96338 - POLITICAL BEHAVIOR AND INSTITUTIONS

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

The course introduces students to the key concepts and themes of political science. In order to do so, the course will focus on what constitutes the political domain, the empirical study of politics, the development and functioning of modern political institutions, the comparative analysis of political regimes with a focus on democracies and the forms of political participation. At the end of the course, students will be able to analyze the key features of different political institutions

Contenuti

The course introduces students to the major concepts, theories and empirical findings in political science. The first section of the course discusses the major approaches and themes in the discipline of political science. The second section of the course deals with the emergence and development of political institutions, focusing on state formation in different eras. The third section deals with political regimes, presenting the major conceptual tools and theories to study democracies and dictatorships, both addressing their functioning and emergence. The section also engages with different forms of non-democratic governance and why, and how, they can endure. The fourth section deals with collective violent mobilization. In particular it deals with why and how armed groups resort to violent action and how political orders can emerge even in conflict-ridden countries. The fifth section deals with the functioning of advanced democracies, focusing in particular on elections and electoral systems, cleavage theory, and parties and party systems.

Testi/Bibliografia

All students should get a copy of:

Clark, W. R., Golder, M., & Golder, S. N. (2018). Principles of comparative politics. Sage/CQ Press – the text is listed as “CGG” in the syllabus. Detailed readings are listed in the syllabus - available on Virtuale

Non-attending students are required to study the following material:

Clark, W. R., Golder, M., & Golder, S. N. (2018). Principles of comparative politics. Sage/CQ Press, all chapters.

One of the following books:

§ Levitsky, S., & Ziblatt, D. (2019). How democracies die. Crown.

§ Stasavage, D. (2020). The decline and rise of democracy: A global history from antiquity to today. Princeton University Press

Course outline

Week 1. Politics and Political Science

1. Introduction to the course

2. Studying Politics (1): The subject

3. Studying Politics (2): The approaches

Required readings

§ CGG, part I, chapters 1-3

Suggested readings

§ Classics in political science:

• Sartori, G. (1973). What is “politics”. Political theory, 1(1), 5-26
• Easton, D. (1957). An approach to the analysis of political systems. World politics, 9(3), 383-400

§ The notion of power

• Bachrach, P., & Baratz, M. S. (1963). Decisions and nondecisions: An analytical framework. American political science review, 57(3), 632-642

Week 2. Start-up political authority: The emergence of early states

4. Conflict and cooperation under anarchy

5. Early state formation

6. Democracy and dictatorship in early states

Required readings

§ Lee, R. B. (2018). Hunter-gatherers and human evolution: New light on old debates. Annual Review of Anthropology, 47, 513-531

§ Ahmed, A. T., & Stasavage, D. (2020). Origins of early democracy. American Political Science Review, 114(2), 502-518

Suggested readings

§ “Excavating politics”:

• Spencer, C. S., & Redmond, E. M. (2004). Primary state formation in Mesoamerica. Annu. Rev. Anthropol., 33, 173-199

§ Immediate returns, cooperation and hierarchy

• Salali, G. D., & Migliano, A. B. (2015). Future discounting in congo basin hunter-gatherers declines with socio-economic transitions. PLoS One, 10(9), e0137806

Week 3. Forms of political authority: Empires and the emergence of the modern state

7. The rise and fall of empires

8. The formation of the modern state

9. Institutional developments of modern states

Required readings

§ Goldstone, J. A., & Haldon, J. F. (2009). Ancient states, empires and exploitation: Problems and perspectives. In Ian Morris and Walter Scheidel (eds.) The dynamics of ancient empires: State power from Assyria to Byzantium, Oxford University Press, ch. 1

§ CGG, part II, chapter 4

§ Poggi, G. (2003). The formation of the modern state and the institutionalization of rule. Handbook of historical sociology, 250-260

Suggested readings

§ Scott, J. C. (2017). Against the grain: A deep history of the earliest states. Yale University Press

Week 4. Political regimes (1): Democracy and Dictatorship: What are they and do they come about?

10. Democracy and Dictatorship: What are they?

11. Democracy and Dictatorship: Why do they emerge?

12. Democracy and Dictatorship: How does change happen?

Required readings

§ CGG, part II, chapter 5, 6, 7 & 8.

Suggested readings

§ Dahl, R. A. (1984). Polyarchy, pluralism, and scale. Scandinavian Political Studies.

§ Sartori, G. (1995). How far can free government travel?. Journal of Democracy, 6, 101

§ Linz, J. J. (1990). Transitions to democracy. Washington Quarterly, 13(3), 143-164

Week 5. Political regimes (2): Dictatorships past and present

13. Variations in autocracies

14. The persistence of autocracies

15. The future of autocracies

Required readings

§ CGG, part III, chapter 10

Suggested readings

§ Arendt, H. (1958). Totalitarian imperialism: Reflections on the Hungarian revolution. The Journal of Politics, 20(1), 5-43

§ Slater, D. (2012). Strong-state democratization in Malaysia and Singapore. Journal of Democracy, 23, 19

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--- Midterm exam ---

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Week 6. Collective mobilization and violence

16. Collective mobilization and violence (1): the political science of armed conflict

17. Collective mobilization and violence (2): The economics of civil wars

18. Collective mobilization and violence (3): Identity, politics and civil wars

Required readings

§ Cederman, L. E., & Vogt, M. (2017). Dynamics and logics of civil war. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 61(9), 1992-2016

§ Davies, S., Pettersson, T., & Öberg, M. (2022). Organized violence 1989–2021 and drone warfare. Journal of Peace Research, 59(4), 593-610

Suggested readings

§ Collier, P. (2003). Breaking the conflict trap: Civil war and development policy (Vol. 41181, No. 4). World Bank Publications

§ Kalyvas, S. N. (2001). “New” and “old” civil wars: a valid distinction?. World politics, 54(1), 99-118

Week 7 (3 classes). Collective mobilization and violence + Problems with group decision making

19. State formation in post-colonial settings

20. Governance alternatives

21. Problems with group decision making (1)

Required readings

§ De Juan, A., & Pierskalla, J. H. (2017). The comparative politics of colonialism and its legacies: An introduction. Politics & Society, 45(2), 159-172

§ Loyle, C. E., Cunningham, K. G., Huang, R., & Jung, D. F. (2023). New directions in rebel governance research. Perspectives on Politics, 21(1), 264-276

§ CGG, part III, chapter 11

Suggested readings

§ Arjona, A. (2014). Wartime institutions: a research agenda. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 58(8), 1360-1389

§ Staniland, P. (2012). States, insurgents, and wartime political orders. Perspectives on politics, 10(2), 243-264

Week 8 (2 classes). Problems with group decision making + Parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential democracies

22. Problems with group decision making (2)

23. Parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential democracies (1)

Required readings

§ CGG, part III, chapter 11

§ CGG, part III, chapter 12

Week 9 (2 classes). Parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential democracies + Elections and electoral systems

24. Parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential democracies (2)

25. Elections and electoral systems (1)

Required readings

§ CGG, part III, chapter 12

§ CGG, part III, chapter 13

Week 10 (3 classes). Elections and electoral systems + Social cleavages and party systems

26. Elections and electoral systems (2)

27. Social cleavages and party systems (1)

28. Social clevages and party systems (2)

Required readings

§ CGG, part III, chapter 13

§ CGG, part III, chapter 14

Week 11 (2 classes). Institutional veto players

29. Institutional veto players (1)

30. Institutional veto players (2)

Required readings

§ CGG, part III, chapter 15

 

Metodi didattici

Lectures 

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

For students who regularly attend classes:

§ Mid-term written in-class exam (50 % of the overall grade): 20 multiple choice questions and 3 questions requiring each responses of about 200 words

§ Final written in-class exam (50 % of the overall grade): 20 multiple choice questions and 3 questions requiring each responses of about 200 words

Non-attending students:

§ A written exam including 30 multiple choice questions and 5 questions requiring each responses of about 200 words

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

Material (slides, readings) will be available on Virtuale

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Francesco Niccolò Moro

Consulta il sito web di Marco Casari

Consulta il sito web di Michele Alacevich