Political Science

This course offers an introduction to key issues of contemporary politics in Japan and South Korea, covering the politics and economic development of Post-WWII Japan and Post-Korean War South Korea. Themes include: How were the contemporary political systems established in Japan and South Korea? How have these systems changed over time? What are the impacts of political institutions on the political and economic development in the two countries? How do social actors and political and economic institutions interact with each other? What are the foreign policymaking strategies in the two countries?

This course provides a political analysis of the way in which citizens construct their voting choice, the game of political forces, their evolution, their reassembly, and the impact of institutions on the political system. The class touches on disciplines such as political science, law, history, and sociology to contextualize the political events that shake up and shook up political life under the fifth republic.

This course analyzes contemporary Korean politics from the four perspectives: international politics, political economy, political culture and political processes. From the perspective of international politics, it analyzes how Korean politics has been influenced by international politics surrounding the Korean peninsula. From the political economy perspective, the course introduces how Korean politics has influenced our economic development and vice versa. From the perspective of political culture, students learn to compare contemporary Korean culture with traditional political culture to find out what continuities and discontinuities there are between them. From the political process perspective. the course examines characteristics of Korean political process in comparison with other democratic countries.

Bringing together political science and history, this course examines British politics since 1945. The course is not just narrowly about politicians and political intrigue, though: it’s about ideas and ideologies, social change, and political communication. It starts by examining the structure and institutions of British political life. Students examine the construction of the welfare state and postwar social democratic settlement, before looking at the big turning point in the 1970s as politics shifted towards a "neoliberal" governing paradigm. Students consider how the Second World War, social change, the end of empire, and the development of Europe transformed politics in the postwar period. They also think about the practice of politics, the role of ideas and idea-producers like think-tanks, campaigning, and the media. There is a strong focus on linking history and contemporary politics, and students hear from people in the thick of current politics as well as visiting key sites in Westminster and Whitehall.

This course s part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. Globalization dramatically changed the environment of political and economic activity, widening the context of social action and speeding up its pace. This course tackles the new ethical issues inherent in a globalized world of social change from a theoretical perspective, without neglecting the historical side. At the end of the course students have a deeper appreciation of the new ethical issues facing mankind in an era of globalization, have knowledge of the most interesting contemporary theories of the just society, and are capable of historically situating the current developments in society. This course examines three broad themes connected to the contemporary geopolitical circumstances: the question of the just society and the challenge of relativism, the dilemmas of globalization, and environmental ethics. The course examines how and to what extent globalization has changed politics and, strictly connected to this question, the issue of the just society in such different circumstances and the challenge posed by cultural relativism. Finally, the course tackles the problem of our responsibility towards the environment and towards non-human creatures.