After completing this course, the student has acquired knowledge of and insight in the international and institutional contexts of policy making as well as of comparative political science, in particular with respect to:
- the workings of the main political and administrative institutions in the Netherlands, the EU’s member states and the United States of America. She/he can identify how those institutions as well as their workings differ between those countries, as well as how the workings of different political institutions affect one another within political systems;
- the workings of the main institutions of the European Union. She/he can identify how the workings of those institutions differ from those of national political institutions, and how the workings of those EU institutions affect one another.
In addition, the student is capable of:
- executing a short comparative study on the workings of political or administrative institutions and reporting on this in a research paper;
- participating actively in class discussions in English with student with different national and cultural backgrounds, the student will develop skills in critical reflection on their own values and action in relation to others with backgrounds different form their own in both a national and international perspective.
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How can a political party in the UK win an election by only 35% of the vote? Why does the US president wield much power whilst the German president hardly has any? And how different is politics in central and eastern Europe from the west? You will find the answers to these and many similar questions through comparative analysis of political institutions.
This course offers a first introduction to the workings of institutions such as governments, parliaments, electoral systems, constitutional courts, sub-national administration. It will address their structure and their internal workings, as well as how their workings are influenced by other political institutions, interest groups and the media.
We will compare the workings of various institutions between political systems, but we will also address the interplay of different institutions within the same political system. In this course, we will focus on various EU member states (including the Netherlands), the USA, and the EU.
In class, we will discuss the literature through questions and exercises, and we will address the advantages and disadvantages of having specific political institutions, such as: one or two legislative chambers, presidential or parliamentary government. We will also pay specific attention to comparative case methodology which helps you to carry out a small comparative research project of your own.
Exchange students visiting Utrecht School of Governance are allowed to enroll for this course.
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