Contemporary political systems
[POLS1212]
[30h] 5 credits
Teacher(s): Lieven De Winter
Language: French
Level: First
Aims
Main themes
By "political system", one not only hears the exam of the efficient exercise of the power as it results from the dominant institutional practice, but also the synthetic presentation of the rules, legal or no, of organization and working of the authorities and the description of the electoral system, of the system of the parties and pressure groups.
Content and teaching methods
In the first place, the course presents several classifications of the democratic régimes, the some based on legal criterias, the other on criterias of politologic order. Then, one studies the political systems of six democracies, chosen either because they appear as the examples that inspired some typological models, either because they present remarkable particularities: Germany, the United States, France, Italy, United Kingdom and Switzerland.
Methodology
The analyses make themselves "vertically." State by State. The national political systems are taught systematically according to the plan next one :
- given of the constitutional system
- actors and structure policies (parties, pressure groups)
- synthesis: working of the political system.
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)
Assessment: The exam is written. Of 12 to 20 questions are put, calling precise and (relatively) short answers.
Support: The student has two syllabi. The first, written by L. Of Winter, is dedicated to the first three quoted countries; he/it also contains a general presentation of the "political system" notion. The second, written by THERE. Lejeune, is dedicated to the three other countries.
The first syllabus takes the whole detailed information that has been dispensed globally. The pictures, statistical or descriptive data that there represents act as illustration to the subject and permit to understand the real working of the systems described. The second syllabus is conceived like a structured summary, giving synthetic manner the minimum of basis information; he/it must be completed by the explanations and comparisons given to the course.