The course is a compulsory course in the Department of Political Sciences for bachelor students of the 2nd semester.
It is structured in two parts. The first part consists of an introduction to the methodology and the basic characteristics of comparative politics as they have developed today. In this context, students shall become familiar with the basic concepts related to the different types of political systems (democratic or authoritarian systems) the functioning of a political system (the concepts of sovereignty, authority, political representation) and the main features of a political system (such as the relationship between the government and the people, the concept of separation of powers, party systemsand electoral systems).
In the second part, the course examines the main political systems of Western Europe and the USA. In this context, it analyzes the various types of political systems taking as case studies one or more countries. It examines the U.S. political system as a model of the presidential system, the political system of Britain as a model of the parliamentary system and the political system of France as a model of the semi-presidential one. It also looks at the political systems in other major European countries (such as Germany, Italy and Spain). This second section, although focusing on the current institutional relationships between the political structures of modern states, does not only analyze the current situation of each country’s political system; it also examines the reasons for the way the system has been shaped as it is – with emphasis on the historical context and the social and economic motives that led to the formulation of these specific systems.
