| Academic year: | 2007-2008 |
| Course code module | 2BPSW-12E |
| Semester: | 1st semester |
| Credits: | 6 |
| Study load (hours) | 168 |
| Theory (hours): | 45,00 |
| Practice/Exercises(hours): | |
| Other (hours): | |
| Part-time program: | 2 |
| Instructor(s) | Cas Mudde
|
| Language of instruction: | English |
| Semester exam information: | semester exam in January |
| Contract restriction information: | |
1. Prerequisites
*Algemene competenties
UA-students are expected to have passed the 1st year courses
"Introduction to Political Science" and "Present Problems of Belgian
Politics". External students are expected to have passed an equivalent
of the course "Introduction to Political Science".
*Sequentiality
2. Objectives (expected learning outcomes)
The student is expected to have developed or strengthened the following competencies:
* a healthy basic knowledge of the most important political institutions in (European) countries;
* an understanding of why and how to compare between different countries;
* building an argument theoretically and substantiating it empirically in the form of an essay.
3. Course content
This
course aims to introduce the students to comparative politics. The
emphasis will be on concepts and not, in the first place, countries. On
the basis of the most important concepts in comparative politics the
practice and theory of liberal democracies will be discussed and
evaluated. The geographical focus will be primarily on the member
states of the European Union, including both the 'old' and the 'new'
members, but some important other countries will also be discussed
(e.g. Russia and the United States).
Students are expected to come to the classes well prepared. This means
that in addition to the compulsory literature also relevant additional
informtion should be collected; both by the media (The Economist is a
good source) and through textbooks (see below). In class various themes
will be discussed by the students (see the discussion topics on the
syllabus). Students are strongly encouraged to speak out and to ask
questions when something in the textbook or lecture has not been clear.
4. Teaching method
Direct contact: Lectures
Personal work: Assignments - individual
5. Assessment method
Exam: Written, without oral presentationClosed bookOpen questions
Continuous assessment: Assignments
6. Compulsory reading – study material
Michael Gallagher, Michael Laver en Peter Mair, Representative
Government in Modern Europe. Institutions, Parties, and Governments,
Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2006, 4th edition.
Lijphart,
Arend. Democracies: Patterns of
Majoritarian and Consensus Government in Twenty-One Countries. New Haven;
London: Yale University Press, 1984, hfst. 1 & 2.
7. Recommended reading - study material
Textbooks:
Tim
Bale, European Politics: A Comparative
Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2005.
Rod
Hague and Martin Harrop, Comparative
Government and Politics: An Introduction, Basingstoke:
Palgrave, sixth edition, 2004.
Paul
Heywood, Erik Jones, Martin Rhodes and Ulrich Sedelmeier (eds.), Developments in European Politics, Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2006.
Gabriel
A. Almond, Russell J. Dalton, G. Bingham Powell Jr. and Kaare Strom (eds.), Comparative Politics Today: A World View.
New York,
etc.: Pearson Longman, 2006, updated 8th
edition.
Tijdschriften:
Courrier International
The Economist
Le Monde Diplomatique
West European Politics
Websites:
Courrier International
(http://www.courrierinternational.com)
Elections around the
World (http://www.electionworld.org)
Politikwissen.de
(http://www.politikwissen.de)
The Economist
(http://www.economist.com/index.html)
Le Monde
Diplomatique (http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr)
Thousands of
Newspapers on the Web (http://www.onlinenewspapers.com)
8. Tutoring
If students have problems or questions about the course or lectures, s/he can always contact Cas Mudde by email at cas.mudde@ua.ac.be.