they are measured, and what influence they have on government.

POLS 338. Women and Politics (3 cr) [ES][IS]
Survey of women as political actors: participation in political life, barriers to participation, political attitudes, issues of special concern to women, and issues of particular concern to women of color.

POLS 345. Courts, Judges, and Lawyers (3 cr) [ES]
Role of courts, judges, and lawyers in the American legal system and political process. Covers all federal and state courts but emphasizes the US Supreme Court.

POLS 350. Myths and Realities of the Justice System (3 cr)
American criminal justice system from arrest through sentencing. How the system appears to operate. How the system actually operates.

POLS 414. Intergovernmental Relations (3 cr)
Analysis of the nature and problems of the American federal system, with emphasis on the politics and administration of federal grants; problems in national-state and national-local governmental coordination in administration.

POLS 425. Congress and Public Policy (3 cr) [IS]
The policy making role of the Congress including the institutionalization of the House and the Senate, an analysis of congressional behavior, the committee process, and the policy responsiveness of Congress.

POLS 426. Topics in American Public Policy (3 cr) [IS]
Focuses on a significant public policy in American politics. Topics include but are not limited to: science; technology; education; and health politics. This course may be taken twice assuming the specific policy covered is not the same.

POLS 430. Political Communication (3 cr) [IS]
Role of communication in the political process, with emphasis on communication strategies in political campaigns. Includes communication variables important in the political process, an application of communication theory and principles to political rhetoric, and analysis and criticism of selected political communication events.

POLS 441. Constitutional Law (3 cr) [IS]
Supreme Court doctrine determining the distribution of powers within the national government and between the national government and the state governments.

POLS 442. Civil Liberties: Freedom of Expression and Conviction (3 cr) [IS]
Supreme Court doctrine interpreting the First Amendment, covering freedom of speech, assembly, and association; freedom of the press; and freedom of religion.

POLS 443. Civil Liberties: Issues of Fairness and Equality (3 cr) [IS]
Supreme Court doctrine covering the rights of the accused, the right to privacy and the right to racial and sexual equality.

POLS 481/881. Political Behavior (3 cr) [IS]
Various theories of political behavior at the individual level. The usefulness of these theories in explaining individual political behavior.

Foreign and Comparative Government

POLS 104, 104x. Comparative Politics (3 cr) [ES]
Description and analysis of the principal types of modern political systems, including types of democracies and dictatorships found in Western systems, Eastern systems, and the Third World. Occasional comparison made with American institutions and political processes. Deals both with structures and major policy problems confronting these political systems: the politics of education, human rights, demands for regional autonomy, ethnic conflict and diversity, political violence, demand for welfare services, crises in agriculture, and other topics of relevance.

POLS 171. Introduction to East Asian Civilization (HIST 181) (3 cr) [ES]
Topical and analytical survey of the development of Latin American culture and civilization, with emphasis on race relations, war, and peace, and the struggle for a better life.

POLS 271. West European Politics (3 cr) [ES]
Postwar western European politics and policy-making in comparative perspective. Political institutions and the role and behavior of political parties. European integration, environmental policy, welfare policy, regionalism, and immigration.

POLS 272. Non-Western Politics (3 cr) [ES][IS]
Introduction to the politics of the Third World nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Evolution of post-colonial state, the origins and explanations of political violence, and the effects of economic weakness, cultural pluralism, and social structure on politics. Examined within the context of the international political and economic system.

POLS 274. Developmental Politics in East Asia (3 cr) [ES][IS]
Political economy of development in the "Asian Tigers": Taiwan, South Korea, and Malaysia. Historical roots of these "developmental states." Political and economic structures associated with rapid development. Process of democratization and political change that have occurred as these states modernize.

POLS 275. Post-Communist Politics and Change (3 cr) [ES]
Requires theoretical and comparative thinking using concepts and theories in comparative politics, regime transition, state-society debates, and democratization. Post-communist politics of East Central, Central Europe or Eastern Europe (includes twelve countries) focusing on the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Yugoslav states. Politics and history of the region.

POLS 277. Latin American Politics (3 cr) [ES]
Constitutional and political development of selected Latin American countries; contemporary problems and institutions. Latin America in world affairs with special reference to the inter-American relations and the United States.

POLS 281. Challenges to the State (3 cr) [ES] [IS]
Challenges to the state related to human rights and gender issues. How growth of non-state actors affects individuals and groups and their rights. Gendered notions of the state, national security, women’s rights and humanitarian intervention.

POLS 371. Politics of the European Union (3 cr) [ES][IS]
European Union from its inception in the early postwar period to the present. How the balancing act between individual countries' national interests and the transfer of sovereignty to the supranational government of the EU affects policy making, administration, and the construction of EU institutions.

POLS 372. Russian Politics (3 cr) [ES]
Political, economic, and social changes currently affecting the Russian Federation. External and internal factors affecting Russian domestic and foreign policy. Problems and challenges of democratization and economic reform.

POLS 374. Japanese Politics (3 cr) [IS]
Introduction and overview of post-war Japanese politics, focusing on rise and fall of one party democracy and political economy of Japan's capitalist development state, and examining impact of rapid development to Japanese society.

POLS 376. Chinese Politics (3 cr) [IS]
Contemporary Chinese politics. Post-Mao period. Political, economic, and social consequences of Deng Xiaoping's reforms. Prospects for the post-Deng period.

POLS 471. Comparative Public Policy: A Cross-National Approach (3 cr)
Various approaches to the study of public policy outside the United States with emphasis on Western industrial societies. Policy formation and the various factors that influence policy outputs, the relationship between policy outputs and policy outcomes, efforts to classify and evaluate various types of policy outputs, and the influence of policy on politics.

POLS 472 State Terror (3 cr) [IS]
Prereq: Permission.
Use of terror as an instrument of state policy. A series of case studies of large scale politically based killings. Why and which states use terror and politicide against their own citizens.

POLS 474/874 Comparative Institutions (3 cr) [IS]
Formal and informal institutions such as constitutions, electoral rules, property rights and civil rights. How and why people in different groups, countries, and cultures construct institutions to facilitate collective action. Whether different groups construct distinctly different institutions to deal with similar problems and why similar institutions seem to work differently in distinct societies.

POLS 476/876 Ethnic Conflict and Identity (JUDS 476) (3 cr) [IS]
Theories of nationalism and ethnic conflicts. Case studies of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The post-Cold War era as multi-polar and multi-civilizational. The states and different cultures that compete for influence and authority to dominate the ”New World order.” The division of the world along ethnic, religious, and class lines rather than by ideology. The future of international politics and the reassessment of the causes of “conflicts of culture” and their containment.

POLS 477. Israel and the Middle East (JUDS 477) (3 cr) [IS]
Israeli politics, society, and relations with its neighbors, particularly the Palestinians. Rise of Zionism and the Palestinian response to it; wars between Israel and Arab neighbors, and the eventual peace agreements between the two; the internal dynamics of Israeli political life; and state of Zionism today.

POLS 478. Pro-seminar in Latin American Studies (ANTH, EDPS, GEOG, HIST, MODL, SOCI 478/878) (3 cr, max 6)
An interdisciplinary analysis of the mechanics of cultural continuity and social change in Latin America. Prereq: Junior standing and permission.

International Relations

POLS 160. International Relations (3 cr) [IS]
How and why states act as they do in their contemporary international relations. Continuing factors, such as power, war, ideology, and governmental organizations, and recently emerging influences, including supranational organizations, multinational corporations, and natural resource allocation analyzed. Diverse approaches and theories examined.

POLS 260. Problems in International Relations (3 cr) [IS]
Selected current or otherwise important problems in international relations. Content varies but may include such subjects as weapons and security policies, human r ights, multinational corporations, ideologies, etc.

POLS 261. Conflict and Conflict Resolution (ANTH, PSYC, SOCI 261) (3 cr) [ES]
Core course for minors in conflict and conflict resolution. Introduction to the study of the biological, economic, political-historical, and cultural bases of war and group conflict.

POLS 263. Causes of War and Peace (3 cr) [ES]
Leading theories on war and peace, highlighting the causes and consequences of WWI, WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam, and the Gulf War.

POLS 268. Threats to World Order (3 cr)
Variety of global crises and challenges that pose threats to world order. Population growth; scarcities of food, energy, and non-fuel minerals; vulnerability of industrial states to resource scarcities; nuclear proliferation; arms racing; and terrorism.

POLS 281 Challenge to the State (WMNS 280) (3 cr) [IS]
See description under Foreign and Comparative Government.

POLS 360. Understanding World Politics (3 cr)
Advanced concepts and theories central to understanding world politics, including dependency, hegemony, geopolitics, regional integration, multilateralism, transnationalism, nationalism, and ethnic conflict.

POLS 361. The United Nations and World Politics (3 cr)
Analysis of the role and influence of the United Nations in international relations. Comparison of the UN with the League of Nations and with regional international organizations such as the Organization of American State s and NATO. Attention to UN programs concerning security, human rights, economic development, and environmental protection.

POLS 362. Globalization, Human Rights and Diversity (3 cr)
Sources of globalization, its various forms, and how it triggers resistance from those who wish to preserve the local and particular from globalizing influences.

POLS 363 United States Foreign Policy (3 cr) [IS]
Major domestic factors affecting how US foreign policy is made and the resulting patterns of policy. US foreign policy in four issue-areas: security, human rights, economics and ecology.

POLS 365 The United States and Latin America (3 cr)
Critical analysis of the relations between the United States and Latin America as a whole, as well as the individual nations of the region

POLS 459. International Political Economy (3 cr) [IS]
Interface of politics and economics in the international arena. Political dimension of international economic issues emphasized. Includes: liberal, mercantile, and radical approaches; theories of imperialism; dependency and interdependency; distribution of the global product; the global division of labor; the political aspects of markets; the politics of trade, aid, investment, multinational corporations, food, and energy.

POLS 462. Security in the Post-Cold War Era (3 cr) [IS]
Emerging trends in security studies. The claim or hope that military force is no longer important in the post-Cold War era. The continued utility and effectiveness of war as evidenced throughout the world. New threats, environmental problems, population growth, and non-governmental organizations, as threats to the international system.

POLS 464. Political Economy of the Asia-Pacific (3 cr)
International relations of the Asia-Pacific. Security, economics, and interaction between China, Japan, the United States, and other regional powers.

POLS 466. Pro-seminar in International Relations I (AECN *467; ANTH, HIST 479; ECON, SOCI 466; GEOG 448 (3 cr)
Open to students with an interest in international relations. Topics vary. Prereq: Senior standing and permission.

POLS 467. Pro-seminar in International Relations II (ECON 467) (3 cr)
Open to students with an interest in international relations. in international relations. Topics vary. Prereq: Senior standing and permission.

POLS 468. Organizing World Order (3-6 cr)
Structures and forces relevant to creation of order in world politics. Topics include but are not limited to: trends within the United Nations system; transnational economic integration; patterns in arms control and disarmament; prospects for a United States of Europe; human rights and international violence; the United States' response to terrorism and guerrilla warfare; the management of conflict; economic development and world order. This course may be taken twice assuming the specific topic covered is not the same.

POLS 469 International Law (3 cr)
Rules and principles accepted by the members of the community of nations as defining their rights and duties, and the procedure employed in protecting their rights and performing their duties.

POLS 470. International Human Rights (3 cr)
Development of international norms on human rights and attempts to implement those standards. Emphasis on political process, with attention to law, philosophy, economics, and culture. Coverage of the United Nations, regional organizations, private agencies, and national foreign policies.

POLS 472 State Terror (3 cr) [IS]
Prereq: Permission.
Use of terror as an instrument of state policy. A series of case studies of large scale politically based killings. Why and which states use terror and politicide against their own citizens.

POLS 473. Problems in International Law and Organization (3 cr)
Prereq: PS 361 or 469 highly recommended.
Selected issues in international law and organization. Topics include but are not limited to: : US Senate's treatment of treaties, use of customary law by US courts, current cases before the World Court, and leading legal issues handled by the UN Security Council and General Assembly.

POLS 476/876 Ethnic Conflict and Identity (JUDS 476) (3 cr) [IS]
Theories of nationalism and ethnic conflicts. Case studies of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The post-Cold War era as multi-polar and multi-civilizational. The states and different cultures that compete for influence and authority to dominate the ”New World order.” The division of the world along ethnic, religious, and class lines rather than by ideology. The future of international politics and the reassessment of the causes of “conflicts of culture” and their containment.

Political Theory, Methodology, and Behavior

POLS 108. Political Ideas (3 cr) [ES]
Introduction to major political concepts and controversies that have developed in the Western world. Liberty, equality, democracy, human nature, among others. Readings come from leading political theorists, past and present.

POLS 380. American Political Thought (3 cr) [ES]
Theories and conceptions underlying development of the American system of government, attention being chiefly directed to the views of publicists and statesmen.

POLS 385. Democratic Theory (3 cr) [ES]
Modern democratic theory beginning with the social contract philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries. Role of representatives and citizen participation. In addition to looking at several different models of democracies the class also reads critics of modern democracy.

POLS 483. Ancient and Medieval Political Theory (3 cr) [IS]
Important systems of, and contributions to, political thought in the ancient and medieval periods of Western civilization and their relevance to modern ideas and institutions.

POLS 484. Modern Political Theory (3 cr) [IS]
Major European political theorists from the renaissance to the modern day and their relevance to contemporary ideas and institutions.

POLS 485. Contemporary Political Theory (3 cr) [IS]
Survey of recent literature in political theory that examines a variety of perspectives. In addition to readings in modern liberalism the class considers texts in communitarianism, feminism, identity politics and nationalism among others. Focus on evaluation of the problem of ensuring a just society.

Public Administration and Policy

POLS 210, PS 210x. Bureaucracy and the American Political System (3 cr) [ES]
Introductory survey to the administrative arm of American national, state, and local government. Bureaucracy has become so important to the functioning of the federal system it has been termed "the fourth branch of government." Bureaucracy's role as a political institution of the first order, not just as an implementer of policy. Bureaucratic power, structure, and democratic control.

POLS 234. Government Regulation (3 cr) [IS]
Development of regulatory agencies, their functions, intended and unintended impact, and organizational and philosophical critiques of existing regulation. Relationship of regulation to the constitutional separation of powers and tenets of democracy explored. Questions of democratic accountability and other aspects of political context in which regulatory agencies operate. Proposed reforms evaluated.

POLS 235. Public Policy: Concepts and Processes (3 cr)
Basic policy theories and the policy process, paying special attention to key events that create or prevent policy opportunities and problems that arise throughout the policy process. Substantive policy issues used to illustrate the various concepts and process models.

POLS 236. Public Policy Analysis: Methods and Models (3 cr) [IS]
Approaches to public policy analysis. The nature of politics and policy with emphasis on the role of the citizen, uses of information types in the formation of public policy, the analysis of policy content, and the problems of training for policy analysis. Basic policy analysis methods including interviewing participant observation, document analysis, and surveying.

POLS 410. The Administrative Process (3 cr) [IS]
Interdisciplinary examination of the internal dynamics of public and private organizations.

POLS 414/814. Intergovernmental Relations (3 cr)
Analysis of the nature and problems of the American federal system, with emphasis on the politics and administration of federal grants; problems in national-state and national-local governmental coordination in administration.

POLS 417. Policy and Program Evaluation Research (SOCI 468/868) (3 cr)
Techniques useful for research aiding in policy making and for assessing the impact of policy. Acquaints student with the role of research in policy formation and evaluation and to give the student experience in conducting such research.

POLS 426. Topics in American Public Policy (3 cr) [IS]
Focuses on a significant public policy in American politics. Topics include but are not limited to: science; technology; education; and health politics. This course may be taken twice assuming the specific policy covered is not the same.

POLS 471. Comparative Public Policy: A Cross-National Approach (3 cr)
Various approaches to public policy outside the United States with emphasis on Western industrial societies. Includes policy formation and the various factors that influence policy outputs, the relationship between policy outputs and policy outcomes, efforts to classify and evaluate various types of policy outputs, and the influence of policy on politics.

POLS 475. Water Quality Strategy (AGRO, CRPL, CIVE, GEOL, MSYM, NRES, SOCI  475; SOIL, WATS 475) (3 cr)
Holistic approach to the selection and analysis of planning strategies for protecting water quality from nonpoint sources of contamination. Introduction to the use of methods of analyzingthe impact of strategies on whole systems and subsystems for selecting strategies and for evaluating present strategies. Prereq: Senior standing or permission.

Special Studies

POLS 189H. University Honors Seminar (3 cr) [ES][IS]
Prereq: Good standing in the University Honors Program or by invitation.
Topics vary. A University Honors Seminar 189H is required of all students in the University Honors Program.

POLS 250. Genetics, Behavior and Politics (3 cr)
Investigation of the relationship between genes and behavior with special attention paid to political behavior. While genes obviously affect physical characteristics, mounting evidence suggests they also influence behavior. It is plausible to assume that they influence political behavior as well. Utilizing research from evolution, biology, psychology, and genetics, the course explores this linkage.

POLS 395. Internship in Political Science (3 cr)
Internship in government agencies, government offices, interest groups, political parties, non profit and other organizations. Prereq: Junior standing and 12 hours in political science, or permission. P/N only. Student assigned and supervised by faculty director.

POLS 398. Special Topics (1-24 cr)
Work has to be arranged with individual faculty member prior to registration.

POLS 399. Individual Readings (1-24 cr) (1-24 cr)
Work has to be arranged with individual faculty member prior to registration..

POLS 399H. Honors: Individual Research (1-6 cr)
Work has to be arranged with individual faculty member prior to registration.. Prereq: Permission. Open to candidates for degrees with distinction, with high distinction, and with highest distinction in the College of Arts and Sciences.

POLS 400. Democracy and Democratic Citizenship (3 cr) [IS]
Democracy as a form of government. Types of democracy, alternatives to democracy, and the history and consequences of democracy. Democratic citizenship, what makes a good democratic citizen, whether and how democratic citizenship can be promoted. Prereq: Political science major or permission.

POLS 498. Special Topics (3 cr, max 24)
Work has to be arranged with individual faculty member prior to registration.