International Politics What causes conflict or cooperation among states? What can states and other international entities do to preserve global peace? These are among the issues addressed by the study of international politics. This course examines the forces that shape relations among states, and between states and international regimes. Key concepts include: the international system, power and the balance of power, international institutions, foreign policy, diplomacy, deterrence, war, and global economic issues. Both the fall and spring sections of this course emphasize rigorous analysis and set theoretical concepts against historical and contemporary case studies.

International Politics and WMD In this course we will examine the international ramifications of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons use. What is a weapon of mass destruction (WMD)? How have WMD changed the way states behave toward international conflicts and within international crises? How has the development of these weapons influenced the policies states have adopted in response? Beyond these questions, major course themes include the threats of proliferation and the highs and lows of weapons reduction initiatives.

Frontiers in Political Science Research Nothing is more controversial among political scientists than the topic of how to study politics. In this course, we consider a variety of advanced techniques for studying political phenomena, including statistical methods, game theory, institutional analysis, case study techniques, experiments, and agent-based modeling. We will work with concrete examples (drawn from major political science journals) of how scholars have used these techniques, and consider the ongoing philosophical controversies associated with each approach. Students will have the opportunity to conduct original research using a method and subject of their choosing.

War and Peace What causes conflicts between states and within countries? What factors facilitate or impede their resolution? In this course we will examine interstate and intrastate conflicts and the challenges faced in resolving them, from both practical and theoretical perspectives. Employing some of the most prominent theories on war, and more recent theories of bargaining, negotiation, and conflict, we will draw upon a range of case studies to illustrate and evaluate the theoretical dynamics of conflict and conflict resolution.

Data Science Across Disciplines In this course, we will gain exposure to the entire data science pipeline—obtaining and cleaning large and messy data sets, exploring these data and creating engaging visualizations, and communicating insights from the data in a meaningful manner. During morning sessions, we will learn the tools and techniques required to explore new and exciting data sets. During afternoon sessions, students will work in small groups with one of several faculty members on domain-specific research projects in Geography, Political Science, Restorative Justice, or Healthcare. This course will use the R programming language. No prior experience with R is necessary.  PSCI 1230: How do candidates for U.S. national office raise money? From whom do they raise it? In this section we will explore these questions using Federal Election Commission data on individual campaign contributions to federal candidates. Our analysis using R will help us identify geographic patterns in the data, as well as variations in funds raised across types of candidates. We will discuss what implications these patterns may have for the health and functioning of democracy in the U.S.     INTD 1230A: Data is a powerful tool for improving health outcomes by making programmatic choices to support justice. In this afternoon section of Data Across the Disciplines, students will be working with Addison County Restorative Justice (ACRJ) on understanding patterns in the occurrence of driving under the influence. ACRJ has over 1,000 cases and would like to better understand their data and come up with ways to access information. We will explore how identity, geography, and support impact outcomes from DUI cases. Using statistical analysis and data visualizations, along with learning about ethical data practices, we will report our findings.     INTD 1230B: Let’s dive into the minutes and reports of local towns to develop an accessible news and history resource. Could this be a tool for small newspapers to track local news more easily? Can we map this fresh data for a new look across geographies? Do you want to help volunteer town officials make decisions and better wrangle with their town’s history and data?  In this course we will develop a focused database of documents produced by several municipal boards and commissions. We will engage in conversation with local officials, researchers, and journalists. This course aims to introduce students to making data from real world documents and the people that make them to generate useful information that is often open but frequently difficult to sift through.  GEOG 1230: In this section, students will use data science tools to explore the ways migration systems in the United States changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will draw on data collected from mobile phones recording each phone’s monthly place of residence at the census tract level. The dataset includes monthly observations from January 2019 through December 2021 allowing the analysis to compare migration systems pre-pandemic with those during the pandemic.   MATH/STAT 1230: Students will explore pediatric healthcare data to better understand the risks correlated with various childhood illnesses through an emphasis on the intuition behind statistical and machine learning techniques. We will practice making informed decisions from noisy data and the steps to go from messy data to a final report. Students will become proficient in R and gain an understanding of various statistical techniques.

Game Theory for Political Science How do candidates for political office choose their platforms? Why do some conflicts lead to war while others do not? What legislation will legislators introduce? These and many other compelling questions of political behavior often use game theory as a tool to study strategic, or interdependent, decision-making. Students will learn basic concepts of game theory and how to apply them to a range of political phenomena. To succeed, students need only a solid background in algebra. Students who have taken ECON 0280 cannot register for this course. (Any political science course)

Amy Yuen

Reviews and ratings for Amy Yuen at Middlebury College.Amy Yuen teaches International Politics, International Politics and WMD, Frontiers in Political Science and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Amy Yuen good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

Love Yuen as a professor, but personally would not take it with her again. The course material is engaging but I felt that she was not accommodating enough. Discussion sessions were extremely boring as we were often asked to do group work that felt meaningless. Very, very tough grader, especially for the essays. 

Professor Yuen is extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic about International Politics. You will come out of the course with a proper understanding of state systems and relations. You are given one week to write each essay—which are somewhat challenging. Prof Yuen grades everything fairly, yet it's not an easy class. The midterm is only three questions which makes it tough to receive a good grade if you miss part of one. This class is a solid one for non-majors. 

Great class, very easy. Lots of fascinating discussions and readings, if also depressing at times. Easy midterm and papers, but be prepared to do the readings: they're very much worth it if not that required.