Entry requirements

Political Science A

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course the student is expected to:

• with some degree of independence discuss and work with political science problems;
• have formed a considered judgement of his own in both theoretical and empirical questions concerning the democratic rule and, in this respect, be able to analyse and discuss ideas and empirical research findings about democracy at a fairly advanced level;
• discuss the choice of methods and design (case studies, comparative methods, idea analysis) based on defined research problems;
• actively participate in seminar discussions and make presentations of articles and of one’s own work.

Content

The course is divided into three sub-courses.

The first sub-course deals with the problems of democracy and contains two parts. The first part deals with normative questions concerning the concept of democracy, arguments for and against democracy, the relationship between democracy, constitutionalism and efficiency, and the relationship between democracy and feminism, are brought up here. In the second part mainly empirical questions about the prerequisites for democracy as well as its spread, causes and effects are treated.

The next part means a choice between a number of sub-courses, where some will be offered in the Autumn semester and some in the Spring semester.

The third sub-course offers basic knowledge in scientific methods. The students get a first introduction to empirical research and to the way in which different choices of methods affect the design, implementation and results of a research project. The focus of the course is on basic methodological concepts and qualitative methods.

1. Problems of Democracy, 7.5 credits

Learning outcomes

The course introduces some fundamental problems of democracy from a political science perspective. The aim is to equip students with the ability to independently analyse the central theoretical and empirical questions regarding democratic government. The course builds on themes introduced in previous courses, such as the concept of democracy and theories of democratization.

The ambition is to equip students with the ability to discuss ideas about democracy as well as empirical research at a fairly advanced level. In practice, this means that the students - aided by the course topics described below - make the leap from arguing from a limited and personal point of view, to constructing more general, systematic and well-founded arguments. More precisely, at the end of the course the students should:

• be able to describe and compare various conceptions of democracy.
• be able to mention and evaluate the historically most important arguments for and against democracy.
• know, and be able to employ and critically review some of the most common explanations of democratisation.
• know, and be able to compare different regime types
• know how democracy in general, and its constitutional structure in particular, affects various political and economic outcomes.
• be able to argue for or against ideas and theses in a systematic and well-founded manner, orally as well as in writing.

Content

The course consists of three parts:

The first part deals with normative democratic theory. It covers conceptual issues concerning the meaning of democracy, normative questions about the justification of democracy, and the problems and solutions that have been offered within different traditions in democratic theory. We cover issues such as: How do we define democracy? Is democracy and populism the same thing? What is good about democracy? What is the main critique of democracy? What is the significance of granting various interests and groups political representation? Should the ideals of democracy be reformulated in the light of contemporary processes of globalisation and migration?

The second part of the course deals with the political and economic preconditions as well as consequences of democracy: Why are some countries democratized while others are not? What characterizes different authoritarian regimes? Does democracy matter for welfare and equality? What are its distributive consequences?

The third part combines the normative and the empirical dimensions by studying the constitutional design of democracy. What is meant by “constitutional democracy”, and what are the political and economic consequences of different normative principles? Can one combine popular rule and rule of law? How should a democracy defend itself against those groups and persons who seek to exploit democracy to undermine it? In addition, we focus on the building of a democratic regime, such as the possiblity (and desirability) of imposing democracy from without.

Teaching

This course consists of lectures and seminars. Attendance at all seminars is mandatory, while attendance at lectures is voluntary. The course is divided into three parts. Course lectures aim to introduce the main points covered in each part. The seminars aim to develop the students’ analytical skills through discussion in smaller groups. Before each seminar, all students will be required to prepare answers to a set of questions, individually and/or in groups. These prepared answers will be discussed during the seminars. This way, the seminars should provide opportunities for the students to continuously reflect on the content of the course, and work together to highlight the practical importance of theoretical ideas that are introduced throughout the course.

Examination

The course ends with an exam, which serves both as basis for grading, and an opportunity for the student to rehearse the content of the course.

The grading system is VG Pass with distinction’, G Pass’ and U Fail’.

To pass’ the class, the student is required to

-participate actively in the seminars and get a pass on the assignments

-pass’ the final exam

2. Gender, Power and Institutions, 7.5 credits

The course is offered during the autumn semester resources permitting

Content

The course addresses questions, both theoretically and empirically, of how gender inequality arises, is maintained and managed, within both formal institutions (e.g. parliaments, parties and organisations) and informal institutions (e.g. networks, norms and ideas). The course is grounded in the new institutionalist theories which have, in recent years, become very influential in the field of political science. In the theoretical part of the course, the students are introduced to basic concepts and theories about gender, power and institutions. The empirical parts of the course give students concrete examples of how these concepts and theories can be used to analyse politics and policy from a gender perspective. For instance, how different kinds of institution interact resulting in gendered consequences in political representation, public politics and policy will be discussed.

Learning outcomes

The course aims to furnish students with the knowledge of how to analyse political processes and policy from a gendered, new institutionalist perspective.

After completion of the course, the students are expected to:

• On the basis of theories introduced during the course, be able to account for and critically discuss the concepts of gender and power
• Be able to account for the difference between formal and informal institutions
• Be able to give examples of and describe empirical gender research within the field of new institutionalism
• Be able to analyse political phenomena from a gendered, new institutionalist perspective

Teaching

The teaching consists of lectures and seminars. The seminars are compulsory, and there is an assignment that has to be completed in advance of each seminar. The participants are also expected to undertake independent study of the course literature, preferably before the corresponding lectures, and certainly before the seminars. The total time of study should be around 40 hours per week. The course language is English.

Examination

Examination takes place continuously throughout the course, through written and oral assignments, as well as through active participation in the seminars. At the end of the course, the students write a final course paper which will be discussed during a seminar and examined by the teacher. The course paper must deal with issues addressed during the course. The following grades will be applied: pass with distinction (VG), pass (G) and fail (U).

In order to pass the following is required:

• The student has achieved the learning outcomes
• The student has participated in all compulsory elements of the course
• All the assignments have been completed and passed
• The course paper has been handed in before the deadline and passed

3. The Political System of the European Union, 7.5 credits

The course is offered during the autumn semester resources permitting

Content

A majority of the states in Europe are today members of the European Union. This organisation has gradually acquired more competencies and influence. Basic knowledge of the EU is thus a prerequisite for understanding political life in contemporary Europe. The aim of the course is to provide a basic understanding of how the EU political system works, and how the Union affects its member states. The course covers three main themes: First, the EU is studied as a political system. The key institutions and decision-making processes at the EU level are presented. The students are introduced not only to the formal rules of the game, but also to the political practices developed over time. Second, the course examines the basic constitutional problems of the EU. How democratic and effective is the EU political system? How will the EU evolve as a result of the Lisbon treaty? What new demands are raised by the euro crisis? The third theme covers the processes of Europeanisation: if and how are the political systems at the national level affected by membership in the EU? Are processes of Europeanisation visible in the member states? How has EU-membership affected executives, parliaments and bureaucracies?

Aim

Having completed the course, students are expected to:

• possess basic knowledge of how the EU’s political system works

• possess good knowledge of the basic institutions of the EU

• possess good knowledge of the decision-making processes within the EU

• possess a basic understanding of the most important policy fields within the EU

• possess a basic understanding of the constitutional problems linked to the institutional set-up of the EU

• possess basic knowledge of processes of Europeanisation

• possess good knowledge of how parliaments, governments and administrations at the national level are affected by EU-membership

Teaching

The course is composed of a mixture of lectures and seminars. The lectures address the basic themes and issues. During the seminars students will get the opportunity to discuss questions linked to the basic themes.

The literature includes books, articles and working material.

The course is taught in Swedish.

Examination

Examination is based upon participation in compulsory elements of the course and a written exam. The following grades will be applied: passed with distinction (VG), passed (G) and failed (U).

In order to pass the following is required:

(1) active participation during compulsory elements of the course (seminars);

(2) the grade ’passed’ on the written exam.

To pass the course with distinction the student is required to participate in compulsory elements of the course as well as receiving the grade ’passed with distinction’ on the written exam.

4. Organizing Power, 7.5 credits

The course is offered during the autumn semester resources permitting

This course is taught in Swedish.

Recently it has been claimed, that the traditional base of state authority has been undermined or crowded out. As the centre of policy making, the state has been challenged from above through international fora such as the EU, and from below through decentralisation and the empowerment of local political and administrative entities. While some scholars even claim that it is no longer meaningful to talk about “governments” or “states” or hierarchical power distribution, others claim that recent events have actually empowered the national executives.

This course aims at enhancing the participants’ knowledge of how constitutional theory and public management theory can help us to understand how the organisational side of politics distributes power among actors and over time. We focus on some of the most debated issues of our time by asking whether it is true that political power is increasingly centralised to governments, and even to Prime Ministers. If so, what about the claim that political power is increasingly de-concentrated due to the alleged inefficiency of central governments?

The course is aimed for students who want to deepen their knowledge of public administration and policy as well as students who are looking for a professional profile. A core idea is that good knowledge about relevant theories together with the capability to critically analyse and evaluate public policy and implementation should be asked for at the municipality and state levels, as well as the EU level of public administration. In the final part of the course, special attention is paid to the evaluation problem as a methodological, administrative and political issue.

The course ends with a written exam, graded according to the Swedish standard (U-G-VG). Active participation in each of the seminars is also required. Students are also expected to hand in written assignments. Seminars and assignments are graded U or G.

5. Development Theory and Colonial Legacies, 7.5 credits

The course is offered during the autumn semester resources permitting

Objectives

After the course, the students are expected to be able to

• account for main trends in how perceptions of development have changed over time in colonial and post-colonial Africa, Latin America and South Asia since 1800
• account for examples of how colonial policies in Africa, Latin America and South Asia have been formed in relation to perceived insufficiencies obstructing development
• analyse how perceptions of similarity and difference between groups of people influence development policies
• account for examples of how perceptions of nationality, ethnicity, race and gender been integrated parts of development perceptions
• account for how development and underdevelopment theories been worked out in relation to colonial and post-colonial experiences in Africa, Latin America, South Asia and Europe.

Content of the course

The course contains an analysis of perceptions and theories of “development” and “progress” and how these perceptions have influenced the political, economic and social practices in South Asia, Africa and Latin America since about 1800. The course deals with changes in the perceptions of development caused by colonial and post-colonial experiences. Further, the course deals with perceptions of race and ethnicity, of sex/gender and of how social power was organised politically as integrated parts of perceptions of development. The course is given by teachers from different disciplines to illustrate different perspectives on issues of development in history.

Teaching

The instructions consist of lectures and seminars.

Examination

Examination is given through a written exam. One part of the exam might be examined by written assignments and active participation in seminars. In order to pass the course the students need to pass the written exam. Grades are awarded according the scale “failed”, "pass" or "pass with distinction".

Specialisation in relation to examination requirements

The course provides the students with the opportunity to practice independent evaluation and critical treatment of development theories by relating these theories both to their epistemological context and to the historical contexts within which they were worked out.

Further instructions

Further instructions will be given at the start of the course.

6. International Politics, 7.5 credits

The course is offered during the autumn and spring semester resources permitting

Course content

This course provides students with a deeper introduction to the conceptual and theoretical tools used in the study of international politics. The course also examines a number of enduring and contemporary topics in international relations, such as international cooperation, security issues, nuclear proliferation, arms control, environmental politics, foreign policy analysis, warning-response problems and humanitarian intervention. The course concludes with a role-playing game where students have the opportunity to apply the concepts they have learned by engaging in simulated international negotiations.

Goals

The overarching goal of this course is to impart how the fundamental concepts, theoretical approaches, and methods from International Relations and social science can be applied to make sense of and study world politics and global affairs. The course also aims to help students develop a set of general skills - the ability to think critically, analyse information, and express themselves orally and in writing - that will serve them well in their future educational and professional endeavours. Upon completion of this course students should be able to able to deploy key theoretical concepts from the main schools of thought in the field to analyse global issues and assess and evaluate various policy prescriptions designed to address transnational problems.

This class serves as the intermediate level course within the sub-discipline of International Politics. The completion of this course with a passing grade should serve as useful preparation for the MA course in International Politics course. The intent is also to provide a good foundation for students who want to pursue this topic in a C level essay.

Instruction

The instruction of this course is comprised of a combination of lectures and seminars. The course also includes a simulation (role-playing) exercise.

The literature includes books, articles and working material.

The language of instruction for this course is English.

Examination

• Mandatory attendance and active participation in the seminars and simulation exercise.
• Written assignments.
• Written Test (Final examination).

Examination is based upon participation in compulsory elements of the course and a written exam. The following grades will be applied: passed with distinction (VG), passed (G) and failed (U).

In order to pass the following is required:

(1) The completion of compulsory elements of the course (seminars, simulation, written assignments);

(2) A passing grade on the written exam.

To pass the course with distinction the student is required to participate in compulsory elements of the course as well as receiving a grade of ‘passed with distinction’ on the written exam.

7. Methods, 15 credits

Course aims

The purpose of the course is to give the students a theoretical understanding of the basic concepts in social science research and methodological choices, and be able to apply this. The focus of the course is on qualitative methods as they are used in Political science and Development Studies. After completion of the course, students are expected to have acquired the following abilities:

• To formulate a research question relevant for political science or development studies
• To connect a research question to relevant previous research
• To understand the how to define and operationalise concepts
• To have a basic knowledge of methods in the analysis of ideas, normative analysis, and process tracing
• To have a basic knowledge about data collection and analysis based on texts, questionnaires, focus groups, experiments, and observation
• To have a basic understanding of how to design a study in political science or development studies

Course content

The course is on methods in social science, with a focus on qualitative methods. Its core idea is that scientific method is best understood when applied. Therefore each part in the course will be applied in exercises by the students. The knowledge and understanding gained this way will also facilitate the students’ critical review of previous research.

The course emphasises the pivotal role for research and investigations of a clear and well formulated question. The question should steer the study and the methodological choices made by the author. The course will focus on several qualitative methods: analysis of ideas, normative critique and argumentation, and process tracing. The students will also acquaint themselves with different kinds of data material – from texts, interviews, focus groups, experiments, and observations. In the last part and exercise in the course the student shall make an appropriate design of a study based on her/his own research question. The aim in the last part is thus also to tie the different parts of the course together. By training the students systematically in the different core components of a scientific study the course’s aim is also to prepare the students well for their BA thesis.

The training of these skills will be continuously examined during the course. The idea is to give the students opportunities to exercise in a rather concrete way the different components in social science research, and in this way to make it possible to deepen their understanding. Active participation, critical discussions, and feedback from the teacher in the seminars will enhance learning.

Teaching

The course will be introduced by lectures on the research process. Then each part of the course consists of lectures and a seminar when the students’ papers will be discussed.

The language of teaching is Swedish.

Examination

The course is examined by means of a written exam in the beginning of the course plus the seminar papers. Grades are awarded according to the scale “failed”, “pass” or “pass with distinction”. Examination is based on the written seminar assignment as well as on active participation in the seminars. For the grade “pass” it is required that the student will have handed in all assignments, acquired the grade “pass” and actively participated in all the seminars, and acquired “pass” in the written exam.

8. Comparative Politics, 7.5 credits

The course is offered during the spring semester resources permitting

Learning Outcomes

The course aims at providing a good understanding of research in the field of comparative politics. It should provide good knowledge of important research contributions and research strategies that aim at, or are useful for, describing and explaining political and ethnic conflicts, tolerance, socialisation, democratisation and development, in an extensive geographical comparative context, in developed as well as developing parts of the world. Also, the choice of literature and the cases selected to be studied have been made to give examples of different designs of research projects that should be useful for students preparing their C/master-level thesis project. In short, after the course, the students should:

• have a good idea of what comparative politics is
• understand when and why different groups enter into conflicts, how groups are mobilized, and why they sometimes manage to establish peaceful coexistence, and even manage to build democratic systems
• know the comparative politics discourse better
• be better prepared to write a thesis

Content

Comparative politics is a strange name for a field of research. It is strange because what you find under the label comparative politics – and its synonyms in other languages – often is not (explicitly) comparative. Most of the time it simply is “politics in some country/countries”. The conventional distinction between comparative and international politics is that the former deals with politics in other countries, and the latter between countries; this is easier to remember if one thinks of another common name for the latter – international relations.

If comparative politics is politics in other countries, then it is indeed a lot. Therefore we must make choices of what to study. One option would be to attempt to classify the world’s political systems in a number of fairly distinct categories, and to learn about these categories and their cases. This has been attempted by numerous authors. Another choice is to study a number of constitutional systems in the world. This course is built on another kind of logic. We have chosen to focus on some central research problems in comparative politics.

The overall problems concern democracy, conflicts, institutions (rules), tolerance, justice and development. These are chosen because important parts of research in political science concern these issues, and secondly because these issues are important to many people in many countries; two overriding criteria for any research or teaching in social science. The course is divided into four themes:

• Ethnic conflicts, tolerance and democracy
• Challenges in multicultural societies
• Political activism
• Classics of comparative politics

The choice of theme(s) and literature is a conscious attempt to bridge the unfortunate divide between studies of the West and “the rest”. The idea is that we can learn more about industrialised countries, former socialist countries and so-called low- or middle income countries not by separating them, but by studying them together.

Apart from the books required to be read, the course will make use of some academic articles. One purpose of using these articles is to give the students an idea about current debates in international research. All articles will be available for free via the Uppsala University Library.

The students are encouraged to participate actively in the discussions. We have achieved our objective with this course if, in at the end of it, the students think they have a better (or even much better) grasp of some substantial empirical, or political, problems in the contemporary world and some orientation in a few current debates in international research in general and comparative politics in particular.

Instruction

The instruction of this course is comprised of a combination of lectures and seminars. The language of instruction is English. The written assignment (classic review) should be written in English (so everyone can read and comment on the proposal/text). Regarding the written exam, students may give answers in English or Swedish. They may use a language dictionary at the exam.

Attendance is compulsory for all seminars. If students fail to attend a seminar they will have to hand in an extra written assignment. Additional instructions for the seminars may be handed out by the lecturers.

Assessment

The requirements of the course are:

• Attendance at some lectures
• Attendance and active participation in the seminars
• Writing a review of a classic in comparative politics
• Written exam

The grade

Participation in the seminars is only graded as “pass” or “fail.” If the students come to the seminars and actively participate in the debates, and if they have done their best to absorb the literature before the seminar, then it is very likely that they will pass.

One grade for the whole course will be given according to the Swedish three-level system: Pass with distinction= Väl godkänd (Vg), Pass = Godkänd (G), and Fail = Underkänd (U).

• The book report for the “Classics” will be graded. The students need at least a 50% score to pass, and at least 75% to pass with distinction. The grade for the “Classics”-assignment constitutes 20% of the final grade.
• The exam will be graded. The students need at least 50% to pass, and at least 75% to pass with distinction. The grade for the exam constitutes 80% of the final grade.

9. Political Theory, 7.5 credits

The course is offered during the spring semester resources permitting

Learning outcomes

Students are expected to learn the main theories in contemporary normative political philosophy, in particular theories of justice. They should be able to analyse them from a critical point of view and to formulate their own independent arguments for and against the theories studied. They should also be able to relate fundamental theories of justice to theories of international justice, to theories of gender equality and multiculturalism. Finally, the students are expected to apply abstract normative thinking to practical political problems.

After completing the course the students are expected to

• be informed about the modern scientific debate in normative political theory in general, and about the discussion on justice in particular.
• apply theories of justice to issues of international justice
• apply theories of justice to issues of gender equality and multiculturalism.
• independently identify and discuss political conflicts, related to different normative principles justice.
• be able to collect theoretical an empirical information in order to formulate normative arguments in questions related to justice - nationally as well as globally.
• be able to present their arguments in writing and orally, clearly and systematically.

Contents

This course consists of three parts. In the first part we focus on various liberal theories (Utilitarianism, Rawls’ and Nozick’s) and their critics - Marxism, Communitarianism and Feminism. The main book is Will Kymlicka’s Contemporary Political Philosophy.

The second part concerns theories of international justice and the problem of global warming. The main book here is Peter Singer’s One World – The Ethics of Globalisation. We also read an article by Simon Caney, where he gives a broad overview of different theories of international distributive justice, and an article by Thomas Nagel, where he defends a non-cosmopolitan conception of international justice.

The third part deals with theories of multiculturalism and feminism. Here we read chapter 8 and 9 in Kymlicka's book, but also parts of Rawls' Political Liberalism, and articles about the possible conflict between multiculturalism and feminism.

Teaching

The course is given both for Swedish students and exchange students. The lectures are given in English. The seminar discussions will be in Swedish and English.

Examination

The course ends with a written test. The exam is marked according to the Swedish standard (U-G-VG). Half of the maximum points are required to pass the test. The questions can be answered in English or in Swedish. Active participation in each of the seminars is also required. The students should prepare written answers to the seminar questions.

10. Swedish Politics, 7.5 credits

The course is offered during the spring semester resources permitting

Learning Outcomes

The goal of this course is to deepen the knowledge of how informal and formal power is exercised in Sweden, how interest organizations are formed and how they impact politics and exercise power. Formal and informal power is studied through several perspectives: first, by focusing on the development of the trade union movement in Sweden; second, through one study of the informal power in think-tanks and public relations agencies (“the policy professionals”), and third, through studies of two specific policies: the foreign policy, with a focus on neutrality, and the parental leave policy that aims to create equality between men and women (among other things). The goal is to strengthen the students' analytical ability to verbally reflect on literature through seminars and a role-play. The student will also complete a written assignment (an analysis of the literature) and a written exam. The course is held in Swedish.

Assessment

Active participation in the seminars and the role-play, one written assignment (an analysis of the literature) and a written exam.

11. Environmental Politics and Its Challenges, 7.5 credits

The course is offered during the spring semester resources permitting

Content

The course consists of three parts:

(1) Collective action problems and environmental challenges in developing and developed countries; (2) Energy and technology; (3) Regional and international efforts to address climate change.

Goals

The course has two overarching goals. The first is to deepen the students’ knowledge and understanding of the ‘collective action dilemma’ from a social science perspective. The second goal is to acquaint the students with two important, and interdependent, global problems: climate change and energy. As a corollary to these two goals the course will also analyse and discuss possible political solutions to the management of climate and energy issues (as well as dilemmas over natural resources more generally). To this end, the course will examine possible solutions at the local, regional, and international levels.

At the global and the regional level, emphasis will be placed on international cooperation on climate change and the European Union’s role in the struggle to combat climate change. At the local level, the course will focus on how energy and climate politics are played out in developing countries.

Upon the completion of this course the students are expected to thoroughly understand the logic of collective action problems, and the interface between politics and the challenge of addressing environmental problems and managing limited natural resources. The intent is also to provide a good foundation for students who want to pursue this topic in a C level essay in Development studies or Political Science.

Teaching

The course is composed of a mixture of lectures and seminars. The lectures address the basic themes and issues. During the seminar students get the opportunity to discuss questions linked to the basic themes.

The literature includes articles and working material.

The course is taught in English.

Examination

Examination is based upon participation in compulsory elements of the course and a written exam. The following grades will be applied: passed with distinction (VG), passed (G) and failed (U).

In order to pass the following is required

(1) Active participation during compulsory elements of the course (seminars);

(2) A passing grade on the written exam.

To pass the course with distinction the student is required to participate in compulsory elements of the course as well as receiving a grade of ‘passed with distinction’ on the written exam.

Instruction

The teaching is given in the form of lectures, seminars, simulation exercise, course papers as well as method exercises.

Additional information regarding instruction and examination will be handed out before each sub-course.

Assessment

The course is examined by means of course papers, exams, assignments, and active participation in the seminars. Grades are awarded according the scale “failed”, "pass" or "pass with distinction".