POLITICS

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Professor G Jordan

Pre-requisites

None

Overview

The course examines the political systems of the USA and Russia. The course focuses on constitutions, institutional structures.

Structure

3 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Online test in week 3 (10%). Test on bibliography format in week 5 (5%). 1500 word essay (25%). Two-hour examination (60%).

Resit: Examination (100%).

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dr P Cairney

Pre-requisites

None

Overview

The course examines the political systems of the UK and Germany. Attention is focused on the countries’ constitutions, institutional arrangements and political parties.

Structure

3 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Online test in week 3 (10%). Test on bibliography format in week 5 (5%). 1500 word essay (25%). Two-hour examination (60%).

Resit: Examination (100%).

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Dr P Cairney

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will not be available in 2009/10.

Overview

The European Union's influence and reach is central to an understanding of British politics. But what exactly is the European Union and what is the effect of 'Europeanisation' on British politics? This course examines the main features of the UK political system (including its institutional arrangements, political parties and government) and EU systems (Commission, Council, Parliament) and explains the effect of the EU on the British policy process.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures (to be arranged) and 1 one-hour tutorial (to be arranged) per week.

Assessment

1st attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%); continuous assessment (40%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr L Bennie

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 2 or above who have passed either PI 1010 or PI 1512.

Overview

This course provides an overview of the major political ideologies that have shaped and continue to shape, politics past and present. Ideologies have histories, and this course discusses how ideologies originated and how and why they have changed over time.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (60%), in-course assessment (40%).

Resit: Examination (100%).

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr H Brandenburg

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 2 or above who have passed either PI 1010 or PI 1512.

Overview

The course is an empirical study of the relationship between politics and society, involving a study of political socialisation, political participation, the media, political parties, interest groups and new social movements.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (60%), in-course assessment (40%).

Resit: Examination (100%).

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr C Haerpfer

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course is no longer a core course for Honours Politics students.
Students taking a join degree in Politics and International Relations must take either this course or IR 3001, International Peace.

Overview

This course provides an introduction to some of the broad theoretical and conceptual challenges and problems involved in political analysis. It focuses especially on conceptual approaches that derive from an emphasis upon empirical analysis and scientific procedures. The themes covered relate to theoretical notions of the state and democracy.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit: In-course grades will be carried forward unless the student opts to resubmit course work.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr M Bain and Dr A Widfeldt

Pre-requisites

None

Notes

This course is compulsory for all students studying for the MA Politics and IR, and also for those studying Joint Honours Politics and another subject, and Joint Honours IR and another subject.

Overview

The course introduces, with examples drawn from both Politics and IR, quantitative and qualitative research methods that are fundamental to modern social science and are a necessary skill for the 4th year dissertation. Key approaches common in both Politics and IR, which as the basic currency of contemporary political science are introduced. Whether or not these elements are pursued in detail in later study, some familiarity is an essential part of social science 'literacy'. The course is deliberately wide ranging, obliging students to encounter a broad range of concepts and approaches to allow an informed choice about what to pursue in further study. It provides tools that facilitate a more sophisticated discussion and analysis in other honours options.

Structure

2 one-hour lectures per week and 1 tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour written examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit: In-course grades will be carried forward unless the student opts to resubmit course work.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr P Cairney

Pre-requisites

None.

Overview

The course examines Scottish politics since devolution. Topics covered include the rise and effect of nationalism, 'new politics' and forms of democracy, political parties, multi-level governance, and the effect of devolution on public policy. It includes a trip to the Scottish Parliament.

Structure

1 two-hour lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit: In-course grades will be carried forward unless the student opts to resubmit course work.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr L Bennie

Pre-requisites

None.

Overview

The course aims to develop an understanding of Britain’s political party system with a focus on the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green parties. The course covers four broad areas. First, party ideology and its relationship with party policy. Second, the nature of party support. Third, membership, activism and leadership, involving an analysis of party organisation. Finally, the course assesses parties in government by considering their impact on public policy in Britain. Students are asked to consider the following questions. Do Britain’s parties offer radically different policy alternatives? What do the voters want from the parties? How different are party structures? Is party rhetoric reflected in accomplishment? In essence, do parties matter?

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit: In-course grades will be carried forward unless the student opts to resubmit course work.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor G Jordan

Pre-requisites

None

Overview

The course looks at different theories of how interest groups impact on public policy. It argues that there are important distinctions to be made within a broadly pluralist position and distinguishes between traditional competitive or laissez faire pluralism and a sectorized version that has been variously labelled corporate pluralism, group sub government, policy community approach, etc.

It also looks centrally at theories of group mobilisation and maintenance - principally the debate generated by the work of Mancur Olson.

Structure

Two seminars of two hours per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (60%), in-course assessment (40%).

Resit: In-course grades will be carried forward unless the student opts to resubmit course work.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr H Brandenburg

Pre-requisites

None

Notes

This course will run in the second half-session of 2009/10 as PI 4557.

Overview

Irrespective to whether democracy is understood as an inclusive, participatory form of government or instead as a competitive and manipulative game between elites, the role of communication and political mediation is paramount.

This course approaches the subject of political communication from normative/theoretical as well as empirical viewpoints. Historically, we cover the evolution of political manipulation from propaganda to modern public relations techniques and political marketing strategies, and the changing face of policy-making in the age of almost permanent campaigning and opinion polling. Empirical emphasis is given to the increasing importance of mass media in the democratic process and to the study of measurable effects of political communication (agenda setting, framing, etc), covering a range of actors, from governments and political parties to social and non-governmental campaigners.

Given the increasing importance and repeatedly proclaimed potential of modern web technology for more political inclusion and broader participation, the course departs from classical political communication textbook material to discuss also the scope and effectiveness of an emerging "virtual public sphere" in which political discourse shall no longer be elite-driven and fed by the mass media to passive consumers, but generated from below as a citizen dialogue.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit: In-course grades will be carried forward unless the student opts to resubmit course work.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr C Haerpfer

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course is open to both Politics and International Relations students. This course will run in the first half-session of 2009/10 as PI 4058.

Overview

This option is dealing with the 'Third wave of democratization' between 1968 and 2005 in Southern Europe, South and post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe. It deals with the emergence of democracy and market economy at the level of the general public and electorate as well as the level of elites and institutions subsequent to the political events in summer 1968 in Europe and the USA. The course is presenting the discussion about the character of these processes of democratization as 'transitions', 'transformation' or 'revolution' between authoritarian and democratic regimes. The course is situated within mainstream debates about democratization and marketisation as a process within post-authoritarian societies.

Structure

1 lecture and 1 tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (60%), in-course assessment (40%).

Resit: In-course grades will be carried forward unless the student opts to resubmit course work.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr A Widfeldt

Pre-requisites

Available only to Level 4 students.

Overview

Students will prepare and present, under the supervision of a member of staff, a dissertation on a topic approved by Politics and International Relations.

Assessment

Dissertation, 10,000 - 12,000 words in length (100%).

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr P Cairney

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course will run in the second half semester of 2009/10 as PI 4561.

Overview

A key concern of public policy analysis is to explain continuity and change. However, there is no common method to study it. This problem becomes particularly acute when we compare processes of policy change in a range of countries. For example, there is often debate on the extent to which models developed in the US (such as the advocacy coalition framework) are compatible with studies of EU countries. Yet, there is enough of a common thread throughout the literature to identify the main ways to study stability and change: theories of policy cycles, policy transfer, rational choice and socio-economic explanations can be found in most country-based literatures, while theories such as multi-level governance developed within studies of the EU share many elements with US-based discussions of policy networks (such as advocacy coalitions and punctuated equilibrium) and may have interesting parallels with the US literature on intergovernmental relations. The aim of the course is to provide an overview of these models. It explores the extent to which these theories are common to political systems (with a particular focus on modern industrialised countries) and their value to policy analysis. The course combines theoretical discussions with the chance for students to develop case studies that interest them.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per week (or 2 two-hour seminars if the numbers are high).

Assessment

1st attempt: 1 three-hour written exam (60%); continuous assessment (40%).

Resit: In-course grades will be carried forward unless the student opts to resubmit course work.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor N Mitchell

Pre-requisites

None.

Notes

This course is open to both Politics and International Relations students.

Overview

This course examines the origins, development, observation, and enforcement of international human rights. The principal concern is first generation or physical integrity rights (to life, freedom from torture, arbitrary imprisonment). The course focuses on what social scientists have to contribute to our theoretical and empirical understanding of why governments sometimes imprison, toture and kill their citizens. It includes both in-depth case studies of particular events and more systematic comparisons of large numbers of cases, evaluating the trade-offs in these different methodological approaches. The final section examines the aftermath of violations and the work of courts and peace commissions.

Structure

1 lecture and 1 tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Examination (60%), in-course assessment (40%).

Resit: In-course grades will be carried forward unless the student opts to resubmit course work.