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Course Syllabus

Bachelor 2025/2026

Comparative Politics

Type: Compulsory course (International Programme 'International Relations and Global Studies')
Delivered by: Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs
Where: Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs
When: 3 year, 3, 4 module
Open to: students of one campus
Instructors: Tatiana Rudneva
Language: English
ECTS credits: 4
Contact hours: 56

Course Syllabus

Full SyllabusAsk Question

Abstract

The course is designed to introduce the students to Comparative Politics. Comparative analysis of political institutions and how they function in different settings will help the students understand what determines the differences in political outcomes which Political Science in general and Comparative Politics in particular are trying to explain. During the course, the students will learn the necessary concepts, acquaint themselves with classic readings and learn to compare different forms of government and their consequences.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • The primary goal of the course is to acquaint the students with Comparative Politics.
  • The students should learn some basic theoretical and practical problems in the area of Comparative Politics.
  • The students should learn to identify differences and similarities and how they relate to outcomes.
  • The students should learn to compare different forms of government.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • Students are familiar with the concepts of legitimacy and constitutionalism and how they relate to political culture.
  • Students are able to explain the concept of federalism and how it differs from local government.
  • Students are able to explain how presidential systems differ from parliamentary ones.
  • Students are able to analyze whether the EU is a federation or not.
  • Students are able to show the advantages and drawbacks of specific electoral systems.
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • #3 Constitutions and judicial power
  • #4 Individual rights
  • Presidential and parliamentary systems
  • # 6 Presidential and parliamentary systems (advantages and disadvantages)
  • # 7 Party systems
  • Electoral systems
  • # 9 Representation
  • # 11 Federal and unitary states
  • # 12 Bureaucracy
  • # 13 Clientelism
  • Bureaucracy and the democratic state
  • Levels of government
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • blocking Oral exam
    At the exam, a student will receive a set of three questions related to the course material. After a ten-minute preparation, a student is expected to orally answer those questions. The exam instructor may ask follow-up questions if necessary.
  • non-blocking Written assignment 1
    The duration of the mock is three hours, during which a student is expected to write three essays answering three questions related to the course material. The mock will be evaluated according to the completeness and correctness of the answers provided.
  • non-blocking Written assignment 2
    The duration of the mock is three hours, during which a student is expected to write three essays answering three questions related to the course material. The mock will be evaluated according to the completeness and correctness of the answers provided.
  • non-blocking Class participation
    Students’ class participation is graded on the basis of students' participation in seminar discussions. Class participation refers to discussion performance rather than mere attendance. All students are expected to attend seminars and participate by listening attentively, contributing to discussions and participating in in-class group projects. Students’ statements and answers to questions must contain well formulated arguments that clearly show their position. To do this, students must demonstrate a quality preparation for the seminar: do their homework, read the assigned literature and be ready to perform a critical evaluation of it.
  • non-blocking Structured Debate
    Structured Debate is a group project where students debate a specific position related to the course material.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • 2025/2026 4th module
    0.25 * Class participation + 0.45 * Oral exam + 0.1 * Structured Debate + 0.1 * Written assignment 1 + 0.1 * Written assignment 2
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Embedded autonomy : states and industrial transformation, Evans, P., 1995
  • Heinelt, H., Egner, B., & Bertrana, X. (2016). Policy Making at the Second Tier of Local Government in Europe : What Is Happening in Provinces, Counties, Départements and Landkreise in the On-going Re-scaling of Statehood? London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1061410
  • Leonardo Morlino, Dirk Berg-Schlosser, & Bertrand Badie. (2017). Political Science : A Global Perspective. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2273334
  • Niskanen, W. A. (2017). Bureaucracy and Representative Government. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1608574
  • Strohmeier, G. (2015). Does Westminster (still) represent the Westminster model? An analysis of the changing nature of the UK’s political system. European View, 14(2), 303–315. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12290-015-0368-0
  • The Oxford handbook of electoral systems / edited by Erik S. Herron, Robert J. Pekkanen, and Matthew S. Shugart. (2018). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.50224433X

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Barisione, M., & Michailidou, A. (2017). Social Media and European Politics : Rethinking Power and Legitimacy in the Digital Era. London, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1362963
  • Bonneau, C., & Cann, D. (2015). Party Identification and Vote Choice in Partisan and Nonpartisan Elections. Political Behavior, 37(1), 43–66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-013-9260-2
  • Croissant, A. V. (DE-588)120357321, (DE-627)080624138, (DE-576)178221074, aut. (2018). Comparative politics of Southeast Asia an introduction to governments and political regimes by Aurel Croissant, Philip Lorenz. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.496911902
  • Laffin, M. (2018). Beyond Bureaucracy? : The Professions in the Contemporary Public Sector. Abingdon: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1984789
  • Qingmin, Z. (2016). Bureaucratic Politics and Chinese Foreign Policy-making. Chinese Journal of International Politics, 9(4), 435–458. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjip/pow007
  • Reinhard Steurer, & Christoph Clar. (2015). Is decentralisation always good for climate change mitigation? How federalism has complicated the greening of building policies in Austria. Policy Sciences, (1), 85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-014-9206-5
  • Scott Gehlbach, & Alberto Simpser. (2015). Electoral Manipulation as Bureaucratic Control. American Journal of Political Science, (1), 212. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12122

Authors

  • FARAKHDUST FATIMA
  • RUDNEVA TATYANA SERGEEVNA