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

First term
Thursday from 09:00 to 11:00 at 119 Marais 2100

French

The objective of the course is twofold.
First, it aims to provide students with basic knowledge of the characteristics and operating methods of the major contemporary political regimes, whether democratic or undemocratic. At the end of the course, the students will have been introduced to the study of institutional aspects, but also to the social and political regimes studied.
Second, the course aims to arouse a critical reflection on the ideological and moral foundations that typically underlies the attempts to classify the political regimes.

For the Bachelor in History :

For the Bachelor in Information and Communication :

For the Bachelor in Modern Languages and Letters: German, Dutch and English :

For the Bachelor in Economics and Management :

For the Bachelor in Political Sciences: General :

For the Bachelor in Sociology and Anthropology :

None

The terms "dictatorship", "democracy", "monarchy", "republic" or "totalitarian regime" have today entered everyday language. However, their precise contours are often poorly understood by those who use them. These familiar terms also have a very long history in which merge an effort to describe the political systems they refer to and value judgments on them. For some categories, such as "totalitarianism", their relevance can be questioned from a political science point of view. The course intends to provide students with a critical analysis of the various types of political regimes, from Plato to the present day, while developing in greater depth some case studies.

The course is organised around two main parts: (1) liberal democracies, and (2) authoritarian or ‘totalitarian' regimes. For each system studied, the course offers an opportunity to critically reflect on and discuss the meaning and consequences of typologies per se, but also an opportunity to define the systems being studied in details.

Introduction: Definition(s) and history of the concept of "political system"

Part 1: Liberal democracies

Section I: Definition(s) and typologies of liberal democracies

Section II: Voting systems

Section III: Party systems

Section IV: Case study: the presidential system - the USA

Section V: Case study: the cabinet system - the UK

Section VI: Case study: the semi-presidential system- France

Section VII: Case study: rationalised federalism - the Federal Republic of Germany

Section VIII: Case study: the consociational system - Belgium/the Netherlands

Part 2: Authoritarian and totalitarian systems

Section IX: Definition(s) and typologies of authoritarian systems

Section X: Modernising authoritarian systems

Section XI: Authoritarian systems in the third-world

Section XII: Debates on the concept of "totalitarianism"

Section XIII: Fascists and communists

Section XIV: Ideology of the end of History and regime change doctrines

The lecture follows the general structure of the plan mentioned above. It consists of a set of theoretical and empirical work on each topic. PowerPoint documents presented and taking over the "skeleton" of each of the presentations and illustrations (charts / graphs) used will be available on the course website on eSaintLouis.

The written final examination aims to test students' understanding of the concepts and ideas presented during the lectures. Examination questions will ask the student to think through and analyse a topical issue, which assumes a solid understanding of the basics of the subject matter.

The compulsory readings (choose one) are:
- PAXTON, Robert, "La France de Vichy.1940-1944", coll. Points Histoire, Paris, Seuil, 1999, 475 p.
- HERMET, Guy, "Démocratie et autoritarisme", Paris, éditions du Cerf, 2012, 272 p.

Arendt H., Le système totalitaire : Les origines du totalitarisme, Paris, Seuil, 2005.
Aron, Raymond, Démocratie et totalitarisme, Paris, Gallimard, coll. « Folio », 1987.
Braud P., Sociologie politique, 10e édition, Paris, L.G.D.J., 2011.
BROOKER, Paul, "Non-Democratic Regimes", 3rd ed., Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
De Waele J.-M. & Magnette P. (dir.), Les démocraties européennes, Paris, A. Colin, 2008.
Duverger M., Les partis politiques, Paris, Seuil, 1992.
Gaxie D., La démocratie représentative, Paris, Montchrestien, 1993.
Gosselin G., Filion Marcel, Régimes politiques et sociétés dans le monde, Presses de l'Université de Laval, 2007.
Grossman E. & Sauger N., Introduction aux systèmes politiques nationaux de l'UE, Bruxelles, De Boeck Université, 2011.
Leroy P., Les régimes politiques du monde contemporain. Les régimes politiques des États libéraux, Grenoble, Presses universitaires de Grenoble, 2001.
Leroy P., Les régimes politiques du monde contemporain. Les régimes politiques des États socialistes et des États du tiers-monde, Grenoble, Presses universitaires de Grenoble, 2003.
Marques-Pereira B., Garibay D., La politique en Américaine latine : Histoires, institutions et citoyennetés, Paris, Armand Colin, 2011.
Mény Y., Surel Y., Politique comparée. Les démocraties, 8e éd, Paris, Montchrestien, 2009.
Nay O., Histoire des idées politiques, Paris, Armand Colin, 2004.
Quermonne J.-L., Les régimes politiques des pays occidentaux, 5e éd., Seuil, 2006.
Sartori G., Parties and party systems. A framework for analysis, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976.
Almond G., Bingham P., Comparative Politics: A Developmental Approach, Boston, Little, Brown, 1966.

PowerPoints and other documents (which may be handed out in class) are made available via the course's website.