Civics & Geopolitics

Day 1 The Spectrum of Political Systems Democracy/Hybrid · Presidential vs Parliamentary · Federal vs Unitary · Trade-offs Day 2 The Mechanics and Dilemmas of Democracy Electoral Systems · Representation · Tyranny of the Majority · Fragility Day 3 The Foundations of the Rule of Law Rule of Law vs Rule of Man · Constitutionalism · Separation of Powers · Judicial Independence Day 4 The Logic of Constitutions What Constitutions Do · Codified vs Uncodified · Amendment Rigidity · Constitutional Review Day 5 Comparing Legal Systems Civil vs Common Law · Precedent vs Statute · Legal Transplants · Chinese Legal Tradition Day 6 Checks and Balances Toolkit of Checks · Veto Points · Executive Aggrandizement · Oversight Day 7 The Origins and Capacity of States State Formation · State Capacity · Failed States · Taxation & Sovereignty Day 8 International Relations Theory Realism vs Liberalism · Balance of Power · International Institutions · Constructivism Day 9 Foundations of Geopolitics Limits of Geographic Determinism · Sea vs Land Power · Buffer Zones · Chokepoints Day 10 Great-Power Rivalry Thucydides Trap · Spheres of Influence · Proxy Conflicts · Structure of US–China Relations Day 11 Global Governance The UN System · WTO/IMF/World Bank · Governance Deficit · Global Public Goods Day 12 Sovereignty vs Human Rights Non-Intervention · Humanitarian Intervention & R2P · Refugees & Asylum · Universal vs Relative Day 13 The Rules of War and Peace Just War Theory · Geneva Conventions · Nuclear Deterrence · Limits of the Laws of War Day 14 Nationalism and Identity Construction of Nations · Nation vs State · Secession · Civic vs Ethnic Nationalism Day 15 The Design and Manipulation of Elections Districting · Counting Rules · Rise of Populism · Disinformation & Elections Day 16 Parties and Interest Groups Functions of Parties · Lobbying · Revolving Door · Money & Politics Day 17 Making Public Policy The Policy Cycle · Evidence vs Ideology · The Implementation Gap · Unintended Consequences Day 18 Welfare and Redistribution Welfare State Models · Politics of Taxation · Inequality & Policy · Universal vs Selective Day 19 Regulation and Markets Why Regulate · Regulatory Capture · Antitrust · Governing the Platform Economy Day 20 Justice and the Courts Criminal vs Civil · Sentencing & Deterrence · Restorative Justice · Wrongful Convictions & Due Process Day 21 The Boundaries of Speech and Information Limits of Free Speech · Censorship · Platform Liability · Governing Fake News Day 22 Privacy and Surveillance Data Sovereignty · The Surveillance State · The Evolution of Privacy · Technology & Civil Liberties Day 23 Migration and Borders Immigration Policy Models · Politics of Borders · Assimilation vs Multiculturalism · Demographics & Politics Day 24 Climate and Global Politics Climate Negotiations · Carbon Politics · Equity & Responsibility · Climate Refugees Day 25 Technology and Geopolitics The Chip War · Digital Sovereignty · AI Governance · The Battle over Technical Standards Day 26 The Geopolitics of Money and Finance Dollar Dominance · Weaponized Sanctions · Central Bank Digital Currencies · The De-dollarization Debate Day 27 Energy Geopolitics Oil Politics · Geopolitics of the Energy Transition · Critical Minerals · Energy Security Day 28 Regional Orders The EU Experiment · The East Asian Order · Middle East Fragmentation · Africa & Latin America Day 29 The Future of Governance The Democratic Backsliding Debate · Technocracy · Direct Democracy Experiments · Governance Innovation Day 30 The Citizen's Place How to Engage Rationally · Cross-Partisan Dialogue · Media Literacy · Civics for Children Day 31 The Resilience of Authoritarianism Why Some Autocracies Endure · Repression vs Co-optation · Information Control · Moments of Fragility Day 32 The Political Economy of Development Why Nations Are Rich or Poor · Institutions vs Geography vs Culture · The East Asian Model Debate · Does Aid Work Day 33 Local and Urban Governance Center vs Local · Fiscal Decentralization · Municipal Autonomy · Local Participation & Experiments Day 34 Religion and Politics Models of Church-State Separation · Debates over Secularism · Religious Nationalism · Faith & Public Life Day 35 Corruption and State Capture Types & Costs of Corruption · Rent-Seeking & Cronyism · Anti-Corruption & Its Limits · Transparency Day 36 Alliances and Strategic Stability Logic of Alliance Systems · Deterrence & Arms Control · The Security Dilemma · Neutrality & Non-Alignment Day 37 The Mechanics of Social Movements and Revolutions The Logic of Collective Action · How Movements Rise & Fade · Preconditions of Revolution · Nonviolent Resistance (the 3.5% Rule)