Insegnamento a.a. 2012-2013

Go to class group/s: 31

CLEAM (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SPS/04) - CLEF (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SPS/04) - CLEACC (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SPS/04) - BESS-CLES (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SPS/04) - BIEMF (6 credits - II sem. - OP  |  SPS/04)

Course Director:
PAOLO ROBERTO GRAZIANO

Course Objectives

The course provides the main analytical tools needed to understand the nature of politics and political behavior in both national and international contexts. In the first part the course addresses issues such as the evolution of political science, the description of the main features of various political regimes (democratic, authoritarian, totalitarian) and the role of power relations in contemporary democracies. Furthermore, public institutions, political actors and decision making processes are discussed using political science methodological tools and analytical approaches. In the second part, the main features of the Italian political system are analyzed.

Course Content Summary

First part

• What is politics?
• Analysing power: sources and types of power
• Political regimes: democracy, authoritarianism and totalitarianism
• The actors of democracy: political parties, interest groups
• The institutions of democracy: executive-legislative power relations
• The rules of democracy: decision making and electoral process
• The "levels" of democracy: between local and global

Second part
This second part analyses the main characteristics of the Italian political system: history, empirical evidence and interpretation.

• Evolution of the Italian political system
• Recent trends: change or continuity?

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

There are only written exams. You have two options:

• You may take two partials. In this case, the exam is considered as passed only if in both partials the grade is at least 18/30.
• You may take a general exam

Textbooks

• R. HAGUE, M. HARROP, Comparative Government and Politics. An introduction, Houndmills-Basingstroke: Macmillan, 2010
• M. COTTA, L. VERZICHELLI, Political Institutions in Italy, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2007

Exam textbooks & Online Articles (check availability at the Library)

Last change 29/03/2012 16:29