Delivered at:: Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

Course type:: Compulsory course

When:: 2 year, 1, 2 module

Instructor

Rudneva, Tatiana

Full Syllabus Ask Question

Abstract

The working language of the course is English. The course is designed to serve as an introduction to politics in a globalised world, with a particular focus on how political science tries to understand and explain cross-country differences and cross-time differences between countries.

Learning Objectives

Introduce students to the main differences between democratic and non-democratic regimes, and between different models of democratic government
Introduce students to how political preferences are formed, how voters behave, how parties compete, how interest groups form, and how electoral systems shape behaviour
Explain how political institutions work, such as presidential and parliamentary systems, single-party and coalition governments, federalism, and courts and central banks
Explain how political behaviour and institutions shape policy outcomes, such as economic performance, public spending, and immigration and environmental policies
Prepare students for further courses in political science

Expected Learning Outcomes

A student knows the history of the discipline and subfields
A student knows the main approaches in the field and can use the main methods in political science
A student analyzes and compares the left-right dimension? mapping political preferences, cleavages and voting behavior, strategic voting
A student analyzes and compares types of electoral systems and political consequences of electoral systems
A student analyzes majoritarian and consensus democracies, parliamentary, presidential and mixed systems, and knows political implications of regime types
A student analyzes non-elected institutions and democracies, knows the principal-agent framework
A student analyzes social movements, knows political explanations for interest group influence
A student analyzes vertical designs of government and understands what states are federal
A student compares types and patterns of government and knows theories of coalition formation
A student knows and can compare basic approaches to explaining democracy
A student knows approaches to measuring democracy
A student knows what are political parties, understands ьeasuring the number of parties, knows explaining party behavior, analyzes party positions
A student should be able to critically assess the theory of rational voting. A student should be able to name the factors affecting turnout.

Course Contents

What is Political Science? Main approaches in the field. Methods in Political Science.
Democracies and democratisation
Non-democratic regimes.
Political preferences and voting behavior
Electoral systems
Political parties
Voter turnout
Social movements and interest groups
Regime types
Coalition and single-party government
Federalism and decentralization
Delegation of power
Political accountability and representation.
Politics and economic performance

Assessment Elements

Oral examination
At the exam, a student will receive a set of three questions related to the course material. After a ten-minute preparation, a student is expected to orally answer those questions. The exam instructor may ask follow-up questions if necessary.
Mock 1
The duration of the mock is three hours, during which a student is expected to write three essays answering three questions related to the course material. The mock will be evaluated according to the completeness and correctness of the answers provided.
Mock 2
The duration of the mock is three hours, during which a student is expected to write three essays answering three questions related to the course material. The mock will be evaluated according to the completeness and correctness of the answers provided.
Class participation
Students’ class participation is graded on the basis of students' participation in seminar discussions. Class participation refers to discussion performance rather than mere attendance. All students are expected to attend seminars and participate by listening attentively, contributing to discussions and participating in in-class group projects. Students’ statements and answers to questions must contain well formulated arguments that clearly show their position. To do this, students must demonstrate a quality preparation for the seminar: do their homework, read the assigned literature and be ready to perform a critical evaluation of it.
Quizzes and tests
Quizzes and tests are short in-class tests with true/false, multiple choice or open-ended questions, designed to check understanding of the material and students' ability to apply it.

Interim Assessment

2024/2025 2nd module
0.25 * Class participation + 0.1 * Mock 1 + 0.1 * Mock 2 + 0.45 * Oral examination + 0.1 * Quizzes and tests

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

9781292156286 - Michael G. Roskin; Robert L. Cord; James A. Medeiros; Walter S. Jones - Political Science: An Introduction, Global Edition - 2014 - Pearson - https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1419818 - nlebk - 1419818
Hosein, A. (2016). Political Science : The Study of Nations, Government, and Governing. New York: Britannica Educational Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1151416
Leonardo Morlino, Dirk Berg-Schlosser, & Bertrand Badie. (2017). Political Science : A Global Perspective. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2273334

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Potz, M. V. aut. (2020). Political Science of Religion Theorising the Political Role of Religion by Maciej Potz. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.1676310614

Authors

Zakharova Elizaveta Sergeevna
RUDNEVA TATYANA SERGEEVNA

Bachelor’s Programme 'International Program 'International Relations and Global Studies''

Address

Introduction to Political Science