Political Science

Master 2024/2025

Type: Elective course (Politics. Economics. Philosophy)

Area of studies: Political Science

Delivered by: School of Politics and Governance

Where: Faculty of Social Sciences

When: 1 year, 1 module

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Ilya Gorelskiy

Master’s programme: Политика. Экономика. Философия

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Full Syllabus Ask Question

Abstract

The goal of this bridging course is to familiarize students with the basic concepts of political science. As part of the course, attention will be paid to: (1) the nature of politics and the concept of “political”; (2) the basic interpretations of power, legitimacy and authority; (3) the paradigms of political science, the methodological features of institutionalism and the approaches to the definition of institutions; (4-5) the states and the parties as one of the main units of political science analysis; (6) the consideration of typologies of political regimes; (7) the concepts of political culture and political modernization. The work of students during the course is focused on their independent acquaintance with the proposed reading, which is the starting point for their active participation in seminar discussions.

Learning Objectives

This bridging course is aimed at gaining the basic knowledge in the field of political science by students.
The result of mastering the course should be, among other things, the development of critical thinking skills among students, as well as the formation of their standards of research work in this field.
The proposed forms of knowledge control are also aimed at developing the skill of writing brief reviews of academic articles in terms of their key ideas and main results.

Expected Learning Outcomes

Be able: (1) Use the acquired knowledge in a comparative analysis of political processes; (2) Establish the relationship between the theories of political science and the actual functioning of political institutions and processes.
Have: (1) Working skills with political science literature in English; (2) Critical thinking skills to analyze political processes based on theories and concepts considered during the course.
Know: (1) The basic concepts of political science; (2) The logic of the development of political science and its main methodological approaches.

Course Contents

What are "Politics", "Political" and "Political Science"?
The Concepts of Power, Legitimacy and Authority
The Main Paradigms in Political Science. Political Institutions
The Modern State and Its Evolution
Electoral Systems and Political Parties
Political Regimes and Their Typologies
Political Culture, Political Development and Political Modernization

Assessment Elements

Participation
Summaries (2)
Test

Interim Assessment

2024/2025 1st module
0.3 * Participation + 0.4 * Summaries (2) + 0.3 * Test

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Andris, C., Lee, D., Hamilton, M. J., Martino, M., Gunning, C. E., & Selden, J. A. (2015). The Rise of Partisanship and Super-Cooperators in the U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.1642A58C
Bachrach, P., & Baratz, M. S. (1962). Two Faces of Power. American Political Science Review, (04), 947. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.cup.apsrev.v56y1962i04p947.952.00
Bueno de Mesquita, B., & Smith, A. (2011). The Dictator’s Handbook : Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics (Vol. 1st ed). New York: PublicAffairs. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=591672
Constitutional violence : legitimacy, democracy and human rights, Ninet i, A. A., 2013
Dictators and dictatorships : understanding authoritarian regimes and their leaders, Ezrow, N. M., 2011
Douglass C. North. (1991). Institutions. Journal of Economic Perspectives, (1), 97. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.5.1.97
Electoral systems : a comparative introduction, Farrell, D. M., 2011
Hall, P. A., & Taylor, R. C. R. (1996). Political science and the three new institutionalisms. MPIfG Discussion Paper.
Institutional theory in political science : the 'new institutionalism', Peters, B. G., 2005
James G. March, & Johan P. Olsen. (2005). Elaborating the “New Institutionalism.” ARENA Working Papers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.p.erp.arenax.p0011
Johnson, C. H. (1995). Coercion, Capital, and European States, AD 990-1990. By Charles Tilly (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Basil Blackwell, 1990. xi plus 269pp.). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.B3B6287
Lukes, S. (2005). Power : A Radical View (Vol. 2nd ed). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=197447
Political order in changing societies, Huntington, S. P., 1968
Political science research methods, Johnson, J. B., 2012
Pye, L. W., Verba, S., & Social Science Research Council (U.S.). (1969). Political Culture and Political Development. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1078360
Schmitt, C. (2007). The Concept of the Political : Expanded Edition (Vol. Expanded ed). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=332203
Spruyt, H. (2002). The Origins, Development, and Possible Decline of the Modern State. Annual Review of Political Science, 5(1), 127. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.5.101501.145837
The civic culture : political attitudes and democracy in five nations, Almond, G. A., 1989
The modern state, Pierson, C., 2006
The Oxford handbook of political institutions, , 2008

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Arendt, H. (1973). The Origins of Totalitarianism. [Place of publication not identified]: Mariner Books. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1871784
Callander, S., & Wilson, C. H. (2007). Turnout, Polarization, and Duverger’s Law. Journal of Politics, 69(4), 1047–1056. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2508.2007.00606.x
Coercion and Capital revisited. Recent trends in the historiography of state-formation. (2015). Brepols Publishers. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsnar&AN=edsnar.oai.pure.knaw.nl.publications.d450b478.47b0.4b02.8a0d.4ffdc43655d0
Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and Punish : The Birth of the Prison (Vol. 2nd Vintage books ed). New York: Vintage. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=733102
Geddes, B. (1994). Presidents and Assemblies: Constitutional Design and Electoral Dynamics. By Matthew Soberg Shugart and John M. Carey. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992. 316p. $54.95 cloth, $16.95 paper. American Political Science Review, (01), 244. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.cup.apsrev.v88y1994i01p244.245.09
Geddes, B. (1999). What Do We Know about Democratization After Twenty Years? Annual Review of Political Science, 2(1), 115. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.2.1.115
Hanson, J. K., & Sigman, R. (2011). Leviathan’s Latent Dimensions: Measuring State Capacity for Comparative Political Research. Conference Papers —— American Political Science Association, 1–42. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=poh&AN=94858929
Hay, C. (2006). Constructivist Institutionalism: Or, Why Interests into Ideas Don’t Go. Conference Papers —— American Political Science Association, 1–26. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=poh&AN=26943681
Jessop, B. V. (DE-588)118961292, (DE-627)079740987, (DE-576)16158991X, aut. (2016). The state past, present, future Bob Jessop. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.392363534
Lecours, A. (2005). New Institutionalism : Theory and Analysis. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=469149
Levitsky, S., & Way, L. (2010). Competitive Authoritarianism : Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=331320
Mark E. Warren. (1999). What is Political? Journal of Theoretical Politics, (2), 207. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.sae.jothpo.v11y1999i2p207.231
Masters, R. D. (2001). BIOLOGY AND POLITICS: Linking Nature and Nurture. Annual Review of Political Science, 4(1), 345. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.4.1.345
Morlino, L. (DE-588)141182482, (DE-576)170296024. (2008). Hybrid regimes or regimes in transition? / Leonardo Morlino. Madrid: Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.389545449
Weber, M., Livingstone, R., Owen, D. S., & Strong, T. B. (2004). The Vocation Lectures : ’science As a Vocation, “politics As a Vocation.” Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=526579
Weisberg, H. F., & American Political Science Association. (1986). Political Science : The Science of Politics. New York: Algora Publishing. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=98698

Authors

GORELSKII ILIA EVGENEVICH

Course Syllabus