This class is broken down into 20% section participation, 20% section quizzes, 25% midterm, and 35% final. The section quiz section is graded very generously, and your worst score is dropped. The midterm is curved in a way that helps everyone, though the lower scores get more help than the top scores. I took notes at all the lectures, skimmed the textbook, and thoroughly read the "cases" from the section quizzes and got a 94 raw score on the midterm.
Prof. Johns is very nice in office hours and she has a super cute dog that you can pet while you're there. I personally found her lectures ok. Nothing was really covered in depth since this in an intro class, but I felt she did say everything we were expected to know for the exams at least once, and not much distracting "fluff" beyond that.

I worried about this the whole quarter, and my concern was unfounded so I'm going to do people like me a huge favor: EVERYTHING ON THE MIDTERM AND FINAL WERE COVERED IN LECTURE OR SECTION, YOU DO NOT NEED TO READ THE BOOK, READING THE BOOK IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE

Why this class is easy: No required textbook reading if you go to lecture and short section readings about interesting topics

Why this class is hard: You have to memorize exact definitions in a numerically structured way.

If you want to know how to do well in it read on:

This is an intro class . . . I get it AND so does professor Johns!
That means: it covers material a mile wide and an inch deep.
Therefore I can't blame this class for being based on route memorization.
It's a lot like a bio course because it's based on route memorization.
Therefore, it's super easy to get an A or A+ if you are good at route memorization (I'm not!) or do the following:
1. Read the section readings carefully (as they are short) as 20% of your grade depends on it.
2. Participate in section (participation is graded and isn't automatic points)
2a. Disclaimer: this may've just been my TA: Maryam who (quick shoutout) was great and tried her best to make this class interesting and you should totally try to get her if you can!
3. DO NOT READ THE TEXTBOOK
3a. Take immaculate notes during class as EVERYTHING on the MIDTERM and FINAL are covered in lecture.
3b. Take numerically based notes (she really should instruct the whole class to do this), by that I mean when she says something like "We will go through these topics in turn" number the topics 1, 2, 3, . . . . and then put them under the umbrella of the main topic
3c. Now Why? Because all of the questions on the midterm and final are graded by how many components you route memorized and you need the right amount of components (and be sure not to fuse multiple components into one or one into many components)
4. USE SPACED REPETITION if you're a bad route memorizer because it works well to memorize her exact answers which you'll need to regurgitate on the page
4a. to do so review your notes for 5-10 after class each day and 5-10 minutes randomly every few days

Also, for professor Johns (I would never leave this in your official review because that affects your livelihood BUT here it's appropriate): consider deviating from the textbook and eliminating some chapters in order to go deeper into the material OR NOT as it makes your job easier.

Every subject we covered was extremely interesting and Professor Johns is very clear and summarized complex information really well. The tests were mainly on the lecture slides but the textbooks are very helpful to get a better understanding of the topics since she flys through them a mile a minute in lecture. You must get her textbook and the casebooks since those were always tested. If you have a great memory, you’ll thrive in this class. Take amazing notes and be ready to dedicate a good chunk of time to studying them week by week otherwise you’ll be trying to cram 50+ pages of notes for the midterm. This class is the hardest I have taken but also the most rewarding and useful in framing studies of international relations.

The final exam was significantly harder than the midterm. Some material on the final exam was not covered in class. Towards the end of the quarter, we had covered such a broad range of material that it was difficult to discern what was important to study.

Moral of the story: keep up with the readings. Johns is decently engaging, certainly not the worst lecturer, but not the best. She does her best to make it understandable and is passionate. Homework weekly case studies with quizzes following, questions can deviate from reading but easy. Midterm easily manageable, 10ish straightforward questions. Final slaughtered me, 19 short answer questions of anything and everything. Overall, great material, good professor, boring textbook.

While Prof Johns' lectures do get a little dry sometimes, I feel she did a commendable job of summarizing endless pages of reading in her lectures. For the exams I felt well prepped just skimming through the textbook after reading lecture notes. One thing though, she doesn't put up lecture slides or have audio recordings, so if you're someone who skips lecture you might struggle.

Johns was very straightforward. The midterm was pretty easy if you go to the test bank and get the exams from past years. It's all very definition based, and follow the book closely because she's looking for exact things in your answers (the exams are all short answers) aka the three rationalist causes for war, the two requirements for a public good, etc. Her slides are very clear, lectures are easy to follow. The notes took a while to do but I recommend reading and doing the notes. There's also a case study every week with a quiz, but I never got less than 100% on the quizzes just by reading through the case study once and taking down important notes. Both midterm and final are curved.

I really liked this class. There is an ENORMOUS law textbook that she requires, but I bought it and didn't open it once and did fine. The only books you need are the one she writes, which is pretty cheap on amazon, and the casebook from the UCLA store which is $10. The class is organized, her slides are clear and easy to follow, and she is a very engaging lecturer. The section quizzes are simple if you read; I would usually read them about an hour before section. If reading cases seems daunting, the casebook is edited by her so only the relevant parts are left, and the longest one is maybe 8 pages. She doesn't post her slides or record her lectures, so if you miss class you're kinda screwed. I didn't find the exams overly difficult, but they definitely require a moderate studying. Just make sure you take good notes during lecture. She also has an adorable puppy that she has at her office hours most weeks. I would recommend this class to most PS majors, especially if you are considering law school.

Boring lectures, I often fell asleep. She doesnt post slides online, so you definetly need to go to class every day. Other than that, the material was interesting, Professor Johns was really nice and informative, and I'd probably take the class again.

Literally never opened the textbook and got an A. Just go to lecture and section and study what is taught in class because that's what you're tested on. Johns reuses test questions so definitely go to the test bank. Tests are hard, but curved really well, definitely would take again.