Presentation

Political studies encompass several disciplines that deal with political issues: constitutional law, political history and political science. This course has both conceptual and empirical ambitions. All Political Studies conference classes follow the same program (identical themes). It is composed of 2 blocks (semester 1 and semester 2) and follows a logical progression to ensure that students acquire the analytical skills for studying political and institutional mechanisms. The first block covers the main concepts relating to political studies: the nation, the State, democracy, voting, citizenship, civil society, the rule of law. The second block deals with French and foreign political regimes. Following two sessions devoted to sovereignty and the separation of powers — essential to understanding the typologies of regimes— parliamentary and presidential regimes, authoritarian and hybrid regimes, and democratic transitions will be analysed.

Recommended Prerequisite(s)

This method conference course is not an extension of any particular lecture. However, students must use the knowledge acquired during the following lectures: French political history; French political institutions; Introduction to political science; Comparative Politics.

Bibliography

• P. ARDANT, B. MATHIEU, Droit constitutionnel et institutions politiques, Paris, LGDJ, 2016.
• O. DUHAMEL, G. TUSSEAU, Droit constitutionnel et institutions politiques, Paris, Seuil, 2013.
• P. AVRIL, J. GICQUEL, Lexique de droit constitutionnel, PUF, Que sais-je, 2016.
• V. SAINT-JAMMES, Droit constitutionnel, fiches, Lexifac-Droit, Bréal.
• O. NAY, (dir), Lexique de science politique. Vie et institutions politiques, Paris, Dalloz, 2014.

Educational formula

Students must prepare for each session. This preparation consists in writing a one-page sheet summarizing a short text or describing a concept (details are specified in the program distributed during the first session). The teacher collects the sheets at random. This investment is essential for understanding what is being taught during class and facilitates exam revisions.