Face-to-face , second term, 30 hours of theory.

Second term
Thursday from 17:00 to 19:00 at 43 Botanique 6

French, but the supports (texts, slides) can be in English.

The main aim of this course is to familiarise the students with the comparative approach in political sciences through methodological reflections and applications to concrete cases. Learning of the fundamental principles of comparative politics should enable the students to analyse political dynamics in space, and to a lesser extent, in time.

For the Bachelor in Law :

For the Bachelor in Information and Communication :

For the Bachelor in Philosophy :

For the Bachelor in Economics and Management :

For the Bachelor in Political Sciences: General :

For the Bachelor in Political Sciences: General (Evening Programme) :

For the Bachelor in Sociology and Anthropology :

None

The course will start with a short epistemological reflection on the relevance of comparison in social sciences in general, and in political sciences in particular, with a review of the history of the comparative method as an experimental method. Then, it will focus primarily on one of the major issues of comparative politics: democracy. What links can be established between development and democracy? What is the impact of the religious factor? Are segmented democracies, such as Belgium, doomed to instability? Through these different questions, we will attempt to show the essential contribution of the comparative method in the analysis of contemporary political phenomena.

Lecture and discussions with the class. The students will be asked to pay particular attention to developments in political news.

The written examination includes questions assessing the knowledge of the subject matter as well as a personal reflection based on a concrete case.

No specific references at this stage.

Slides during the lectures, short summaries available afterwards on eSaintLouis. Importance of regular attendance to lectures.