Department: International Policy

Code Name Description
INTLPOL200 The Social & Economic Impact of Artificial Intelligence Recent advances in computing may place us at the threshold of a unique turning point in human history. Soon we are likely to entrust management of our environment, economy, security, infrastructure, food production, healthcare, and to a large degree...
INTLPOL203 Trade and Development (Formerly IPS 203) This course analyzes the role of international trade in the development experience of countries. Amongst the topics covered are the instruments of trade policy, the developmental impact of trade liberalization/protectionism, and tr...
INTLPOL203A New Generation International Trade Policy and Trade Agreements This course analyses the new trends in international trade law and policy in an era when the days of global liberalization are in the past, protectionism is dominating the international trade agenda, and the multilateral order is at a standstill. Thi...
INTLPOL204A Intermediate Microeconomics for Public Policy This course introduces the theories of consumers, producers, and markets, and uses these concepts to understand how people make complex economic decisions in the real world. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with core microeconomic...
INTLPOL204B Economic Policy Analysis for Policymakers This class provides economic and institutional background necessary to conduct policy analysis. We will examine the economic justification for government intervention and illustrate these concepts with applications drawn from different policy context...
INTLPOL207 Economics of Corruption (Formerly IPS 207) This course applies economic tools to understanding and analyzing the developmental impact and determinants of corruption, as well as policy initiatives to address corruption. In addition to theories of corruption, students evaluat...
INTLPOL211 A New Cold War? Great Power Relations in the 21st Century Thirty years ago the Cold War ended. Today, great power competition is back - or so it seems - with many describing our present era as a "New Cold War" between the United States and China and Russia. What happened? Is the Cold War label an illuminati...
INTLPOL217 The Future of Global Cooperation With autocracy resurgent and democracy on the decline, what is the future of global cooperation? What will be the fate of global institutions built to restore and maintain peace? Why pursue global cooperation at all? This seminar examines the role of...
INTLPOL217A Global Cooperation & US Foreign Policy This limited enrollment research seminar will examine the tools, legal justifications, and theoretical underpinnings of global cooperation, with a particular focus on U.S. foreign policy in response to threats to peace and security. Topics will inclu...
INTLPOL218 Political Mobilization and Democratic Breakthroughs Mass political mobilization occurs in both democracies and autocracies. Sometimes political protests, demonstrations, and acts of nonviolence civic resistance undermine autocracies, produce democratic breakthroughs, or generate democratic reforms. Ot...
INTLPOL220 Comparative Political Economy of Development Review of how nations develop politically and economically. Theories of state development, the role of institutions, inequality and societal divisions, the impact of natural resources, the consequences of corruption, and the effect of globalization o...
INTLPOL221 Politics of Data: Algorithmic Culture, Big Data, and Information Waste (Formerly IPS 221) This course examines the role of data and algorithms in politically significant phenomena such as fake news,Twitter bots, prediction markets, racial profiling, autonomous robotic weapons, cryptocurrencies, and hacked elections. Rea...
INTLPOL222 Global Futures: History, Statecraft, Systems Where does the future come from? It comes from the past, of course, but how? What are the key drivers of continuity or change, and how can we trace those drivers going forward, too? What are the roles of contingency, chance, and choice, versus lon...
INTLPOL225 Tech Policy, Innovation, and Startup Ecosystems: Silicon Valley, Japan and Comparative Perspectives This course asks big questions and provides detailed analysis about how governments, policies, and politics can shape technologies, innovation, and startup ecosystems through closely examining Silicon Valley as an economic region and Japan's politica...
INTLPOL226 Current Issues in Southeast Asia Current Issues in Southeast Asia (INTLPOL 226) is a seminar that will examine some of the key challenges facing the nations of Southeast Asia, which collectively boast the world's fifth largest economy and are home to some 680 million people. After...
INTLPOL227 Finance, Corporations, and Society Both 'Free market capitalism' and democracy appear to be in crisis around the world. This interdisciplinary course, which draws from the Social Sciences, Business and Law, will help you gain a deeper understanding of the root causes of these intertwi...
INTLPOL230 Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law This course explores the different dimensions of development - economic, social, and political - as well as the way that modern institutions (the state, market systems, the rule of law, and democratic accountability) developed and interacted with oth...
INTLPOL231B Understanding Russia: Its Power and Purpose in a New Global Order Russia presents a puzzle for theories of socio-economic development and modernization and their relationship to state power in international politics. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought into being the new Russia (or Russian Federation)...
INTLPOL232 Foreign Policy Decision Making in Comparative Perspective This seminar will examine how countries and multilateral organizations make decisions about foreign and international policy. The hypothesis to be explored in the course is that individuals, bureaucracies, and interest groups shape foreign policy dec...
INTLPOL234 Israel: Society, Politics, and Policy The course "Israel: Society, Politics, and Policy" invites students to explore modern Israel in comparative perspective. Few countries in the world have captured the American imagination as much as Israel and are at the same time as poorly understood...
INTLPOL238 Social Movements in the Post Spring Arab World This course analyzes the role of social movements such as labor movements, student unions, women¿s movements, and human rights groups in shaping political realities in the Arab world after the brief period of democratic uprisings 2011-2013. It develo...
INTLPOL239 State responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Arab world The emergence of the Covid-19 crisis has brought to light the long-term governance challenges confronting states in the Arab region. The ongoing efforts on the part of Arab governments to contain the outbreak and contend with its social and economic...
INTLPOL240 Contemporary Issues in International Security This seminar examines crucial foreign policy and defense-related challenges. Emphasis is on understanding how the recent past produced today's challenges and evaluating alternative strategies intended to overcome them. Topics include great power co...
INTLPOL241S International Security in a Changing World This class examines the most pressing international security problems facing the world today: nuclear crises, non-proliferation, insurgencies and civil wars, terrorism, and climate change. Alternative perspectives - from political science, history, a...
INTLPOL244 U.S. Policy toward Northeast Asia This course examines contemporary issues in U.S. foreign policy towards China, Japan, South and North Korea, Russia and Taiwan. It will look at US interests and objectives in Northeast Asia, the dynamics and drivers of U.S. policy and its historical...
INTLPOL244D Asia-Pacific Transformation Post-WW II transformation in the Asia-Pacific region, with focus on the ascent of Japan, the development of newly industrialized capitalist countries (S. Korea and Taiwan), the emergence of socialist states (China and N. Korea), and the changing rela...
INTLPOL246 China's Foreign Policies: Objectives, Instruments, and Impacts (Formerly IPS 246) China is a global actor and its foreign policies are designed to protect and advance increasingly diverse interests in every country and region. Some interests and policies are common to all regions and have remained relatively st...
INTLPOL247 Verification for 21st Century Arms Control Treaties Strong monitoring and verification are at the heart of an effective arms control treaty. The better we can monitor, the better we can verify that treaty obligations are met and nobody is cheating. Arms control monitoring is stuck in the past, however...
INTLPOL250 International Conflict Resolution (Formerly IPS 250) (Same as LAW 5009; formerly Law 656) This seminar examines the challenges of managing and resolving intractable political and violent intergroup and international conflicts. Employing an interdisciplinary approach drawing on social...
INTLPOL250A International Conflict Resolution Colloquium (Formerly IPS 250A) (Same as LAW 611.) Sponsored by the Stanford Center on International Conflict and Negotiation (SCICN). Conflict, negotiation, and dispute resolution with emphasis on conflicts and disputes with an international dimension, includin...
INTLPOL256 Technology and National Security Explores the relation between technology, war, and national security policy with reference to current events. Course focuses on current U.S. national security challenges and the role that technology plays in shaping our understanding and response to...
INTLPOL259 Research Topics in Technology and National Security Research on technology and national security, especially including but not limited to cyber conflict and information warfare, nuclear weapons, emerging technologies with relevance to national security. Student and faculty member will agree on one or...
INTLPOL259A Research Seminar on Cybersecurity: Topics at the Intersection of Security, Safety, and Privacy The course will explore the safety, security and privacy implications of the automobile. The modern automobile is a computer on wheels, with processors, sensors and networked connectivity managing hundreds of safety-critical functions. Automation wi...
INTLPOL260 DigiChina Newsroom: Explaining Chinese Tech Policy The Stanford DigiChina project tracks, translates, and contextualizes Chinese digital economy and technology policy for diverse audiences. In this directed reading/clinic, students will track policy news, translate key documents and passages if able,...
INTLPOL261 Current Topics in Technology Platform Policy This weekly seminar will bring in guest speakers from industry, public policy organizations, and academia to discuss emerging and developing challenges in developing comprehensive, productive policy both within and outside of technology companies. To...
INTLPOL266 Managing Nuclear Waste: Technical, Political and Organizational Challenges (Formerly IPS 266) The essential technical and scientific elements of the nuclear fuel cycle, focusing on the sources, types, and characteristics of the nuclear waste generated, as well as various strategies for the disposition of spent nuclear fuel...
INTLPOL268 Hack Lab: Introduction to Cybersecurity This course aims to give students a solid understanding of the most common types of attacks used in cybercrime and cyberwarfare. Taught by a long-time cybersecurity practitioner, a recovering cyberlaw litigator, and a group of hearty, motivated TAs,...
INTLPOL268D Online Open Source Investigation This course is a practical introduction to online open source investigation -- internet research using free and publicly available information. The course will cover domain investigations, social media research, image verification, and research into...
INTLPOL269 Cyber Law: International and Domestic Legal Frameworks for Cyber Policy (Formerly IPS 269) Was Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. elections an act of war? When do cyber attacks constitute a use of force? Is sovereignty in cyberspace different than in other domains, and can states meaningfully defend their sovereignty...
INTLPOL271 Climate Politics: Science and Global Governance Historical and contemporary perspectives on climate politics. Briefly covers the origins of climate understanding in the 1800s, then turns to the co-evolution of climate science and climate politics from the 20th century to the present, including mul...
INTLPOL272 Empirical Methods in Sustainable Development The determinants of human well-being over the short and long-run, including the role of environmental factors in shaping development outcomes. A focus on the empirical literature across both social and natural sciences, with discussion and assignment...
INTLPOL275 International Environmental Governance What kinds of rules, agreements, organizations, and processes underpin the global community's efforts to address environmental challenges? How do these institutions arise and interconnect, and how can we design them more effectively? We will explore...
INTLPOL276 Energy Markets and Policy This is a course on how energy and environmental markets work, and the regulatory mechanisms that have been and can be used to achieve desired policy goals. Throughout the course students play the roles of electricity generators, electricity retaile...
INTLPOL280 Transitional Justice, Human Rights, and International Criminal Tribunals (Formerly IPS 280) Historical backdrop of the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals. The creation and operation of the Yugoslav and Rwanda Tribunals (ICTY and ICTR). The development of hybrid tribunals in East Timor, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia, including e...
INTLPOL281 Global Poverty and the Law (Formerly IPS 281) With more than a billion people living on less than $2 a day, global poverty is one of the biggest challenges currently facing humanity. Even though those who suffer the most are located in the developing world, many of the policie...
INTLPOL282 Global Human Rights and Local Practices The course examines how the international community has fared in promoting and protecting human rights in the world, with an emphasis on the role of the United Nations. The course will begin with an overview of debates about the state of the internat...
INTLPOL285 American and Chinese Approaches to Managing Global Challenges Like other nations, China and the United States must address a number of complex and consequential transnational challenges including climate change related threats to food and water security, nuclear proliferation, and the absence of institutions to...
INTLPOL288 The Asian Triangle: Japan, Korea and China This class will examine the complex inter-relationship between the three great states of Northeast Asia - Japan, Korea and China. This class will take a historical approach but will focus as well on contemporary relations and policy issues. Topics to...
INTLPOL290 Practical Approaches to Global Health Research (Formerly IPS 290 and HRP 237) How do you come up with an idea for a useful research project in a low resource setting? How do you develop a research question, prepare a concept note, and get your project funded? How do you manage personnel in the fi...
INTLPOL291 Theories of Change in Global Health Organizations dedicated to improving global health deploy various approaches ranging from efforts to improve economic conditions, health systems, and technology to policy change and advocacy. This course critically evaluates 15 common theories of cha...
INTLPOL296 Blueprint to Battleground: Weapons, Technologies, and Sociotechnical Change War is a technological contest. Yet the development and workings of weapons technologies are commonly treated as the esoteric domain of scientists and engineers, rather than policymakers and policy analysts. Poor outcomes result when those who study,...
INTLPOL298 Practical Training (Formerly IPS 298) Students obtain internship in a relevant research or industrial activity to enhance their professional experience consistent with their degree program and area of specialization. Prior to enrolling, students are required to submit...
INTLPOL299 Directed Reading (Formerly IPS 299) Directed reading in International Policy. Course is open to students from all degree programs. To be considered for enrollment, interested students must first submit the International Policy Directed Reading Proposal (https://fsi.s...
INTLPOL300A International Policy Speaker Series Presentations on international policy topics by Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies faculty and guests. Includes discussion with students. Required for first-year M.A. students in International Policy. Optional for second-year M.A. stu...
INTLPOL300J International Policy Journal Edit and publish the Stanford International Policy Review (SIPR). Editors can receive credit for their work. Must be approved as an editor and must receive approval from faculty advisor before enrolling. Course is available to second-year MIP student...
INTLPOL300S Leading Effective Teams In this interactive course students will develop practical skills for leading effective teams, and will apply their learning in group projects (1st year) and in their capstone (2nd year). Topics include understanding of group development stages and d...
INTLPOL300W Valley Meets Mission: Purposeful Entrepreneurial Ventures with Government Many of today's societal problems - cybersecurity, climate change, Covid-19, food insecurity - require effective collaboration between government and entrepreneurial ventures to combine scale, technology, and innovation. In each class, students will...
INTLPOL301A Research Methods and Policy Applications I This course provides a conceptual and applied introduction to quantitative social sciences methodology. We will discuss the formal statistical formulation and practical applications of techniques of statistical data analysis. Concepts covered include...
INTLPOL301B Research Methods and Policy Applications II We will build on the basic knowledge of statistical methods from the previous quarter to further develop fundamentals for the design, implementation and interpretation of policy-relevant research. We will discuss the statistical formulation and pract...
INTLPOL302 The Global Economy This course examines the economic inter-connectedness of nations. Among the topics covered are the causes and consequences of current account imbalances, exchange rate determination, monetary unification, financial and currency crises, and contagion....
INTLPOL306 Foreign Policy Decision-Making in International Relations Foreign Policy Decision-Making in International Relations examines the factors that shape how actors develop and implement foreign policy in a comparative context. This course will discuss questions like: How do leaders respond to traditional threats...
INTLPOL307 Policy Problem-Solving in the Real World (Formerly IPS 216) This course introduces students to the MIP Policy Problem-Solving Framework that will be used in their second-year capstone. It will present both conceptual frameworks and concrete cases that help students define public problems, a...
INTLPOL308 Comparative Public Policy This course provides analytic tools and case studies to understand the policy making process in developing countries. Public policies in realms such as the regulation of financial markets, infrastructure investment, poverty relief programs, and publi...
INTLPOL310 Policy Change Studio Collaboration with real-world partners to define solutions to pressing policy problems. Students work in teams and are guided by the teaching team, along with project-specific advice from a faculty mentor and an external advisor. Students may also tr...
INTLPOL310A Capstone Field Research Students travel with their policy change studio teams to collaborate with partner organizations, gather data, perform assessments, and analyze in-country aspects of their capstone project. (Limited to International Policy students enrolled concurrent...
INTLPOL321 Fundamentals of Cyber Policy and Security This course will provide an introduction to fundamental issues in cyber policy and security. It will focus on the way that cyber issues impact people and organizations across sectors - from government and law to business, tech, and others - and how p...
INTLPOL323 Free Speech, Democracy and the Internet Crosslisted with LAW 7082. This course will cover contemporary issues in regulation of the Internet. Topics will include disinformation, polarization, privacy, competition, transparency, advertising, security, and algorithmic ranking. Guest speakers...
INTLPOL340 Technology, Innovation and Great Power Competition This course explores how new technologies pose challenges and create opportunities for the United States to compete more effectively with rivals in the international system with a focus on strategic competition with the People's Republic of China. In...
INTLPOL350 International Law (LAW 5013) This course provides a general introduction to international law and its role in today's complex and interdependent world. We will begin by considering foundational questions about the nature of international law, such as: the origins of i...
INTLPOL351 Law of Democracy (LAW 7036) This course is intended to give students a basic understanding of the themes in the legal regulation of elections and politics. We will cover all the major Supreme Court cases on topics of voting rights, reapportionment/redistricting, ball...
INTLPOL352 State Building and the Rule of Law Seminar (LAW 5103) This Seminar is centrally concerned with bridging theory and practice. The seminar introduces the key theories relevant to state-building generally, and strengthening the rule of law in particular. This course explores the multidisciplinar...
INTLPOL355 International Human Rights (LAW 5010) In part as a result of the rise of international human rights mechanisms in the twentieth century, conflicts over resources, privileges and power are now increasingly mediated through the lens of human rights, in terms of the protection o...
INTLPOL357 Transitional Justice (LAW 7086) The political, social, and legal problems confronting societies after periods of mass human rights violations or war have attracted increasing attention from policymakers and scholars in the last three decades. This course will examine the...
INTLPOL358 Business, Social Responsibility, and Human Rights (LAW 1047) Large corporations now routinely spend millions of dollars to protect human rights and the environment. Shell Nigeria builds hospitals and schools in the Niger Delta. Nike employs hundreds of inspectors to improve conditions for the factor...
INTLPOL361 Foundations of Internet Speech Platform Regulation (LAW 4051) Internet platforms like Google and Facebook play an enormous role in our online speech and information environment today. Review of laws that shape platforms' decisions about online content with primary focus on intermediary liability laws...
INTLPOL362 Data: Privacy, Property and Security The collection, use and marketing of personal data are ubiquitous in the digital age. This seminar will explore the diverse legal regimes regulating personal data--including privacy, property and security--and the imperfect nature of their protection...
INTLPOL363 Confronting Misinformation Online: Law and Policy This course will examine contemporary challenges and trade-offs for tech law and policy decision-making presented by false information online. Topics will include private sector content policy approaches, governmental regulatory responses (both U.S....
INTLPOL364 Governing Artificial Intelligence: Law, Policy, and Institutions (Cross-listed with LAW 4052.) Course surveys current and emerging legal and governance problems related to humanity's relationship to artificially constructed intelligence. To deepen students' understanding of legal and governance problems in this ar...
INTLPOL371 Policy Practicum: Assessing the Impact of China's Global Infrastructure Spending on Climate Change (LAW 8070) Client: Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance. China is investing in massive foreign-infrastructure construction, notably in emerging economies. Whether that infrastructure is high-carbon or low-carbon will largely determine t...
INTLPOL801 TGR Project (Formerly IPS 801)
INTLPOL802 TGR Dissertation (Formerly IPS 802)