Political Systems in Central and Eastern Europe I

Summary

This course compares political regimes in Central and Eastern Europe, linking domestic dynamics with external constraints. It examines authoritarian, hybrid, and democratic trajectories, including Central European democracies and Swiss direct democracy.

Content

Lire la suite

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

none

Recommended courses

-

Important concepts to start the course

none

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

• Distinguish distinguish between the main categories of political regimes
• Analyze analyze interactions between domestic institutions and the international environment
• Identify identify the political effects of economic dependencies, sanctions, and geopolitical alignments
• Compare compare several regime trajectories in Central and Eastern Europe
• Develop develop a critical reflection on contemporary transformations of political regimes
• Assess / Evaluate evaluate Switzerland as a distinctive model of democratic institutionalisation rather than simply as an exception to European political development
• Assess / Evaluate assess the role of international political economy in regime stability, regime adaptation, and regime transformation;
• Interpret interpret regime trajectories through the interaction of agency, institutions, structural constraints, and external leverage

Transversal skills

• Access and evaluate appropriate sources of information.
• Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking
• Use a work methodology appropriate to the task.
• Assess one's own level of skill acquisition, and plan their on-going learning goals.
• Give feedback (critique) in an appropriate fashion.

Teaching methods

Teaching Methods

The course is based on a combination of:

lectures;

guided discussions based on required readings;

comparative case-study analysis;

methodological sessions;

in-class discussions and analytical exercises;

oral presentations by students.

 

Expected student activities

Students are expected to engage actively with the theoretical, methodological, and empirical dimensions of the course. Their activities will include:

participating in guided class discussions on political regimes, external constraints, and comparative case studies;

analyzing empirical examples from Central and Eastern Europe through concepts introduced in the course;

completing short analytical exercises or quizzes designed to consolidate key concepts;

• preparing and delivering an oral presentation on a selected country case or comparative problem;

working individually or in small groups on comparative case-study analysis;

developing a research question related to political regimes, external influences, or institutional transformations;

identifying and using relevant academic literature, policy documents, and empirical data;

presenting clear, structured, and evidence-based arguments in both oral and written form.

 

Assessment methods

Assessment is based on the following components:

an oral presentation;

intermediate assessments in the form of quizzes or short written exercises;

active participation in discussions.

 

Supervision

Office hours	Yes
Assistant.e.s	Yes
Forum	Yes

Resources

Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)

Yes

Bibliography

Grzymala-Busse, A. (2007). Rebuilding Leviathan: Party Competition and State Exploitation in Post-Communist Democracies. Cambridge University Press.

Hale, H. E. (2015). Patronal Politics: Eurasian Regime Dynamics in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge University Press.

Linder, W., & Mueller, S. (2021). Swiss Democracy: Possible Solutions to Conflict in Multicultural Societies. Palgrave Macmillan.

Ross, M. L. (2012). The Oil Curse: How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations. Princeton University Press.

Schedler, A. (Ed.). (2006). Electoral Authoritarianism: The Dynamics of Unfree Competition. Lynne Rienner Publishers.

Levitsky, S., & Way, L. A. (2010). Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War. Cambridge University Press.

Wilson, A. (2021). Belarus: The Last European Dictatorship. Yale University Press.

 

Notes/Handbook

-

Websites

• https://www.v-dem.net/
• https://www.ponarseurasia.org/
• https://www.ucl.ac.uk/arts-humanities/ssees
• https://www.zdaarau.ch/
• https://democracyinstitute.ceu.edu/about/mission

Moodle Link

• https://go.epfl.ch/HUM-413_a

Videos

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yLR70xKsiw
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1drTNx-FrA
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pABGGjZn2D4
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5W45Va0cPE
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb1f_BIE290

Prerequisite for

none