B1935 - Foundations of Politics

Learning outcomes

The course introduces students to fundamental concepts, theories, methods, and trends in modern political science. At the end of the course, students will be able to identify, describe and interpret key contemporary political phenomena, with a focus on the origins, functioning, and transformations of both democratic and autocratic political systems. The course provides students with theoretical tools and empirical evidence for understanding politics from global comparative perspective, decoding hot-button issues that fuel contemporary political debates across different world regions.

Course contents

The course addresses the following key issues related to politics in a globalized world: power, authority, and the State; institutions and institutional change; democracy and democratization; autocracy and autocratization; political participation and behavior; the organization of political systems and governance institutions; the international and transnational dimensions of politics, and the nexus between domestic, regional, and global governance.

The first module of the course consists of 16 lectures structured into six sections. Section one addresses the origins of political science, provides basic definitions of core political concepts and theories, and explores the epistemological foundations of and methodological approaches to the study of politics. Section two explores the emergence and characteristics of the most significant political unit of the modern world: the State. Additionally, section two analyzes the causes, characteristics, and effects of democracies and autocracies. Section three addresses key political structures and institutions. Section four deals with the main actors and processes in contemporary politics. Section five addresses international and transnational politics, shedding light on the impact of globalization on domestic politics.

The second module of the course consists of seminar sessions focused on four macro regions: Latin America & the Caribbean, East & Southeast Asia, Europe, and Africa & the Middle East. The class will be divided in groups, each of which will focus on one of the three world regions. The seminar module requires students to critically read and actively discuss in class texts that address the following issues: (i) State formation and capacity; (ii) political participation; (iii) democracy and its enemies. At the end of the seminar, students will give group presentations focused on a specific country (of their choice) from their region, addressing at least one of the issues addressed.

Readings/Bibliography

Main texts for the course’s first module (selected chapters)

• Baylis, J., Smith, S., Owens, P. 2019. The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Caramani, D. (Ed.) 2017. Comparative Politics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Heywood, A. 2019. Politics. Palgrave MacMillan.

• Ikenberry, J. 2020. A World Safe for Democracy. Liberal Internationalism and the Crises of Global Order. Yale University Press.

• Morlino, L., Berg-Schlosser, D., and Badie, B. 2017. Political Science. A Global Perspective. London: SAGE.

• Newton, K. and Van Deth W.V. 2021. Foundations of Comparative Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• Weiss, T.G. 2013. Global Governance. Why? What? Whiter? Cambridge: Polity Press.

• Zürn, M. 2018. A Theory of Global Governance. Authority, Legitimacy, and Contestation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Specific readings for each session are available on the online platform Virtuale, together with the course outline.

Teaching methods

The first module is organized in lectures, each dealing with a specific topic. Students are warmly encouraged to read the assigned texts beforehand. PowerPoint presentations shown in class will be made available online before each lesson. The second module consists of interactive seminars, where students are required to critically discuss academic texts and make group presentations.

Assessment methods

During the first module, students will take two written tests, which will assess their learning of the topics dealt with in class and the assigned texts. Each test combines multiple-choice and open-ended questions. During the course’s second module, students will give group presentations, which will be evaluated by the instructor. The final evaluation will be the average of the three scores. Those who miss one of the written tests or want to improve their grade will have to opportunity to take a re-sit exam at the end of the course. Those who miss both written tests will have to take the exam as non-attending students. The exam for non-attending students consists of an oral exam (to be held during the June/July or September examination sessions), which will focus on the entire program of the first module plus the readings related to one of the three regions addressed in the second module.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint presentations; online course material.

Office hours

See the website of Giovanni Agostinis

See the website of Giulia Cimini