Political Science A

About the course

The course consists of four sub-courses: Political Theory, Swedish and Comparative Politics, Public Administration, and International Politics.

On completion of the course you are expected to:

Be able to present and discuss:

• the central problems in political theory
• the political government, public administration and the main features of political life in Sweden and other countries;
• variations in political participation;
• the political problems of the developing countries and new democracies;
• the development of international politics during the 20th and 21st centuries;
• the development of the European Union and the role of Sweden in the international arena.

You are expected to participate actively and independently in seminar discussions and make short presentations in a seminar setting. You are also expected to produce written course papers that deal with defined research problems and in connection to that:

• practice the application of a scientific approach to sources and source material;
• understand the value of, and bases for, good argumentation;
• be able to distinguish between theoretical literature and empirical findings;
• be able to separate personal opinions from independent conclusions drawn from the source material;
• be familiar with the basics of source referencing.

The course is primarily based on textbooks and shorter scientific texts. The intention is to give you an introduction to different fields of political science and to present some of the research methods used.

Considerable weight is placed on making you realise the meaning of independent and critical thinking, and equip them with the necessary tools to evaluate conclusions and arguments. You will also practice skills as part of the course, chiefly through the writing of course papers. In the seminars, you will be given the opportunity to practice speaking and argumentative skills which are further developed within courses at more advanced levels.