The spring POLS 3007 Topics in IR/CP is titled ‘Diplomacy and International Negotiation.’

Students will examine international negotiation from a variety of perspectives before examining the importance of third-party mediation and conflict resolution processes. Students will play the role of diplomats as they attempt to negotiation the end to several existing conflicts occurring in the international system.

The course is offered by Dr. Olson Lounsbery, T/Th 11-12:15.

Track #1: Bachelor’s degree in Political Science to Master of Public Administration

Track #2: Bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies, Security Studies to Master of Science in Security Studies

BENEFITS
*Once admitted, you will be able to take up to 12 credit hours toward your master’s degree while completing your undergraduate program
*The 12 hours will count toward BOTH of your degrees
*Many careers in government now require you to have a master’s degree to be promoted beyond a certain level

QUALIFICATIONS
*Be enrolled in one of the POLS undergraduate programs listed above
*Have completed at least 75 undergraduate semester hours
*Have a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA
*Have earned a B or higher in POLS 2090

INTERESTED? Contact Alethia Cook, Brewster A-125 (cooka@ecu.edu, 252-328-5869)

The Pirates to the Polls March is a Freedom of Speech event that has been created by the College Democrats, the College Republicans, and the NAACP. Our goal for this event is to encourage students, staff, and faculty to come together and march through campus to promote civic engagement by participating in the early voting period. Even if individuals have already voted, we still encourage and welcome you to come out and support your fellow pirates. In addition to promoting civic engagement, we hope to create unity on our campus by bringing students from all backgrounds and experiences together. The march will occur on November 2nd at 2 pm on College Hill. From there, we will walk down the hill, across 10th st, and through central campus until we reach the Main Campus Student Center where participants will be able to vote.

Even if you’ve already voted, we would still love to see people come out!

We’ll start on top of College Hill, walk down 10th street, between SciTech and Bate, toward the Cupola, and down to the MCSC commons where individuals can vote. As we are marching, members will be guided, and the directions will be given by those holding our banner.

Early registration – for special categories – begins Friday, Nov. 4.

When you register depends on the number of credit hours completed PRIOR to this semester: The number of COMPLETED HOURS, as of SEPTEMBER, 2022.

One can find this number this by checking DegreeWorks. The number is the “overall credits,” listed below your minor (in the right hand column, at the top). Do NOT use the “credits applied” – this number includes the classes one is currently enrolled in.

YOU SHOULD familiarize themselves with your DegreeWorks audit record. This PDF document might be helpful: https://bit.ly/3T8Rw9e

Dr. Hanna Kassab is leading a study abroad from May 30 to June 19, 2023. The “Peace & Conflict on the French-German Border” study abroad program in Strasbourg, France is designed for students pursuing degrees in Political Science, History, International and Global Studies as well as those studying French, German, and literature. Students will learn about and visit historical and modern locations that tie into Europe’s troubled past, as well as governmental institutions such as the European Parliament.

Students will earn 6 credits in 3 weeks while exploring Europe. We will study Europe as the Brexit continues to unfold, along with the ongoing refugee crisis caused by the Syrian War and economic woes in North Africa. The program will be enhanced by excursions and visits. Among the enrichment activities, the program plans to visit Heidelberg and the Heidelberg Castle in Germany; the quaint historic town of Colmar with its half-timbered houses, called “Little Venice” for its location on the beautiful Lauch River canals and the Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp. Such historical sites do not exist in the United States and cannot be replicated here.

For cost and other information, please visit: https://bit.ly/3gEMmDp

‘Nuff said!

Dr. Kassab recently published a new book, with Jonathan Rosen, titled The Illegal Drug Trade and Global Security (Palgrave MacMillan).

The book explores global drug trafficking networks’ impact on international security and provides an in-depth analysis of drug trafficking networks globally by integrating international relations and security studies theories. The book acts as a primer, simplifying the complicated world of narcotics and insecurity, while also providing policy recommendations for policymakers hoping to reduce the power of organized criminal and terrorist networks globally. It will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduates taking courses in International Relations, Global Politics, Defense Studies, Security Studies, and International Political Economy, as well as Criminal Justice, Sociology, and other social science disciplines that cover issues related to drug trafficking, organized crime, and violence.

See it on Amazon

Dr. Xu’s coauthored paper with Ljubinka Andonoska, titled “The Effect of Tax and Expenditure Limits (TELs) on State Pension and Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) Funding: An Longitudinal Analysis of the U.S. States” was presented at the recent Association of Budgeting and Financial Management annual conference in Miami, FL.

The paper uses the panel data from 2006-2019 and applies two-step system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) dynamic models to empirically examine one of the key fiscal institution – tax and expenditure limits (TELs), and how it is related to the funding of pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB).

The data analysis finds that the stringency of TELs is positively related to funding ratio of state pension and OPEB after controlling for financial condition of state government and political factors. The effect of financial condition, measured through proxies including fund balance, revenue from intergovernmental transfer, debt and tax burden, seems to be very limited. Political factors measured as governor’s partisanship have a positively effect on pension funding but negative effect when it interacts with TELs. Unionization of public employees, which represents another political factor, seems not to be a significant factor.