Political science and international relations

The course is ideally divided into five parts, deeply integrated with each other. The first introduces the concept of politics, the nature and evolutionary strands of Political science, the key-concepts of the discipline and its main methodologies of analysis. The second part examines the boundary and rules of the domestic political scenario, namely the architecture of the modern state (characteristics and powers), the political regimes of the contemporary age (democracy, authoritarianism, totalitarianism), their historical succession and, therefore, regime changes (democratization/autocratization). The third part looks more specifically at contemporary democracies, discussing their main institutional elements (forms of government, parliaments and electoral systems). The fourth is dedicated to the actors of the domestic political scene (leaders, parties, movements, pressure groups), the dynamics between these take shape and policies resulting from their interaction. The last part, finally, introduces the interaction among states within the international environment.

Familiarity with the main political events of the contemporary era is strongly recommended, while knowledge of the political history of Republican Italy (1946-2020) is mandatory.

The exam is aimed at verifying the acquisition by students of the essential contents of the discipline and the critical and argumentative capacity achieved. The exam is written (1 hour, 5 open questions).

Frontal lessons, seminars with external guests (academics, diplomats, journalists, politicians), and paper presentations with discussions are integral components of the curriculum.

The course is ideally divided into five parts, deeply integrated with each other. The first introduces the concept of politics, the nature and evolutionary strands of Political science, the key-concepts of the discipline and its main methodologies of analysis. The second part examines the boundary and rules of the domestic political scenario, namely the architecture of the modern state (characteristics and powers), the political regimes of the contemporary age (democracy, authoritarianism, totalitarianism), their historical succession and, therefore, regime changes (democratization/autocratization). The third part looks more specifically at contemporary democracies, discussing their main institutional elements (forms of government, parliaments and electoral systems). The fourth is dedicated to the actors of the domestic political scene (leaders, parties, movements, pressure groups), the dynamics between these take shape and policies resulting from their interaction. The last part, finally, introduces the interaction among states within the international environment. The third part looks more specifically at contemporary democracies, discussing their main institutional elements (forms of government, parliaments and electoral systems). The fourth is dedicated to the actors of the domestic political scene (leaders, parties, movements, pressure groups), the dynamics between these take shape and policies resulting from their interaction. The last part, finally, introduces the interaction among states within the international environment.

Familiarity with the main political events of the contemporary era is strongly recommended, while knowledge of the political history of Republican Italy (1946-2020) is mandatory.

1) G. Pasquino, (2009), Nuovo Corso di Scienza Politica, Bologna, il Mulino (da studiare integralmente). 2) G. Passarelli (2010) (a cura di), Presidenti della Repubblica. Forme di governo a confronto, Torino, Giappichelli (da studiare integralmente). Per l'esame da 10 CFU scegliere due volumi a scelta tra i seguenti (For the 10 CFU exam, you are required to choose two books from the following list): Il sistema partitico (Party system): - Clementi, F., Passarelli G. (2022), Eleggere il Presidente. Gli Stati Uniti da Roosevelt ad oggi, Venezia, Marsilio. - Fruncillo, D. (2020), Verso la politica post-elettorale. Rubettino. - Ignazi, P. (2018), I partiti italiani dal 1945 al 2018, Bologna, il Mulino. - Ignazi, P., (2024), Il populista in doppiopetto. Berlusconi e la politica italiana, Bologna, il Mulino. - ITANES (2023), Svolta a destra? Bologna, Il Mulino. - Passarelli, G. e D. Tuorto (2018), La Lega di Salvini. Estrema destra di governo, Bologna, Il Mulino. - Passarelli, G. (2024), Stati Uniti d'Europa. Un'epopea a dodici stelle, Egea. - Pizzimenti, E. (2020), Tigri di carta. Pisa University Press. La dimensione internazionale (The international dimension): - Natalizia, G. (a cura) (2021), Renderli simili o inoffensivi, Roma, Carocci. - Morini, M., Natalizia, G. (a cura) (2023), La svolta della Russia. Allineamenti internazionali e politiche revisioniste nel XXI secolo, Roma, Carocci. - Ercolani, A., Mazziotti di Celso, M., Termine, L. (a cura) (2024), L'autonomia strategica europea: ambizioni politiche e vincoli capacitivi, Milano, McGraw Hill. - Carteny, A., Natalizia, G. (2023), Il Mar Nero. Identità nazionali e dinamiche di sicurezza dopo la guerra in Ucraina. Milano, Vita e Pensiero. - Catapano, C., Ercolani, E., Termine, L. (2023), Periferia contesa? La competizione tra Stati Uniti e Cina in America Latina, Bologna, il Mulino. ERASMUS students: please contact the professor to have further information about teaching and program N.B: Chi deve sostenere l'esame da 6 crediti deve portare i primi due testi obbligatori. Chi deve sostenere l'esame da 9 crediti deve portare i primi due testi obbligatori più 1 testo tra i volumi a scelta tra quelli indicati nell'elenco. Chi deve sostenere l'esame da 10 crediti deve portare i primi due testi obbligatori più 2 testi tra i volumi a scelta tra quelli indicati nell'elenco.

Voluntary attendance

The exam is aimed at verifying the acquisition by students of the essential contents of the discipline and the critical and argumentative capacity achieved. The exam is written (1 hour, 5 open questions).

Frontal lessons, seminars with external guests (academics, diplomats, journalists, politicians), and paper presentations with discussions are integral components of the curriculum.