PPOL 612: FEDERALISM & INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS. The course is divided into three principal sections. The first discusses the political, legal, and intellectual context of federalism. An attempt is made to understand competing models of intergovernmental relations, to specify the values and interests at stake, and to capture the dynamic character of federalism in the U.S. The second explores health policy and education policy in depth, from both an empirical and a normative perspective. Roughly speaking, a week?s discussion of the existing allocation of tasks is followed by a week?s discussion of how tasks might better be allocated. The third and final section examines environmental policy and welfare policy in detail, again by considering both how tasks are currently allocated to different levels of government and whether that allocation of responsibilities makes sense.

 

PPOL 688: HOMELAND SECURITY. This course is intended to provide a broad and deep understanding of a very large subject: the defense of the homeland against violent attack. The goal is to provide students a thorough understanding of the policy, strategy, legal and organizational issues and challenges associated with the defense of the U.S. homeland, the efforts underway to meet those challenges, and the range of means and methods that are or could be brought to bear on this subject.

 

PPOL 709: CONFLICT PREVENTION/POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION. This module will explore the nexus between violent intrastate conflict and development. It will examine some of the key conceptual frameworks advanced to understand conflict and will explore specific themes which have preoccupied researchers and policy practitioners in recent years. The course will not turn you into a conflict specialist, but is rather designed to provide a broad overview of some of the key themes that preoccupy conflict practitioners and policy makers in the development field. The emphasis is on the development nexus, rather than the important diplomatic, political or military aspects.

 

PPOL 724: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. International organizations: This course will examine the various determinants for multilateral lending to developing countries. Starting from the institutional framework and decision processes of the World Bank and the IMF, we will focus on the main drivers for lending and on the role of borrowing countries. The course will then highlight recent growth strategies in post conflict countries to illustrate direct applications of economic theory and policy making to practical development issues. The overall objective is to improve students' understanding of the Bretton Woods institutions and their influence on development.

 

PPOL 810: RISK ASSESSMENT. This course offers students an inside look at the scientific, legal and policy foundations for environmental risk assessment. Each class session will examine a different risk to public health and the environment ? for example, mercury pollution in air, pesticide contamination of food, microbiological contamination of the water supply, and greenhouse gases in relation to climate change. Students will look at the scientific information that defines the risk potential in each area, as well as controversies growing out of scientific uncertainty and contrasting policy perspectives on approaches to regulation. In the same sense that materials intended to benefit humankind ? pesticides, radioactive materials --- can become pollutants, these same materials can become weapons of terrorism when deliberately introduced into a municipal water supply or released in public spaces, presenting entirely new threats that redefine risk to include homeland security as well as public health and the environment.

 

PPOL 811: EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. This course module will examine each of the core elements of emergency management in the context of the science, law, medicine, and economics that confront 21st Century leaders in business and government. Case studies, including Hurricane Katrina, will serve as the focus for readings, class discussion and policy research to improve this vital function of government. Key consideration will given to the asymmetrical problems presented to emergency managers, the established authorities and programs, their effectiveness and how to improve them. Professor McGarrah. Track: Public & Nonprofit Management.

 

PPOL 812: HOMELAND SECURITY & COUNTER-TERRORISM PLANNING. This course will examine key policy issues and balances that must be address in strategic planning for homeland security and counterterrorism, particularly in science and technology planning. The course will examine terrorist threats to the homeland, how these threats can leverage science and technology, and policy issues and balances that must be resolved to deny or undermine terrorists' capabilities to attack the US homeland. The course will also examine key missions, elements, and planning principles of homeland security, the role of science and technology in protecting the US homeland, and the key policy issues that must be resolved to use capabilities effectively in protecting the US homeland, balanced against other important public policy goals.