Course 2026-2027 a.y.

• What is a state; formation of the nation-state.
• War, peace, and deterrence.
• The international order and international organizations.
• Terrorism and political violence.
• Authoritarian and democratic regimes; democratization.
• Institutional design: electoral systems in democracies.
• Social cleavages, ideologies, and party systems.
• Accountability, corruption, and clientelism.
• Institutional design: presidential and parliamentary democracies.
• Institutional design: federalism. 

Summarize major theories and/or empirical findings from political science research concerning:

• The origins of nation-states. 
• The causes of conflictual and cooperative behavior of nation-states.
• The causes of political violence and the strategies of terrorist organizations.
• The major differences between authoritarian and democratic regimes.
• The causes of, and problems associated with, transitions to democracy. 
• The relationship between electoral systems and election outcomes. 
• The impact of social cleavages and ideological conflict on voting and party competition.
• The major forms of constitutional design in modern democracies.
• The causes of corruption and bad governance.

• Discuss and critically evaluate major theoretical and empirical research in political science on a variety of important themes in comparative politics and international relations.
• Interpret historical and current events in light of the scientific insights provided by the discipline.
• Assess the suitability and enumerate the possible consequences of major institutional reforms.

• Lectures

The course is based on face-to-face lectures. Active participation by all students is expected and encouraged.

There is no distinction between attending and non-attending students.

The assessment consists of a midterm exam and a final exam, each contributing 50% to the final grade. The midterm exam covers the material presented in the first part of the course, while the final exam covers the material presented in the second part of the course.

Alternatively, students may choose to take a comprehensive final exam, which determines 100% of the final grade. In this case, the exam covers the material from both parts of the course.

The exams are composed of multiple-choice questions covering the material discussed in lectures and assigned readings. These questions are designed to assess not only students' knowledge of the main concepts, theories, and empirical findings presented in the course, but also their understanding of the underlying mechanisms and causal relationships that generate these results. In particular, questions require students to apply theoretical frameworks, interpret evidence, distinguish between competing explanations, and identify the implications of changes in key assumptions or contextual conditions.

This assessment method allows for a comprehensive evaluation of the expected learning outcomes. It verifies students' acquisition of disciplinary knowledge, their ability to apply concepts and analytical tools to specific problems, and their capacity to reason about the mechanisms linking causes and outcomes. 

There are two textbooks:

• B. BUENO DE MESQUITA, Principles of International Politics: War, Peace, and World Order, Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2013, 5th ed. 
• W. CLARK, M. GOLDER, S. GOLDER, Principles of Comparative Politics, Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2012, 2nd edition. 

A detailed list of required chapters for each week is going to be provided in the long-form syllabus at the start of the course. Additional readings on specific topics are made available through the e-learning platform.