DESCRIPTION OF COURSES

This course introduces students to the basic concepts and ideas of political science. These concepts will be surveyed, their short-comings evaluated and Islamic alternative conceptualizations will be explored. Topics include: Politics, state and political order; Political Science and Islam; power, influence, authority; bases of legitimacy; governmental structures; parties and party systems; political ideologies; international relations.

The main objective of this course is to enable the students to undertake scholarly research. It emphasizes the relationship between theory and research and integrates the various research activities into a systematic framework. Focusing on the interrelated stages of the Political Science research process, the course covers: problem statement; hypothesis formulation. Concepts and variable definitions; data collection and analysis, report writing, and ethical considerations in research.

This course aims at the exposition and critical analysis of the political thought of early thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Acquinas, Machiavelli, Al-Farabi, Al- Mawardi, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Taymiyah and Ibn Khaldun.

This course aims at the exposition and critical examination of the political thought of modem thinkers such as Bodin, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hegel, Marx, Shah Wali Allah, Jamal al-din al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Rida.

This course will cover discussion on the relevant concepts and institutions of western political system versus Islamic political system. It will also include: Essential characteristics of an Islamic state with particular emphasis on shura; the constitution of Madinah; Institutions of Khilafah and Imamah; Administration of Justice; Principles of social security, Treaty relations and Islamic international law; Human rights in Islam; Status of non-Muslims in an Islamic state; Rights and responsibilities of Muslims in non-Muslim States, Islam in modem nation states.

This course introduces students to basic concepts and approaches in contemporary comparative politics, and analyses actual political systems from comparative perspectives. Topics include: theories of structures, functions, modernization, development, communication, applicability of Western concepts to non-Western settings, the comparison of selected politics.

The objective of this course is to examine some of the theories, approaches and key issues in international political economy. These are evaluated and Islamic alternatives, wherever possible, are discussed. Some of the topics include: theories of international political economy and an Islamic critique; the International Monetary Fund; Direct foreign investment; external debt crisis; foreign aid, the environment and development.

This course critically examines the historical evolution, development and operations of international, regional and functional international organizations. Some of the topics include; organizational forms; the United Nations and its agencies; NATO; ASEAN; WTO; non-governmental organizations; and multinational corporations.

This course analyses the philosophies, theories, concepts and issues in the study of international relations from the Western and Islamic perspectives. Topics include: conceptions of man and values; idealism, realism and Islam; recent trends in the theory of international relations; the essence and elements of power; unipolarity; bipolarity and multipolarity; ideology and world politics; security and the logic of collective action.

This course attempts at understanding contemporary politics in South Asia in terms of its major institutions, its degree of democratization and the role of the political system in the promotion of socio-economic development, ethical values in the society. Topics explored are historical background, colonial experience, nationalism and nation building, nature and extent of pluralism, governmental structures, party systems, role of religion in politics, democracy and its alternatives.

This course explores and critically analyses the theories of nationalism and the emergence of the nation-states in the West and in the Muslim World. Topics include: definition of nationalism; origin and development of the theories of nationalism; the emergence of nation-states in the west; the spread of nationalism in the Muslim World and the emergence of Muslim nation-states, the problem of the unity and organization of the Islamic Ummah in the contemporary world of nation-states.

This course compares and contrasts the political set-up of various Muslim states alongside a number of parameters, including constitutional frameworks, decision-making structures, party systems, the role of Shari'ah in politics, and foreign policy.

This course examines the formation and impact of public policy-making and highlights various approaches to public polity. Topics include; input information, cognitive maps and values in decision-making; models of decision-making, rational incremental, mixed-scanning, pubic choice, public policy and public management, decision networks, inter systemic decision-making, policy-making and implementation, policy effectiveness; societal goals and alternatives, planning theory and social control.

This course introduces students to the economic functions performed by the government including revenue generation, management of funds, loans, credit, and investment. Topics include: public and private finance, sources of revenue and heads of expenditure, incidence and impact of taxation, zakah, deficit financing and financing development plans, inflation, foreign aid, public debt, and fiscal policy, especially in an Islamic economy, and its role in patterning income distribution.

This course provides an overview of the history of diplomatic relations from both the Western and Islamic perspectives. Topics include: the ancient and medieval history of diplomatic relations; diplomatic relations in Muslim history; the Westphalian system and European diplomacy; classical balance of power system in the 19th century; diplomacy in the colonial era and the First World War; the League of Nations and the Muslim World; international organization and diplomacy of the UN system, bipolarity, tripolarity, "balance of power" in the Cold War era: Post-Cold War era and new dimensions of diplomatic relations affecting the Muslim world.

This course deals with the role and contribution of the different personalities towards the Political Development in the Sub- continent. Topics include: Reformation movements in British India; Wahabi Movement; Faraizi Movement; Personalities: Shah WaliAllah, Titumeer, Maulana Mohammad Ali, Surendranath Banerjee, M.K. Ghandi, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, C.R. Das, Nawab Sir Salimullah, M.A. Jinnah, A.K. Fazlul Huq, H.S. Suhrawardhy, and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

This course analyses the sources of international law and diplomacy and their significance in international relations. Topics include: sources of international law and diplomacy. Recognition, state succession, jurisdiction, treaties, extradition, nationality, types of diplomacy, and the impact of diplomacy on international law.

This course critically examines the meaning and origins of Islah and Tajdid movements, their structures, and strategies. Movements to be studied may include; Al-Muwahhidun, the Sokoto Jihad, Mahdiyyah, Sanusiyyah, Ikhwan al-Muslimoon, Jamaat-e-Islami, the Muhammadiyah movement, and the movement of lslamization of knowledge.

This course introduces students to the field of public administration and its different branches. It is centered on the bureaucratic organization and the key concepts related to this phenomenon. Topics covered are: the science of public administration, politics and administration, the bureaucratic form of organization, administration, bureaucratic dysfunctions, the new administration, Islamic perspectives on administration, and the computer and bureaucracy. Theories, development trends in various regions of the South; political development from an Islamic perspective.

This course will cover the discussion on the major events of the political economy of Bangladesh. State and economy .Development models and 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.

This course introduces students to the issues of peace and war in the field of international relations from Western and Islamic perspectives. Among the topics that will be examined are: Western theories of the nature and causes of wars; Islamic perspectives on international relations; Islamic concepts of peace and war, and Islamic impact on international laws concerning war and treaties.

This course explores various theories of political development and critically examines them from an Islamic perspective. Topics include: theories of modernization and political development; dependency theories; development trends in various regions of the South, Political development from an Islamic perspective.

This course analyses the history of the formation of Pakistan and political developments leading to the freedom movement for Bangladesh. It also examines the government and politics of Bangladesh up to the present. Topics include: Bengal under British rule; Growth of Bengali Nationalism, Partition of Bengal in 1905, Origin of the Muslim League, Struggle for and the birth of Pakistan. Political crisis in Pakistan; Development of Independence movements and the emergence of Bangladesh. Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Parliamentary politics; Military coups. Political Development and Bangladesh in world politics.

This course will examine the ideas concerning Islamic resurgence and the role of Muslim thinkers in structuring the discourse and challenge against hegemonic powers. Some of the thinkers examined are: Khayr al-din al-Tunisi, Al-Kawakibi, Syed Qutb, Abul A'la Mawdudi, Malik Bennabi, and Hassan al-Turabi, Baduzzaman Syed Nursi.

This course critically analyses major political ideologies and their influence upon contemporary political realities. Topics include: liberalism, conservation, nationalism, communism, socialism, social democracy, and Islam as an ideology.

This course examines major ethical issues relating to politics. Topics include the relationship between ethics and politics, Aristotle's ethics, utilitarianism, Kant's moral theory, contractualism ethics from an Islamic perspective, the ethical ideas of al-Farabi, Qadi Abd al-Jabbar, Ibn Maskawaih, al- Ghazzali, and Ibn Taymiyyah, justice and equality, liberty and human rights, values, science and technology, relativism and absolute political values, and environmentalism.

This course deals with the analytical study of the political systems of U.K., U.S.A, China and Japan. Major topics to be covered are: British Monarchy, Parliament and the Cabinet, Judiciary & administrative set-up; the American Presidency, distribution of power, Congress, Judiciary and the bureaucracy and proletarian dictatorship. Basic features of the Chinese constitution, structure of government, democratic centralism; the electoral system; Japanese monarchy, the Parliamentary structure, the Judiciary and the administration.

This course examines the position of women in political thought, the role of women in politics in general and the role of women in public affairs from an Islamic perspective. Some of the topics include: women in the West, feminism, women in public affairs; the impact of the West on Muslim women; women in the Qur'an and the Sunnah; and the rights and role of women in politics. The course includes case studies of women in leadership positions.

This course introduces students to the use of policy analysis as an input into the public policy process. It critically examines the empirical and normative foundations for a systematic policy analysis. Topics include; concepts, theories and models of public policy, cost benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, MBO, the PPBS, and operations research.

This course introduces students to the economic, political, technical and ethical dimensions of public budgeting. Topics include; the origin and definition of the public budget, the functions of public budgeting, the budgetary process, budgeting and public management, public budgeting and national development, the political sources and consequences of fiscal deficit, deficits in normative and positive political theory, ethical values, public budgeting.

This course will cover the discussion on the structure of the government and politics of Bangladesh. Public Administration: public vs private administration. Theories of organization. Bureaucracy: Civil Services, Bangladesh Secretariat set-up, Constitutional provision and administrative accountability in Bangladesh. Local Administration in Bangladesh: Principles and practices of local government, central control and decentralization, Union Parishad, District Board, Municipality, Corporation, problems or rural and urban areas. Critical evaluation of local administration.

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