International Relations and Supranational Institutions

The course intends to analyse, in a historical-comparative perspective, the models of territorial decentralization, the autonomistic processes, the conflicts and the separatist dynamics of contemporary states, through the analysis of different constitutional experiences and the deepening of single case studies. The course is divided in two parts: The first part will cover the following topics: States and forms of State; Constitution and constitutionalism; State and territorial autonomies; confederal, federal and regional models, constitutional review; crisis of the contemporary state between devolution, secessionist phenomena and processes of international and supranational integration. The second part of the course will deal of the following topics: secession self-determination of peoples; withdrawal under International Law and European Law; dissolution of the former Yugoslav and Soviet federations; separatist phenomena in the Balkan area and post-soviet space; secessionist phenomena in Quebec, Scotland, Montenegro, Catalonia; and finally, the United Kingdom's exit from European Union

Main notions of Italian and Comparative Constitutional Law

Attending students must attend at least 70% of the lessons Attendance of the course is not compulsory

The students assesment takes place throug certification and non-certification assesment tools. During the course several activities will be carried out and there will be test to evaluate students preparation on the topics examined in each lessons. Attending students (i.e. those who reach approximately 70% of attendance) will have the opportunity, in the final part of the course, to discuss a thesis on a topic studied in class. The essay will be given a mark out of thirty and will be averaged with the mark obtained in the final oral test which will take place during the ordinary exam sessions. The exam is structured for all students, attending and non-attending, into an oral test, which consists of three questions, in which the overall preparation will be assessed. The oral exam will last approximately 20/25 minutes. Attending students, who have discussed the thesis in the classroom, will have two questions, instead of three, and will be exempted from the topic developed in the thesis.In this case the oral exam will last approximately 15 minutes.

The course is divided into: lectures; seminars on some case studies and current political-institutional issues;exercises; final oral test exclusively reserved to attending students. Additional teaching materials will be distributed during the course.