STATE FORMATION AND COMPARTIVE GOVERNEMNT 4003-112P
The aim of the course is to acquaint students with the basic concepts relating to the origins of the state, its tasks and functions, the theory of the origin and consequences of these theories for the contemporary understanding of the state. Students will become familiar with the concept of power, in particular state authority, its tasks and prerogatives. The state is shown as a dynamic system, managed by a network of institutions dependent on each other and organized according to constitutional norms. The course includes presentation of selected political systems, which are shown as a way of managing the country - although every country has similar prerogatives and tasks, implementation of both can be done in a different way. In the second part of the course examples of classic systems that allow a state to operate smoothly and such that efficient management is not possible are presented.
SYNOPSIS:
- The concept of state
- The features and functions of the state
- The objective of activity of state
- The concept of power and state power
- Democracy - antiquity and modernity
- The authoritarian and totalitarian as an alternative to democracy
- Forms of state and division of states
- The concept and elements of the political system
- Political systems of contemporary states: USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy
- Polish political system
- Constructing a political system
- Political culture
- Contemporary political doctrines
Student workload:
lecture attendance - 30 h
preparation for the lecture - 45 h
preparation for the examination - 45 h
Total - 120 hours
Type of course
Mode
Learning outcomes
At the completion of the course the student will be able to:
- Present the way in which an institution of a state became a necessity,
- Present theories of the origin of a state,
- Present classification of states in a historical perspective,
- Characterize democracy, authoritarian and totalitarian system in a comparative perspective,
- Characterize the state organs,
- Show the classification of state bodies,
- Present political systems of selected states
- Evaluate the effectiveness of a political system,
- Know and understand the basic concepts of political science,
- Understand the importance of political science for European Studies.
Assessment criteria
Written test of competences.
Bibliography
- Winczorek, Piotr (1995 i późniejsze) 'Wstęp do nauki o państwie', Warszawa: Liber
- Konstytucja Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej z 1997 r.
- Wojtaszczyk, Konstanty Adam i Wojciech Jakubowski (red.)(2002) 'Społeczeństwo i polityka: podstawy nauk politycznych', Warszawa,: ASPRA-JR
- Szmulik, Bogumił i Marek Żmigrodzki (red.)(2003) 'Wprowadzenie do nauki o państwie i prawie', Lublin: UMCS
R. E. Goodin (ed.), 2009, „The Oxford Handbook of Political Science”, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
C. Boix and S. C. Stokes (eds), 2009, „The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics”, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Additional information
Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: