Political Science (in English)

  • Credits: 8
  • Ending: Examination
  • Range: 4P + 4C
  • Semester: winter
  • Year: 1
  • Faculty of International Relations

Teachers

Included in study programs

International Economic Relations (in English)

Teaching results

The course aims to understand the basic political science terminology, categories, to equip students with essential theoretical apparatus in political science and thus provide the prerequisites for mastering other subjects of the study program, which intersect with political systems, international organizations and international political relations. The content of the course thus represents a set of knowledge of the social sciences basis, which is necessary for students of international economic relations.
Knowledge: the students will acquire knowledge in the field of the historiography of philosophy with a specific emphasis on the Western tradition of political thought and its dialogue with the philosophical paradigms of Eastern cultures (Arabic and Chinese social thought), the students will get acquainted with political systems and regimes, the functioning of the state, political institutions, civil society, they will learn to recognize and analyze major political ideologies and ideological currents.
Competences: the students acquire the ability to use the gained theoretical apparatus for professional and critical evaluation of political processes in national and international politics, the ability to identify the essential attributes of political systems and their elements, to understand the functioning of the state and its components, including the state's interaction with the economic sphere, to understand the dynamics of political parties, party systems and the rules arising from different electoral systems
Skills: the students will be able to characterize the basic forms of government, political regimes, party and electoral systems, they will be familiar with national and foreign political realities, they can explain the role and position of the state in the environment influenced by globalization and integration processes, they will be able to identify the political dimension of current challenges of democratic societies, to analyze political processes in various contexts, they will be ready to absorb more comprehensive knowledge and connections in specialized subjects having an intersection with the issues of the political system and international relations.

Indicative content

Political science as a social science. Politics and political power.The relationship between politics and economics.Political system.Political regimes.The state and its place in the political system.Vertical division of power.Classical political ideologies.
Derived political ideologies.Cleavage theory.Political parties.
lections and electoral systems.The issue of life in a democratic society.

Support literature

GOODIN, R. (ed.): The Oxford Handbook of Political Science. Oxford University Press, 2011.
HEYWOOD, A.: Political Theory: An Introduction. 4th Edition. Macmillan International Higher Education, 2015.
MORLINO, L., BERG-SCHLOSSER, D., BADIE, B.: Political Science: A Global Perspective First Edition. SAGE Publications, 2017.
HEYWOOD, A.: Political Ideologies: An Introduction, 7th Edition. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.
KELLSTEDT, P. M. WHITTEN, G. D.: The Fundamentals Of Political Science Research. 3rd Edition. Cambridge University Press, 2018.
BALL, T. – BELLAMY, R. (eds.): The Cambridge History of Twentieth-Century Political Thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
SARTORI, G.: Parties and Party systems. A Framework for Analysis. ECPR Press, 2005.
LIJPHART, A.: Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method. The American Political Science Review, Vol. 65, No. 3, 1971, 682-693.
LIPSET, S. M., ROKKAN, S., WALLERSTEIN, I.: Party systems and voter alignments: cross-national perspectives. Free Press, 1967.

Syllabus

1. Political science as a social science: methodology of social sciences, research methods in social sciences, historical development and origin of political science, subject of its research, discussion of political science as a scientific discipline, basic terminology 2. Politics and political power: the concept of politics and perception of politics, the founders of the European tradition of social thought, the founders of the Chinese and Arab philosophical traditions, characteristics of the concept of political power and ways of its implementation, legality, legitimacy, morality and politics, issues of political power in a democratic political system, panopticism, biopower and biopolitics 3. The relationship between politics and economics: economic pressure groups, economic functions of the state, economic policy and its instruments, models of economic policy, capitalist and socialist economy, market economy and mixed economy 4. Political system: definition of the term political system, functions of political systems, forms of government, typology of political systems according to the head of state (monarchy, republic), idealism and realism in the foundations of European practical philosophy 5. Political regimes: characteristics of democratic and non-democratic regimes (dictatorship, authoritarian regime), consociational and Westminster model 6. The state and its place in the political system: history, genesis, functions of the state, features of the state (state power, state mechanism, territoriality, citizenship, sovereignty), basics of philosophy of law and philosophy of contractualism, the question of the division of power in the state 7. Vertical division of power: state administration and territorial self-government (local and regional), classification of states according to administrative division (unitary state – centralization, decentralization, autonomy, federal state, unions of states – confederation, real, personal union) 8. Classical political ideologies: the role of ideologies in politics, conservatism, socialism, liberalism 9. Derived political ideologies: anarchism, nationalism, fascism, new ideologies (feminism, environmentalism, multiculturalism, religious fundamentalism) 10. Cleavage theory: classical cleavages, new cleavages, political spectrum – Left-Right spatial metaphor 11. Political parties: functions of political parties, genesis, historical types of parties (elite, mass, catch-all, cartel, media party), typologies of political parties and party families, movements and pressure groups, party systems (bipartism, multipartism) 12. Elections and electoral systems: elections and their basic functions, majority electoral system, system of proportional representation, combined systems, electoral legislation of the Slovak Republic, electoral laws (Duverger's, Sartori's laws) 13. The issue of life in a democratic society: totalitarianism, universal human rights and the problem of an open society, stability of democratic regimes, clash of cultures, democratic values ​​and identity, civic participation, political extremism, freedom of speech and Internet, new (social) media and its political dimension

Requirements to complete the course

Activity during lessons
Oral exam

Student workload

208 hours, of which participation in lectures 52 h, participation in seminars 52 h, preparation for seminars 26 h, preparation for the exam 78 h

Language whose command is required to complete the course

English language

Date of approval: 14.01.2022

Date of the latest change: 18.01.2022