Introduction to Political Science

1. Introduction. History of political science 2. Methods of political science3. State and state structures4. Political regimes: democracy5. Political regimes: autocracy6. Political regimes: transitions7. Government and Legislatures8. Electoral systems9. Elections and referenda10. Political parties11. Party systems12. Political participation and Q/A session

The course provide an introduction to the traditional topics covered in political science, from methods to political regimes, from political parties to elections, electoral systems and political participation

1. A manual: Comparative Politics (2017), D. Caramani, Oxford University Press 2. A book for review (depending on the exam session): - January session: Steven Levitsky, and Daniel Ziblatt (2018) How Democracies Die. Crown. - May and August sessions: Dahl, Robert (2000) On Democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press 3. A book for the written exam (of your choice) - Levitsky, Steven, and Way, Lucan (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism. Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War. Cambridge: Cambridge university Press. - Mainwaring, Scott, and Pérez Liñán, Aníbal (2014) Democracies and Dictatorships in Latin America: Emergence, Survival, and Fall. Cambridge: Cambridge university Press.

Contacts

ltomini@ulb.ac.be

Method(s) of evaluation

• Other

Other

-Book review -Written exam (4 questions. 3 questions on the content of the course and 1 question based on a complementary reading (a book)

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

-Book review: 5 points-Written exam: 20 points (4 questions of 5 points each)The final mark is calculated trough a simple proportion. Ex: 25 becomes 20 (25/5) x 4 = 20

Language(s) of evaluation

• english