Political Scientist Course

Lesson 1 • History of Political Thought

Traces ideas from ancient city-states through Enlightenment social contracts to contemporary theory. Contextualises modern debates within their intellectual lineage.

Lesson 2 • Nature and Scope of the Discipline

Defines political science as a systematic study of power, governance, and collective decisions. Anchors the chapter by mapping the field's boundaries and core questions.

Lesson 3 • Major Theoretical Traditions

Surveys classical and modern paradigms from realism to constructivism. Equips students to identify the theoretical lens behind any political argument.

Lesson 1 • Research Design and Hypothesis Formation

Covers causal inference logic, variable identification, and hypothesis construction. Connects epistemological stance to concrete research architecture.

Lesson 2 • Quantitative Methods and Data Analysis

Introduces survey design, statistical inference, and regression for political data. Enables students to analyse large-N datasets and interpret results accurately.

Lesson 3 • Philosophy of Social Science

Examines positivism, interpretivism, and critical realism as foundations for research design. Grounds methodological choices in explicit epistemological commitments.

Lesson 4 • Qualitative and Mixed Methods

Teaches case studies, process tracing, interviews, and discourse analysis. Prepares students to investigate causal mechanisms and meaning in political contexts.

Lesson 1 • Executives, Legislatures, and Judiciaries

Compares presidential, parliamentary, and semi-presidential arrangements and judicial independence. Builds understanding of how institutional design shapes governance.

Lesson 2 • Electoral Systems and Party Politics

Analyses how electoral rules shape party systems and representation. Links institutional design to political outcomes such as coalition formation.

Lesson 3 • Federalism and Multilevel Governance

Examines how power is distributed vertically across levels of government. Connects institutional structure to policy outcomes and regional autonomy.

Lesson 4 • Democratic and Authoritarian Regimes

Classifies regime types using procedural and substantive criteria. Enables students to assess regime quality and trajectories across diverse contexts.

Lesson 1 • War, Conflict, and Security

Analyses causes of interstate and intrastate conflict using rationalist and other models. Prepares students to assess security dilemmas and conflict resolution strategies.

Lesson 2 • Major IR Theories

Contrasts realism, liberalism, constructivism, and critical theories as explanatory frameworks. Equips students to select and apply appropriate lenses to IR puzzles.

Lesson 3 • Foreign Policy Analysis

Covers decision-making models, bureaucratic politics, and domestic sources of foreign policy. Enables students to explain why states choose specific external strategies.

Lesson 4 • International Institutions and Cooperation

Examines how international organisations, regimes, and treaties facilitate cooperation. Links institutional design to compliance and collective action outcomes.

Lesson 1 • Public Policy Process

Maps the policy cycle from agenda-setting through evaluation and feedback. Connects theoretical models to the practical stages of policy development.

Lesson 2 • Foundations of Political Economy

Examines how markets and states interact and how interests shape economic policy. Provides the analytical bridge between economics and political science.

Lesson 3 • Welfare States and Social Policy

Compares welfare state regimes and analyses the politics of redistribution. Equips students to assess social policy trade-offs across different political economies.

Lesson 4 • Trade, Finance, and Global Economic Governance

Analyses international trade regimes, financial flows, and multilateral economic institutions. Links domestic political economy to global governance structures.

Lesson 1 • Public Opinion Formation and Measurement

Covers attitude formation, framing effects, and survey methodology for measuring opinion. Connects psychological mechanisms to empirical measurement techniques.

Lesson 2 • Media, Information, and Political Attitudes

Assesses how traditional and social media shape political knowledge and polarisation. Prepares students to analyse information environments as political variables.

Lesson 3 • Political Participation Beyond Voting

Examines protest, civic engagement, online activism, and their determinants. Broadens the chapter's scope beyond elections to the full repertoire of participation.

Lesson 4 • Political Socialisation and Identity

Traces how family, education, media, and peers shape political values over the life course. Establishes the micro-foundations of mass political behaviour.

Lesson 1 • Normative Theories of Democracy

Contrasts deliberative, participatory, agonistic, and aggregative democratic theories. Provides the normative benchmarks used to evaluate real-world democratic performance.

Lesson 2 • Civil Society and Democratic Participation

Examines the role of NGOs, associations, and social capital in sustaining democracy. Connects civil society vitality to democratic resilience and legitimacy.

Lesson 3 • Democratic Backsliding and Erosion

Analyses the mechanisms of executive aggrandisement, norm erosion, and autocratisation. Equips students to identify early warning signs of democratic decline.

Lesson 4 • Democratic Institutions and Their Performance

Assesses how constitutions, electoral rules, and oversight bodies affect democratic quality. Links institutional design choices to measurable governance outcomes.

Lesson 1 • Stakeholder and Coalition Analysis

Applies interest-group theory and game theory to map political feasibility of policy options. Enables students to anticipate opposition and build winning coalitions.

Lesson 2 • Political Risk Assessment

Teaches structured frameworks for identifying, scoring, and communicating political risks. Translates academic analysis into actionable intelligence for decision-makers.

Lesson 3 • Capstone: Integrated Political Analysis

Integrates methods, theory, and applied skills in a comprehensive political analysis project. Serves as the culminating demonstration of professional competency.

Lesson 4 • Policy Brief and Memo Writing

Develops skills for producing concise, evidence-based policy documents for diverse audiences. Bridges academic research and practitioner communication standards.