Comparative Government
Overview
- Credit value: 30 credits at Level 4
- Convenor: Dr Dale Mineshima-Lowe
- Assessment: a 500-word mini critical review task (20%), 500-word seminar log (20%) and 1500-word critical review essay (60%)
Module description
In this module we introduce you to the comparative study of political institutions and systems. We will focus on a number of states from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, including large and small, rich and poor countries, democracies, one-party systems and theocratic states, monarchies and republics, unitary and federal systems.
Indicative syllabus
- Constitutions
- Legislatures
- Executives
- The judiciary
- Bureaucracy
- Political parties
- Electoral systems
- Political movements
- Political communication
Learning objectives
By the end of the module, you should:
- be familiar with role of main political institutions and systems
- have a broad understanding of the diversity of political institutions and systems
- have knowledge of government and politics in several countries
- be able to produce comparative analysis and critically analyse comparative case studies
- be familiar with academic literature and debates about comparative government and politics.