MSS IN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Course Descriptions
PART I
GP 4901 Western Ancient Political Thought
The course introduces students to the history of Greek political thoughts and political system, political ideology, forms of government and constitution. Topics include: Greek society and institution, political system in ancient city state. Plato: life, education and his work. Ideal state, justice, communism, Philo-sopher king, education, forms of Governments. Aristotle: his life, education and works Society family and citizenship; law and constitution, ends of state, forms of governments, Slavery, Revolution: causes and remedies, best practicable govern-ment and its constitution.
GP 4902 Western Medieval Political Thought
This course provides an overview of the history of western medieval political thought. It will help the students to understand the social structure, main characteristics and elements of middle age. Topics include: The Holy Roman Empire, conflict between King and Pope, political thought of middle age and its social and political systems. St Augustin: his life, work, and conception of history. City of God, Justice, slavery and wealth, Two sword theory. St Thomas Aquinas: education, his life and work. Political thinking of Christianity. Theory of law, slavery and forms of government of St Thomas Aquinas.
GP 4903 Western Modern Political Thought
This course deals with the role and contribution of different modern political thinkers, western ancient and western medieval political history and thought. Characteristics and ideology of this age. Topics include: characteristics of modern political thought and renaissance. Niccolo Machiavelli: his life, work and methodology of political thinking. His concept of human being, religion and morality, advice of ruler, classification of government and nationalism. Thomas Hobbes: life and work, contemporary political situation, conception for human nature. Natural law and natural rights and social contract, origin of the state, sovereignty. Law of state and relation with John Locke and Rousseau. Their lives and contribution to political thinking etc.
GP 4904 Principles of Political Theory and Organization
This course introduces students to the basic concepts and ideas of political science. This concepts will be surveyed, their shortcomings and conceptualizations will be explored. Topics include: Political science, its nature, scope, methods, relation with other social sciences and fundamental concepts of society and state. Sovereignty, law, liberty and equality, nationalism, interna-tionalism, origin of state, constitution, forms of government, Democracy, Dictatorship, Unitary, Federal, Parliamentary and Presidential forms of government. Theory of separation of powers, legislature, its role, executive, judiciary and the electorate, political party, pressure group, Bureaucracy and Public opinion.
GP 4905 Comparative Foreign Government-I: UK and USA
This course deals with the Constitutions of Great Britain and the United States of America. Topics include: British System, Growth of constitution, convention, relation with Parliaments and Cabinet, Prime Minister, his power and functions. House of Commons, House of Lords, Judicial and Party System, powers, functions and role. Congress and its relation with President, House of Representatives and Senate, Judiciary and Party system.
GP 4906 Comparative Foreign Government-II: China and India
This course will help students to be aquainted with the Constitutions of China and India. Topics include: Emergence and characteristic of Chinese Constitution, Political and economic systems. Rights of citizen and responsibility, political structure, administrative, resident, regional administration. Judiciary and Party system. Indian Constitution, characteristics control and regional administration. Fundamental rights, Prime Minister, President, Parlia-ment, Judiciary, Party System.
GP 4907 Islamic Social, Political and Economic Systems
This course deals with the concepts and institutions of Political system of Islam. Major topics include: Meaning and basis of Islam, Pilgrimage, Zakah and Islamic Social System. family, marriage, relation between wife and husband, responsibility to neighbor, children's relation with parents, rights and status of women in Islam, Political system in Islam, Islamic state in Medina, law, sovereignty, Democracy and Economic System in Islam.
GP 4908 Medieval Muslim Political Thought
This course introduces students to the role and contribution of some Muslim political thinkers in middle age towards political development in the same age. Topics include: The meaning, purpose of Muslims political thought, its difference with the western political thought. Characteristics of Muslim political thought in the middle age. Some representative Muslim political thinkers, general view. Al Mawardi, Al Farabi, their contributions, Al Gazzali, Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Tymiah, Ibn Rusd, Inb Sina, Nizamul Mulk Tusi.
GP 4909 Political Development in Bangladesh
This course analyses the history of the formation of Pakistan and political developments led to the freedom movement for Bangladesh. It also examines Government and Politics of Bangladesh upto the present time. Topics include: Bengal under British rule; Growth of Bengali Nationalism, Partition of Bangal in 1905. Origin of the Muslim League, struggle for and the birth of Pakistan, Political crisis in Pakistan, Development of Independence movement of Bangladesh, Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Parliamentary politics, Military coups, Political development and Bangladesh in world politics.
GP 4910 Political Economy of Bangladesh
This course deals with the major events of the political economy of Bangladesh. State and economy development strategy, Bangladesh Agriculture, population and employment, pattern of income distribution, industry and public enterprise, nationalization, policies, public finance, public expenditure, revenue system and principles of taxation.
GP 4911 International Politics
The course analyses the charac-teristics, philosophies, nature, theories, concepts and issues in the study of international politics from the western and Islamic perspectives. Topics include: International politics, its characteristics, scope controlling power, elements of national power. imperialism, colonialism, newcolonialism, their exploitation strategy, diplomacy, foreign Aid, cold war, unipolarity, bipolarity and multipolarity, ideology and world politics, security and the logic of collective action.
GP 4912 Politics and Personalities of the Sub-continent
This course attempts at under-standing contermporary politics in the sub-continent in terms of major political thinkers and personalities towards the political development in the sub-continent. Topics include: Reformation movements in British India. Wahabi Movement; Faraizi Movement; Personalities: Shah Waliullah, Titumeer, Moulana Mohammad Ali, Surendranath Banerjee, M.K. Gandhi, Raja Ram Mohon Roy; Sir Sayed Ahmed Khan; C.R. Das; Nawab Sir Salimullah; M.A. Jinnah; Allama Iqbal, Sayed Abul A'la Moududi; A.K. Fazlul Haque; H.S. Suhrawardy and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
FINAL PART
GP 5101 Studies in Political Theory
The course examines the salient features of the Greek, Christian and secular traditions in Western political theory and compares it with the classical and the contemporary Muslim political thinking. Topics include: definition, scope, significance of political theory. Critical evaluation of the Western and the Muslim tradition in political theory. Political theory and political ideology, Ontological foundation of political theory.
GP 5102 Methods of Political Inquiry
This course is intended as a comprehensive guide through many of the models, methods and techniques available for political research. Topics include: strategies for the selection of a research problem; descriptive, relational and casual research; conceptual, analy-tical and quantitative dimensions. The evaluation of selected research designs.
GP 5103 Studies in International Relations
The course aims at introducing students to various theories in international relations from Islamic and Western perspectives. It examines the basis of these theories and evaluates the results of theorising in areas such as foreign policy, strategic studies, conflict resolution and the like. Topics include: the realists, neo-realists, pluralists and structural approaches to International Relations. History of the discipline. The great debates of the idealist/realist, normative /behaviorists. Epistemological bases of theories. Scientific status of the discipline. Analysis of foreign policy and diplomacy. International institutions, strategic studies and conflict resolution.
GP 5104 Theories of State in Islam
The emphasis in this course is on the state in Islam, and on outlining its general structures. Topics include: Khilafah, Shari'ah and Ummah. The role of "aqidah in shaping the political structure of the state, the basis of political legitimacy, the institution of shura, the executive structure of the state and the scope of political centralization, the judicial system, other functionaries and their role.
GP 5205 Studies in Comparative Politics
This course presents a critical overview of the field of comparative politics. Major methodological and theoretical trends and substantive issues are discussed and critiqued to illustrate their strengths and weaknesses and to seek alternative explanations. Topics include: Nature and history of Comparative Politics, Ideology and issues of comparative politics. Macro-level theories, theories of system, culture, development and class. Micro-level research and socio-psychological theories. Comparing the Muslim and the non-Muslim countries.
GP 5206 Theories of Modernization and Development
This course studies various theories dealing with the question of modernization and political deve-lopment, and identifies major approaches developed by political theorists. Topics include: moderni-zation school, dependency school, world-system school, institutional change, and interaction between old and new institutions and values.
GP 5207 The Politics of Economic Development
The course underscoreses the impact of political and collective action on economic development. Topics include: economic aids and political hegemony, patterns of trade blocks and political objectives, trade embargo and the use of the policy of encirclement, vertical and horizontal trade relations, and other usage of economic leverage for achieving political ends.
GP 5208 Politics of South and South Asia
Social and cultural background of the region; Historical and Post colonial experiences; Nationalist movements; System of government; Political parties. Pressure groups; Role of Bureaucracy, Military. Development strategy and socio-political change; External Relations, Problems of National integration and political development.
GP 6309 Bangladesh Politics
Bangladesh: Land and People, Society and Culture, Colonial experience, Nationalist Movements, Politics of Constitution-making. The Constitution of 1972, Political developments upto the present, Major Public policies, Trends and Issues, Major Pressure Groups: Political party, Bureaucracy, Foreign policy: Domestic and International trends.
GP 6310 Nation Building and Ummatic Formation
In this course strategies of cultural and structural change, and political integration are studied. A special emphasis is placed on examining the relationship between national unity and ummatic unity. Topics include: communal versus political pluralism. The Muslim historical and the Western models of political integration, cultural change and economic development models of ummatic unity, alliances, economic cooperation, pacts, confederation, federation, unicentered versus multicentered unity.
GP 6311 International Political Economy
This course examines theoretical and practical issues in international political economy from the western and Islamic perspectives. Topics include; theories of international political economy, economic reforms; multinational corporations, technology transfer, economic development and cultural change; patterns of trade and trade blocks icdt; environmentalism; the external debt crisis of developing countries, the economic stabilization programmes supported by the International Monetary Fund, International Political Economy of the Muslim World and International Organisation; the OIC, IDB and International Relief Organisation.
GP 6312 The Geo-politics of the Muslim World
This course analyses the geopolitical character of the Muslim World and their impact on the domestic and international politics. Topics include: the critical re-evaluation of the geopolitical theories: the political analysis of the Muslim World; the geographical location of the Muslim regions and its implication on the regional politics; case studies: Palestinian question and the geopolitical analysis of the Middle East, the new challenges and geopolitics of Central Asia, the geopolitical aspects of the questions of Balkan, Caucasian, Afghanistan, Kashmir and Eritrea. The geopolitics of South-east Asia and its role in the Muslim World.
GP 6313 International Law & Diplomacy
This course presents a critical analysis of contemporary inter-national law and examines the impacts of Islam on international law especially the laws of treaty and war. Topics include: The community of nations, recognition of states and governments, duties of states, extradition, diplomatic immunity, laws of war, laws of treaty, and peaceful settlement of disputes.
GP 6414 Conflicts and Conflict Resolution
This course analyses conflicts and conflict resolution mechanisms from a variety of perspectives. It considers Islamic, classical and contemporary researches and options on the cases of conflict. Topics include: Approaches to conflict, the idealist, the realist and the neo-realist perspective, the Islamic perspective. Types of the negotiation and mediation practices. Bilateral, Multilateral negotiations; conference diplomacy, third party intervention. Case studies of conflict and conflict resolution: The Gulf War; the Balkans; Iran-Iraq War; Palestine, Afghanistan and the like.
GP 6415 Human Rights and International Law
This course examines the issue of human rights on both the theoretical and practical levels from the Islamic and Western perspectives. It also assesses the performance of inter-governmental organisations and international conferences and examines the debate between the North and South aspects to human rights. Topics include: political and historical evolution of the concept, definition of human rights and international law, the role of international organisations and conferences, the human rights and international law-means or ends; critical case studies. Human rights and the Muslim World.
GP 6416 Theoretical Issues in Western and Muslim Political Thoughts
This course critically explores important theoretical issues in western and Muslim political thought and evaluate them from an Islamic perspective. Topics include: sovereignty, authority, democracy, liberty, equality and property rights, citizenship, civil and political rights, political participation, secularism.
GP 6417 Nationalism and Internationalism
This course examines the theories of Nationalism and Internationalism from Western and Islamic perspectives. Topics include: definitions, origin and historical development of nationalism and internationalism, the emergence of the nation-state and the rise of international organizations for world solidarity, peace and harmony of interests, characteristics of the theories and their implications for the Muslim World and the various Muslim responses to the theories, the conformist and the non-conformist views.
GP 6418 Post-Modern Political Thought
This seminar will concentrate on selected issues and works of post-modern political thought to examine language, society, technology, power and politics as they are closely related to the discourse characterizing the post-modern era. Topics Include: the internal critique of modernity; the ontological, epistemological and axiological foundations of post-modernism; the nature, conceptual framework and rhetoric of post-modern political discourse, ideologies of modernity and post-modern political discourse, ideologies of modernity and post-modern deconstruction, power and techniques of oppression, contem-porary discourse of information technology, communication and politics.
GP 6419 Problems of Government
The meaning of the phrase Problems of Government, Methods of Study; The emergence of Government; The individual and government, society and politics; technology and politics. Politics and economics: Nature of modern economic organisation, its relation to political organisaiton and activity; Historical and analytical development of state activity in Europe and the Indian sub-continent, comparison and contrast. Property and government: Planning, Influence of social economic conditions on political institutions. The problems: National and linguistic; The problems of Cultural decentrali-zation, National integration, Federal, Uninational and multinational states; and federation within federation. Comparative study of party system; The role of bureaucracy and army in modern states.
GP 6420 Middle East Politics
This course is intended to help students to understand contemporary politics in Middle East Politics in term of its Historical background, Geo-politics, Strategic importance, Location, Population and resources. Characteristics of Middle East Politics. Role of religion, Socio- economic and Linguistic position. Cause of conflict, clash, dispute, disunity and war in Middle East countries. Role of big powers in this area. Background and impact of establishment of Israel State. Gulf crisis and role of International organizations.
MSS IN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS (MSS)
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