d22013 Comparative Constitutional Systems

CEVRO University
fall 2023
Extent and Intensity
24/0/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Miloš Brunclík, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. PhDr. Miloš Brunclík, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Miloš Brunclík, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science and International Relations – Departments – President – CEVRO University
Timetable
Tue 14:00–15:20 Učebna 103
  • Timetable of Seminar Groups:
d22013/cviceni: No timetable has been entered into IS.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
Course description: The course provides students with basic knowledge on major models of constitutional systems of Western democracies, with a special focus on Europe. The course shows that political systems of Western countries are not only shaped by constitutions and other formal rules, but also by a range of factors that lay beyond the constitution. Hence, the course seeks to present current political systems of Western democracies as a result of interplay of constitutional and extra-constitutional factors.
Learning outcomes
After accomplishing the course students will be able to define three democratic regimes types (presidentialism, semi-presidentialism and parliamentarism) as well as their varying conceptualizations. Furthermore, they will be able to identify major decision-makers in political systems in various democratic regimes types, they will understand key relations between the triangle of actors: head of state, government (cabinet) and parliament and their position and functions in respective regime types. In addition to the constitutional institutions in terms of their powers, students will be also able to identify and analyze impact of extra-constitutional factors such as party system, constitutional conventions, public expectations, timing of elections etc.
Syllabus
  • Course structure: Class 1 Constitutions and Constitutionalism Readings: Sartori, Giovanni. 1962. Constitutionalism. A Preliminary Discussion. The American political science review 56(4): 853-864 Class 2 Democratic Regime Types Readings: Elgie, Robert. 2005. From Linz to Tsebelis: three waves of presidential/parliamentary studies?. Democratization 12(1): 106-122. Class 3 Heads of States in a Comparative Perspective Readings: Tavits, Margit. 2009. Presidents with prime ministers: Do direct elections matter?. Oxford: Oxford University Press chapter 1 Class 4 Constitutional Conventions Readings: Taylor, Greg. 2014. Convention by consensus: Constitutional conventions in Germany. International Journal of Constitutional Law 12(2): 303-329. Class 5 Political System of the USA (I) Readings: US Election Booklet 2020 Class 6 Political System of the USA (II) Readings: Marshall, William. 2008. Eleven reasons why presidential power inevitably expands and why it matters."Boston University Law Review 88: 505-522 Class 7 Political System of the USA (III) Readings: Heitshusen, Valerie. 2020. Introduction to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress. Congressional Research Service. Class 8 Political system of the United Kingdom (I) Loughlin, Martin. 2015. The British Constitution: a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Class 9 Political system of the United Kingdom (II) Readings: Garnett, Mark and Philip Lynch. 2009. Exploring the British Politics. 2nd edition. London: Pearson and Longman. Chapter 8. Class 10 Political system of the United Kingdom (III) Readings: Garnett, Mark and Philip Lynch. 2009. Exploring the British Politics. 2nd edition. London: Pearson and Longman. Chapter 7. Class 11 Political system of France Knapp, Andrew, and Vincent Wright. 2006.The government and politics of France. Routledge. Chapter 4. Class 12 Political system of Germany Saalfeld, Thomas. 2003. Germany: Multiple Veto Points, Informal Co-ordination, and Problems of Hidden Action. In: Strøm, Kaare, Torbjörn Bergman, and Wolfgang C. Müller, eds. Delegation and accountability in parliamentary democracies. Oxford University Press (p. 347-375).
Teaching methods
Lectures and seminars
Assessment methods
Course requirements: In order to pass the course successfully, students are supposed to: 1. present a seminar presentation (student may choose form a list of topics as announced by the teacher of the course). For the student presentation, the student may score max. 30 points. 2. take the final exam and score at least 50 per cent of the total number of points. The final exam includes both multiple choice questions as well as open ended questions. The final exam reflects 1) lectures, 2) readings and 3) students presentations. In the final exam, the student may score max. 70 points.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is also listed under the following terms fall 2022.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.vsci.cz/course/cevro/fall2023/d22013