Political Science

The course is deepens students’ understanding not only of the substance of Irish politics but also of the academic research that aims to interpret and understand it. The course covers political culture, the constitution, elections and electoral behavior, parties and the party system, the electoral system and its political consequences, and the role of parliament. Students learn to understand the Irish political process and become familiar with the academic research into Irish politics. 

This course presents a multifaceted France constructed by the juxtaposition of diverse spheres. The history of this construction is an arduous one of conflict and constant change. By focusing on evolving institutions, the course analyzes the political struggles out of which the French State arose and developed its current form. It pays particular attention to fundamental developments during the 19th century, using a novel approach to study of that period. Class discussion plays an important role in this course, as students are encouraged to interact with the material not only to consolidate their grasp of the subject but also as a way to analyze events, explore causality, and therefore discover the complexity and subtlety of historical analysis.

Foreign policy analysis (FPA) seeks to better understand how the foreign policy of a state is formulated not only by government actors but also other stakeholders. These can be domestic players, such as political parties, politicians, government ministers, foreign and defense ministries, but also the economic sector, think-tanks, and non-state actors, or outside actors such as intergovernmental organizations (EU, ASEAN, NATO, or the World Bank), or governments and leaders of other countries. One focus is the decision-making process within governments, domestic and international constraints, the drafting process of foreign policies, their implementation, and their public defense against domestic or international critique.

This course provides students with an opportunity to learn how to systematically compare public policies. It pays attention to the reasons behind the similarities and differences in public policies in different countries. The course consists of three parts. The first part of the course introduces and discusses concepts, theories, and methods in comparative public policy. The second part covers real-case comparisons for problem-solving. Key public policy issues are examined in comparative perspectives. Finally, while examining cross-national policy learning and policy transfers, the course discusses the importance of comparative public policy in policy-making and formulation. The key purpose of the course is to strengthen students' capacity to compare public policies, devise policy alternatives, and enhance their ability to make good public policies. In this course, we will specifically focus on the Triple Transition—digital, climate, and demographic—and discuss how to design relevant and impactful policies during this era of great transformation through comparative analysis.