This course will survey selected current political issues around the globe. The focus of the course will be on understanding and analyzing the wide diversity of political phenomena that mark countries around the world. Topics may include such things as elections and electoral politics; political parties; government stability; democratization; ethnic, racial, caste, or religious conflict; protest and revolutionary movements; social movements (environmental, feminist, and others); and the politics of economic reform. This course is intended primarily for non-majors, and does not meet the junior/senior level course field distribution requirement.