Current Courses at GW
PSC 3500 The Politics of Crime and Violence in the Americas: Crime and violence represent a major security threat in the Americas. Latin America is considered the world’s most violent region, plagued by an unprecedented wave of organized criminal violence, while the United States stands out for its high levels of gun violence among high-income countries. This undergraduate course provides an introduction to the political causes and consequences of crime and violence in the Americas. The substantive focus is on the historical roots, policies, and political processes and institutions that shape contemporary patterns of criminal violence in the region. Through an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating insights from political science, economics, sociology, and criminology, students engage with cutting-edge research to understand these issues. Students become familiar with a variety of methodological approaches used in the systematic study of criminal violence.
PSC 3192W Organized Crime, the State, and Society: Organized criminal groups often use violence and intimidation to enforce their dominance and settle disputes, exposing the inability of the state to retain the monopoly of violence. While their presence may be unsurprising in low-capacity states, such groups also affect industrialized societies with democratic institutions and institutionalized legal systems. This course offers an in-depth exploration into the complex world of organized crime, its origins, dynamics, and the varied responses from state and societal actors across the globe. Drawing on recent academic work, we will examine the political, economic, and social roots of organized crime and the multifaceted consequences of their activities. We cover cases from regions as diverse as Latin America, Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to presenting and discussing relevant literature, students will complete a short paper or research design addressing questions related to cooperative crime-state arrangements, the diversification of criminal activities, the role of protection networks, the militarization of policing strategies, and the political and economic impacts of organized crime, among other topics.
PSC 3500 U.S.-Mexico Relations: The United States and Mexico share a complex and rich history, marked by territorial disputes, diplomatic tensions, trade agreements, cultural exchange, and pressing challenges spanning various policy areas. Furthermore, the 2,000-mile border between these two nations represents the world’s largest migration corridor and exhibits the highest income per capita differential found at any land border. While certain areas along the U.S.-Mexico border serve as examples of successful binational cooperation, the border has also been characterized by the proliferation of illicit markets and criminal networks. This course provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the contemporary policy issues shaping the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico. After an introduction to the institutional and historical background, the course is divided into four modules: 1) Migration & Integration; 2) Security & Illicit Economies; 3) Trade & Globalization; and 4) Public Health & Environment. Course materials include scholarly work from political science, economics, and sociology, as well as journalistic pieces, documentary films, policy reports, and official documents from government agencies.
PSC 3192W The Political Economy of Organized Violence: A robust body of academic work has examined the surge in civil wars and other forms of political violence across the globe following World War II. In recent years, notably since the 2010s, the unprecedented escalation of organized criminal violence in low- and middle-income countries has motivated numerous scholars to investigate its causes and consequences. Organized criminal groups, such as mafias or drug cartels, are commonly regarded as profit-driven organizations lacking explicit political goals. However, these organizations not only respond to economic incentives; they are deeply embedded in society, infiltrate political structures, and redefine the dynamics of local order. In this course, we explore the political and economic factors that have shaped various types of intrastate organized violence in the contemporary world, including both criminal and political violence.
Courses Taught at Other Institutions
Intrastate Conflict, UC Davis (Undergraduate)
Mexican Politics, UC Davis (Undergraduate)
Research Methods for Political Science, UC Davis (Graduate)
Applied Causal Inference, UC Davis (Graduate)
TA, Causal Inference, NYU (Graduate)
TA, Quantitative Political Analysis, NYU (Undergraduate)
TA, The Politics of Latin America, NYU (Undergraduate)
TA, Political Economy of Development, NYU (Undergraduate)