Political Science

This course examines a variety of aspects concerning international politics in Europe, with particular focus on the Cold War and post-Cold War eras. The course surveys the postwar history of international politics in Europe; European integration in general and the European Union in particular; the role played by security organizations (especially NATO and OSCE); US and Soviet/Russian policy towards Europe; the eruption of ethno-political conflict (in particular, the Balkans); the international impact of Germany's recent reunification; and the quest for order, stability, and security in a region that is no longer divided by the Iron Curtain but in which international politics continue to be shaped and affected by East-West as well as North-South contrasts. The course mixes an examination of contemporary aspects with historical contextualization, in presentations, readings, and video material.

This course traces the development of western political thought from its classical origins to its most important modern formulations, exploring the main European traditions of inquiry concerning the nature and status of political society, the state, law, citizenship, and relations of power. It extends from Greek antiquity to the early 20th century, and emphasis is placed on the writings of major thinkers and their contemporary historical contexts, including Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Thomas Aquinas, Alfarabi, Niccolò Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Mary Wollstonecraft, Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, Franz Fanon, Hannah Arendt, and John Rawls.

The course is organized around three major themes: values, voting, and trust. The first theme concerns citizens’ belief systems, notably their political attitudes and values: how are these structured, what explains them, how are they changing? The second theme concerns electoral behavior: why do people vote (or not) at all, and if they do, how do they choose among the parties? Finally, the course covers generalized “political trust” in democratic institutions and processes. Is political trust on the decline, and if so where and why? What are the broader consequences of political trust for politics and society? In all three parts, the course emphasizes the interplay between citizens and political parties: how do  these affect and react to each other? In each part, moreover, the course considers a variety of explanatory factors, including deep-seated explanations connected to social background (e.g. class, education, gender) as well as more short-term explanations (e.g. election campaigns, fluctuating economic interests, and the performance of the incumbent government).

The recent policy reforms launched in the UK National Health System coupled with the challenges faced by health systems globally with the Covid-19 pandemic, emphasize the need for a better understanding of how healthcare systems function, how they are financed, and how strategic policies are developed to ensure the provision of care to the highest quality standards. In this course, students understand how the state and other private and public health-related institutions and processes influence health systems' performance. Moreover, the module explores the demographic and socio-economic challenges faced by healthcare systems, particularly in terms of power and resources contested in the health sector. It is intended to address the gap in health economics that often ignores the developments of the political economy in health systems. This course is relevant for students from several backgrounds, as the focus are both on politics and economics and their interface in terms of health and healthcare.