Study of the principles, policies, and problems of the international exchange of goods and investments.

The history of environmental politics in both the member states of the European Union and the EU itself, including conceptual treatment of general environmental politics and policies, history of European environmentalism, and institutional responses at important 'traditional' and new EU member states. Also examines EU environmental policies themselves, such as the EU Emissions Trading System, chemicals policy, and GMO policy.

Examines the conceptual and practical aspects of European comprehensive security via the institutions charged with implementing it: the European Union (EU), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Designed to provide a detailed introduction to the European Union, one of America's major economic and political partners and one of the major actors in contemporary international relations.

An in-depth study of how Hegel identifies the social conditions necessary for personal self-realization but also for freedom by means of political community.

Explore how fascism, communism, liberal democracy, and the current nationalistic backlash against immigration have all used the popularity of sports to achieve their strategic goals, from the 1936 Nazi Olympics to Germany's 2014 World Cup victory and beyond.

Examine the role that narratives of the past play in politics and policies in both Germany and the United States, by engaging with key theoretical and empirical debates. Focus on the role of memory in German and US immigration politics.

Explore fundamental questions about the unique role of culture in modern democracies and dictatorships by taking an overview of culture and politics in the Third Reich. Examine questions about the relationship between political propaganda and modern entertainment, mass media and authoritarianism, political aesthetics and ideology, and the dynamics of oppression, resistance, and consent.

Examine key contemporary security issues and policy dilemmas through the perspective of post-communist Eastern European countries in the context of European Union (EU) enlargement waves, and in the framework of their membership in supranational organizations. Consider the transformation of regional states' national security strategies, threat perception, and priorities transitioning from former Warsaw pact to full-fledged EU and NATO membership in shaping their respective national security priorities.

Investigate how the small European country of Switzerland positions itself in a globalized world and how it competes and thrives in it. Explore the questions of how globalization impacts a small, affluent country and how its economy copes with globalization. Consider Swiss history, and its development of direct democracy, to understand Swiss exceptionalism, its response to contemporary issues, and its influence abroad.

Survey the political nature, profile, and patterns of populism in selected post-communist democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. Examine populism in terms of impact on agenda setting, political process, and governance of the region in focus at specific national and European Union-wide levels.

Survey major political ideologies like socialism, capitalism, and fascism; as well as the more recent so-called "Fourth Political Theory of Russian ideologue Aleksandr Dugin, (variable) popular ideologies, and internet manifestos. Explore each ideology through original texts and utopian/dystopian representations in popular culture (e.g., literature, film, music, graphic art, architecture, design).

Examine the modern globalization process that also incorporates a description of the current Coronavirus pandemic as a phenomenon that is inextricably linked with modern globalization.

Examine the specific national approaches to foreign and domestic intelligence and espionage of former Communist bloc countries from early twentieth century to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.

Examine the remarkable variety among the political systems of the 28 remaining monarchies and the survival and thriving of mini-states around the world.

Focus on ways Eastern Europe is depicted on American television screen. Use anthropological framework to study multiple types of television shows, including reality tv, network dramas, and miniseries. Analyze ethnic, racial, national, and gender representation and what these constructions tell us about the ways that Eastern Europe is imagined.