Power and Politics in Today's World

  • Free
  • No certificate
  • 33 hours
Provider
Yale
Cost
Free
Certificate
No certificate
Duration
33 hours
Format
Self-paced
Language
English
Subjects
Courses for Seniors
Source
Yale Online
Last verified
14 Sep 2026

Power and Politics in Today's World is Ian Shapiro's Fall 2019 Yale lecture course, published by Yale Online as a YouTube playlist of about 33 hours. It examines political dynamics and institutions over the quarter century since the end of the Cold War and asks what the changes imply for what comes next. Topics include the decline of trade unions and the enlarged role of business in politics, shifting attitudes to parties and other institutions as inequality and middle-class insecurity grew, the rise of new forms of authoritarianism, and the character and durability of the unipolar international order that replaced the Cold War system.

Yale Online lists the delivery as available on YouTube, the duration as 33 hours, the fee as none and the credential as open access, meaning no credential is awarded and the material is freely available for self-directed learning. There is no registration or assessment. Shapiro's related book is mentioned on the course page but is not required.

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What you’ll learn

  • Explain the decline of trade unions and the growing political role of business
  • Describe changing attitudes to parties and institutions amid inequality and middle-class insecurity
  • Recognise the new forms of authoritarianism that emerged after the Cold War
  • Assess the character and durability of the unipolar international order

Who it’s for

Readers who want a political scientist's account of the last thirty years of politics, delivered as full-length lectures.

Source: Yale Online (opens in a new tab) · Verified · Report a change

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