Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. identify the concepts that influence the dynamics of political institutions;
2. understand the sources of these concepts and their historical development;
3. use these concepts in order to critically research, analyse, and evaluate major issues in political institutions; and
4. develop skills for research, argument, and analysis in order to to effectively communicate their own perspectives on key concepts and issues in political institutions.

Indicative Assessment

• Seminar Preparation and Participation (20%): Participation in seminar discussion is expected of all students. All students must prepare notes on required readings and submit by email prior to class in preparation for discussion. These may consist of comments, critiques, questions, etc. arising from the readings. They may be in bullet format or full sentences. They will be marked on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory scale (10%). Each student will also lead a 10-minute presentation of the required readings (10%). Learning outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4.
• Data collection and analysis report (30%): Students will collect primary data or recode existing data and analyse a research question using appropriate method (this can apply quantitative as well as qualitative techniques). Limit of 2000 words (30%). Learning outcomes 1, 4.
• Research Essay (50%): Students will write a research paper on a topic of their choice that relates to the material covered in the course. Limit of 6000 words. Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4.

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

130 hours of total student learning time made up from:
a) 24 hours of seminars over 12 weeks; and
b) 106 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.

Preliminary Reading

Brady, Henry & Collier, David, eds. (2000). Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards. Berkeley, CA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
King, Gary, Keohane, Robert, & Verba, Sidney. (1994). Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Dahl, Robert A. (1971). Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. New Haven: Yale University Press.
North, Douglas. (1990). Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Powell, G. Bingham, Jr. (2001). Elections as Instruments of Democracy: Majoritarian and Proportional Visions. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Boix, Carles, and Stokes, Susan (eds.) (2007) Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics. Oxford, OUP.
Cheibub, Jose Antonio (2007), Presidentialism, Parliamentarism, and Democracy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Caramani, Daniele (ed.) Comparative Politics, Oxford, OUP, 2014 (3rd edition). G. W. Cox. Making votes count: strategic coordination in the world's electoral system
Tavits, M. (2009). Presidents with Prime Ministers, Oxford University Press.
Sartori, G. (1994). Comparative Constitutional Engineering. An Inquiry into Structures, Incentives and Outcomes, Londra, MacMillan.
Lijphart, A. (1994) .Electoral Systems and Party Systems. A Study of Twenty-Seven Democracies, 1945-1990, Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Lijphart , A. (2012). Patterns of Democracy, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Renwick, A. (2010). The Politics of Electoral Reform. Changing the Rules of Democracy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Strøm, K, Mu¨ller W.C and T. Bergman, (eds) (2008). Cabinets and Coalition Bargaining: The Democratic Life Cycle in Western Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dowding, K. and P. Dumont (eds.) (2009) The selection of Ministers in Europe. Hiring and Firing, London, Routledge.
Dowding, K. and P. Dumont (eds.) (2015) The selection of Ministers around the world, London, Routledge.
Pogunkte T. and P. Webb (2005). The Presidentialization of Politics, Oxford, OUP.
Manin, B. (1997)The principles of Representative democracy, CUP.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links