Course Topics
What is normative political theory, and why is it normative? Democracy; citizenship; authority. Contractualism from Hobbes to Rawls. The classical-republican tradition. The normative problems of the open society and the contemporary debate.

Propaedeutic courses
Not envisaged

Teaching format
24 two-hour lectures, normally offered twice a week. Instructor uses powerpoint. On the second week of class, instructor will post on the class's Teams a detailed syllabus with specific indications on mid-term, final exam, and overall composition of the grade.

Educational objectives
Knowledge and understanding At the end of the course, students will have attained the following competences and skills: - Fundamentals of political science and understanding of the articulations of the discipline; - The concept of political power and the conditions of its exercise; - the concept of political system; - the distinction between empirical and normative approaches; what theories are for; - the relationship between the state and the individual; the concept of subjective rights; the nature of third type constitutions; - state, parliament, government and judicial bodies; - political parties, interest groups, movements; - the European Union as a political system, the integration process and the prospects of enlargement; - globalisation and the logic (and actors) of the international system. Applying knowledge and understanding - ability to understand, analyse and identify political decision-making processes; - ability to distinguish political systems on the basis of normative criteria (e.g. to distinguish the difference between democratic and authoritarian systems together with their subcategories); - ability to distinguish political systems on the basis of empirical criteria (e.g. distinguish between parliamentary, presidential and semi-presidential systems) - ability to analyse and anticipate the effects on the political system of particular events and/or actions such as, for example, general elections; - ability to understand the political logic of globalisation processes; this allows for the integration of strictly political knowledge with knowledge learned in adjacent areas such as law and economics, which instead investigate the same processes from other perspectives; - ability to analyse a technical text using appropriate theoretical tools; - ability to produce a reasoned text on a political science topic. Autonomy of judgement Acquisition of the capacity for judgement and methodological tools useful for the critical analysis of data, sources, assumptions and implications of scientific practice, of the political, ethical and legal context within which economic phenomena are inscribed and with which they interact Communication skills Fluency (oral and written) in Italian, German and English, including translation between these languages. Intercultural competence. Conceptual awareness, ability to summarise and express oneself in writing, particularly with regard to the drafting of scientific or science-based documents Learning skills Promotion of critical thinking and analytical skills to focus on complex problems in their long-term dynamics and in the variety of their implications, including ethical ones

Assessment
See the Evaluation Criteria below

Evaluation criteria
1. Participation. Depending on how many students will be attending, format and participation will be discussed and agreed-upon on week one. Attendance is not compulsory but in-class discussion of case studies or ‘check tests’ by registered students will be looked favorably upon. A policy document will be posted in the class’s ‘file’ folder on Teams, detailing the composition of the grade. 2. Project development: Students who regularly attend the class (that is, that will be attending at least 18 lectures) can be part of small groups (3 or 4 students) that will simulate the drafting of a CERV project. Extra points (from 0 to 3) will be granted to all students of groups that successfully complete the task. Research groups will be pitching their project idea at the end of May. Deadline for project’s delivery is May 31. 3. Mid-Term and students’ position papers: A mid-term is scheduled for May 7 (maximum 2 points). Selected papers may be presented in class towards the end of May (and earn one extra point). 4. 70-minute Final Examination: this is an in-class written exam combining multiple choice + short essay (max 350 words).