Insegnamento a.a. 2021-2022

30317 - POLITICAL SCIENCE AND COMPARATIVE POLITICS

Department of Social and Political Sciences

Course taught in English
Go to class group/s: 23
BIG (8 credits - I sem. - OB  |  SPS/04)
Course Director:
LIVIO DI LONARDO

Classes: 23 (I sem.)
Instructors:
Class 23: LIVIO DI LONARDO


Mission & Content Summary

MISSION

This course provides an introduction to the scientific study of political phenomena. Political science, broadly speaking, seeks to understand political outcomes by proposing theoretical accounts that can be tested with data, often by comparing political processes and institutions across countries. In this course, students are introduced to a number of important themes in comparative politics (such as state-building, democratization, institutions, and representation) as well as select topics in international relations (which concerns interactions between nation-states in a global economic and political system). The course provides the building blocks for topics that are explored in more depth in later stages of the degree program.

CONTENT SUMMARY

  • What is a state; formation of the nation-state.
  • War, peace, and deterrence.
  • The international order and international organizations.
  • Terrorism and political violence.
  • Authoritarian and democratic regimes; democratization.
  • Institutional design: electoral systems in democracies.
  • Social cleavages, ideologies, and party systems.
  • Accountability, corruption, and clientelism.
  • Institutional design: presidential and parliamentary democracies.
  • Institutional design: federalism. 

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...

Summarize major theories and/or empirical findings from political science research concerning:

  • The origins of nation-states. 
  • The causes of conflictual and cooperative behavior of nation-states.
  • The causes of political violence and the strategies of terrorist organizations.
  • The major differences between authoritarian and democratic regimes.
  • The causes of, and problems associated with, transitions to democracy. 
  • The relationship between electoral systems and election outcomes. 
  • The impact of social cleavages and ideological conflict on voting and party competition.
  • The major forms of constitutional design in modern democracies.
  • The causes of corruption and bad governance.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

At the end of the course student will be able to...
  • Discuss and critically evaluate major theoretical and empirical research in political science on a variety of important themes in comparative politics and international relations.
  • Interpret historical and current events in light of the scientific insights provided by the discipline.
  • Assess the suitability and enumerate the possible consequences of major institutional reforms.

Teaching methods

  • Face-to-face lectures
  • Online lectures

DETAILS

The course is based on face-to-face lectures. Active participation by all students is expected and encouraged.


Assessment methods

  Continuous assessment Partial exams General exam
  • Written individual exam (traditional/online)
  x x

ATTENDING STUDENTS

 

  • A partial exam, in an open-ended short answer   , multiple choice, or short essay format, is given (worth 50% of the course grade) to evaluate student knowledge of political science research covered in the first part of the course.
  • An end-term partial exam, in an open-ended short answer, multiple choice, or short essay format, is given (worth 50% of the course grade) to evaluate student knowledge of political science research covered in the second part of the course.

 

The aims of the written exams are to assess: 

1) the knowledge of the concepts and the theoretical frameworks political science deploys to understand political phenomena; this includes solving some simple game-theoretic exercises applied to inter-state disputes and to regime transitions

2) the ability to make use of such concepts and frameworks to evaluate hypothetical real-world scenarios (e.g., assess the expected consequences of an institutional reform in a specific context; diagnose the possible drivers of a malfunction in a political system; describe the expected consequences of protests or civil unrest based on the social groups involved.)


NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

A final exam, in an open-ended short answer , multiple choice, or short essay format, is given (worth 100% of the course grade) to evaluate student knowledge of political science research covered in both the first and second parts of the course.

 

The aims of the written exam are to assess: 

1) the knowledge of the concepts and the theoretical frameworks political science deploys to understand political phenomena; this includes solving some simple game-theoretic exercises applied to inter-state disputes and to regime transitions

2) the ability to make use of such concepts and frameworks to evaluate hypothetical real-world scenarios (e.g., assess the expected consequences of an institutional reform in a specific context; diagnose the possible drivers of a malfunction in a political system; describe the expected consequences of protests or civil unrest based on the social groups involved.)


Teaching materials


ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

There are two textbooks:

  • B. BUENO DE MESQUITA, Principles of International Politics: War, Peace, and World Order, Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2013, 5th ed. 
  • W. CLARK, M. GOLDER, S. GOLDER, Principles of Comparative Politics, Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2012, 2nd edition. 

A detailed list of required chapters for each week is going to be provided in the long-form syllabus at the start of the course. Additional readings on specific topics are made available through the e-learning platform.

Last change 31/08/2021 10:16