This course teaches the basics of public opinion surveys. We start with the theoretical foundations of the formation of (public) opinion formation and ideology, then turn to the practical lessons of developing and implementing own surveys with a focus on causal inference via survey experiments. Finally, we give practical insights into the analysis of (complex) survey data.

This course sensitises doctoral students to ethical issues that may occur during their doctorate. After an introduction to ethics and good scientific practice, students are familiarised with resources that can assist them with ethical decision-making. Students get the chance to apply and deepen their knowledge in an interactive face-to-face workshop.

Since Europe surrendered their colonial assets, engineers from rich countries have returned to the African continent to address the real and perceived ills that they felt technology could solve. And yet, 70 years on, the promise of technology has largely failed to deliver widespread, substantive improvements in the quality of life. Why?

This course deals with how and why international cooperation in environmental politics emerges, andunder what circumstances such cooperation is effective and efficient. Based on theories ofinternational political economy and theories of government regulation various examples ofinternational environmental politics are discussed: the management of international water resources

Teaching of formal requirements of scientific work (philosophy of science with a focus on the social sciences); literature reviews and the basics of conducting independent research on short as well as simple topics; basics of conceptualizing research designs for politically relevant questions and hypotheses.