The course explores the basic principles of comparative analysis as a method for theory building in political science and presents the state of the art in academic research on comparative politics. On a successful completion of the course, student will be able to: 1) gain a detailed knowledge of the most important theoretical approaches in political science; 2) develop an autonomous intellectual capacity in concept analysis, classification, elaboration of typologies and frameworks for the study political systems; 3) employ abstract analytical tools in the study of empirical cases.
Metodi didattici
50% frontal lectures, 50% seminars
Verifica Apprendimento
1) Active participation in class will be considered as a part of the student performance. During the course, every student will be asked to give a presentation (15 minutes) on one of the readings included in the course material. (20% of the final grade)
2) At the end of the course, students have to write a final essay (standard term paper, 4000-5000 words). The essay should show some autonomous ability to construct or reconstruct debates, arguments or lines of reasoning, and if possible should show some critical distance. (40% of the final grade)
3) Oral examination: students are expected to show a detailed knowledge of the course contents, theoretical as well as empirical (40% of the final grade)
Testi
Preparatory readings:
A. Almond, «Comparative political systems», Journal of Politics, vol. 18, August 1956.
A. Lijphart, «Comparative politics and the comparative method», American Political Science Review, 65, 3, 1971.
for beginners:
R. Hague, M. Harrop (eds.), Comparative Government and Politics. An Introduction, Palgrave MacMillan, 2004 (or a more recent edition).
Contenuti
It will provide an overview of the progress of comparative studies through the different theoretical approaches adopted in this field and will offer a close examination of the most important issues of contemporary research: democracy, authoritarian and totalitarian regimes, party system and interest groups, participation and mass mobilization, political culture, state/society relationships, civilizational and religious identity. It will explain differences as well as similarities among countries according to the variation in political institutions and processes, economic and social structures, and civil-military relations. Moreover, it will ask how these domestic features respectively influence foreign policy and how international politics influences both the constitutional and process features of political systems.
Case-studies belonging to different regional areas of the international system will be offered in order to substantiate the above concepts and frameworks.
