LFU:online

SE Comparative Politics - Enhanced Level

Students acquire the ability to illustrate and explain the structure and function profiles of different democratic governmental systems. Moreover, they are able to individually analyse and evaluate complex phenomena from the field of comparative government based on relevant theoretical-conceptual approaches.

The aim of the course is to provide students with a theoretically and empirically sophisticated understanding of the relationship between legislative institutions and legislators’ behaviour. It will discuss the variation in how legislatures are organised and in how legislators behave, and illuminate the political consequences of different organisational and behavioural choices. The course will cover theories of legislative behaviour and organization, and the effects of various legislative organisational structures. Empirically, the course takes a comparative approach, drawing on cases and literature from across the world.

No specific methodological approach is favoured in the course; readings cover a wide range of approaches to the study of legislatures

40% of the grade will be given based on an assessed presentation; 60% will be based on a short research paper.

The course is primarily article-based, but will draw heavily on the Oxford Handbook of Legislative Studies (Martin, Saalfeld, and Strøm, 2014) – students may wish to buy the paperback version.

successful completion of compulsory modules 1, 2 , 3 and 7