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BROWN UNIVERSITY

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Summer Instructor

Pre-College Program

(2024-present)

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Visiting Assistant Professor

Department of Political Science

(2022-2023)

10191: Humanitarianism: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (Summer 2024)

(pre-college seminar)

This course probes the nature of the international humanitarian system designed to help people across the globe suffering from large-scale disasters. Humanitarian organizations—including United Nations humanitarian agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement—spend billions of dollars each year providing life-saving aid in response to armed conflicts, disasters arising from natural hazards (including earthquakes and flooding), and large-scale disease outbreaks (including pandemics, such as COVID-19). However, these organizations perpetually struggle to undertake their work in a principled, impactful manner. Humanitarian organizations work in politically charged environments (with governments and other stakeholders trying to control humanitarian work) and suffer from internal bureaucratic impediments. Students in this course will be exposed to the good, the bad, and the ugly of the international humanitarian system.

 

This course is designed for students interested in comprehending why large-scale disasters occur, how to help people in need during these crises, and the limits of what humanitarian organizations can and cannot do. This multi-disciplinary course will expose students to the history, political science scholarship, and contemporary policy research that highlights key debates currently unfolding across humanitarian organizations today. The course will entail lectures, class discussions and debates, and in-class simulation exercises

 

 

POLS1825B: The Politics of the Laws of War (Spring 2023)

(undergraduate seminar)

From the wars that befell ancient Sumerian city states to contemporary armed conflicts raging in countries such as Ukraine, Syria, and Ethiopia, laws and norms have shaped combatants’ behavior. What are the laws of war? What explains how this body of laws evolved? Why do some combatants adhere to the laws of war, whereas others intentionally target civilians, torture detainees, recruit child soldiers, and perpetrate sexual and gender-based violence? In this seminar, students will probe these questions from different angles: as political scientists, historians, international legal scholars, and policy practitioners. Students will develop expertise in the content of the contemporary laws of war, explore the politics of how the laws of war operate (or fail to operate) during wartime, and engage with the current landscape of legal and political issues inherent in armed conflicts today.

 

POLS 1821R: Sovereignty, War, and the Modern International System (Fall 2022)

(undergraduate seminar)

How does international law regulate states’ behavior regarding the use of international force? How should international law affect domestic politics and authority? What kinds of international rules, regulations and norms exist? What authority do they have? Should states obey international law even when it conflicts with their interests and that of their citizens? Is a law-governed order attainable in a world of sovereign states? This seminar explores the evolution of international law, its relation to state sovereignty, and how these factors shape the modern international system. Topics will include the historical emergence of sovereignty, the evolution of human rights, the politics of laws governing the resort to the use of international force, and the Responsibility to Protect. 

Comments from Student Evaluations

“Professor Grace is fantastic! His strengths lie mainly in encouraging student discussion and facilitating meaningful class participation that I thought really enhanced my learning experience. The assignments are also well thought out, and I enjoyed that time to get peer feedback and incorporate it into my work was included in the syllabus. I have definitely become a better writer and a better planner through Professor Grace's teaching. He is passionate about his work, and is always compassionate and encouraging to students.” (Spring 2023)

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