Political science and international relations

The course is ideally structured into five deeply interconnected parts: - The first, introductory in nature, presents the concept of politics, the origins and evolution of Political Science, the discipline’s key concepts, and its main analytical methodologies; - The second part explores the framework and “rules of the game” of political life, focusing on the architecture of the modern state (its features and powers), the political regimes of the contemporary era (democracy, authoritarianism, totalitarianism), and the causes and processes of regime change (democratization and autocratization); - The third part examines contemporary democracies more specifically, discussing their main institutional components, including forms of government, legislatures and systems of representation, and electoral systems; - The fourth part is devoted to the actors on the domestic political stage - leaders, parties, movements, and interest groups - the dynamics among them, and the policies that emerge as a result; - The fifth and final part explores the distinctive features of political dynamics that take shape in the international arena.

Familiarity with the main political events of the contemporary era is strongly recommended, while knowledge of the political history of Republican Italy (1946-2025) is mandatory.

1) G. Pasquino, (2009), Nuovo Corso di Scienza Politica, Bologna, il Mulino (da studiare integralmente). 2) G. Passarelli (2010) (a cura di), Presidenti della Repubblica. Forme di governo a confronto, Torino, Giappichelli (da studiare integralmente). Per l'esame da 10 CFU scegliere due volumi a scelta tra i seguenti (For the 10 CFU exam, you are required to choose two books from the following list): La dimensione interna (The domestic dimension): - Fruncillo, D. (2020) Verso la politica post-elettorale. Rubettino. - Passarelli, G. (2024) Stati Uniti d'Europa. Un'epopea a dodici stelle, Egea. - Raniolo, F. (2024) La partecipazione politica. Fare, pensare, essere. Bologna. Il Mulino. La dimensione internazionale (The international dimension): - Natalizia, G., Mazziotti di Celso, M., Sorio, N. (a cura) (2025), L'Italia e la competizione tra grandi potenze, Roma, UNINT University press. - Baldelli, P., Ferrara, R., Natalizia, G. (a cura) (2024), Il gioco delle grandi potenze. La competizione nel Mediterraneo allargato, Roma, LUISS University press. - Ercolani, A., Mazziotti di Celso, M., Termine, L. (a cura) (2024), L'autonomia strategica europea: ambizioni politiche e vincoli capacitivi, Milano, McGraw Hill. ERASMUS students: please contact the professor to have further information about teaching and program N.B: Chi deve sostenere l'esame da 6 crediti deve portare i primi due testi obbligatori. Chi deve sostenere l'esame da 9 crediti deve portare i primi due testi obbligatori più 1 testo tra i volumi a scelta tra quelli indicati nell'elenco. Chi deve sostenere l'esame da 10 crediti deve portare i primi due testi obbligatori più 2 testi tra i volumi a scelta tra quelli indicati nell'elenco.

Voluntary attendance

The exam is aimed at verifying the acquisition by students of the essential contents of the discipline and the critical and argumentative capacity achieved. The exam is written (1 hour, up to 5 open questions).

The course consists of lectures, seminars featuring guest speakers (including academics, diplomats, military officials, journalists, and politicians), as well as the presentation and discussion of student-authored papers.

The course is ideally divided into five parts, deeply integrated with each other. The first introduces the concept of politics, the nature and evolutionary strands of Political science, the key-concepts of the discipline and its main methodologies of analysis. The second part examines the boundary and rules of the domestic political scenario, namely the architecture of the modern state (characteristics and powers), the political regimes of the contemporary age (democracy, authoritarianism, totalitarianism), their historical succession and, therefore, regime changes (democratization/autocratization). The third part looks more specifically at contemporary democracies, discussing their main institutional elements (forms of government, parliaments and electoral systems). The fourth is dedicated to the actors of the domestic political scene (leaders, parties, movements, pressure groups), the dynamics between these take shape and policies resulting from their interaction. The last part, finally, introduces the interaction among states within the international environment. The third part looks more specifically at contemporary democracies, discussing their main institutional elements (forms of government, parliaments and electoral systems). The fourth is dedicated to the actors of the domestic political scene (leaders, parties, movements, pressure groups), the dynamics between these take shape and policies resulting from their interaction. The last part, finally, introduces the interaction among states within the international environment.

Familiarity with the main political events of the contemporary era is strongly recommended, while knowledge of the political history of Republican Italy (1946-2020) is mandatory.

1) G. Pasquino, (2009), Nuovo Corso di Scienza Politica, Bologna, il Mulino (da studiare integralmente). 2) G. Passarelli (2010) (a cura di), Presidenti della Repubblica. Forme di governo a confronto, Torino, Giappichelli (da studiare integralmente). Per l'esame da 10 CFU scegliere due volumi a scelta tra i seguenti (For the 10 CFU exam, you are required to choose two books from the following list): La dimensione interna (The domestic dimension): - Fruncillo, D. (2020), Verso la politica post-elettorale. Rubettino. - Passarelli, G. (2024), Stati Uniti d'Europa. Un'epopea a dodici stelle, Egea. - Raniolo, F. (2024) La partecipazione politica. Fare, pensare, essere. Bologna. Il Mulino. La dimensione internazionale (The international dimension): - Natalizia, G., Mazziotti di Celso, M., Sorio, N. (a cura) (2025), L'Italia e la competizione tra grandi potenze, Roma, UNINT University press. - Baldelli, P., Ferrara, R., Natalizia, G. (a cura) (2024), Il gioco delle grandi potenze. La competizione nel Mediterraneo allargato, Roma, LUISS University press. - Ercolani, A., Mazziotti di Celso, M., Termine, L. (a cura) (2024), L'autonomia strategica europea: ambizioni politiche e vincoli capacitivi, Milano, McGraw Hill. ERASMUS students: please contact the professor to have further information about teaching and program N.B: Chi deve sostenere l'esame da 6 crediti deve portare i primi due testi obbligatori. Chi deve sostenere l'esame da 9 crediti deve portare i primi due testi obbligatori più 1 testo tra i volumi a scelta tra quelli indicati nell'elenco. Chi deve sostenere l'esame da 10 crediti deve portare i primi due testi obbligatori più 2 testi tra i volumi a scelta tra quelli indicati nell'elenco.

Voluntary attendance

The exam is aimed at verifying the acquisition by students of the essential contents of the discipline and the critical and argumentative capacity achieved. The exam is written (1 hour, 5 open questions).

The course consists of lectures, seminars featuring guest speakers (including academics, diplomats, military officials, journalists, and politicians), as well as the presentation and discussion of student-authored papers.