Political Science

This course covers the transformation of politics in the era of the internet, digital technologies and changes of methodological and conceptual terrain in the studies of politics, and relationship between politics and digital technologies. It helps students understand the role of communications media and mediation in public affairs and the manner in which digital technologies have reworked the political domain. 

This course covers comparative studies of social policy components and administration in ASEAN member countries and Western states, covering topics including social expenditures, theories and approaches to welfare provision and management, effectiveness of the welfare states, education, public health, housing, employment, taxation, social capital, civil society, social security, and social or welfare rights as well as social, economic, and political considerations that shape the welfare state.

This course explores the concept of equality through the lens of analytic philosophy, applying normative theories to pressing global ethical issues. The first part of the course engages in conceptual analysis of equality, examining key debates in distributive justice, structural injustice, and recognition theory. The second part of the course applies these theoretical foundations to real-world ethical challenges, including climate justice, post-colonialism, minority rights, war and conflict, migration, and human rights. Students are evaluated on their ability to mobilize normative concepts in their discussion of the problems and solutions particular to the global sphere.

The Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark) are often seen as global models of welfare, good governance, and high quality of life, successfully combining social protection with entrepreneurial success. Historically associated with consensus politics, trust, and moral leadership - through figures such as Olof Palme or Norway's peace diplomacy - the region has long defied conventional wisdom about global pressures for deregulation, showing how social protection can coexist with global competitiveness. Recent narratives of decline, however, point to rising crime, economic stagnation, and populism. This course revisits the evolving politics of the "Nordic model," exploring its institutions, challenges, and relevance for Europe through history, politics, economics, and sociology.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The course aims to provide an advanced understanding of the types, the causes, and the dynamics of political and criminal violence. At the end of the course, students are familiar with classical and contemporary theories on the origins of political violence, with studies on the different forms of organized violence, and with current research on how violence is exercised. Students are also familiar with the major methodological debates in the study of violence.

The course examines different types of collective violence, including violence occurring in civil wars, instances of state repression, mafia, and gang violence. It explores the different “types” of violence, defining their main features and uncovering their rationale through a plurality of approaches. Ultimately, the class provides the theoretical and empirical tools to study violence in its relations with political order(s). The course is divided in two sections. The first section – conducted through frontal lectures – explores classic types of “political violence” (such as civil wars, revolutions and terrorism) looking at their origins and dynamics, then looks second section deals with violence perpetrated by states (such as repressions and genocides) and violence that occurs within states that does not challenge their existence or regime (such as that perpetrated by organized crime and gangs). The second section – run as a seminar in which students present and discuss the assigned material – looks at the organizations that “produce” violence, and namely at insurgent and mafia groups, analyzing their emergence, their internal functioning, and their relations with violence.

This course introduces students to empirically-based findings of comparative politics and public policy, through a cross-national, cross-temporal approach of case studies of some of the world’s major political units. In doing so, it examines several important empirical and theoretical puzzles including, but not limited to:

(1) What accounts for variance in terms of the extent and quality of governance; 

(2) How and why do different political regime types produce different outcomes such as better or worse socio-economic levels; 

(3) Are some sets of political regimes better at holding political elites accountable?  

(4) What accounts for variance in terms of some political elites leading their countries into costly wars, and others delivering peace and prosperity? 

The goal of the course is to provide the field’s best generalized answers to these questions as well as to facilitate the development of one’s own conclusions. 

This course examines the key institutions, actors, and processes shaping U.S. foreign policy, with a focus on the current Trump administration. It introduces major theories of foreign policy analysis and applies them to domestic and international dynamics influencing U.S. foreign affairs. Students engage with core debates and empirical cases across regions and policy realms. The course analyzes how leadership, polarization, public opinion, and bureaucracy affect foreign policy decisions. It concludes with a simulation of a U.S. National Security Council emergency meeting, allowing students to apply their knowledge in a practical, crisis-based setting.

This course focuses on the institutions of the European Union. At the same time, this course provides an opportunity for students to be exposed to legal thinking. Law is central to the process of European integration, and it plays a greater role in European affairs than it does at national or international level. It is accordingly essential for students to become familiar with the ways of legal thought and legal reasoning, if they want to understand fully the European integration process, and European matters more generally.  Prerequisites: SSC1007 Introduction to Law and Legal Reasoning and at least one of the following courses: SSC2060 Comparative Constitutional Law (SSC2012 Comparative Government) or SSC2024 International Law.

This course approaches themes such as justice, citizenship, and the constitution of the state—as we experience and reflect on them within a liberal democratic system—through close readings of texts in ancient political thought.  

Returning to ancient Greece, often regarded as the birthplace of both democracy and justice, we examine Socratic argumentation, the death of Socrates, and the visions of a just state as imagined by Plato and Aristotle.  

Through this exploration, we aim to envision what a just democratic society might look like today.  

Topics include The Meaning of Ancient Political Thought – Why Do We Study Ancient Political Thought?; The Relationship Between Tradition and Philosophy – Taking a Step Back from Socrates; The Problem of the Divine – The Search for a Standard; Why Socrates Refused the City's Commands; The Apology of Socrates; The Problem of Justice – Understanding Thrasymachus’ Claim that Justice Is the Advantage of the Strong; What Kind of Citizens Constitute a Just State?; Why Is the Philosopher-King Necessary?; The Problem of the City-State and Slavery – The Meaning of the Polis and Its Members; The City-State and the Citizen – The Ideal City-State?; The Persistence of the City-State – How Does a City-State Endure or Decline?; and Justice, Virtue, and Happiness – The Aim of the Political Community. 

This course introduces the fundamental concepts and research directions of comparative government and politics and employs these methods and concepts to examine the political structure of various governments. What is comparative politics? The course then proceeds to explore research methods of comparative politics to build students’ basic abilities to engage in comparative political research. Subsequently, the course examines diverse political systems and structures, including democracies and autocracies, constitutional design, electoral systems, and party systems from a cross-national perspective.