Comparative Politics I
Code: 101081
ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree |
Type |
Year |
2500259 Political Science and Public Management |
OB |
3 |
2503778 International Relations |
OB |
3 |
Teachers
- Luisa Faustini Torres
- (External) Mireia Grau
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
The student is expected to know adequately, at a minimum, the concepts and theories worked in the Political Science subject of the first of the degree. It is also taken for granted that the student routinely reads generalist newspapers following especially the news of national and international politics
Group G1 will be taught in English and a good level of active and passive comprehension in English is expected (see objectives). The afternoon classes (G51) will be taught in Spanish / Catalan and a good level of reading in English is expected. Exams can be delivered in Catalan, Spanish, or English. Practices in English classes will be conducted in English.
Objectives and Contextualisation
This subject is compulsory in the third year of Degree and Political Science and Public Management. The course aims to work on some of the main approaches, concepts and theories of comparative politics through an in-depth analysis of the most relevant Western European political systems.
G1 is completely in English to give students an opportunity to consolidate an English level that allows them to follow and participate in English subjects both at the UAB and in international exchange programs. It is expected to conduct classes with an active understanding of English, that is, seminary discussions will be conducted in English. Written evaluation work and the exam can be done in English, Catalan or Spanish. The oral presentation will be in English and the level is expected to allow a correct and fluent oral expression
Competences
Political Science and Public Management
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Arguing from different theoretical perspectives.
- Assess the social, economic and environmental impact when acting in this field of knowledge.
- Connecting the different components that shape the structure and operations of political systems and the environment where they interact.
- Demonstrating good writing skills in different contexts.
- Demonstrating knowledge about the structure and working of the European Union and its main institutions, as well as identifying the main political actors and recognising the main means of integration.
- Demonstrating the comprehension of the structure and functioning of political systems in the internal and international arena, both in the analytic area and in the elaboration of intervention proposals or public policies.
- Develop critical thought and reasoning and be able to communicate them effectively, both in your own language and second or third languages.
- Develop strategies for autonomous learning.
- Identifying sources of data and conducting bibliographic and documentary searches.
- Interpreting and applying English texts in an academic way.
- Make changes to the methods and processes of the area of knowledge to provide innovative responses to the needs and wishes of society.
- Managing the available time in order to accomplish the established objectives and fulfil the intended task.
- Realising effective oral presentations that are suited to the audience.
- Showing a good capacity for transmitting information, distinguishing key messages for their different recipients.
- Synthesizing and critically analysing information.
- Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
- Using the main information and documentation techniques (ICT) as an essential tool for the analysis.
- Working autonomously.
- Working by using quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques in order to apply them to research processes.
- Working in teams and networking, particularly in interdisciplinary conditions.
International Relations
- Analyse cases and phenomena in the international sphere and interpret different political texts using contemporary political theories.
- Identify data sources and carry out rigorous bibliographical and documentary searches.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
Learning Outcomes
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Analyse the public policies of different countries and political systems.
- Arguing from different theoretical perspectives.
- Assess the social, economic and environmental impact when acting in this field of knowledge.
- Connecting the different components that shape the structure and operations of political systems and the environment where they interact.
- Demonstrating good writing skills in different contexts.
- Demonstrating knowledge about the structure and working of the European Union and its main institutions, as well as identifying the main political actors and recognising the main means of integration.
- Demonstrating the comprehension of the structure and functioning of political systems in the internal and international arena, both in the analytic area and in the elaboration of intervention proposals or public policies.
- Develop critical thought and reasoning and be able to communicate them effectively, both in your own language and second or third languages.
- Develop strategies for autonomous learning.
- Draw up comparative analyses of different political systems, identifying the way in which differences and similarities are argued.
- Identify data sources and carry out rigorous bibliographical and documentary searches.
- Identify the main actor, structure and operation of different political systems .
- Identify the main actors, structures and operation of internal and international political systems from a comparative perspective.
- Identifying sources of data and conducting bibliographic and documentary searches.
- Interpreting and applying English texts in an academic way.
- Make changes to the methods and processes of the area of knowledge to provide innovative responses to the needs and wishes of society.
- Managing the available time in order to accomplish the established objectives and fulfil the intended task.
- Realising effective oral presentations that are suited to the audience.
- Showing a good capacity for transmitting information, distinguishing key messages for their different recipients.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
- Synthesizing and critically analysing information.
- Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
- Using the main information and documentation techniques (ICT) as an essential tool for the analysis.
- Working autonomously.
- Working by using quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques in order to apply them to research processes.
- Working in teams and networking, particularly in interdisciplinary conditions.
Content
NOTE: FOR A MORE UP TO DATE DESCRIPTION OF COURSE CONTENT PLEASE SEE SYLLABUS AVAILABLE IN MOODLE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COURSE
PART I: INTRODUCTION
TOPIC 1 - iNTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS
Topic 2: The logics of the comparative method.
Topic 3: introduction to institutions and key concepts in comparative politics
PART II: POLITICAL SYSTEMS
Topic 4: historical antecedents and constitutions (UK, Germany, France and Italy)
Topic 5: Electoral systems and party systems
Topic 6: Legislatures and governments
Topic 7: Territorial distribution, federalism and decentralization
PART III: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF QUALITY OF DEMOCRACY AND PUBLIC POLICY OF DIFFERENT REGIMES
TOpic 8. Majoritarian and Consensual democratic models
Topic 9: Vetoplayers
Topic 10: Policy outcomes of different political systems
Activities and Methodology
Title |
Hours |
ECTS |
Learning Outcomes |
Type: Directed |
|
|
|
Lectures |
30
|
1.2 |
5
|
Oral presentations |
8
|
0.32 |
6, 19, 20, 25
|
Seminars |
16
|
0.64 |
3, 5, 7, 8, 16
|
Type: Supervised |
|
|
|
Office hours |
14
|
0.56 |
|
Type: Autonomous |
|
|
|
Reading |
35
|
1.4 |
26
|
Writing |
15
|
0.6 |
3, 5, 8, 15, 23
|
individual study |
30
|
1.2 |
15, 18, 23, 26, 28
|
Comparative politics 1 is a 6 ECTS credit course, this means 150 hours of student work in total (25 horas/1 ECTS). These credits are organised around the following activities
Directed activities:
- Lectures and in group debates.
- oral Presentation of class work
- Seminars
Supervised activities:
- Individual tutoring available for group work and any other individual assessment
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
Title |
Weighting |
Hours |
ECTS |
Learning Outcomes |
Essay |
30% |
0
|
0 |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
|
Evaluation of seminar tasks |
20% |
0
|
0 |
1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 28
|
Exam |
50% |
2
|
0.08 |
2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 23, 26
|
Evaluation is divided in 3 main elements:
- Examn: 50% of the grade (compulsory to pass the exam in order to pass the course).
- Reading test, practical exercises and similar activities: 20 % of the grade
- Group work: 30 % of the final grade
Resit
-If the exam, the group work or both does not obtain a pass (5 or above) the student will be able to retake either one part or both. Important points:
- The coursework in seminars (reading tests or similar) cannot be retaken
-The resit could be partial (just one of the parts) or complete(both parts)
- The maxim grade for the resit is a pass (5)
- in order to take the resit the student must have first taken the ordinary exam and submit the group work on time (justified absences for medical reasons apply)
Unique evaluation: 3 main exercises
1. Written exam ( 50% of the grade)
2. Practica exercise of a case study ( 20% of the grade)
3. Essay related to the research design of a comparative study. ( 30% )
Bibliography
Basic Readings (for a more up to date and detailed list of key references please see the syllabus which will be available at the beginning of the course)
Core Reading: Lijphart, A., Patterns of Democracy, Yale: Yale University Press, 1999.
Colomer, J. M. (Ed.) Comparative European Politics, third Edition, London: Routledge, 2008.
Caramani, D. (eds.) Comparative Politics, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008,
Bara, Judith, Mark pennington 2009 Comparative Politics, Sage
Bale, T. European politics: a comparative introduction, 2nd Edition, London: Palgrave, 2008
Levis, M. (1997) Consent, Dissent and Patriotism, Cambridge University Press
Landman, T., Issues and methods in Comparative Politics: An Introduction. London: Routledge, 2003.
Mona Lena Krook, Joni Lovenduski and Judith Squires (2009). Gender Quotas and Models of Political Citizenship. British Journal of Political Science, 39, pp 781-803
Pasquino, G., Sistemas políticos comparados, Buenos Aires, prometo libros, 2004.
Poguntke, Thomas y Paul Webb (eds): The presidentialization of politics. A comparative study of modern democracies, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Tsebelis, G. Veto Players: How Political Institutions Work, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2002.
Language list
Name |
Group |
Language |
Semester |
Turn |
(PAUL) Classroom practices |
1 |
English |
first semester |
morning-mixed |
(PAUL) Classroom practices |
51 |
Catalan |
first semester |
afternoon |
(SEM) Seminars |
1 |
English |
first semester |
morning-mixed |
(SEM) Seminars |
10 |
English |
first semester |
morning-mixed |
(SEM) Seminars |
51 |
Spanish |
first semester |
afternoon |
(SEM) Seminars |
510 |
Catalan |
first semester |
afternoon |
(TE) Theory |
1 |
English |
first semester |
morning-mixed |
(TE) Theory |
51 |
Catalan |
first semester |
afternoon |