Year 2010-11
Political Actors and Institutions (21289)
Qualification: Political and Administration Sciences
Year: 1st
Term: 2nd
Number of ECTS credits: 4 credits
Hours of student dedication: 100
Teaching language: Catalan
1. Introduction to the course
Political actors and institutions is an introductory course on how representative democracies work. It centres on looking at aspects such as political culture and citizens' political participation, the role of collective actors (parties, organizations, social movements, and the media), the logic of representation and electoral systems, government types and empirical models of democracy. We will analyse some of the factors that mark the differences between representative democracies (which are also the factors that establish and determine how they work and the results they obtain), and the stability and quality of democracies.
2. Competencies to be achieved
Generic competences:
- Capacity for analysis and synthesis
- Oral and written communication in your native language
- Critical and self-critical abilities
- Teamwork
- Interpersonal skills
Specific competences:
- Recognise the structure and working mechanisms of political systems. Understand the different elements that make up political systems and the environment in which they interact.
- Recognise the structure and functioning of political institutions. Understand the organisation and role of political institutions.
- Recognise the behaviour of political actors. This competence should allow students to identify the main political actors that act within the political system and understand their behaviour in the system and its surrounding.
- Recognise citizens' participation and democratic values. This competence will allow for the understanding of political attitudes and behaviour, as well as the process of formation and outward expression of political preferences.
3. Contents
Identifying and distinguishing the basic elements that make up representative democracies:
a) Basic institutions and relationships among them.
b) Relationship mechanisms between political power and citizens.
c) Citizen behaviour, political attitudes and motivations that guide such behaviour.
d) Collective actors in democracies: parties, organisations and associations, and social movements.
e) Electoral systems.
f) The basic elements that define the quality of democracies.
4. Assessment
The final mark will be a combination of continuous assessment (50%) and final assessment (50%).
Continuous assessment will consist of the assessment of individual activities (critical summaries of texts and participation in seminars) and group activities (in seminars). Final assessment will be individual based on an exam.
5. Readings and resources
5.1. Basic reading
Almond, G., R. Dahl, A. Downs et. al. (1992) Diez textos básicos de Ciencia Política.
Barcelona: Ariel Ciencia Política.
Crouch, C. (2004) Posdemocracia. Madrid: Taurus.
Dahl, R. (1999) La democracia. Madrid: Taurus.
Lijphart, A. (2000) Modelos de democracia. Formas de gobierno y resultados en treinta
y seis países. Barcelona: Ariel.
Lipset, S. M. (1996) "Repensando los requisitos sociales de la democracia". A: La
Política 2: 51-87.
Newton, K. & Jan W. Van Deth (2003, reprinted 2006) Foundations of Comparative
Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Vallès, J. M. (2007). Ciencia Política. Una introducción. Barcelona: Ariel.
Vallès, J. M. & A. Bosch. (1997). Sistemas electorales y gobierno representativo.
Barcelona: Ariel.
5.2. Educational resources
- Compulsory reading dossier
- Course notes from teacher
- Documentaries related to the course
- Newspaper articles
- Exercises handed out during seminars
6. Methodology
The teaching methodology employed is based on a combination of different classroom based sessions, seminars where guided activities are developed (individual and in groups), and autonomous study outside the classroom.
There is a weekly, two-hour lecture for the whole group in which the contents of the teaching material for each topic are introduced and revised. All materials used will be available to students in the aula global, hence students do not need to take notes. They should instead focus on understanding and analysing the contents of each topic. For some sessions, specific readings from the dossier, newspaper articles or documentaries will be used to compliment lectures and to develop students' analytical capacity and critical perspective.
At the same time, there will be three two hour seminars where previously set activities will be developed. These activities are designed to reinforce the theoretical aspects addressed in lectures and, by means of readings and the analysis of other material, for students to learn to present and debate in public, assimilate concepts, and develop a critical and self critical perspective.
In addition, students will be required to undertake autonomous study, outside the set class hours, which will consist of reading the set texts and other articles, watching documentaries, studying course notes, and writting critical summaries of texts.
7. Programme of activities
Week 1: Introduction to the course and definition of the object of study: representative democracy
Week 2: The cultural and social context of contemporary democracies
Week 3: Individual actors, and political and electoral participation
Week 4: Collective actors: parties, organisations, social movements and the media
Week 5: Representation and electoral systems.
Deadline for the first critical summary.
Week 6: Types of government, models of democracy and empirical cases
Week 7: Revision lecture
Week 8: Deadline for the second critical summary.
Seminar sessions:
There will be three seminars (the exact week will depend on the students' subgroup)
Seminar 1: discussion on the dossier readings and how to write a critical summary.
Seminar 2: practical exercise on the analysis of political participation and political attitudes.
Seminar 3: practical exercise on electoral systems.