International Relations

IGA-103/HLS-2100: Global Governance

This course provides an overview of the evolving architecture, processes and outcomes in global governance, and it explores possible ways of improving the capacity of the international community to deal with global challenges. We will explore these issues using case studies of the most pressing issues of the day, such as climate change, accountability for mass atrocity, global public health crises, including the ongoing case of the global governance of COVID-19, cybersecurity, business and human rights, and refugee flows.

IGA-150: International and Global Affairs Seminar

This is a PAC (Policy Area of Concentration) seminar designed to help MPP students research and write a policy analysis exercise (PAE) in international and global affairs (IGA). The goal of the seminar is to provide students with a real-time, professional opportunity to draw on the skills developed in the MPP program in order to produce a professional product for a client. Because of its focus on writing the PAE, this course is only open to MPP2 students. For more information see here.

IGA-211/GOV-1796: Central Challenges of American National Secuirty, Strategy, and the Press

From the rise of China and its impact on a ruling USA and resurgence of Russia to North Korea’s nuclear challenge, America’s longest war in Afghanistan, the fight against terrorism in the Middle East, Central Asia, and East Africa, and the emergence of cyber conflict, this course examines the central challenges to American national security. Through a series of mini cases, students address these issues as if they were professionals at the National Security Council working for the President. In response to specific assignments, students write Strategic Options Memos that require analyzing the challenge, assessing the current strategy, and identifying alternative strategies for protecting and advancing national interests.

Assignments require strategic thinking: analyzing dynamics of issues, formulating key judgements, and developing feasible strategies. In the real world of Washington today, this means thinking clearly about what the US is attempting to achieve in the world in the midst of a swirl of a government whose deliberations are often discombobulated by leaks, press reports, tweets, and fake news. A sub-theme of the course explores ways in which pervasive press coverage intrudes, sometimes informing, sometimes distorting, national security decision making.

The course will meet once a week for two class sessions (three consecutive hours with a break in the middle). One of the two sessions each week will focus on a specific, real-world case that crystallizes one of the central challenges. The second session will provide an opportunity to consider additional central challenges, as well as host occasional guests.

Participants must come to class each week prepared to discuss the readings (approx. 150 pages per week) and must submit a one-page outline of a strategic options memo for each case. In responding to one of the cases, a full strategic options memo (three pages long) will be required. The final exam will be take-home and will require submitting a strategic options memo plus answering questions that cover the readings.

Statistics and Quantitative Methods

API-202Z: Quantitative Analysis and Empirical Methods II (advanced section)

Intended as a continuation of Quantitative Analysis and Empirical Methods (API-201), this course focuses on developing facility with analytical tools to understand and address policy problems. While this will require a familiarity with theoretical underpinnings of these techniques, the emphasis of this course will be on their practical applications. Whenever possible, the techniques that we learn will be taught in the context of evaluating social programs, and how these tools can be leveraged to more accurately assess causal impacts.

The course is broadly divided into three parts: (1) Regression Analysis, (2) Causal Inference, and (3) Prediction and Machine Learning. By the end of this course, you should be able to:

  • Conceptually understand the strengths and limitations of a wide range of analytic tools centered around regression analysis, and their applications to questions of causality and prediction;
  • Be comfortable scrutinizing the statistical methods sections of a wide range of applied policy papers, and be able to adjust your interpretation of a paper’s results accordingly;
  • Conduct statistical analyses in R using these analytic techniques, and be able to translate your findings into policy recommendations.

API-201: Quantitative Analysis and Empirical Methods I

API-201 introduces a range of quantitative tools commonly used to inform public policy issues. Key content falls in the areas of descriptive statistics, probability theory, decision analysis, statistical inference, and regression analysis, with an emphasis on the ways in which they are applied to practical policy questions. Our goal is that by the end of this course you will be able to:

  • Frame a broad descriptive policy question (such as “what has happened to crime rates in the U.S. in the past 30 years?”), figure out the most appropriate statistical analysis to answer the question, conduct the analysis using real world data, identify the most salient findings/patterns that emerge from the data, and present the findings in an effective manner to policymakers.
  • Become skilled in the use of probability and decision analysis tools to better tackle real world personal and policy decisions involving uncertainty.
  • Critically consume policy studies/papers/reports in which statistical analysis is used.