None.
Oral and written exams (the latter only for attending students).
The course aims to illustrate the main conceptual tools and the theoretical and methodological frameworks of political science, with particular reference to the fundamental features and characteristics of authoritarian, totalitarian and democratic regimes, and to the institutional and decision-making dynamics in contemporary democracies. The course focuses, in particular, on providing students with basic intellectual skills through which compare different theoretical and disciplinary approaches to the study of political science, critically discuss and evaluate the contribution of empirical studies, and demonstrate a critical awareness of past and present political phenomena.
The course program is divided into two parts. The first part deals with some fundamental theoretical questions of political science: which is the definition of politics, policy and polity, what is a democracy, and what are non-democratic regimes. In the second part, the course focuses on an in-depth analysis of contemporary democracies. More specifically, it focuses on two different thematic areas: the first examines the actors of representation and political participation (political parties, interest groups, collective movements). The second part outlines the relationships between parliamentary institutions, governments and public bureaucracies.
M. COTTA, D. DELLA PORTA, L. MORLINO, Scienza Politica, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2008, except for chapters II, III, VII, X, XI, XVI, XVII.
Lectures and seminars.
Academic support: after the lectures or seminars in the classroom, or by email appointment. Office hours will take place in the teacher's room at the Department of Law, Viale Mancini, 5.
