PT|EN
Systems of Power
Courses Degree in Social Sciences
Cod: 41055
Department: DCSG
ECTS: 6
Scientific area: Political Sciences
Total working hours: 156
Total contact time: 15

The contents of this curricular unit are intended to give the student a comprehensive view of institutional characteristics and functioning of political systems in general.

Attention is given a perspective of analysis that transcends the merely formal field and takes into account the empirical evidence on the one hand, and, secondly, the comparative exercise.

Power
Political system
Representation systems
Democracy

It is intended that at the end of this Course, the student has acquired the following competences:

•    Recognizing the importance of the study of "Shape Power" under the Political Science
•    Identify the processes and the ways that political participation can take.
•    Establish the importance of elections as mechanisms of political participation.
•    Name the advantages and disadvantages of each major electoral systems.
•    Spell out the role and functions of the current parliament, and in particular the function of representation.
•    Demonstrate the relationship between the different modes of formation of governments and the type of policies pursued by them.
•    Indicate the type of relationship that can be established between the government and parliament, taking as reference the classical classification of the forms of government.
•    Characterize different types of democratic and non-democratic regimes.

Topic 1: Introduction to the Form of Power
Theme 2: The Political Participation
Theme 3: Elections and Electoral Systems
Theme 4: Parties and Party Systems
Theme 5: Parliaments and Representation
Theme 6: Governments
Theme 7: The undemocratic regimes
Theme 8: Democratic Regimes

Obrigatória:
    Pasquino, Gianfranco, Curso de Ciência Política, Cascais, Princípia, 2002.

Other handouts (available in the virtual classroom)
Recommended Books:
Badía, Juan, Regímenes Políticos Actuales, Barcelona, Tecnos, 1995.
Câmara, João Bettencourt, Noites de San Casciano. Sobre a Melhor Forma de Governo, Lisboa, Veja, 1997.
Fernandes, António, Introdução à Ciência Política – Teorias, métodos e temáticas, Porto, Porto Editora, 2008.
Hague, Rod. Martin Harrop & Shaun Breslin, Comparative Governments and Politics. An Introduction, London, Macmillan Foundations, 1998.
Heywood, Andrew, Politics, Londres, Macmillan Foundations, 1997.
Moreira, Adriano, Ciência Política. Coimbra, Almedina, 2006.
 

E-learning (fully online).

Continuous assessment is privileged: 2 or 3 digital written documents (e-folios) during the semester (40%) and a presence-based final exam (p-folio) in the end of the semester (60%). In due time, students can alternatively choose to perform one final presence-based exam (100%).