The course aims to provide you with an understanding of:

1. The key ideas and concepts of liberal democracy;

2. The basic institutions of liberal democracy;

3. The threats and challenges to liberal democracy: both internal threats (such as increasing citizen dissatisfaction) and external threats – but with a particular focus on political corruption, and violence and terrorism.

Learning Outcomes: What Will You Learn?

Knowledge and Understanding

By the end of the course, you will understand:

1. The different types of democracy and how it is distinguished from other regime types;

2. The key concepts of representation and participation in liberal democracies

3. The key empirical trends in citizen attitudes towards democracy and political participation in liberal democracies.

4. The institutional and organisational arrangements of democracy

5. The key challenges to liberal democracy in the 21st century

Skills

Through presentations you will learn to manage time pressure, and make concise explanation of their arguments. In addition, you will be able to:

1. Cultivate inter-personal skills

2. Perform your oral and written communication skills

3. Demonstrate the development of research skills.

4. Demonstrate subject specific research techniques

5. Apply a range of methodologies to complex political problems

By writing your essay you will develop your critical capacities to assess both political and documentary evidence, and to make written arguments in a coherent, structured and persuasive way.

In addition, the module will encourage you to:

1. Engage with both analytical concepts and factual content of the topics covered

2. Discuss such concepts and to contribute to seminar discussion on the topic

3. Present concepts and their analysis in written and verbal form

4. Collate and use a number of sources as an intellectual basis for your analysis

5. Research and produce written work    

No bridging courses.

Knowledge and understanding: knowledge of the historical evolution of democratic regimes; ability to understand democratic institutions and their interactions with society, culture, political forces, and institutional arrangements; knowledge of the characteristics and principles proper to the Western and, in particular, European state; knowledge of the main challenges to democracy in the twenty-first century.

Applied knowledge and understanding: ability to offer an initial interpretation of democratic norms as a manifestation of a society's ideals and values.

Autonomy of judgment: ability to offer personal interpretations and considerations that show autonomy of judgment in relation to the material considered during the course, particularly with regard to the political, historical and social profile of democracy as developed in the European context.

Communication skills: ability to express the knowledge acquired with adequate political-science language, following argumentative pathsways proper to the logic of political science.

Learning ability: ability independently to extend and deepen the knowledge acquired during the course, subsequently addressing paths of theoretical reflection and research.

 

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Upon request, the lecturer will provide individualized support activities.

Teaching

Lectures, with the use of slides that the teacher will make available on the Moodle platform 'blended.uniurb.it'; workshops; classroom debates on specific topics.

Attendance

75% of the lectures must be attended in order to take the exam as an 'attendee'.

Course books

Materials that the lecturer will make available to attending students during the course.

The following textbook is recommended for support: Daniele Caramani (ed.), Comparative Politics, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014, third edition, or newer edition.

Assessment

The attainment of the formative objectives by attending students will be established through the writing by each of them of a short essay (2,500 to 3,500 words) written in English or Italian, pertaining to a topic of the course; for the preparation of the essay the lecturer will provide specific materials.

In particular, the following aspects will be checked and evaluated:
- relevance of the answers in relation to the programme content;
- level of articulation of the answer and depth of knowledge of the topic concerned;
- appropriateness of the language used.

Evaluation criteria and scores are determined according to the following scale:

less than 18/30: insufficient level of proficiency. The student does not achieve any of the learning outcomes under "knowledge and understanding";
18-20/30: sufficient level of proficiency. The student/student specifically achieves the learning outcomes stipulated under "knowledge and understanding";
21-23/30: fully sufficient level of competence. The student/student achieves, in particular, the learning outcomes stipulated under "knowledge and understanding" and "applied knowledge and understanding";
24-26/30: proficiency level: good. The student achieves, in particular, the learning outcomes stipulated under the points "knowledge and understanding"; "applied knowledge and understanding", and "autonomy of judgment";
27-29/30: very good level of competence. The student specifically achieves the learning outcomes stipulated under the items "knowledge and understanding"; "applied knowledge and understanding"; "autonomy of judgment", and "communication skills";
30-30 cum laude: excellent level of proficiency. The student fully achieves the learning outcomes stipulated in the items "knowledge and understanding"; "applied knowledge and understanding"; "autonomy of judgment"; "communication skills" and "learning ability".
 

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Dedicated tutoring for online supplementary education will be offered to all nonattending students.

Attendance

Not applicable. Students will be expected to study the materials that will be indicated as useful for passing the examination.

Course books

Materials that the lecturer will make available to students, via the Moodle platform, during the course.

The following textbook is recommended for support: Daniele Caramani (ed.), Comparative Politics, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014, third edition, or newer edition.

Assessment

The attainment of the formative objectives by attending students will be established through the writing by each of them of a short essay (2,500 to 3,500 words) written in English or Italian, pertaining to a topic of the course; for the preparation of the essay the lecturer will provide specific materials.

In particular, the following aspects will be checked and evaluated:
- relevance of the answers in relation to the programme content;
- level of articulation of the answer and depth of knowledge of the topic concerned;
- appropriateness of the language used.

Evaluation criteria and scores are determined according to the following scale:

less than 18/30: insufficient level of proficiency. The student does not achieve any of the learning outcomes under "knowledge and understanding";
18-20/30: sufficient level of proficiency. The student/student specifically achieves the learning outcomes stipulated under "knowledge and understanding";
21-23/30: fully sufficient level of competence. The student/student achieves, in particular, the learning outcomes stipulated under "knowledge and understanding" and "applied knowledge and understanding";
24-26/30: proficiency level: good. The student achieves, in particular, the learning outcomes stipulated under the points "knowledge and understanding"; "applied knowledge and understanding", and "autonomy of judgment";
27-29/30: very good level of competence. The student specifically achieves the learning outcomes stipulated under the items "knowledge and understanding"; "applied knowledge and understanding"; "autonomy of judgment", and "communication skills";
30-30 cum laude: excellent level of proficiency. The student fully achieves the learning outcomes stipulated in the items "knowledge and understanding"; "applied knowledge and understanding"; "autonomy of judgment"; "communication skills" and "learning ability".

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

The lecturer will respond to student emails that come from their university address, with the extension: @campus.uniurb.it