2020/2021

Major Concepts in Political Science

Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'

Category 'Best Course for New Knowledge and Skills'

Type: Optional course (faculty)

Delivered by: Department of Political Science and International Affairs

Where: Saint-Petersburg School of Social Sciences

When: 3, 4 module

Instructors: András Gál

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Contact hours: 40

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course provides an introduction to the major concepts and approaches in political science, from analytical, normative, and empirical angles. The course consists of four main parts. First, the major approaches and fundamental concepts in the realm of politics (institutions, democracy, justice and equality, etc.) are scrutinized, on analytical as well as normative levels. Second, the ‘classical’ actor-centric notions in political science are surveyed, like federalism, political parties, legislatives, etc. Finally, the interaction between political science and other social sciences, namely sociology and economics are addressed. Through the course, major theories linked to these topics are critically investigated, together with case studies illustrating their applications and limitations.

Learning Objectives

• The main goal is provide a firm command of major fundamental concepts in political science and related subdisciplines such as political sociology or political economy

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Develops critical thinking skills through historical surveys on the development of various concepts
• becomes capable of assessing various theories concerning their aims, explanatory value, and coherence by the exposure to normative, analytical, and empirical approaches, students
• develops the analytical and argumentative skills through the writing assignments
• develops an interdisciplinary mindset

Course Contents

• A brief history of political science: major theories and approaches
  The history of political science is discussed in a dialectic fashion, focusing on how various revolutions within the discipline were built on the opposition of previous trends. Moreover, through a rather categorical approach, an overview on the current state of the discipline is presented.
• The three institutionalisms
  Based on the seminal article of Hall and Taylor, the various forms of institutionalism are presented, focusing on the vices and virtues of the various approaches within the new institutionalism, and their relevance for different social sciences.
• Approaches in political theory: analytical vs historical
  In this session the differences between continental/historical and Anglo-Saxon/analytical approaches are discussed, with a greater emphasis on the latter, introducing the core features of the conceptual issues addressed in the following three classes.
• Justice and equality
  From the core fundamental concepts in normative political theory, the probably most idealistic one is discussed first, reflecting on the pioneering work of John Rawls and the various reactions to his conception of justice, mostly in the realm of distributive ethics.
• Political obligation and authority
  In the second session addressing normative concepts, one of the most ancient questions in political theory, the issue of legitimate authority and the moral grounds of political rule are investigated.
• Democracy and self-governance
  Largely building on the previous topic, this session focuses on legitimate authority in a specific form of political regime, democracy. Through the class, the connection between self-governance and submission to common rule will have a particular emphasis in the discussion.
• Defining democracy
  After discussing the normative foundations of democratic theory, the various analytical approaches to the concept are surveyed, investigating how a normative ideal can be apprehended by institutional terms
• Analyzing democracy
  After the conceptual issues have been discussed, our discussion turns to the tangible controversies around analyzing and measuring democracy, with a particular emphasis on the possibility of establishing general thresholds and benchmarks.
• Separation-of-powers
  Considering a more specifically institutional issue, the idea of dispersing power among constitutional branches is discussed, with a particular emphasis on the tensions between the normative, analytical, and empirical formulations of the concept.
• Federalism
  Following our discussion on the horizontal structuring of constitutional power, this session addresses the vertical dimension of the same issue, with a particular emphasis on the historical aspects of federal institutions and practices.
• Electoral and party systems
  Entering the actor-centric realm of political science, the session investigates the connection between how political competition is structured, and what kind of competitive settings emerge.
• Legislatives
  Following our discussion on party systems, the impact of party structures on the functioning of legislatives is scrutinized, from comparative as well as historical approaches.
• Executives
  In this session, the various forms of executive arrangements are compared, from both normative and analytical angles.
• Politics and public administrations
  Turning towards the interdisciplinary part of the course, in this session different models pertaining to the relationship between political and administrative elites are presented and discussed, focusing on their autonomy and interlinkages.
• Political culture
  In the first session looking into the realm of political sociology, the relationship between mass attitudes and system-level procedures is discussed, scrutinizing the causal significance of cultural factors.
• Voting behavior
  In the second session addressing the impact of individual attitudes on political outcomes, a closer look is taken on their impact of electoral outcomes, investigating the explanatory value of phycological and sociological approaches to political behavior.
• Social movements and contentious politics
  The fundamental notions related to the topic of social movements and contentious politics will be discussed based on Sidney Tarrow’s seminal work on the field, together with the scholarship built on Tarrow’s pioneering work, and recent empirical examples.
• Fundamental concepts in political economy
  In this session, the relationship between economics and political science are discussed, with a particular emphasis on defining the scope, approaches, and methods of political economy, a specific interdisciplinary branch of social sciences.
• Varieties of capitalism
  The probably most prominent discussion in contemporary political economy – the so-called varieties of capitalism debate – is introduced through the general framework of Peter Hall’s and David Soskice’s famous edited volume.
• Welfare state models
  In the final session, another influential typology in comparative political economy is introduced, namely the Gosta Esping-Andersen’s comparative framework of welfare state regimes. In this last session of the course, the interdisciplinary analysis of a single notion is emphasized, highlighting the interdependence between various branches of social sciences.
• Position paper
• Reaction paper 1.
• Reaction paper 2.
• Presentation

Assessment Elements

• In-class Participation
  In the class participation component, the following qualities can result in a maximal grade: • frequency and concision of class participations • originality of class contribution • connection between preparation materials and class contributions • contribution to class discussion dynamics • participation in maintaining an inspiring class environment
• Presentation
  The presentation should introduce the mandatory readings in a succinct, yet polemic way. Beyond introducing the key points of the given text, the student is also expected to prepare 3-5 questions for the audience, paving the way to a broader discussion. The length of the presentation shall not exceed 15 minutes.
• Reaction paper 1
  The reaction papers should demonstrate the student’s ability to critically engage with the core arguments of the mandatory readings, and to formulate her position related to a given question in a transparent and persuasive manner. The extent of the reaction papers shall not exceed 600 words, including foot/endnotes, excluding the bibliography.
• Reaction paper 2
  The reaction papers should demonstrate the student’s ability to critically engage with the core arguments of the mandatory readings, and to formulate her position related to a given question in a transparent and persuasive manner. The extent of the reaction papers shall not exceed 600 words, including foot/endnotes, excluding the bibliography.
• Position paper
  The position paper shall be a problem-based, argumentative text demonstrating the student’s capacity to identify academically relevant problems, finding avenues to tackle it, and communicating her/his arguments in a persuasive, transparent, and succinct manner. The position paper should also demonstrate the student’s firm understanding on the differences between epistemic and methodological traditions. The position paper’s extent shall not exceed 1,000 words, including foot/endnotes, excluding the bibliography.

Interim Assessment

• Interim assessment (4 module)
  0.2 * In-class Participation + 0.35 * Position paper + 0.15 * Presentation + 0.15 * Reaction paper 1 + 0.15 * Reaction paper 2

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Ramos, C. (2011). The Oxford Handbook of Political Science. Antropológicas, 12, 87. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=asn&AN=87654451
• The Oxford handbook of political behavior / ed. by Russell J. Dalton . (2007). Oxford [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.253058147
• The Oxford handbook of political institutions / ed. by R. A. W. Rhodes . (2006). Oxford [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.250962667

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Esping-Andersen, G. (2013). The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. [Place of publication not identified]: Polity. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1101509
• Lijphart, A. (DE-588)122454499, (DE-627)081953631, (DE-576)161993060, aut. (1999). Patterns of democracy government forms and performance in thirty-six countries Arend Lijphart.
• The Oxford handbook of political theory / ed. by John S. Dryzek . (2006). Oxford [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.121392570