Political Science/International Relations

The Senate and House of Representatives, the upper and lower houses of the Legislative Branch, are explored in this outstanding production that delves into the theoretical intention of the Constitution’s Framers, as well as the practical realities of day-to-day congressional operations. Discover important insight about the inner workings of the combined houses, Congress, including how laws are made, the role and power of committees, the influence of special interest groups and lobbyists, and the checks and balances that exist between the two houses and political parties. Noted educators and elected officials share their insight on this very important facet of American political science.

In this program, world-renowned author and professor Bryan Magee and Ronald Dworkin, Professor of Jurisprudence at Oxford, examine how the explosive issues of the 1960s compelled the reassessment of fundamental political ideas, and discuss the effect of this movement on political philosophy at the universities.

This episode tells the story of the struggle to maintain peace in the decades after the Great War. The politicians' high hopes for improved international relations through the League of Nations were gradually eroded by expansionism and aggression across the globe. Includes footage of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles; the first Armistice Day parade in 1919; Ramsay MacDonald addressing the League of Nations in 1924; Neville Chamberlain's visits to Germany to negotiate with Hitler; the liberations of Rome and Paris in the summer of 1944; the signing of the German surrender in 1945; and the signing of the United Nations charter.

Osama bin Laden's death in 2011 was clearly a milestone in America's war on terror, but for those who study dramatic shifts in the West's relationship with the Islamic world, no event can compare with the Arab Spring. What does the wave of regime-toppling revolution and democratization that began in Tunisia in 2010 mean for the future of the Middle East and for international relations in general? This program searches for answers as it shows how the Arab Spring took root and expanded into the multifaceted movement that continues even today. It also shows how terrorist networks, hate-driven organizations, and hawkish governments still foment violent face-offs with their avowed adversaries, even as greater openness and individual freedoms appear across the Arab-speaking world. Developments in Yemen, Egypt, and the Palestinian territories are examined, in addition to anti-Islamic elements in the U.K. and Belgium.