Comparative Democratic Political Institutions

Catalog description

Study of the key political institutional structure of democracy in comparative perspective. Political institutions of the United States and peer democracies covered will include constitutions, the electoral system, the system of government (presidential vs. parliamentary), vertical relations (centralization vs. decentralization), and the legislature. In addition to familiarizing students with the variety and operation of these political institutions, attention will be paid to their advantages and disadvantages, political and policy effects, and implications for the challenges confronting contemporary democracies.