02492 - Comparative Politics

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide essential conceptual, theoretical and methodological tools of the comparative method in the social sciences, and in particular in political analysis. Through in-depth thematic and areal studies, a further aim is to lead students to apply, and problematise, these tools of comparison not only in the European but also in non-European contexts. At the end of the course, the student: 1) will have acquired the basic theoretical and methodological knowledge of the discipline; 2) will have understood the main themes and issues debated in comparative politics today; 3) will have gained a greater awareness of the complex relationships between politics, society and institutions in the contemporary age in European and non-European areas; 4) will be able to collect data and apply, in a critical manner, the methods of analysis and the main theoretical knowledge learnt to understand, describe and interpret concrete cases; 5) will be able to identify differences and similarities in the functioning and transformation of several political-institutional systems, both democratic and non-democratic; 6) will have improved their communication skills through in-class expositions.

Course contents

The course aims to provide participants with established knowledge in political science that will help them understand contemporary political systems. It is thus conceived as an introduction to politics within nation-states through the analyses, hypotheses and data produced by political science research. It provides the basis for interpreting institutional arrangements, processes of representation formation, coalition politics, the exercise of governmental roles, the legislative process, and the stability of the political regime. The first part of the course presents concepts, schemes for comparison and general hypotheses guiding this type of analysis. Subsequently, the leading national cases of countries stably governed by democratic regimes, hybrid or unstable regimes, and those stably governed by autocratic regimes are examined.

About each national case of democratic regimes, the legacies of the past and the institutional design that currently governs the relationship between the leading state powers, the structure of electoral competition, the way governments are formed, the structure of parliament and the legislative process, and the mechanisms of balancing and mutual control between powers are studied. About hybrid regimes and autocracies, the ideological constructions that justify the compression of pluralism are examined; the composition and structure of the dominant coalition (i.e. the group at the top of the state institutions that cannot be peacefully replaced), the specific regime stabilisation mechanisms put in place to guarantee the autocrats' stay in power.

The analysis covers the main European countries (Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain, Spain, Poland, Hungary) and the major non-European countries (United States, Brazil, South Africa, Japan, India, Turkey, Russia, China, Iran, South and North Korea).

As a whole, the course thus offers a broad look at politics in the contemporary world, at what makes some political systems more similar to each other and what differentiates them, at the recurring mechanisms that are at work in many of them or at more specific syndromes that characterise them, as a result of institutional design, the structure of conflicts in society and other contextual factors.

The 'two-level game' linking the dynamics of national politics and those taking place within EU institutions is studied concerning European countries. In particular, the articulation of political groups, the fractures that separate them and the coalition politics through which majorities are formed in the interaction between the three institutions that share legislative power (Commission, Council, Parliament) are examined.

Particular attention is also given to the growing polarisation observable in many countries (democratic and non-democratic), that is, to the sharpening of the conflict, along new social fractures, between leaders and components of the electorate with opposing political views, and to the concurrent rise of parties and leaders characterised by more extreme positions, capable of challenging if not wholly displacing the parties that had been protagonists of the political scene in the second half of the 20th century.

Finally, the course shows how and to what extent the above-mentioned phenomena are associated with a regressive trend in various democratic countries (democratic backsliding) and the increasing aggressiveness of non-democratic countries on the international stage.

Readings/Bibliography

Salvatore Vassallo (a cura di). Sistemi politici comparati. Democrazie e autocrazie. Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016.

Handouts and readings on India, Iran, Turkey, China, Russia and Korea will be available on the course page at https://virtuale.unibo.it/.

Teaching methods

The course will be organised in lectures and discussions where participants will be invited to actively participate, having read the reference texts in advance. The outlines and figures used by the lecturer will be made available to students in the days following the relevant lecture on the course materials webpage. All lectures will be held in presence.

Assessment methods

Attendance, although highly advisable, is not compulsory. There are no differences in the syllabus and the mode of examinations between attending and non-attending students.

There are two written tests to be taken in the classroom. The time available for each written test is 30 minutes. Each test consists of 27 closed multiple-choice questions (1 point for each correct answer) plus one open-ended question (rated from 0 to 5 points). Therefore, the maximum final mark is 32. The final mark will equal the average of the two marks, corrected based on the oral examination. Those who obtain a score of 27 or higher may be awarded honours.

The two written tests may be taken as partial tests during the course or fifteen minutes apart at each regular examination session. You must register via the Almaesami platform to participate in each partial test.

The written tests are conducted via the EOL platform. Therefore, each participant must be equipped with an appropriate electronic device (preferably a PC).

Those who, for whatever reason (illness, injury, delays, transport problems, insufficient preparation, overlapping of tests from several courses or other), did not participate in one of the two partial tests during the course or withdrew during the test, or judges the score obtained to be unsatisfactory, may make up or retake that individual test at the first roll call of the summer session (the score obtained in the other partial test remains valid until the first roll call of the summer session). In the event of absence or refusal to participate in one of the two partial examinations, no justification is required or examined. To indicate that you intend to decline the mark obtained in one of the two partial examinations but keep the other, it is sufficient to enrol in the first call of the summer session and attend only the examination to be retaken.

Those who obtained an average score on the two written tests of 16 or above and waived their final grade may, as an alternative to retaking the written tests, take an oral examination that will cover the entire program. So, the oral test is optional. It may be taken, at his or her option, by anyone who thinks he or she can improve the grade obtained in the written tests, if he or she had obtained a score of at least 16 in the written tests. The evaluation of the oral test does not “supplement” but “replaces” the evaluation of the written tests and may therefore also be lower than that obtained as the average of the written tests.

The criteria in the course regulations apply to participation in the examination sessions. Please check the relevant website or contact the course secretariat if you have any questions about the course regulations.

Teaching tools

Video projector. Pc. Course materials and exercises on the "VIRTUALE" platform.

Office hours

See the website of Salvatore Vassallo