Course description for 2022/23
Comparative Politics
PO114S
Course description for 2022/23
Comparative Politics
PO114S
Comparative Politics is about different government systems in different countries, and how to compare them
There are about 200 different states in the world today. A common denominator is that all these people have different values and interests. In this course we are interested in how the interests of the different states is reflected in the decision-making agencies of each country. Where the composition of the decision-making agencies is based on free elections, reflecting popular opinion, we call democratic regime. If groups and interests are systematically neglected or directly suppressed, we can talk about an authoritarian or totalitarian government. However, there are many different forms of democracy, and the authoritarian regimes may also wary.
Admission occurs based on general study competence (university entrance) or work competence (prior learning) according to current Norwegian regulations.
Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:
After successful completion of the course the student will have:
Knowledge:
- Nation building processes
- Different forms of democracy
- Different forms of authoritarian/totalitarian governance
- Different political cultures, electoral systems, party systems, parliaments, government types and administrative public systems
- Knowledge about European politics, political developement and governance
- The connection between governance and the welfare of the population
Skills:
- Demonstrate ability to clarify these issues and to make comparisons between different countries
General competence:
- Have knowledge of comparative theory and methodology, and the forms of government and the effects of these. Key topics are comparative theory and methodology, criteria of a good society, democracy theory, nationalism, state and nation. The course also includes comparisons between rich countries and poor countries. Emphasis will be on analyzing political cultures, electoral systems, governments and parliaments and comparisons of administrative public systems.
No costs except semester registration fee and syllabus literature.
Compulsory for the one year program and bachelor program in International relations. Elective for students from other programs.
Lectures and seminars. A voluntary test-exam with feedback from the teacher.
Annual evaluations which are included in the university´s quality assurance system.
Overlap refers to a similarity between courses with the same content. Therefore, you will receive the following reduction in credits if you have taken the courses listed below:
PO114LS - Comparative Politics with Didactics - 5 credits