This MACIS core course covers basic issues of research design, small-n research, and data collection. It familiarizes students with general research design problems such as defining research questions, analyzing causality, and designing single and comparative case studies. It then introduces them to basic issues in small-n research. Students acquire an understanding of the specific challenges and design problems in qualitative analysis. Finally, students are introduced to exemplary methods of data collection. By the end of the course, students should be able to use the principal methods of data collection used by political scientists, have a critical understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the methods, and be able to reflect on and discuss the methods in light of research questions of their interest.

This course examines the evolution and current state of Europe’s security architecture in an era of renewed great power rivalry. We explore how institutions like NATO, the European Union (EU), and the OSCE have shaped European security from the Cold War to the present, and how great power competition, involving the United States, Russia, and China, is redefining that architecture today. The course goes beyond security institutions to address non-traditional security challenges such as energy security, climate change, migration, and the rise of nationalism within Europe. We pay special attention to Switzerland’s unique role as a neutral country within Europe’s security framework. Through a mix of classic foundational readings and up-to-date analyses, students engage with both historical context and contemporary debates, including NATO’s post-Cold War evolution, the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and Europe’s pursuit of “strategic autonomy” amid shifting U.S. engagement.

[PASTE OFFICIAL COURSE DESCRIPTION HERE]

The course equips students with an understanding of the Ukrainian conflict by placing this historic and unfortunate event in historical, geopolitical, and cultural contexts. A recurrent theme throughout the course is that we can understand the Russo-Ukrainian war through various epistemic and theoretical lenses. History, politics, culture, and geography can contribute to better grasping why, how, and what is happening to Ukraine and with what potential implications for the world.

This workshop provides an advanced introduction to the study of causality (Neyman–Rubin, mechanistic, comparative) for foreign policy analysis for practitioners. Through a three-day session, participants are exposed to different ways of reaching causal inferences relying on different research designs and methods. Considering the small-n focus of foreign policy analysis, an emphasis is put on qualitative approaches to causal inference, particularly process tracing and case comparisons.

This course provides graduate students with an introduction to the basics of International Relations theory. Over the course of 12 weeks, it reviews the major theories defining contemporary IR scholarship, as well as substantive topics such as green theory, migration, and feminist IR.

This course introduced students to the basics of political economy from an American perspective. During the class, students were exposed to different theories and scholarship on the relations between public institutions and businesses, how markets and politics are interconnected, and how institutional design defines how these interactions take place.