Spanish Politics
Code: 101078 ECTS Credits: 12| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Political Science and Public Management | OB | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Aranzazu Tirado Sanchez
- Email:
- arantxa.tirado@uab.cat
Teachers
- Ricard Vilaregut Saez
- Aranzazu Tirado Sanchez
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
Students must master the essential elements of the introductory course to Political Science
Objectives and Contextualisation
The course aims at making students familiar with the main features of the Spanish political system, its problems and its evolutionnary trends.
The course aims at giving to students conceptual elements, as well as methodological instruments, beyond a simple "memoristic" approach
Competences
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Applying the knowledge of the structure and operations of political institutions to problems and practical, real or simulated cases.
- 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.
- Demonstrating the understanding of the structure and operations of political institutions.
- 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.
- Managing the main theoretical formulations about political institutions and connecting them with the global structure of political systems, both in the internal and international arenas.
- 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.
Learning Outcomes
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Analysing the electoral processes, including campaigns, parties' electoral strategies, political scenarios and analysis and interpretation of electoral results.
- 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.
- Explaining political, individual and collective attitudes and behaviours, as well as the education process and expression of political preferences.
- Identifying and distinguishing the functioning of the electoral processes.
- 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.
Content
Block 1. The background of the system
T1. The Spanish political tradition: the bases and forms of political conflict in Spain
T2. Constitutional history: 1812 - 1931
T3. The Second Republic
T4. The Civil War and Francoism
T5. The Transition
Block 2. The institutional structure and legislatures
T6. Constituent process and Spanish Constitution of 1978
T7. The territorial structure of the State and national plurality
T8. Political institutions:
- The Government
- The Cortes Generales
- The Constitutional Court
T9. The legislatures - from 1977 to the present day
Block 3. Contemporary Spanish politics
T10. Spanish society:
- Political culture
- Political participation
T11. Regime crisis and new politics?
T12. The evolution and main problems of local government
T13. Spain's Foreign Policy
Block 4. Actors of the System: Parties, Movements and Social Classes
T14. Party System and Political Parties. Case Studies
T15. Contentious Politics: Social Movements and Protest Cycles
T16. Social Classes as Political Actors: Economic Power and the Working Class
T17. Judicial Power and Lawfare
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures | 96 | 3.84 | 1, 20, 3, 8, 6, 11, 17, 18, 5, 19 |
| Practices | 16 | 0.64 | 3, 8, 6, 16, 14, 18, 5, 19 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Personal interviews | 10 | 0.4 | 8, 6, 22 |
| Preparation of papers, presentations, etc.. | 28 | 1.12 | 1, 20, 4, 3, 6, 10, 17, 16, 13, 14, 18, 19, 22 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Personal work by the student | 138 | 5.52 | 1, 20, 4, 3, 8, 6, 10, 9, 11, 17, 16, 13, 14, 18, 5, 19, 23, 22, 24, 21 |
The course has a value of 12 ECTS, which mean a work load for the student of 300 hours, distributed as follows:
- 105 hours of general, teaching activities: lectures, seminars, etc.
- 45 hours of supervised work, conducted by the student outside the classroom, under teacher's supervision
- 150 hours of self-directed work by the student, which include readings, preparation of seminars, personal, study, etc.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First semester exam | 25% | 2 | 0.08 | 8, 6, 16, 15, 18, 5, 19, 23, 22 |
| Group research - work | 10 % | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 20, 4, 2, 3, 8, 7, 6, 9, 11, 17, 16, 13, 12, 18, 5, 23, 22, 24, 21 |
| 1st. bloc practice | 10 % | 1.5 | 0.06 | 2, 6, 16, 14, 19, 22 |
| 2nd. semester Exam | 25 % | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 20, 4, 3, 8, 6, 10, 9, 16, 13, 15, 18, 5, 19, 23, 22, 21 |
| 3rd bloc practic | 10 % | 1.5 | 0.06 | 8, 6, 16, 14, 19, 22 |
| 4th loc practice | 10% | 3 | 0.12 | 2, 8, 6, 11, 16, 13, 14, 5, 19, 22, 24 |
SEE CATALAN AND SPANISH SECTION
Bibliography
SEE CATALAN SECTION
Software
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Groups and Languages
Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan | annual | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 51 | Catalan | annual | afternoon |
| (SEM) Seminars | 1 | Catalan | annual | morning-mixed |
| (SEM) Seminars | 10 | Catalan | annual | morning-mixed |
| (SEM) Seminars | 51 | Catalan | annual | afternoon |
| (SEM) Seminars | 510 | Catalan | annual | afternoon |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan | annual | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 51 | Catalan | annual | afternoon |