Comparative Political Systems

This course is an introduction to the comparative analysis of different political systems, and to the use of the comparative method in the field of political science. We pursue both implicit comparison, by contrasting various countries' differing political institutions and political dynamics, and explicit comparison, by systematically testing hypotheses, primarily with the quantitative approach. These aims are coherent with the learning objectives of the bachelor's programme for the area of political studies in that it familiarizes students with the most important theories in this field, and with the way in which they should use them to interpret relevant political phenomena.

Knowledge and understanding: The course provides an introductory comprehension of the most important political institutions and dynamics in modern democracies. It focuses mainly on electoral systems, party systems, executives, parliaments and other elements of the institutional setup of different countries, as well as the performance of diverse political systems.
Applying knowledge and understanding: Students learn how to apply concepts and methods to the analysis of everyday political problems, in order to critically read articles in leading newspapers, blogs, and weekly journals. They will also use statistical tools to perform simple quantitative analyses.
Making judgements: Students learn how to use their newly acquired skills to formulate informed judgements and to apply these to the normative problems of contemporary societies.
Communication and learning skills: Students develop communication skills by preparing and presenting short essays that illustrate the results their individual or collective work has yielded, thus improving their capacity to identify a research question, find and independently verify different sources of information, transform them into datasets, propose a feasible research strategy, and uncover (positive or negative) evidence to support or refute the original hypothesis.