Why study politics? Should we value political knowledge for its role in political and civic life? Is it a way to gain political and social ends? Is political inquiry mainly a professional and scientific project? What are the relations between studying politics and sustaining democracy? To address these questions we focus on basic concepts, including power, action, and freedom. What is power? How are force, coercion, and persuasion related? Is political action rational? What is freedom? Throughout the course we refer to major contemporary cases and problems, including how democratic polities can respond to political forces opposed to democratic practices. The M.A. seminar is required for M.A. students in Politics. It is open to Ph.D. students in Politics (and to students in other Departments and programs). Authors include Arendt, Berlin, Chenoweth, G.A. Cohen, Dahl, Foucault, M. L. King, Jr., Laclau, Lukes, Mansbridge, Nussbaum, E. Ostrom, Rousseau, Sen, and Weber.