ASPO 17A00 - Political Science

This course introduces students to the study of politics. Its aim is to allow them to acquire the analytical tools and basic knowledge necessary to understand political life. It will deal with questions such as what are political power and authority, why they are sometimes contested, what is legitimacy, what are the main processes and actors that shape political institutions, or what is a democracy. These questions will be explored through an overview of central approaches to the study of politics – political sociology, political theory, comparative politics, and international relations. Concepts and theories will be illustrated by examples borrowed from various countries, areas and historical periods. By the end of the semester, students will be able to understand and use the main concepts of political science, to discuss some of its basic findings, and be equipped to get an in-depth grasp of contemporary political issues.

The course is structured around 24 hours of main lectures taught by Dr Hugo Canihac, 12 hours of a specialized module on International Relations taught by Dr Corinne Mellul, and 24 hours of discussion groups offered by the discussion instructors.

The main lectures (24 hours) will be divided into two sections. The first (weeks 1-6) focuses on the key concepts and theories used to analyze politics. In this first part we will discuss how politics, power, authority and legitimacy can be defined; we will examine the concept of political system and how it helps us make sense of the complex organization of political relations in contemporary societies; we will also delineate the various historical forms and trajectories of political organizations, including the emergence and consolidation of Nation-States; we will discuss what is an ideology and what are the main political ideologies; and, finally, we will examine what is a democracy and in which specific ways it differs from other types of regimes, especially authoritarian and totalitarian rule. The second block (weeks 7-12) will provide the essential tools to analyze contemporary political systems and politics. It introduces students to the main institutions of political systems, their actors and processes, and their outputs. It then moves on to consider the role of globalization and regional integration in our current understanding of politics, as well as the role of economic processes in shaping contemporary politics and its contestations. The course finishes with a more detailed discussion of several analytical approaches and methods that have shaped and continue to shape how political science examines political life. So doing, it will bridge this course and the methodological seminars offered the following semester.

The specialized module (12 hours) on Introduction to International Relations by Dr Corinne Mellul (12h) proposes to familiarize students with some key concepts of International Relations studies and to provide them with a simplified overview of the theories that founded the discipline. It is designed as an introductory exploration of the tools and analytical frameworks supplied by the classical IR theories, which should enable students to start developing their own learned understanding and interpretation of geopolitical dynamics, phenomena and events.

A final written exam (1/3 of the mark) for the lectures (3h, adapted to the online modality if necessary). The continuous evaluation (2/3 of the mark) will consist of a mid-term exam (3h, adapted to the online modality if necessary) to be corrected within the seminars as well as additional assignments and presentations that will be undertaken within the discussion sections (conférences de méthodes).