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

Goal

The course presents modern political science and development-related discussions of basic democratic problems. The aim is for students to form their own opinion on both theoretical and empirical issues concerning democratic governance. The course intends to provide an in-depth study of themes that have been dealt with in previous courses in political science and development studies, such as the concept of democracy and democratization theories. With this course, we want to educate students who are trained to analyze and discuss ideas and empirical research results on democracy at a relatively advanced level.

With the help of the elements described above, the overall purpose of the course is to enable students to take the step from loose thinking about core issues of democracy to a position where they can take a stand on and argue for (or against) ideas and theses in a systematically and well substantiated way. More precisely, the idea is that students after completing the course should:

• be able to discuss and compare different views of democracy.
• be able to describe and evaluate the historically most influential arguments for and against democracy.
• know, and be able to apply and critically examine some of the most common explanations for democratization.
• know and be able to compare different types of regimes.
• know how democracy in general and, its constitutional form in particular, affects different types of political and economic outcomes.
• in speech and writing be able to argue for or against ideas and theses in a systematic and well-substantiated way.

The course contains three parts:

The first political-philosophical part addresses normative theories of democracy. This section deals with conceptual questions about the meaning of democracy, and normative questions about different ways of justifying democracy and issues and proposals within different democratic theoretical traditions. Examples of issues that are discussed are: How is democracy defined? What is good about democracy? What criticism is usually directed at democracy? What significance does it have that different interests and groups are represented in our political assemblies? Should the ideals of democracy be reformulated in the light of growing globalization and migration?

The second part of the course mainly deals with empirical questions about the causes and consequences of democracy: What can explain that some countries are democratized while others not? What are the characteristics of different types of authoritarian regimes? Does democracy play a role in welfare and equality in society?

The third part of the course combines the normative and empirical approach of the course by discussing the constitutional design of democracy. What does constitutional democracy mean, and what political and economic outcomes follow from different principles? Is it possible to unite popular sovereignty and liberal constitutionalism? How should a democracy defend itself against groups or individuals who make use of democratic procedures and freedoms to undermine it? We also focus on the constitutional design of democracy, and the building of a democratic system of government.

Examination of the course takes place through oral participation and the writing of course assignments for the three seminars, and through a final exam.

2. 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 for reform of the EU are raised by the current 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.

2. International politics 7,5 hp

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.

2. Policy Analysis and Public Administration 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 decentralization 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 policy analysis and public management theory can help us to understand political decision-making and power distribution among actors and over time. The course is dedicated to students who want to deepen their knowledge in the topics public policy; public administration; organisation theory, and implementation. A core idea is that good knowledge about these issues together with the capability to critically analyse and evaluate public policy and institutions is needed at the municipality and state levels, as well as the EU level of public administration.

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.

2. Gender and Politics in Comparative Perspective 7,5 credits

The course is offered during the autumn semester resources permitting.

Content

The course provides students with basic tools for analysing theoretical as well as empirical questions of gender and politics from a historical and global comparative perspective, with a certain emphasis on Sweden. Students are offered an introduction to central theories and concepts in gender theory relating to citizenship, political representation, and political economy, focusing on power and influence on societal as well as individual levels. The empirical parts of the course provide students with concrete examples of how such concepts and theories can be used to analyse politics from a gender perspective. We examine for example women's representation in terms of its historical development and significance for the development of democracy and policy, and global trends in labour market participation and conditions for making a living and organising care work. In addition, we discuss different policy instruments (family policy, quotas, etc.) for achieving gender equality.

Learning outcomes

After completion of the course the students are expected to:

• Be able to account for and critically discuss the central concepts and theories on gender, representation, and power that are introduced in the course
• Be able to describe and critically discuss empirical gender research on political actors, political processes and policy relating to gender quality in different parts of the world
• Independently be able to identify a question that is relevant for the course content, and discuss it from a gender perspective in a shorter course paper.

Teaching

The teaching consists of lectures and seminars. Seminars are compulsory, along with handing in preparatory assignments. Students are expected to independently study the course literature, preferably before the corresponding lecture and certainly before the corresponding seminar. The total time of study is expected to be around 40 hours per week. The course language is English.

Examination

Examination is done continuously throughout the course through compulsory seminar work that includes presence, active participation in discussions, and preparation of oral as well as written assignments. In the end of the course students write a final course paper that is discussed during a seminar and examined by the teacher. The course paper should address themes discussed in the course. The following grades will be applied: pass with distinction (VG), pass (G), and fail (U).

In order to pass the course the following is required:

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

2. (En)gendering Development: historical genealogies/contemporary convergences 7.5 credits

The course is offered during the spring semester resources permitting.

The central aim of this course is to provide an understanding of how specific historical events have shaped debates on development in colonial and post-colonial contexts. A unique contribution of this course is to relate historical processes to contemporary development concerns around gendered global inequalities, how these processes co-exist in contemporary societies and how structural processes impact on everyday lives of people. The course draws on literature from different sources and is not confined to mainstream academic literature. For example, we will look at news media, documentaries, movies, policy reports, biographical narratives and historical texts together with the assigned mandatory readings.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to:

• Understand how contemporary development interventions are shaped by historical processes of imperialism, colonialism and orientalism.
• Demonstrate a critical understanding of dominant (post)colonial paradigms and how they shape global understandings.
• Demonstrate an advanced understanding of key theoretical ideas by delving deeper into feminist postcolonial debates on coloniality of power
• Demonstrate ability to use their conceptual knowledge to re-think empirical case studies in historical and contemporary development contexts.
• Grasp seminal (post)colonial and decolonial feminist debates. Decoloniality is an epistemic, political and cultural movement for emancipation that draws attention to the fact that the achievements of modernity are inseparable from racism, hetero-patriarchy, economic exploitation and discrimination of non-European knowledge systems.
• Demonstrate knowledge of structural and symbolic forms of violence
• Understand the gendered violence(s) of development.
• Demonstrate advanced knowledge on how development processes both alleviate suffering and impoverish livelihoods.

Content

The course is structured in the following way. We will analyse development issues, historically, conceptually and theoretically and then understand their (post)colonial continuities through an empirical case study. We will analyse historical continuities and convergences with contemporary events, ranging from global 'war on terror', the rise of new forms of nationalism, cycles of poverty and deprivation and armed conflict. Focusing primarily on the global South, the unit will draw empirical examples from Africa, the Middle East, South and South East Asia and Latin America. The course covers the themes of: Orientalism, Eroticism and Control of the 'Native'; Orientalism, Feminism and the 'War on Terror; Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAP); Structurally Adjusted Economies, Border Industries and Femicide; Population, Eugenics and Neoliberalism; Transnational Surrogacy, Global South and the Politics of Reproduction; Gender, Conflict and Migrant Border Crossings and Migrants, Hospitality and Hostility.

Instructions

The teaching consists of lectures and mandatory seminars. The course is taught in English.

Assessment

Students will be examined through a written exam. Grades are awarded according to the scale "failed", "pass" or "pass with distinction".

Course readings

The readings for the course consist of a large number of academic articles. Additional readings include news media items, documentaries, movies, policy reports, biographical narratives and historical texts

2. 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:

• Challenges to democracy
• Ethnic conflicts, tolerance, populism, pluralism and democracy
• Political activism
• Classics of comparative politics

The choice of themes 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 and active participation in the seminars.
• Writing a review of a "classic" in comparative politics
• Written exam

The grade

The grade is based on active participation in the seminars, the book-report, and the exam. The grades awarded are Pass (G), Pass with distinction (VG) or Fail (U).

2. Political Theory 7,5 credits

The course is offered during the autumn semester resources permitting.

Students are expected to learn the main theories in contemporary normative political philosophy. 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 citizenship, 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 contemporary debates in normative political theory in general, and about the discussion on justice in particular
• apply normative thinking to issues of civic duty, gender equality and multiculturalism
• independently identify and discuss political conflicts related to different normative principles
• be able to collect theoretical and empirical information in order to formulate normative arguments (in questions related to political ethics)
• 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 normative theories of distributive justice, such as utilitarianism, Rawls' liberal egalitarianism, and Nozick's libertarianism -as well as Marxism and post-Marxism. The second part concerns the balance between autonomy and tolerance within liberal theory, from the perspective of the state and the citizen respectively; how, for example, should the liberal state handle the increasingly heated issue of religious minorities and religion in the public sphere, and to what extent do citizens have a duty to vote and, in fact, vote well? The third part revolves around identity and recognition, with a focus on 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 English.

Assessment

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.

2. 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.

2. Swedish Politics 7,5 credits

The course is offered during the spring semester resources permitting

The language of teaching is Swedish.

Learning Outcomes

Goals

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: the mobilization of the labor movement, the contemporary democratic system, and 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. 

Examination

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

The course is held in Swedish.

3. Methods 15 credits

Methods B: Research in politics and development

Aim

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 need to define concepts and the difficulties of making the concepts useful in empirical studies
• 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
• 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, the students will apply each part in the course in exercises. The knowledge and understanding gained this way will also facilitate the students' critical review of previous research.

The course emphasizes 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 and interviews. 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 scientific inquery the course's aim is also to prepare the students well for their BA thesis, and other types of scientific studies.

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.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University´s disability coordinator.

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". If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.