Positive Political Theory (PPT) explores political phenomena using formal approaches drawn from decision theory and game theory. Over the past decades, PPT has become increasingly influential within political science, offering valuable insights into how social and political institutions shape behavior and outcomes.
This course introduces the core principles and methods of decision and game theory, with a particular emphasis on experimental approaches. In experimental decision and game theory, strategic incentive and interaction problems are first analyzed theoretically and then tested empirically through laboratory or field experiments involving human participants. The observed behavior, which shows how individuals respond and make decisions in strategic situations, is then compared to theoretical predictions derived from game theory.
Across a range of topics, including decision-making under risk, coordination games, zero-sum games, mixed-motive games, and sequential games, experimental research has developed a set of standard games that are widely used in the field. The course covers these key game structures, their formal solutions, and the sometimes surprising or contradictory experimental findings.
By the end of the course, students will be able to interpret real-world political conflicts as strategic problems of incentives and interaction. They will also learn how to apply standard experimental games to their own research interests.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung [preparatory literature]:
Behnke, Joachim 2020. Entscheidungs- und Spieltheorie. Baden. Nomos.
Riker, William H. 1982. Liberalism Against Populism: A Confrontation between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company.
Shepsle, Kenneth A. 2010. Analyzing Politics. Rationality, Behavior, and Institutions (Second Edition). New York/ London: W W Norton & Company.

Art der Prüfungsleistung (CP) [credits and assignments]:
Teilprüfung 1 (6 CP): mündliche Prüfung (30 Minuten), Teilprüfung 2 (3 CP): mündliche Prüfung (15 Minuten)

In this text-centered seminar, we will discuss seminal contributions to the ethics of migration, which has become a cottage industry in political and moral philosophy over the last few decades. We know that in many places borders are not open, but ought they to be so from a moral point of view? Or does this depend on the circumstances? If so, which circumstances matter and why? Do states that restrict immigration (by certain groups of people) violate human rights (and how would we know that)? Or do they merely exercise the right of self-determination of the political community they represent? These are the kinds of questions that we will raise in this seminar, after paving the ground by looking at some conceptual, empirical, and theoretical issues in the initial meetings.

Preparatory Reading

Wellman, Christopher Heath (2024): Immigration. In: Zalta, Edward N./Nodelman, Uri (eds.): The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2024 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2024/entries/immigration/

Assignments and Credits

6 CP (TP 1, GS, Erasmus): term paper (15-20 pp.) or oral exam (30 min.)

3 CP (TP 2, GS, Erasmus): presentation (15 min.) with written elaboration (5 pp.) or short term paper (8-10 pp.)

The class provides an introduction to core concepts of international relations theory. The focus is on what different theories consider to be the key drivers of international and transnational relations. global politics, focusing on key concepts and issues of theories of international relations: states, sovereignty, conflict, cooperation, international institutions, non-governmental organizations, delegation and (indirect) global governance. The course starts with a focus on classical, Western literatures but concludes with sessions on gender, race, colonialism and the end of the Western-dominated liberal international order. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand and apply the key concepts in their own research.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

any textbook on IR

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

6 CP
Requirements

Attendance: Students are expected to be present and prepared for every class session. Active participation during seminar discussions is essential. If unavoidable circumstances arise which prevent attendance or preparation, the instructor should be advised in advance by email.

Reseearch paper:Each student submits a brief paper at the end of the seminar. The paper should engage with one of the readings of this class, summarize the main argument and comment on it. Grading will consider the rigor of the analysis, and the quality of writing. The word limit is 3000 words everything included. Each student presents his or her paper idea in a short presentation during the final session. .

This course is designed to introduce students to core debates and to cutting edge research in the field of political violence, highlighting postcolonial, decolonial, Indigenous, Black studies, and queer approaches.The premise is to question violence as endemic or a natural aspect and acknowledge that it has many contingent modalities that can be best understood in a historical perspective. The course also considers the productive effects of violence, as violent practices constitute nationalism, revolutionary thought, and state politics. The central questions asked during the course include: What is violence? How are different forms and sites of violence connected? How do technologies of gender, sex, and race shape understandings of certain practices of violence as political, lawful, legitimate and/or necessary?

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3 & 6 Credit Points

Political parties are central actors in democracies. In recent decades, established party systems have been re-shaped by the effects of globalisation, de-industrialisation and demographic change, and by the actions of political parties both old and new. This seminar deals with the origins and development of parties and party systems in democracies, as well as changes over time. We discuss connections between parties and citizens, changing lines of conflict, and dynamics of political competition. The aim is to deepen understanding of the role and behaviour of political parties, and enable participants to compare parties and party systems among countries and over time.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3CP or 6CP

This course studies political and economic development from a political economy perspective. It revolves around the questions: Why don’t poor countries catch up? Why do some countries strive while others fail? What is the micro-foundation of development? With a particular focus on (a) the crucial role of institutions and (b) the behavioral micro-foundation of development, we investigate which factors account for economic growth, democratization and regime stability. We study the explanatory power of factor endowments, institutions, regime type, clientelism, ethnic heterogeneity and corruption for development and growth. Taking into account historical legacies, ethnic conflicts, and natural resources, we shed light on the different components that influence the politics of development. At the micro level we zoom in on general theories of political behavior, investigating preference formation, voting behavior and political activism. We learn about the incentive structures of political elites, citizens and social groups, and reflect on challenges for cooperation. We tap into motivations for individuals to engage in protests, conflicts and revolt and study the impact of clientelism, group membership and corruption on vote choices in elections.

The course will provide you with a set of micro theories and institutional theories to study and explain economic and political development. The readings span from classical work to the current research frontier, so that the course will equip you with insights into the key debates in comparative and international political economy research. Methodologically, we will come across a variety of approaches such as regression analysis, multilevel models, field experiments, laboratory experiments and qualitative case studies. Geographically, the course covers a variety of cases, from Sub-Sahara Africa and Latin America, but also East and Western Europe.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Keefer, P. and S. Knack (1997): Why Don't Poor Countries Catch Up? A Cross-National Test Of An Institutional Explanation. Economic Inquiry, Vol. XXXV: 590-602.

Acemoglu, D. and J. Robinson (2012), Why Nations Fail: Chapters 1-2 (pp. 7-69).

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Term paper/Hausarbeit 6CP; Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung des Referats bei 3CP/ In-class presentation and written report of presentation topic for 3 CP

In this course we study climate change as a political and social challenge using approaches from comparative politics and international political economy. Climate change raises questions of power, fairness and responsibility that are central to political analysis. The seminar examines why climate policies differ across countries, parties and governments and how citizens perceive fairness and justice in climate action.
The course is divided into two main parts. The first addresses the formation of climate policy and explores how public opinion, party competition and political communication shape the political supply of environmental policies. The second part focuses on inequality, justice and the social consequences of climate change, including vulnerability, protest and transitions. Students work with comparative case studies, survey and experimental evidence and recent empirical research.
By the end of the course students will be able to explain why climate change is a political issue, compare how institutions and interests influence climate policy, and evaluate questions of fairness, inequality and justice in climate action.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Tvinnereim, E., & Ivarsflaten, E. (2016). Fossil fuels, employment, and support for climate policies. Energy Policy, 96, 364–371.
Spoon, J., Hobolt, S. B., & De Vries, C. E. (2014). Going green: Explaining issue competition on the environment. European Journal of Political Research, 53(2), 363–380.
Lockwood, M. (2018). Right-wing populism and the climate change agenda. Environmental Politics, 27(4), 712–732.
Dolšak, N., & Prakash, A. (2022). Three faces of climate justice. Annual Review of Political Science, 25, 283–301.
Thomas, K. et al. (2019). Explaining differential vulnerability to climate change: A social science review. WIREs Climate Change, 10(2), e565.
Bolet, D., Green, F., & González-Eguino, M. (2024). How to get coal country to vote for climate policy. American Political Science Review, 118(3), 1344–1359.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Presentation and written report for 3 CP / Presentation and term paper for 6 CP.
(Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung bei 3 CP; Referat und Hausarbeit bei 6 CP.)

The class introduces students to the literature on the interplay between institutions and the economy based on the influential model case of German capitalism. Based on exemplary historical, institutionalist, and quantitative research, the class features discussions of the origins, sources of stability, and sources of change of a distinctively German variety of capitalism. Institutional fields at the core of the seminar are the financial system, the innovation system, education and training, corporatism, the labor market, Federalism, and corporate governance.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Streeck, W. 1997. German capitalism: Does it exist? Can it survive? New Political Economy, 2 (2), 237–256.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Students are required to prepare a term paper (8–10 pages). Deadlines, subjects, structure, and requirements for the paper will be discussed in session 1 and developed throughout the course.

Positive Political Theory (PPT) explores political phenomena using formal approaches drawn from decision theory and game theory. Over the past decades, PPT has become increasingly influential within political science, offering valuable insights into how social and political institutions shape behavior and outcomes.
This course introduces the core principles and methods of decision and game theory, with a particular emphasis on experimental approaches. In experimental decision and game theory, strategic incentive and interaction problems are first analyzed theoretically and then tested empirically through laboratory or field experiments involving human participants. The observed behavior, which shows how individuals respond and make decisions in strategic situations, is then compared to theoretical predictions derived from game theory.
Across a range of topics, including decision-making under risk, coordination games, zero-sum games, mixed-motive games, and sequential games, experimental research has developed a set of standard games that are widely used in the field. The course covers these key game structures, their formal solutions, and the sometimes surprising or contradictory experimental findings.
By the end of the course, students will be able to interpret real-world political conflicts as strategic problems of incentives and interaction. They will also learn how to apply standard experimental games to their own research interests.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung [preparatory literature]:
Behnke, Joachim 2020. Entscheidungs- und Spieltheorie. Baden. Nomos.
Riker, William H. 1982. Liberalism Against Populism: A Confrontation between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company.
Shepsle, Kenneth A. 2010. Analyzing Politics. Rationality, Behavior, and Institutions (Second Edition). New York/ London: W W Norton & Company.

Art der Prüfungsleistung (CP) [credits and assignments]:
Teilprüfung 1 (6 CP): mündliche Prüfung (30 Minuten), Teilprüfung 2 (3 CP): mündliche Prüfung (15 Minuten)

In this text-centered seminar, we will discuss seminal contributions to the ethics of migration, which has become a cottage industry in political and moral philosophy over the last few decades. We know that in many places borders are not open, but ought they to be so from a moral point of view? Or does this depend on the circumstances? If so, which circumstances matter and why? Do states that restrict immigration (by certain groups of people) violate human rights (and how would we know that)? Or do they merely exercise the right of self-determination of the political community they represent? These are the kinds of questions that we will raise in this seminar, after paving the ground by looking at some conceptual, empirical, and theoretical issues in the initial meetings.

Preparatory Reading

Wellman, Christopher Heath (2024): Immigration. In: Zalta, Edward N./Nodelman, Uri (eds.): The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2024 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2024/entries/immigration/

Assignments and Credits

6 CP (TP 1, GS, Erasmus): term paper (15-20 pp.) or oral exam (30 min.)

3 CP (TP 2, GS, Erasmus): presentation (15 min.) with written elaboration (5 pp.) or short term paper (8-10 pp.)

The class provides an introduction to core concepts of international relations theory. The focus is on what different theories consider to be the key drivers of international and transnational relations. global politics, focusing on key concepts and issues of theories of international relations: states, sovereignty, conflict, cooperation, international institutions, non-governmental organizations, delegation and (indirect) global governance. The course starts with a focus on classical, Western literatures but concludes with sessions on gender, race, colonialism and the end of the Western-dominated liberal international order. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand and apply the key concepts in their own research.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

any textbook on IR

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

6 CP
Requirements

Attendance: Students are expected to be present and prepared for every class session. Active participation during seminar discussions is essential. If unavoidable circumstances arise which prevent attendance or preparation, the instructor should be advised in advance by email.

Reseearch paper:Each student submits a brief paper at the end of the seminar. The paper should engage with one of the readings of this class, summarize the main argument and comment on it. Grading will consider the rigor of the analysis, and the quality of writing. The word limit is 3000 words everything included. Each student presents his or her paper idea in a short presentation during the final session. .

This course is designed to introduce students to core debates and to cutting edge research in the field of political violence, highlighting postcolonial, decolonial, Indigenous, Black studies, and queer approaches.The premise is to question violence as endemic or a natural aspect and acknowledge that it has many contingent modalities that can be best understood in a historical perspective. The course also considers the productive effects of violence, as violent practices constitute nationalism, revolutionary thought, and state politics. The central questions asked during the course include: What is violence? How are different forms and sites of violence connected? How do technologies of gender, sex, and race shape understandings of certain practices of violence as political, lawful, legitimate and/or necessary?

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3 & 6 Credit Points

Political parties are central actors in democracies. In recent decades, established party systems have been re-shaped by the effects of globalisation, de-industrialisation and demographic change, and by the actions of political parties both old and new. This seminar deals with the origins and development of parties and party systems in democracies, as well as changes over time. We discuss connections between parties and citizens, changing lines of conflict, and dynamics of political competition. The aim is to deepen understanding of the role and behaviour of political parties, and enable participants to compare parties and party systems among countries and over time.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3CP or 6CP

This course studies political and economic development from a political economy perspective. It revolves around the questions: Why don’t poor countries catch up? Why do some countries strive while others fail? What is the micro-foundation of development? With a particular focus on (a) the crucial role of institutions and (b) the behavioral micro-foundation of development, we investigate which factors account for economic growth, democratization and regime stability. We study the explanatory power of factor endowments, institutions, regime type, clientelism, ethnic heterogeneity and corruption for development and growth. Taking into account historical legacies, ethnic conflicts, and natural resources, we shed light on the different components that influence the politics of development. At the micro level we zoom in on general theories of political behavior, investigating preference formation, voting behavior and political activism. We learn about the incentive structures of political elites, citizens and social groups, and reflect on challenges for cooperation. We tap into motivations for individuals to engage in protests, conflicts and revolt and study the impact of clientelism, group membership and corruption on vote choices in elections.

The course will provide you with a set of micro theories and institutional theories to study and explain economic and political development. The readings span from classical work to the current research frontier, so that the course will equip you with insights into the key debates in comparative and international political economy research. Methodologically, we will come across a variety of approaches such as regression analysis, multilevel models, field experiments, laboratory experiments and qualitative case studies. Geographically, the course covers a variety of cases, from Sub-Sahara Africa and Latin America, but also East and Western Europe.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Keefer, P. and S. Knack (1997): Why Don't Poor Countries Catch Up? A Cross-National Test Of An Institutional Explanation. Economic Inquiry, Vol. XXXV: 590-602.

Acemoglu, D. and J. Robinson (2012), Why Nations Fail: Chapters 1-2 (pp. 7-69).

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Term paper/Hausarbeit 6CP; Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung des Referats bei 3CP/ In-class presentation and written report of presentation topic for 3 CP

In this course we study climate change as a political and social challenge using approaches from comparative politics and international political economy. Climate change raises questions of power, fairness and responsibility that are central to political analysis. The seminar examines why climate policies differ across countries, parties and governments and how citizens perceive fairness and justice in climate action.
The course is divided into two main parts. The first addresses the formation of climate policy and explores how public opinion, party competition and political communication shape the political supply of environmental policies. The second part focuses on inequality, justice and the social consequences of climate change, including vulnerability, protest and transitions. Students work with comparative case studies, survey and experimental evidence and recent empirical research.
By the end of the course students will be able to explain why climate change is a political issue, compare how institutions and interests influence climate policy, and evaluate questions of fairness, inequality and justice in climate action.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Tvinnereim, E., & Ivarsflaten, E. (2016). Fossil fuels, employment, and support for climate policies. Energy Policy, 96, 364–371.
Spoon, J., Hobolt, S. B., & De Vries, C. E. (2014). Going green: Explaining issue competition on the environment. European Journal of Political Research, 53(2), 363–380.
Lockwood, M. (2018). Right-wing populism and the climate change agenda. Environmental Politics, 27(4), 712–732.
Dolšak, N., & Prakash, A. (2022). Three faces of climate justice. Annual Review of Political Science, 25, 283–301.
Thomas, K. et al. (2019). Explaining differential vulnerability to climate change: A social science review. WIREs Climate Change, 10(2), e565.
Bolet, D., Green, F., & González-Eguino, M. (2024). How to get coal country to vote for climate policy. American Political Science Review, 118(3), 1344–1359.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Presentation and written report for 3 CP / Presentation and term paper for 6 CP.
(Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung bei 3 CP; Referat und Hausarbeit bei 6 CP.)

The class introduces students to the literature on the interplay between institutions and the economy based on the influential model case of German capitalism. Based on exemplary historical, institutionalist, and quantitative research, the class features discussions of the origins, sources of stability, and sources of change of a distinctively German variety of capitalism. Institutional fields at the core of the seminar are the financial system, the innovation system, education and training, corporatism, the labor market, Federalism, and corporate governance.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Streeck, W. 1997. German capitalism: Does it exist? Can it survive? New Political Economy, 2 (2), 237–256.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Students are required to prepare a term paper (8–10 pages). Deadlines, subjects, structure, and requirements for the paper will be discussed in session 1 and developed throughout the course.

This is a research-based seminar dedicated to topical issues in (studies of) Central and Eastern Europe in light of contemporary polycrises: Russia’s war in Ukraine; authoritarian backlash in Russia, Belarus and elsewhere; democratic backsliding in a number of EU-member states; global climate breakdown; and others. It invites students to engage with contemporary debates on decolonization, gender and sexuality, nationalism and identity, memory, and environmental destruction – as seen through cultural practices including (but not restricted to) literature, film, visual arts, digital activism, and music.

No specific linguistic competences are required for participation: materials will be studied in translation (English and/or German, according to availability) or with subtitles.

In the course of the semester, students will formulate their own research topics to pursue in a limited and guided capacity, producing written and/or visual outputs in a flexible assessment format. The seminar will foreground a dialogic structure, encouraging students to contribute in multiple ways and collectively co-shape the direction and content. A number of special guest inputs are also planned.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the of the course, students should be able to:
• critically discuss selected cultural products and practices from central/eastern Europe, including in comparative perspective in relation to global processes and with reference to broader theoretical paradigms such as memory studies, de- and postcoloniality, theories of gender and sexuality, and others;
• develop their own research question in a self-selected area of cultural studies in an central/eastern European context, as well as adapt and apply appropriate theories to carry out the project within a given time frame;
• demonstrate advanced knowledge of contemporary cultural issues in central and eastern Europe in line with their own research interests and language skills, and identify areas in which they may wish to specialise in future research projects (e.g. the BA thesis).

This colloquium addresses students from BA and MA programs in social sciences with an interest in international relations and international political sociology. Together with Ph-candidates and post-doc scholars we will discuss recent contributions to the field, talk to invited scholars and present ongoing work from different research projects in the field of internationalized politics.

This course wants to enable students to run their own (quantitative) research project in R. In the process, they will learn basic data wrangling and data visualisation in R. Every student will choose a project that they want to conduct using publicly available data of their choosing (some examples will be provided) and will, in consultation with the course coordinator, work towards a project report at the end of the course that they will present to the other students. Students will analyse their data in the open-source programme R and will be encouraged to write their final reports in it, too. The course will be a mixture of lectures on practical issues and a project based working sessions in exchange with the course coordinator and other students to make use of peer-to-peer learning. The lecture will be tailored to the needs and levels of the participating students.

In this course students are encouraged to run their own small-scale analysis project using R from beginning to end: choosing a topic and research question they find interesting, selecting and downloading the relevant data, using simple (presumably mostly) descriptive statistics such as means, and writing a report about their findings. They will be encouraged to use Quarto/ Rmarkdown, the integrated tool within R-Studio, to write their final reports and export them into PDF to automatically integrate updated findings. Also, students will be encouraged to upload and maintain their project on git. This course teaches practical skills and combines it with theoretical grounding in reproducible science. Hence it can be used as a good foundation for quantitative bachelor or master theses, and to learn skills that can be used also outside of academia.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

• Wickham, Hadley, Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel, and Garrett Grolemund. ‘Introduction’. In R for Data Science, 2nd Edition, Second edition. O’Reilley, https://r4ds.hadley.nz/intro.html.
• Munafò, Marcus R., Brian A. Nosek, Dorothy V. M. Bishop, et al. ‘A Manifesto for Reproducible Science’. Nature Human Behaviour 1, no. 1 (2017): 0021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-016-0021.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Students can take the course for 3 CP or 6 CP. The final assessment will depend on the amount of CP students chose. Both assessments include the simple progress report every two weeks (just about one paragraph in an unstructured form, including reasons for no progress, which will always happen, is no problem and part of the process) and the final script of the project. Beyond that, the two different levels encompass the following two assessments:

3 CP:
• Short presentation (10 minutes)
• Short final research note with references (~5 pages, at least one high-quality graph)
6 CP:
• Long presentation (20 minutes)
• Long final research note with references (~10 pages, at least two high-quality graphs)

This series of interconnected lectures serves as an introduction to social theory and cultural criticism. Themes include: definitions of culture, theories of identity; modernity and postmodernity; language, semiotics and (post)structuralism; cultural memory; psychoanalysis; race, ethnicity and imperial legacies; Marxist critiques; and study of culture in the age of globalization.

This is an interdisciplinary course bridging various fields of inquiry including anthropology, sociology, history, literary studies and linguistics. It is open to students from all departments and is intended to be useful for a wide range of potential academic paths.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• apply a range of theories and methods of analysis to works of literature, film, art, and other cultural phenomena;
• engage in informed discussions on the foundations of cultural theory, including ideas first voiced by Clifford Geertz, Antonio Gramsci, Roland Barthes, Sigmund Freud, Linda Hutcheon, Arjun Appadurai and others;
• critically discuss the concept(s) of culture as applied to terms such as “mass” culture, “high” culture”, “popular” culture and “national” cultures.

Teilnehmende/Participants:

Students taking Integrated European Studies (IES) Module M5c ("Einführung in die Theorien und Methoden der Kulturwissenschaft"; 12CPs) must complete this lecture course and the seminar "08-31-2-M5c-2: Gender Studies: Kultur und Gesellschaft".

Students from all faculties and exchange programmes are also welcome to participate. The lecture course is worth 6CPs/ECTS as a stand-alone course.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

This course is normally assessed as part of the Module IES-M5c “Einführung in die Theorien und Methoden der Kulturwissenschaft”, in which second-semester Integrated European Studies (IES) students attend and complete assessments in different but related aspects of cultural theory.

The lecture course and the seminar will be weighted equally in the grading of the module as a whole (12 CPs in total).

Students are also invited to take the course as a stand-alone paper in General Studies and receive a GS-Schein (or e.g. Erasmus Credit Transfer for exchange students). In this case, the course is worth 6 CPs/ECTS. The assessment format for all students is the same, namely:

This course is assessed by written Examination (100%): a 90-minute question-and-answer based examination carried out in Week 14. Answers may be written in German or English (or a mixture).

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:
6 CP

Maps are powerful tools for understanding and communicating political phenomena. In this block seminar you will learn to use the statistical software R to produce customisable, publication-quality maps and other data visualisations. No prior knowledge of R is required. Participants are encouraged to use data from their own research projects, but test datasets will also be provided.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:
3CP

https://www.uni-bremen.de/fb8/international/internationales-modul
3 CP/ECTS for this course, +3 CP/ECTS extra credit

Positive Political Theory (PPT) explores political phenomena using formal approaches drawn from decision theory and game theory. Over the past decades, PPT has become increasingly influential within political science, offering valuable insights into how social and political institutions shape behavior and outcomes.
This course introduces the core principles and methods of decision and game theory, with a particular emphasis on experimental approaches. In experimental decision and game theory, strategic incentive and interaction problems are first analyzed theoretically and then tested empirically through laboratory or field experiments involving human participants. The observed behavior, which shows how individuals respond and make decisions in strategic situations, is then compared to theoretical predictions derived from game theory.
Across a range of topics, including decision-making under risk, coordination games, zero-sum games, mixed-motive games, and sequential games, experimental research has developed a set of standard games that are widely used in the field. The course covers these key game structures, their formal solutions, and the sometimes surprising or contradictory experimental findings.
By the end of the course, students will be able to interpret real-world political conflicts as strategic problems of incentives and interaction. They will also learn how to apply standard experimental games to their own research interests.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung [preparatory literature]:
Behnke, Joachim 2020. Entscheidungs- und Spieltheorie. Baden. Nomos.
Riker, William H. 1982. Liberalism Against Populism: A Confrontation between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company.
Shepsle, Kenneth A. 2010. Analyzing Politics. Rationality, Behavior, and Institutions (Second Edition). New York/ London: W W Norton & Company.

Art der Prüfungsleistung (CP) [credits and assignments]:
Teilprüfung 1 (6 CP): mündliche Prüfung (30 Minuten), Teilprüfung 2 (3 CP): mündliche Prüfung (15 Minuten)

In this text-centered seminar, we will discuss seminal contributions to the ethics of migration, which has become a cottage industry in political and moral philosophy over the last few decades. We know that in many places borders are not open, but ought they to be so from a moral point of view? Or does this depend on the circumstances? If so, which circumstances matter and why? Do states that restrict immigration (by certain groups of people) violate human rights (and how would we know that)? Or do they merely exercise the right of self-determination of the political community they represent? These are the kinds of questions that we will raise in this seminar, after paving the ground by looking at some conceptual, empirical, and theoretical issues in the initial meetings.

Preparatory Reading

Wellman, Christopher Heath (2024): Immigration. In: Zalta, Edward N./Nodelman, Uri (eds.): The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2024 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2024/entries/immigration/

Assignments and Credits

6 CP (TP 1, GS, Erasmus): term paper (15-20 pp.) or oral exam (30 min.)

3 CP (TP 2, GS, Erasmus): presentation (15 min.) with written elaboration (5 pp.) or short term paper (8-10 pp.)

The class provides an introduction to core concepts of international relations theory. The focus is on what different theories consider to be the key drivers of international and transnational relations. global politics, focusing on key concepts and issues of theories of international relations: states, sovereignty, conflict, cooperation, international institutions, non-governmental organizations, delegation and (indirect) global governance. The course starts with a focus on classical, Western literatures but concludes with sessions on gender, race, colonialism and the end of the Western-dominated liberal international order. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand and apply the key concepts in their own research.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

any textbook on IR

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

6 CP
Requirements

Attendance: Students are expected to be present and prepared for every class session. Active participation during seminar discussions is essential. If unavoidable circumstances arise which prevent attendance or preparation, the instructor should be advised in advance by email.

Reseearch paper:Each student submits a brief paper at the end of the seminar. The paper should engage with one of the readings of this class, summarize the main argument and comment on it. Grading will consider the rigor of the analysis, and the quality of writing. The word limit is 3000 words everything included. Each student presents his or her paper idea in a short presentation during the final session. .

This course is designed to introduce students to core debates and to cutting edge research in the field of political violence, highlighting postcolonial, decolonial, Indigenous, Black studies, and queer approaches.The premise is to question violence as endemic or a natural aspect and acknowledge that it has many contingent modalities that can be best understood in a historical perspective. The course also considers the productive effects of violence, as violent practices constitute nationalism, revolutionary thought, and state politics. The central questions asked during the course include: What is violence? How are different forms and sites of violence connected? How do technologies of gender, sex, and race shape understandings of certain practices of violence as political, lawful, legitimate and/or necessary?

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3 & 6 Credit Points

Political parties are central actors in democracies. In recent decades, established party systems have been re-shaped by the effects of globalisation, de-industrialisation and demographic change, and by the actions of political parties both old and new. This seminar deals with the origins and development of parties and party systems in democracies, as well as changes over time. We discuss connections between parties and citizens, changing lines of conflict, and dynamics of political competition. The aim is to deepen understanding of the role and behaviour of political parties, and enable participants to compare parties and party systems among countries and over time.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3CP or 6CP

This course studies political and economic development from a political economy perspective. It revolves around the questions: Why don’t poor countries catch up? Why do some countries strive while others fail? What is the micro-foundation of development? With a particular focus on (a) the crucial role of institutions and (b) the behavioral micro-foundation of development, we investigate which factors account for economic growth, democratization and regime stability. We study the explanatory power of factor endowments, institutions, regime type, clientelism, ethnic heterogeneity and corruption for development and growth. Taking into account historical legacies, ethnic conflicts, and natural resources, we shed light on the different components that influence the politics of development. At the micro level we zoom in on general theories of political behavior, investigating preference formation, voting behavior and political activism. We learn about the incentive structures of political elites, citizens and social groups, and reflect on challenges for cooperation. We tap into motivations for individuals to engage in protests, conflicts and revolt and study the impact of clientelism, group membership and corruption on vote choices in elections.

The course will provide you with a set of micro theories and institutional theories to study and explain economic and political development. The readings span from classical work to the current research frontier, so that the course will equip you with insights into the key debates in comparative and international political economy research. Methodologically, we will come across a variety of approaches such as regression analysis, multilevel models, field experiments, laboratory experiments and qualitative case studies. Geographically, the course covers a variety of cases, from Sub-Sahara Africa and Latin America, but also East and Western Europe.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Keefer, P. and S. Knack (1997): Why Don't Poor Countries Catch Up? A Cross-National Test Of An Institutional Explanation. Economic Inquiry, Vol. XXXV: 590-602.

Acemoglu, D. and J. Robinson (2012), Why Nations Fail: Chapters 1-2 (pp. 7-69).

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Term paper/Hausarbeit 6CP; Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung des Referats bei 3CP/ In-class presentation and written report of presentation topic for 3 CP

In this course we study climate change as a political and social challenge using approaches from comparative politics and international political economy. Climate change raises questions of power, fairness and responsibility that are central to political analysis. The seminar examines why climate policies differ across countries, parties and governments and how citizens perceive fairness and justice in climate action.
The course is divided into two main parts. The first addresses the formation of climate policy and explores how public opinion, party competition and political communication shape the political supply of environmental policies. The second part focuses on inequality, justice and the social consequences of climate change, including vulnerability, protest and transitions. Students work with comparative case studies, survey and experimental evidence and recent empirical research.
By the end of the course students will be able to explain why climate change is a political issue, compare how institutions and interests influence climate policy, and evaluate questions of fairness, inequality and justice in climate action.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Tvinnereim, E., & Ivarsflaten, E. (2016). Fossil fuels, employment, and support for climate policies. Energy Policy, 96, 364–371.
Spoon, J., Hobolt, S. B., & De Vries, C. E. (2014). Going green: Explaining issue competition on the environment. European Journal of Political Research, 53(2), 363–380.
Lockwood, M. (2018). Right-wing populism and the climate change agenda. Environmental Politics, 27(4), 712–732.
Dolšak, N., & Prakash, A. (2022). Three faces of climate justice. Annual Review of Political Science, 25, 283–301.
Thomas, K. et al. (2019). Explaining differential vulnerability to climate change: A social science review. WIREs Climate Change, 10(2), e565.
Bolet, D., Green, F., & González-Eguino, M. (2024). How to get coal country to vote for climate policy. American Political Science Review, 118(3), 1344–1359.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Presentation and written report for 3 CP / Presentation and term paper for 6 CP.
(Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung bei 3 CP; Referat und Hausarbeit bei 6 CP.)

The class introduces students to the literature on the interplay between institutions and the economy based on the influential model case of German capitalism. Based on exemplary historical, institutionalist, and quantitative research, the class features discussions of the origins, sources of stability, and sources of change of a distinctively German variety of capitalism. Institutional fields at the core of the seminar are the financial system, the innovation system, education and training, corporatism, the labor market, Federalism, and corporate governance.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Streeck, W. 1997. German capitalism: Does it exist? Can it survive? New Political Economy, 2 (2), 237–256.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Students are required to prepare a term paper (8–10 pages). Deadlines, subjects, structure, and requirements for the paper will be discussed in session 1 and developed throughout the course.

Positive Political Theory (PPT) explores political phenomena using formal approaches drawn from decision theory and game theory. Over the past decades, PPT has become increasingly influential within political science, offering valuable insights into how social and political institutions shape behavior and outcomes.
This course introduces the core principles and methods of decision and game theory, with a particular emphasis on experimental approaches. In experimental decision and game theory, strategic incentive and interaction problems are first analyzed theoretically and then tested empirically through laboratory or field experiments involving human participants. The observed behavior, which shows how individuals respond and make decisions in strategic situations, is then compared to theoretical predictions derived from game theory.
Across a range of topics, including decision-making under risk, coordination games, zero-sum games, mixed-motive games, and sequential games, experimental research has developed a set of standard games that are widely used in the field. The course covers these key game structures, their formal solutions, and the sometimes surprising or contradictory experimental findings.
By the end of the course, students will be able to interpret real-world political conflicts as strategic problems of incentives and interaction. They will also learn how to apply standard experimental games to their own research interests.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung [preparatory literature]:
Behnke, Joachim 2020. Entscheidungs- und Spieltheorie. Baden. Nomos.
Riker, William H. 1982. Liberalism Against Populism: A Confrontation between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company.
Shepsle, Kenneth A. 2010. Analyzing Politics. Rationality, Behavior, and Institutions (Second Edition). New York/ London: W W Norton & Company.

Art der Prüfungsleistung (CP) [credits and assignments]:
Teilprüfung 1 (6 CP): mündliche Prüfung (30 Minuten), Teilprüfung 2 (3 CP): mündliche Prüfung (15 Minuten)

In this text-centered seminar, we will discuss seminal contributions to the ethics of migration, which has become a cottage industry in political and moral philosophy over the last few decades. We know that in many places borders are not open, but ought they to be so from a moral point of view? Or does this depend on the circumstances? If so, which circumstances matter and why? Do states that restrict immigration (by certain groups of people) violate human rights (and how would we know that)? Or do they merely exercise the right of self-determination of the political community they represent? These are the kinds of questions that we will raise in this seminar, after paving the ground by looking at some conceptual, empirical, and theoretical issues in the initial meetings.

Preparatory Reading

Wellman, Christopher Heath (2024): Immigration. In: Zalta, Edward N./Nodelman, Uri (eds.): The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2024 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2024/entries/immigration/

Assignments and Credits

6 CP (TP 1, GS, Erasmus): term paper (15-20 pp.) or oral exam (30 min.)

3 CP (TP 2, GS, Erasmus): presentation (15 min.) with written elaboration (5 pp.) or short term paper (8-10 pp.)

The class provides an introduction to core concepts of international relations theory. The focus is on what different theories consider to be the key drivers of international and transnational relations. global politics, focusing on key concepts and issues of theories of international relations: states, sovereignty, conflict, cooperation, international institutions, non-governmental organizations, delegation and (indirect) global governance. The course starts with a focus on classical, Western literatures but concludes with sessions on gender, race, colonialism and the end of the Western-dominated liberal international order. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand and apply the key concepts in their own research.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

any textbook on IR

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

6 CP
Requirements

Attendance: Students are expected to be present and prepared for every class session. Active participation during seminar discussions is essential. If unavoidable circumstances arise which prevent attendance or preparation, the instructor should be advised in advance by email.

Reseearch paper:Each student submits a brief paper at the end of the seminar. The paper should engage with one of the readings of this class, summarize the main argument and comment on it. Grading will consider the rigor of the analysis, and the quality of writing. The word limit is 3000 words everything included. Each student presents his or her paper idea in a short presentation during the final session. .

This course is designed to introduce students to core debates and to cutting edge research in the field of political violence, highlighting postcolonial, decolonial, Indigenous, Black studies, and queer approaches.The premise is to question violence as endemic or a natural aspect and acknowledge that it has many contingent modalities that can be best understood in a historical perspective. The course also considers the productive effects of violence, as violent practices constitute nationalism, revolutionary thought, and state politics. The central questions asked during the course include: What is violence? How are different forms and sites of violence connected? How do technologies of gender, sex, and race shape understandings of certain practices of violence as political, lawful, legitimate and/or necessary?

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3 & 6 Credit Points

Political parties are central actors in democracies. In recent decades, established party systems have been re-shaped by the effects of globalisation, de-industrialisation and demographic change, and by the actions of political parties both old and new. This seminar deals with the origins and development of parties and party systems in democracies, as well as changes over time. We discuss connections between parties and citizens, changing lines of conflict, and dynamics of political competition. The aim is to deepen understanding of the role and behaviour of political parties, and enable participants to compare parties and party systems among countries and over time.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3CP or 6CP

This course studies political and economic development from a political economy perspective. It revolves around the questions: Why don’t poor countries catch up? Why do some countries strive while others fail? What is the micro-foundation of development? With a particular focus on (a) the crucial role of institutions and (b) the behavioral micro-foundation of development, we investigate which factors account for economic growth, democratization and regime stability. We study the explanatory power of factor endowments, institutions, regime type, clientelism, ethnic heterogeneity and corruption for development and growth. Taking into account historical legacies, ethnic conflicts, and natural resources, we shed light on the different components that influence the politics of development. At the micro level we zoom in on general theories of political behavior, investigating preference formation, voting behavior and political activism. We learn about the incentive structures of political elites, citizens and social groups, and reflect on challenges for cooperation. We tap into motivations for individuals to engage in protests, conflicts and revolt and study the impact of clientelism, group membership and corruption on vote choices in elections.

The course will provide you with a set of micro theories and institutional theories to study and explain economic and political development. The readings span from classical work to the current research frontier, so that the course will equip you with insights into the key debates in comparative and international political economy research. Methodologically, we will come across a variety of approaches such as regression analysis, multilevel models, field experiments, laboratory experiments and qualitative case studies. Geographically, the course covers a variety of cases, from Sub-Sahara Africa and Latin America, but also East and Western Europe.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Keefer, P. and S. Knack (1997): Why Don't Poor Countries Catch Up? A Cross-National Test Of An Institutional Explanation. Economic Inquiry, Vol. XXXV: 590-602.

Acemoglu, D. and J. Robinson (2012), Why Nations Fail: Chapters 1-2 (pp. 7-69).

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Term paper/Hausarbeit 6CP; Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung des Referats bei 3CP/ In-class presentation and written report of presentation topic for 3 CP

In this course we study climate change as a political and social challenge using approaches from comparative politics and international political economy. Climate change raises questions of power, fairness and responsibility that are central to political analysis. The seminar examines why climate policies differ across countries, parties and governments and how citizens perceive fairness and justice in climate action.
The course is divided into two main parts. The first addresses the formation of climate policy and explores how public opinion, party competition and political communication shape the political supply of environmental policies. The second part focuses on inequality, justice and the social consequences of climate change, including vulnerability, protest and transitions. Students work with comparative case studies, survey and experimental evidence and recent empirical research.
By the end of the course students will be able to explain why climate change is a political issue, compare how institutions and interests influence climate policy, and evaluate questions of fairness, inequality and justice in climate action.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Tvinnereim, E., & Ivarsflaten, E. (2016). Fossil fuels, employment, and support for climate policies. Energy Policy, 96, 364–371.
Spoon, J., Hobolt, S. B., & De Vries, C. E. (2014). Going green: Explaining issue competition on the environment. European Journal of Political Research, 53(2), 363–380.
Lockwood, M. (2018). Right-wing populism and the climate change agenda. Environmental Politics, 27(4), 712–732.
Dolšak, N., & Prakash, A. (2022). Three faces of climate justice. Annual Review of Political Science, 25, 283–301.
Thomas, K. et al. (2019). Explaining differential vulnerability to climate change: A social science review. WIREs Climate Change, 10(2), e565.
Bolet, D., Green, F., & González-Eguino, M. (2024). How to get coal country to vote for climate policy. American Political Science Review, 118(3), 1344–1359.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Presentation and written report for 3 CP / Presentation and term paper for 6 CP.
(Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung bei 3 CP; Referat und Hausarbeit bei 6 CP.)

The class introduces students to the literature on the interplay between institutions and the economy based on the influential model case of German capitalism. Based on exemplary historical, institutionalist, and quantitative research, the class features discussions of the origins, sources of stability, and sources of change of a distinctively German variety of capitalism. Institutional fields at the core of the seminar are the financial system, the innovation system, education and training, corporatism, the labor market, Federalism, and corporate governance.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Streeck, W. 1997. German capitalism: Does it exist? Can it survive? New Political Economy, 2 (2), 237–256.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Students are required to prepare a term paper (8–10 pages). Deadlines, subjects, structure, and requirements for the paper will be discussed in session 1 and developed throughout the course.

This is a research-based seminar dedicated to topical issues in (studies of) Central and Eastern Europe in light of contemporary polycrises: Russia’s war in Ukraine; authoritarian backlash in Russia, Belarus and elsewhere; democratic backsliding in a number of EU-member states; global climate breakdown; and others. It invites students to engage with contemporary debates on decolonization, gender and sexuality, nationalism and identity, memory, and environmental destruction – as seen through cultural practices including (but not restricted to) literature, film, visual arts, digital activism, and music.

No specific linguistic competences are required for participation: materials will be studied in translation (English and/or German, according to availability) or with subtitles.

In the course of the semester, students will formulate their own research topics to pursue in a limited and guided capacity, producing written and/or visual outputs in a flexible assessment format. The seminar will foreground a dialogic structure, encouraging students to contribute in multiple ways and collectively co-shape the direction and content. A number of special guest inputs are also planned.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the of the course, students should be able to:
• critically discuss selected cultural products and practices from central/eastern Europe, including in comparative perspective in relation to global processes and with reference to broader theoretical paradigms such as memory studies, de- and postcoloniality, theories of gender and sexuality, and others;
• develop their own research question in a self-selected area of cultural studies in an central/eastern European context, as well as adapt and apply appropriate theories to carry out the project within a given time frame;
• demonstrate advanced knowledge of contemporary cultural issues in central and eastern Europe in line with their own research interests and language skills, and identify areas in which they may wish to specialise in future research projects (e.g. the BA thesis).

This colloquium addresses students from BA and MA programs in social sciences with an interest in international relations and international political sociology. Together with Ph-candidates and post-doc scholars we will discuss recent contributions to the field, talk to invited scholars and present ongoing work from different research projects in the field of internationalized politics.

This course wants to enable students to run their own (quantitative) research project in R. In the process, they will learn basic data wrangling and data visualisation in R. Every student will choose a project that they want to conduct using publicly available data of their choosing (some examples will be provided) and will, in consultation with the course coordinator, work towards a project report at the end of the course that they will present to the other students. Students will analyse their data in the open-source programme R and will be encouraged to write their final reports in it, too. The course will be a mixture of lectures on practical issues and a project based working sessions in exchange with the course coordinator and other students to make use of peer-to-peer learning. The lecture will be tailored to the needs and levels of the participating students.

In this course students are encouraged to run their own small-scale analysis project using R from beginning to end: choosing a topic and research question they find interesting, selecting and downloading the relevant data, using simple (presumably mostly) descriptive statistics such as means, and writing a report about their findings. They will be encouraged to use Quarto/ Rmarkdown, the integrated tool within R-Studio, to write their final reports and export them into PDF to automatically integrate updated findings. Also, students will be encouraged to upload and maintain their project on git. This course teaches practical skills and combines it with theoretical grounding in reproducible science. Hence it can be used as a good foundation for quantitative bachelor or master theses, and to learn skills that can be used also outside of academia.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

• Wickham, Hadley, Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel, and Garrett Grolemund. ‘Introduction’. In R for Data Science, 2nd Edition, Second edition. O’Reilley, https://r4ds.hadley.nz/intro.html.
• Munafò, Marcus R., Brian A. Nosek, Dorothy V. M. Bishop, et al. ‘A Manifesto for Reproducible Science’. Nature Human Behaviour 1, no. 1 (2017): 0021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-016-0021.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Students can take the course for 3 CP or 6 CP. The final assessment will depend on the amount of CP students chose. Both assessments include the simple progress report every two weeks (just about one paragraph in an unstructured form, including reasons for no progress, which will always happen, is no problem and part of the process) and the final script of the project. Beyond that, the two different levels encompass the following two assessments:

3 CP:
• Short presentation (10 minutes)
• Short final research note with references (~5 pages, at least one high-quality graph)
6 CP:
• Long presentation (20 minutes)
• Long final research note with references (~10 pages, at least two high-quality graphs)

This series of interconnected lectures serves as an introduction to social theory and cultural criticism. Themes include: definitions of culture, theories of identity; modernity and postmodernity; language, semiotics and (post)structuralism; cultural memory; psychoanalysis; race, ethnicity and imperial legacies; Marxist critiques; and study of culture in the age of globalization.

This is an interdisciplinary course bridging various fields of inquiry including anthropology, sociology, history, literary studies and linguistics. It is open to students from all departments and is intended to be useful for a wide range of potential academic paths.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

• apply a range of theories and methods of analysis to works of literature, film, art, and other cultural phenomena;
• engage in informed discussions on the foundations of cultural theory, including ideas first voiced by Clifford Geertz, Antonio Gramsci, Roland Barthes, Sigmund Freud, Linda Hutcheon, Arjun Appadurai and others;
• critically discuss the concept(s) of culture as applied to terms such as “mass” culture, “high” culture”, “popular” culture and “national” cultures.

Teilnehmende/Participants:

Students taking Integrated European Studies (IES) Module M5c ("Einführung in die Theorien und Methoden der Kulturwissenschaft"; 12CPs) must complete this lecture course and the seminar "08-31-2-M5c-2: Gender Studies: Kultur und Gesellschaft".

Students from all faculties and exchange programmes are also welcome to participate. The lecture course is worth 6CPs/ECTS as a stand-alone course.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

This course is normally assessed as part of the Module IES-M5c “Einführung in die Theorien und Methoden der Kulturwissenschaft”, in which second-semester Integrated European Studies (IES) students attend and complete assessments in different but related aspects of cultural theory.

The lecture course and the seminar will be weighted equally in the grading of the module as a whole (12 CPs in total).

Students are also invited to take the course as a stand-alone paper in General Studies and receive a GS-Schein (or e.g. Erasmus Credit Transfer for exchange students). In this case, the course is worth 6 CPs/ECTS. The assessment format for all students is the same, namely:

This course is assessed by written Examination (100%): a 90-minute question-and-answer based examination carried out in Week 14. Answers may be written in German or English (or a mixture).

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:
6 CP

Maps are powerful tools for understanding and communicating political phenomena. In this block seminar you will learn to use the statistical software R to produce customisable, publication-quality maps and other data visualisations. No prior knowledge of R is required. Participants are encouraged to use data from their own research projects, but test datasets will also be provided.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:
3CP

https://www.uni-bremen.de/fb8/international/internationales-modul
3 CP/ECTS for this course, +3 CP/ECTS extra credit

Positive Political Theory (PPT) explores political phenomena using formal approaches drawn from decision theory and game theory. Over the past decades, PPT has become increasingly influential within political science, offering valuable insights into how social and political institutions shape behavior and outcomes.
This course introduces the core principles and methods of decision and game theory, with a particular emphasis on experimental approaches. In experimental decision and game theory, strategic incentive and interaction problems are first analyzed theoretically and then tested empirically through laboratory or field experiments involving human participants. The observed behavior, which shows how individuals respond and make decisions in strategic situations, is then compared to theoretical predictions derived from game theory.
Across a range of topics, including decision-making under risk, coordination games, zero-sum games, mixed-motive games, and sequential games, experimental research has developed a set of standard games that are widely used in the field. The course covers these key game structures, their formal solutions, and the sometimes surprising or contradictory experimental findings.
By the end of the course, students will be able to interpret real-world political conflicts as strategic problems of incentives and interaction. They will also learn how to apply standard experimental games to their own research interests.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung [preparatory literature]:
Behnke, Joachim 2020. Entscheidungs- und Spieltheorie. Baden. Nomos.
Riker, William H. 1982. Liberalism Against Populism: A Confrontation between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company.
Shepsle, Kenneth A. 2010. Analyzing Politics. Rationality, Behavior, and Institutions (Second Edition). New York/ London: W W Norton & Company.

Art der Prüfungsleistung (CP) [credits and assignments]:
Teilprüfung 1 (6 CP): mündliche Prüfung (30 Minuten), Teilprüfung 2 (3 CP): mündliche Prüfung (15 Minuten)

In this text-centered seminar, we will discuss seminal contributions to the ethics of migration, which has become a cottage industry in political and moral philosophy over the last few decades. We know that in many places borders are not open, but ought they to be so from a moral point of view? Or does this depend on the circumstances? If so, which circumstances matter and why? Do states that restrict immigration (by certain groups of people) violate human rights (and how would we know that)? Or do they merely exercise the right of self-determination of the political community they represent? These are the kinds of questions that we will raise in this seminar, after paving the ground by looking at some conceptual, empirical, and theoretical issues in the initial meetings.

Preparatory Reading

Wellman, Christopher Heath (2024): Immigration. In: Zalta, Edward N./Nodelman, Uri (eds.): The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2024 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2024/entries/immigration/

Assignments and Credits

6 CP (TP 1, GS, Erasmus): term paper (15-20 pp.) or oral exam (30 min.)

3 CP (TP 2, GS, Erasmus): presentation (15 min.) with written elaboration (5 pp.) or short term paper (8-10 pp.)

The class provides an introduction to core concepts of international relations theory. The focus is on what different theories consider to be the key drivers of international and transnational relations. global politics, focusing on key concepts and issues of theories of international relations: states, sovereignty, conflict, cooperation, international institutions, non-governmental organizations, delegation and (indirect) global governance. The course starts with a focus on classical, Western literatures but concludes with sessions on gender, race, colonialism and the end of the Western-dominated liberal international order. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand and apply the key concepts in their own research.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

any textbook on IR

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

6 CP
Requirements

Attendance: Students are expected to be present and prepared for every class session. Active participation during seminar discussions is essential. If unavoidable circumstances arise which prevent attendance or preparation, the instructor should be advised in advance by email.

Reseearch paper:Each student submits a brief paper at the end of the seminar. The paper should engage with one of the readings of this class, summarize the main argument and comment on it. Grading will consider the rigor of the analysis, and the quality of writing. The word limit is 3000 words everything included. Each student presents his or her paper idea in a short presentation during the final session. .

This course is designed to introduce students to core debates and to cutting edge research in the field of political violence, highlighting postcolonial, decolonial, Indigenous, Black studies, and queer approaches.The premise is to question violence as endemic or a natural aspect and acknowledge that it has many contingent modalities that can be best understood in a historical perspective. The course also considers the productive effects of violence, as violent practices constitute nationalism, revolutionary thought, and state politics. The central questions asked during the course include: What is violence? How are different forms and sites of violence connected? How do technologies of gender, sex, and race shape understandings of certain practices of violence as political, lawful, legitimate and/or necessary?

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3 & 6 Credit Points

Political parties are central actors in democracies. In recent decades, established party systems have been re-shaped by the effects of globalisation, de-industrialisation and demographic change, and by the actions of political parties both old and new. This seminar deals with the origins and development of parties and party systems in democracies, as well as changes over time. We discuss connections between parties and citizens, changing lines of conflict, and dynamics of political competition. The aim is to deepen understanding of the role and behaviour of political parties, and enable participants to compare parties and party systems among countries and over time.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3CP or 6CP

This course studies political and economic development from a political economy perspective. It revolves around the questions: Why don’t poor countries catch up? Why do some countries strive while others fail? What is the micro-foundation of development? With a particular focus on (a) the crucial role of institutions and (b) the behavioral micro-foundation of development, we investigate which factors account for economic growth, democratization and regime stability. We study the explanatory power of factor endowments, institutions, regime type, clientelism, ethnic heterogeneity and corruption for development and growth. Taking into account historical legacies, ethnic conflicts, and natural resources, we shed light on the different components that influence the politics of development. At the micro level we zoom in on general theories of political behavior, investigating preference formation, voting behavior and political activism. We learn about the incentive structures of political elites, citizens and social groups, and reflect on challenges for cooperation. We tap into motivations for individuals to engage in protests, conflicts and revolt and study the impact of clientelism, group membership and corruption on vote choices in elections.

The course will provide you with a set of micro theories and institutional theories to study and explain economic and political development. The readings span from classical work to the current research frontier, so that the course will equip you with insights into the key debates in comparative and international political economy research. Methodologically, we will come across a variety of approaches such as regression analysis, multilevel models, field experiments, laboratory experiments and qualitative case studies. Geographically, the course covers a variety of cases, from Sub-Sahara Africa and Latin America, but also East and Western Europe.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Keefer, P. and S. Knack (1997): Why Don't Poor Countries Catch Up? A Cross-National Test Of An Institutional Explanation. Economic Inquiry, Vol. XXXV: 590-602.

Acemoglu, D. and J. Robinson (2012), Why Nations Fail: Chapters 1-2 (pp. 7-69).

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Term paper/Hausarbeit 6CP; Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung des Referats bei 3CP/ In-class presentation and written report of presentation topic for 3 CP

In this course we study climate change as a political and social challenge using approaches from comparative politics and international political economy. Climate change raises questions of power, fairness and responsibility that are central to political analysis. The seminar examines why climate policies differ across countries, parties and governments and how citizens perceive fairness and justice in climate action.
The course is divided into two main parts. The first addresses the formation of climate policy and explores how public opinion, party competition and political communication shape the political supply of environmental policies. The second part focuses on inequality, justice and the social consequences of climate change, including vulnerability, protest and transitions. Students work with comparative case studies, survey and experimental evidence and recent empirical research.
By the end of the course students will be able to explain why climate change is a political issue, compare how institutions and interests influence climate policy, and evaluate questions of fairness, inequality and justice in climate action.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Tvinnereim, E., & Ivarsflaten, E. (2016). Fossil fuels, employment, and support for climate policies. Energy Policy, 96, 364–371.
Spoon, J., Hobolt, S. B., & De Vries, C. E. (2014). Going green: Explaining issue competition on the environment. European Journal of Political Research, 53(2), 363–380.
Lockwood, M. (2018). Right-wing populism and the climate change agenda. Environmental Politics, 27(4), 712–732.
Dolšak, N., & Prakash, A. (2022). Three faces of climate justice. Annual Review of Political Science, 25, 283–301.
Thomas, K. et al. (2019). Explaining differential vulnerability to climate change: A social science review. WIREs Climate Change, 10(2), e565.
Bolet, D., Green, F., & González-Eguino, M. (2024). How to get coal country to vote for climate policy. American Political Science Review, 118(3), 1344–1359.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Presentation and written report for 3 CP / Presentation and term paper for 6 CP.
(Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung bei 3 CP; Referat und Hausarbeit bei 6 CP.)

The class introduces students to the literature on the interplay between institutions and the economy based on the influential model case of German capitalism. Based on exemplary historical, institutionalist, and quantitative research, the class features discussions of the origins, sources of stability, and sources of change of a distinctively German variety of capitalism. Institutional fields at the core of the seminar are the financial system, the innovation system, education and training, corporatism, the labor market, Federalism, and corporate governance.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Streeck, W. 1997. German capitalism: Does it exist? Can it survive? New Political Economy, 2 (2), 237–256.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Students are required to prepare a term paper (8–10 pages). Deadlines, subjects, structure, and requirements for the paper will be discussed in session 1 and developed throughout the course.

Positive Political Theory (PPT) explores political phenomena using formal approaches drawn from decision theory and game theory. Over the past decades, PPT has become increasingly influential within political science, offering valuable insights into how social and political institutions shape behavior and outcomes.
This course introduces the core principles and methods of decision and game theory, with a particular emphasis on experimental approaches. In experimental decision and game theory, strategic incentive and interaction problems are first analyzed theoretically and then tested empirically through laboratory or field experiments involving human participants. The observed behavior, which shows how individuals respond and make decisions in strategic situations, is then compared to theoretical predictions derived from game theory.
Across a range of topics, including decision-making under risk, coordination games, zero-sum games, mixed-motive games, and sequential games, experimental research has developed a set of standard games that are widely used in the field. The course covers these key game structures, their formal solutions, and the sometimes surprising or contradictory experimental findings.
By the end of the course, students will be able to interpret real-world political conflicts as strategic problems of incentives and interaction. They will also learn how to apply standard experimental games to their own research interests.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung [preparatory literature]:
Behnke, Joachim 2020. Entscheidungs- und Spieltheorie. Baden. Nomos.
Riker, William H. 1982. Liberalism Against Populism: A Confrontation between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company.
Shepsle, Kenneth A. 2010. Analyzing Politics. Rationality, Behavior, and Institutions (Second Edition). New York/ London: W W Norton & Company.

Art der Prüfungsleistung (CP) [credits and assignments]:
Teilprüfung 1 (6 CP): mündliche Prüfung (30 Minuten), Teilprüfung 2 (3 CP): mündliche Prüfung (15 Minuten)

In this text-centered seminar, we will discuss seminal contributions to the ethics of migration, which has become a cottage industry in political and moral philosophy over the last few decades. We know that in many places borders are not open, but ought they to be so from a moral point of view? Or does this depend on the circumstances? If so, which circumstances matter and why? Do states that restrict immigration (by certain groups of people) violate human rights (and how would we know that)? Or do they merely exercise the right of self-determination of the political community they represent? These are the kinds of questions that we will raise in this seminar, after paving the ground by looking at some conceptual, empirical, and theoretical issues in the initial meetings.

Preparatory Reading

Wellman, Christopher Heath (2024): Immigration. In: Zalta, Edward N./Nodelman, Uri (eds.): The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2024 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2024/entries/immigration/

Assignments and Credits

6 CP (TP 1, GS, Erasmus): term paper (15-20 pp.) or oral exam (30 min.)

3 CP (TP 2, GS, Erasmus): presentation (15 min.) with written elaboration (5 pp.) or short term paper (8-10 pp.)

The class provides an introduction to core concepts of international relations theory. The focus is on what different theories consider to be the key drivers of international and transnational relations. global politics, focusing on key concepts and issues of theories of international relations: states, sovereignty, conflict, cooperation, international institutions, non-governmental organizations, delegation and (indirect) global governance. The course starts with a focus on classical, Western literatures but concludes with sessions on gender, race, colonialism and the end of the Western-dominated liberal international order. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand and apply the key concepts in their own research.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

any textbook on IR

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

6 CP
Requirements

Attendance: Students are expected to be present and prepared for every class session. Active participation during seminar discussions is essential. If unavoidable circumstances arise which prevent attendance or preparation, the instructor should be advised in advance by email.

Reseearch paper:Each student submits a brief paper at the end of the seminar. The paper should engage with one of the readings of this class, summarize the main argument and comment on it. Grading will consider the rigor of the analysis, and the quality of writing. The word limit is 3000 words everything included. Each student presents his or her paper idea in a short presentation during the final session. .

This course is designed to introduce students to core debates and to cutting edge research in the field of political violence, highlighting postcolonial, decolonial, Indigenous, Black studies, and queer approaches.The premise is to question violence as endemic or a natural aspect and acknowledge that it has many contingent modalities that can be best understood in a historical perspective. The course also considers the productive effects of violence, as violent practices constitute nationalism, revolutionary thought, and state politics. The central questions asked during the course include: What is violence? How are different forms and sites of violence connected? How do technologies of gender, sex, and race shape understandings of certain practices of violence as political, lawful, legitimate and/or necessary?

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3 & 6 Credit Points

In this course we study climate change as a political and social challenge using approaches from comparative politics and international political economy. Climate change raises questions of power, fairness and responsibility that are central to political analysis. The seminar examines why climate policies differ across countries, parties and governments and how citizens perceive fairness and justice in climate action.
The course is divided into two main parts. The first addresses the formation of climate policy and explores how public opinion, party competition and political communication shape the political supply of environmental policies. The second part focuses on inequality, justice and the social consequences of climate change, including vulnerability, protest and transitions. Students work with comparative case studies, survey and experimental evidence and recent empirical research.
By the end of the course students will be able to explain why climate change is a political issue, compare how institutions and interests influence climate policy, and evaluate questions of fairness, inequality and justice in climate action.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Tvinnereim, E., & Ivarsflaten, E. (2016). Fossil fuels, employment, and support for climate policies. Energy Policy, 96, 364–371.
Spoon, J., Hobolt, S. B., & De Vries, C. E. (2014). Going green: Explaining issue competition on the environment. European Journal of Political Research, 53(2), 363–380.
Lockwood, M. (2018). Right-wing populism and the climate change agenda. Environmental Politics, 27(4), 712–732.
Dolšak, N., & Prakash, A. (2022). Three faces of climate justice. Annual Review of Political Science, 25, 283–301.
Thomas, K. et al. (2019). Explaining differential vulnerability to climate change: A social science review. WIREs Climate Change, 10(2), e565.
Bolet, D., Green, F., & González-Eguino, M. (2024). How to get coal country to vote for climate policy. American Political Science Review, 118(3), 1344–1359.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Presentation and written report for 3 CP / Presentation and term paper for 6 CP.
(Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung bei 3 CP; Referat und Hausarbeit bei 6 CP.)

Political parties are central actors in democracies. In recent decades, established party systems have been re-shaped by the effects of globalisation, de-industrialisation and demographic change, and by the actions of political parties both old and new. This seminar deals with the origins and development of parties and party systems in democracies, as well as changes over time. We discuss connections between parties and citizens, changing lines of conflict, and dynamics of political competition. The aim is to deepen understanding of the role and behaviour of political parties, and enable participants to compare parties and party systems among countries and over time.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3CP or 6CP

This course studies political and economic development from a political economy perspective. It revolves around the questions: Why don’t poor countries catch up? Why do some countries strive while others fail? What is the micro-foundation of development? With a particular focus on (a) the crucial role of institutions and (b) the behavioral micro-foundation of development, we investigate which factors account for economic growth, democratization and regime stability. We study the explanatory power of factor endowments, institutions, regime type, clientelism, ethnic heterogeneity and corruption for development and growth. Taking into account historical legacies, ethnic conflicts, and natural resources, we shed light on the different components that influence the politics of development. At the micro level we zoom in on general theories of political behavior, investigating preference formation, voting behavior and political activism. We learn about the incentive structures of political elites, citizens and social groups, and reflect on challenges for cooperation. We tap into motivations for individuals to engage in protests, conflicts and revolt and study the impact of clientelism, group membership and corruption on vote choices in elections.

The course will provide you with a set of micro theories and institutional theories to study and explain economic and political development. The readings span from classical work to the current research frontier, so that the course will equip you with insights into the key debates in comparative and international political economy research. Methodologically, we will come across a variety of approaches such as regression analysis, multilevel models, field experiments, laboratory experiments and qualitative case studies. Geographically, the course covers a variety of cases, from Sub-Sahara Africa and Latin America, but also East and Western Europe.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Keefer, P. and S. Knack (1997): Why Don't Poor Countries Catch Up? A Cross-National Test Of An Institutional Explanation. Economic Inquiry, Vol. XXXV: 590-602.

Acemoglu, D. and J. Robinson (2012), Why Nations Fail: Chapters 1-2 (pp. 7-69).

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Term paper/Hausarbeit 6CP; Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung des Referats bei 3CP/ In-class presentation and written report of presentation topic for 3 CP

The class introduces students to the literature on the interplay between institutions and the economy based on the influential model case of German capitalism. Based on exemplary historical, institutionalist, and quantitative research, the class features discussions of the origins, sources of stability, and sources of change of a distinctively German variety of capitalism. Institutional fields at the core of the seminar are the financial system, the innovation system, education and training, corporatism, the labor market, Federalism, and corporate governance.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Streeck, W. 1997. German capitalism: Does it exist? Can it survive? New Political Economy, 2 (2), 237–256.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Students are required to prepare a term paper (8–10 pages). Deadlines, subjects, structure, and requirements for the paper will be discussed in session 1 and developed throughout the course.

Positive Political Theory (PPT) explores political phenomena using formal approaches drawn from decision theory and game theory. Over the past decades, PPT has become increasingly influential within political science, offering valuable insights into how social and political institutions shape behavior and outcomes.
This course introduces the core principles and methods of decision and game theory, with a particular emphasis on experimental approaches. In experimental decision and game theory, strategic incentive and interaction problems are first analyzed theoretically and then tested empirically through laboratory or field experiments involving human participants. The observed behavior, which shows how individuals respond and make decisions in strategic situations, is then compared to theoretical predictions derived from game theory.
Across a range of topics, including decision-making under risk, coordination games, zero-sum games, mixed-motive games, and sequential games, experimental research has developed a set of standard games that are widely used in the field. The course covers these key game structures, their formal solutions, and the sometimes surprising or contradictory experimental findings.
By the end of the course, students will be able to interpret real-world political conflicts as strategic problems of incentives and interaction. They will also learn how to apply standard experimental games to their own research interests.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung [preparatory literature]:
Behnke, Joachim 2020. Entscheidungs- und Spieltheorie. Baden. Nomos.
Riker, William H. 1982. Liberalism Against Populism: A Confrontation between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company.
Shepsle, Kenneth A. 2010. Analyzing Politics. Rationality, Behavior, and Institutions (Second Edition). New York/ London: W W Norton & Company.

Art der Prüfungsleistung (CP) [credits and assignments]:
Teilprüfung 1 (6 CP): mündliche Prüfung (30 Minuten), Teilprüfung 2 (3 CP): mündliche Prüfung (15 Minuten)

In this text-centered seminar, we will discuss seminal contributions to the ethics of migration, which has become a cottage industry in political and moral philosophy over the last few decades. We know that in many places borders are not open, but ought they to be so from a moral point of view? Or does this depend on the circumstances? If so, which circumstances matter and why? Do states that restrict immigration (by certain groups of people) violate human rights (and how would we know that)? Or do they merely exercise the right of self-determination of the political community they represent? These are the kinds of questions that we will raise in this seminar, after paving the ground by looking at some conceptual, empirical, and theoretical issues in the initial meetings.

Preparatory Reading

Wellman, Christopher Heath (2024): Immigration. In: Zalta, Edward N./Nodelman, Uri (eds.): The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2024 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2024/entries/immigration/

Assignments and Credits

6 CP (TP 1, GS, Erasmus): term paper (15-20 pp.) or oral exam (30 min.)

3 CP (TP 2, GS, Erasmus): presentation (15 min.) with written elaboration (5 pp.) or short term paper (8-10 pp.)

The class provides an introduction to core concepts of international relations theory. The focus is on what different theories consider to be the key drivers of international and transnational relations. global politics, focusing on key concepts and issues of theories of international relations: states, sovereignty, conflict, cooperation, international institutions, non-governmental organizations, delegation and (indirect) global governance. The course starts with a focus on classical, Western literatures but concludes with sessions on gender, race, colonialism and the end of the Western-dominated liberal international order. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand and apply the key concepts in their own research.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

any textbook on IR

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

6 CP
Requirements

Attendance: Students are expected to be present and prepared for every class session. Active participation during seminar discussions is essential. If unavoidable circumstances arise which prevent attendance or preparation, the instructor should be advised in advance by email.

Reseearch paper:Each student submits a brief paper at the end of the seminar. The paper should engage with one of the readings of this class, summarize the main argument and comment on it. Grading will consider the rigor of the analysis, and the quality of writing. The word limit is 3000 words everything included. Each student presents his or her paper idea in a short presentation during the final session. .

This course is designed to introduce students to core debates and to cutting edge research in the field of political violence, highlighting postcolonial, decolonial, Indigenous, Black studies, and queer approaches.The premise is to question violence as endemic or a natural aspect and acknowledge that it has many contingent modalities that can be best understood in a historical perspective. The course also considers the productive effects of violence, as violent practices constitute nationalism, revolutionary thought, and state politics. The central questions asked during the course include: What is violence? How are different forms and sites of violence connected? How do technologies of gender, sex, and race shape understandings of certain practices of violence as political, lawful, legitimate and/or necessary?

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3 & 6 Credit Points

Political parties are central actors in democracies. In recent decades, established party systems have been re-shaped by the effects of globalisation, de-industrialisation and demographic change, and by the actions of political parties both old and new. This seminar deals with the origins and development of parties and party systems in democracies, as well as changes over time. We discuss connections between parties and citizens, changing lines of conflict, and dynamics of political competition. The aim is to deepen understanding of the role and behaviour of political parties, and enable participants to compare parties and party systems among countries and over time.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3CP or 6CP

This course studies political and economic development from a political economy perspective. It revolves around the questions: Why don’t poor countries catch up? Why do some countries strive while others fail? What is the micro-foundation of development? With a particular focus on (a) the crucial role of institutions and (b) the behavioral micro-foundation of development, we investigate which factors account for economic growth, democratization and regime stability. We study the explanatory power of factor endowments, institutions, regime type, clientelism, ethnic heterogeneity and corruption for development and growth. Taking into account historical legacies, ethnic conflicts, and natural resources, we shed light on the different components that influence the politics of development. At the micro level we zoom in on general theories of political behavior, investigating preference formation, voting behavior and political activism. We learn about the incentive structures of political elites, citizens and social groups, and reflect on challenges for cooperation. We tap into motivations for individuals to engage in protests, conflicts and revolt and study the impact of clientelism, group membership and corruption on vote choices in elections.

The course will provide you with a set of micro theories and institutional theories to study and explain economic and political development. The readings span from classical work to the current research frontier, so that the course will equip you with insights into the key debates in comparative and international political economy research. Methodologically, we will come across a variety of approaches such as regression analysis, multilevel models, field experiments, laboratory experiments and qualitative case studies. Geographically, the course covers a variety of cases, from Sub-Sahara Africa and Latin America, but also East and Western Europe.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Keefer, P. and S. Knack (1997): Why Don't Poor Countries Catch Up? A Cross-National Test Of An Institutional Explanation. Economic Inquiry, Vol. XXXV: 590-602.

Acemoglu, D. and J. Robinson (2012), Why Nations Fail: Chapters 1-2 (pp. 7-69).

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Term paper/Hausarbeit 6CP; Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung des Referats bei 3CP/ In-class presentation and written report of presentation topic for 3 CP

In this course we study climate change as a political and social challenge using approaches from comparative politics and international political economy. Climate change raises questions of power, fairness and responsibility that are central to political analysis. The seminar examines why climate policies differ across countries, parties and governments and how citizens perceive fairness and justice in climate action.
The course is divided into two main parts. The first addresses the formation of climate policy and explores how public opinion, party competition and political communication shape the political supply of environmental policies. The second part focuses on inequality, justice and the social consequences of climate change, including vulnerability, protest and transitions. Students work with comparative case studies, survey and experimental evidence and recent empirical research.
By the end of the course students will be able to explain why climate change is a political issue, compare how institutions and interests influence climate policy, and evaluate questions of fairness, inequality and justice in climate action.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Tvinnereim, E., & Ivarsflaten, E. (2016). Fossil fuels, employment, and support for climate policies. Energy Policy, 96, 364–371.
Spoon, J., Hobolt, S. B., & De Vries, C. E. (2014). Going green: Explaining issue competition on the environment. European Journal of Political Research, 53(2), 363–380.
Lockwood, M. (2018). Right-wing populism and the climate change agenda. Environmental Politics, 27(4), 712–732.
Dolšak, N., & Prakash, A. (2022). Three faces of climate justice. Annual Review of Political Science, 25, 283–301.
Thomas, K. et al. (2019). Explaining differential vulnerability to climate change: A social science review. WIREs Climate Change, 10(2), e565.
Bolet, D., Green, F., & González-Eguino, M. (2024). How to get coal country to vote for climate policy. American Political Science Review, 118(3), 1344–1359.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Presentation and written report for 3 CP / Presentation and term paper for 6 CP.
(Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung bei 3 CP; Referat und Hausarbeit bei 6 CP.)

The class introduces students to the literature on the interplay between institutions and the economy based on the influential model case of German capitalism. Based on exemplary historical, institutionalist, and quantitative research, the class features discussions of the origins, sources of stability, and sources of change of a distinctively German variety of capitalism. Institutional fields at the core of the seminar are the financial system, the innovation system, education and training, corporatism, the labor market, Federalism, and corporate governance.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Streeck, W. 1997. German capitalism: Does it exist? Can it survive? New Political Economy, 2 (2), 237–256.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Students are required to prepare a term paper (8–10 pages). Deadlines, subjects, structure, and requirements for the paper will be discussed in session 1 and developed throughout the course.

Positive Political Theory (PPT) explores political phenomena using formal approaches drawn from decision theory and game theory. Over the past decades, PPT has become increasingly influential within political science, offering valuable insights into how social and political institutions shape behavior and outcomes.
This course introduces the core principles and methods of decision and game theory, with a particular emphasis on experimental approaches. In experimental decision and game theory, strategic incentive and interaction problems are first analyzed theoretically and then tested empirically through laboratory or field experiments involving human participants. The observed behavior, which shows how individuals respond and make decisions in strategic situations, is then compared to theoretical predictions derived from game theory.
Across a range of topics, including decision-making under risk, coordination games, zero-sum games, mixed-motive games, and sequential games, experimental research has developed a set of standard games that are widely used in the field. The course covers these key game structures, their formal solutions, and the sometimes surprising or contradictory experimental findings.
By the end of the course, students will be able to interpret real-world political conflicts as strategic problems of incentives and interaction. They will also learn how to apply standard experimental games to their own research interests.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung [preparatory literature]:
Behnke, Joachim 2020. Entscheidungs- und Spieltheorie. Baden. Nomos.
Riker, William H. 1982. Liberalism Against Populism: A Confrontation between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company.
Shepsle, Kenneth A. 2010. Analyzing Politics. Rationality, Behavior, and Institutions (Second Edition). New York/ London: W W Norton & Company.

Art der Prüfungsleistung (CP) [credits and assignments]:
Teilprüfung 1 (6 CP): mündliche Prüfung (30 Minuten), Teilprüfung 2 (3 CP): mündliche Prüfung (15 Minuten)

In this text-centered seminar, we will discuss seminal contributions to the ethics of migration, which has become a cottage industry in political and moral philosophy over the last few decades. We know that in many places borders are not open, but ought they to be so from a moral point of view? Or does this depend on the circumstances? If so, which circumstances matter and why? Do states that restrict immigration (by certain groups of people) violate human rights (and how would we know that)? Or do they merely exercise the right of self-determination of the political community they represent? These are the kinds of questions that we will raise in this seminar, after paving the ground by looking at some conceptual, empirical, and theoretical issues in the initial meetings.

Preparatory Reading

Wellman, Christopher Heath (2024): Immigration. In: Zalta, Edward N./Nodelman, Uri (eds.): The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2024 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2024/entries/immigration/

Assignments and Credits

6 CP (TP 1, GS, Erasmus): term paper (15-20 pp.) or oral exam (30 min.)

3 CP (TP 2, GS, Erasmus): presentation (15 min.) with written elaboration (5 pp.) or short term paper (8-10 pp.)

The class provides an introduction to core concepts of international relations theory. The focus is on what different theories consider to be the key drivers of international and transnational relations. global politics, focusing on key concepts and issues of theories of international relations: states, sovereignty, conflict, cooperation, international institutions, non-governmental organizations, delegation and (indirect) global governance. The course starts with a focus on classical, Western literatures but concludes with sessions on gender, race, colonialism and the end of the Western-dominated liberal international order. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand and apply the key concepts in their own research.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

any textbook on IR

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

6 CP
Requirements

Attendance: Students are expected to be present and prepared for every class session. Active participation during seminar discussions is essential. If unavoidable circumstances arise which prevent attendance or preparation, the instructor should be advised in advance by email.

Reseearch paper:Each student submits a brief paper at the end of the seminar. The paper should engage with one of the readings of this class, summarize the main argument and comment on it. Grading will consider the rigor of the analysis, and the quality of writing. The word limit is 3000 words everything included. Each student presents his or her paper idea in a short presentation during the final session. .

This course is designed to introduce students to core debates and to cutting edge research in the field of political violence, highlighting postcolonial, decolonial, Indigenous, Black studies, and queer approaches.The premise is to question violence as endemic or a natural aspect and acknowledge that it has many contingent modalities that can be best understood in a historical perspective. The course also considers the productive effects of violence, as violent practices constitute nationalism, revolutionary thought, and state politics. The central questions asked during the course include: What is violence? How are different forms and sites of violence connected? How do technologies of gender, sex, and race shape understandings of certain practices of violence as political, lawful, legitimate and/or necessary?

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3 & 6 Credit Points

Political parties are central actors in democracies. In recent decades, established party systems have been re-shaped by the effects of globalisation, de-industrialisation and demographic change, and by the actions of political parties both old and new. This seminar deals with the origins and development of parties and party systems in democracies, as well as changes over time. We discuss connections between parties and citizens, changing lines of conflict, and dynamics of political competition. The aim is to deepen understanding of the role and behaviour of political parties, and enable participants to compare parties and party systems among countries and over time.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3CP or 6CP

This course studies political and economic development from a political economy perspective. It revolves around the questions: Why don’t poor countries catch up? Why do some countries strive while others fail? What is the micro-foundation of development? With a particular focus on (a) the crucial role of institutions and (b) the behavioral micro-foundation of development, we investigate which factors account for economic growth, democratization and regime stability. We study the explanatory power of factor endowments, institutions, regime type, clientelism, ethnic heterogeneity and corruption for development and growth. Taking into account historical legacies, ethnic conflicts, and natural resources, we shed light on the different components that influence the politics of development. At the micro level we zoom in on general theories of political behavior, investigating preference formation, voting behavior and political activism. We learn about the incentive structures of political elites, citizens and social groups, and reflect on challenges for cooperation. We tap into motivations for individuals to engage in protests, conflicts and revolt and study the impact of clientelism, group membership and corruption on vote choices in elections.

The course will provide you with a set of micro theories and institutional theories to study and explain economic and political development. The readings span from classical work to the current research frontier, so that the course will equip you with insights into the key debates in comparative and international political economy research. Methodologically, we will come across a variety of approaches such as regression analysis, multilevel models, field experiments, laboratory experiments and qualitative case studies. Geographically, the course covers a variety of cases, from Sub-Sahara Africa and Latin America, but also East and Western Europe.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Keefer, P. and S. Knack (1997): Why Don't Poor Countries Catch Up? A Cross-National Test Of An Institutional Explanation. Economic Inquiry, Vol. XXXV: 590-602.

Acemoglu, D. and J. Robinson (2012), Why Nations Fail: Chapters 1-2 (pp. 7-69).

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Term paper/Hausarbeit 6CP; Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung des Referats bei 3CP/ In-class presentation and written report of presentation topic for 3 CP

In this course we study climate change as a political and social challenge using approaches from comparative politics and international political economy. Climate change raises questions of power, fairness and responsibility that are central to political analysis. The seminar examines why climate policies differ across countries, parties and governments and how citizens perceive fairness and justice in climate action.
The course is divided into two main parts. The first addresses the formation of climate policy and explores how public opinion, party competition and political communication shape the political supply of environmental policies. The second part focuses on inequality, justice and the social consequences of climate change, including vulnerability, protest and transitions. Students work with comparative case studies, survey and experimental evidence and recent empirical research.
By the end of the course students will be able to explain why climate change is a political issue, compare how institutions and interests influence climate policy, and evaluate questions of fairness, inequality and justice in climate action.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Tvinnereim, E., & Ivarsflaten, E. (2016). Fossil fuels, employment, and support for climate policies. Energy Policy, 96, 364–371.
Spoon, J., Hobolt, S. B., & De Vries, C. E. (2014). Going green: Explaining issue competition on the environment. European Journal of Political Research, 53(2), 363–380.
Lockwood, M. (2018). Right-wing populism and the climate change agenda. Environmental Politics, 27(4), 712–732.
Dolšak, N., & Prakash, A. (2022). Three faces of climate justice. Annual Review of Political Science, 25, 283–301.
Thomas, K. et al. (2019). Explaining differential vulnerability to climate change: A social science review. WIREs Climate Change, 10(2), e565.
Bolet, D., Green, F., & González-Eguino, M. (2024). How to get coal country to vote for climate policy. American Political Science Review, 118(3), 1344–1359.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Presentation and written report for 3 CP / Presentation and term paper for 6 CP.
(Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung bei 3 CP; Referat und Hausarbeit bei 6 CP.)

The class introduces students to the literature on the interplay between institutions and the economy based on the influential model case of German capitalism. Based on exemplary historical, institutionalist, and quantitative research, the class features discussions of the origins, sources of stability, and sources of change of a distinctively German variety of capitalism. Institutional fields at the core of the seminar are the financial system, the innovation system, education and training, corporatism, the labor market, Federalism, and corporate governance.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Streeck, W. 1997. German capitalism: Does it exist? Can it survive? New Political Economy, 2 (2), 237–256.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Students are required to prepare a term paper (8–10 pages). Deadlines, subjects, structure, and requirements for the paper will be discussed in session 1 and developed throughout the course.

Positive Political Theory (PPT) explores political phenomena using formal approaches drawn from decision theory and game theory. Over the past decades, PPT has become increasingly influential within political science, offering valuable insights into how social and political institutions shape behavior and outcomes.
This course introduces the core principles and methods of decision and game theory, with a particular emphasis on experimental approaches. In experimental decision and game theory, strategic incentive and interaction problems are first analyzed theoretically and then tested empirically through laboratory or field experiments involving human participants. The observed behavior, which shows how individuals respond and make decisions in strategic situations, is then compared to theoretical predictions derived from game theory.
Across a range of topics, including decision-making under risk, coordination games, zero-sum games, mixed-motive games, and sequential games, experimental research has developed a set of standard games that are widely used in the field. The course covers these key game structures, their formal solutions, and the sometimes surprising or contradictory experimental findings.
By the end of the course, students will be able to interpret real-world political conflicts as strategic problems of incentives and interaction. They will also learn how to apply standard experimental games to their own research interests.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung [preparatory literature]:
Behnke, Joachim 2020. Entscheidungs- und Spieltheorie. Baden. Nomos.
Riker, William H. 1982. Liberalism Against Populism: A Confrontation between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company.
Shepsle, Kenneth A. 2010. Analyzing Politics. Rationality, Behavior, and Institutions (Second Edition). New York/ London: W W Norton & Company.

Art der Prüfungsleistung (CP) [credits and assignments]:
Teilprüfung 1 (6 CP): mündliche Prüfung (30 Minuten), Teilprüfung 2 (3 CP): mündliche Prüfung (15 Minuten)

In this text-centered seminar, we will discuss seminal contributions to the ethics of migration, which has become a cottage industry in political and moral philosophy over the last few decades. We know that in many places borders are not open, but ought they to be so from a moral point of view? Or does this depend on the circumstances? If so, which circumstances matter and why? Do states that restrict immigration (by certain groups of people) violate human rights (and how would we know that)? Or do they merely exercise the right of self-determination of the political community they represent? These are the kinds of questions that we will raise in this seminar, after paving the ground by looking at some conceptual, empirical, and theoretical issues in the initial meetings.

Preparatory Reading

Wellman, Christopher Heath (2024): Immigration. In: Zalta, Edward N./Nodelman, Uri (eds.): The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2024 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2024/entries/immigration/

Assignments and Credits

6 CP (TP 1, GS, Erasmus): term paper (15-20 pp.) or oral exam (30 min.)

3 CP (TP 2, GS, Erasmus): presentation (15 min.) with written elaboration (5 pp.) or short term paper (8-10 pp.)

The class provides an introduction to core concepts of international relations theory. The focus is on what different theories consider to be the key drivers of international and transnational relations. global politics, focusing on key concepts and issues of theories of international relations: states, sovereignty, conflict, cooperation, international institutions, non-governmental organizations, delegation and (indirect) global governance. The course starts with a focus on classical, Western literatures but concludes with sessions on gender, race, colonialism and the end of the Western-dominated liberal international order. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand and apply the key concepts in their own research.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

any textbook on IR

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

6 CP
Requirements

Attendance: Students are expected to be present and prepared for every class session. Active participation during seminar discussions is essential. If unavoidable circumstances arise which prevent attendance or preparation, the instructor should be advised in advance by email.

Reseearch paper:Each student submits a brief paper at the end of the seminar. The paper should engage with one of the readings of this class, summarize the main argument and comment on it. Grading will consider the rigor of the analysis, and the quality of writing. The word limit is 3000 words everything included. Each student presents his or her paper idea in a short presentation during the final session. .

This course is designed to introduce students to core debates and to cutting edge research in the field of political violence, highlighting postcolonial, decolonial, Indigenous, Black studies, and queer approaches.The premise is to question violence as endemic or a natural aspect and acknowledge that it has many contingent modalities that can be best understood in a historical perspective. The course also considers the productive effects of violence, as violent practices constitute nationalism, revolutionary thought, and state politics. The central questions asked during the course include: What is violence? How are different forms and sites of violence connected? How do technologies of gender, sex, and race shape understandings of certain practices of violence as political, lawful, legitimate and/or necessary?

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3 & 6 Credit Points

In this course we study climate change as a political and social challenge using approaches from comparative politics and international political economy. Climate change raises questions of power, fairness and responsibility that are central to political analysis. The seminar examines why climate policies differ across countries, parties and governments and how citizens perceive fairness and justice in climate action.
The course is divided into two main parts. The first addresses the formation of climate policy and explores how public opinion, party competition and political communication shape the political supply of environmental policies. The second part focuses on inequality, justice and the social consequences of climate change, including vulnerability, protest and transitions. Students work with comparative case studies, survey and experimental evidence and recent empirical research.
By the end of the course students will be able to explain why climate change is a political issue, compare how institutions and interests influence climate policy, and evaluate questions of fairness, inequality and justice in climate action.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Tvinnereim, E., & Ivarsflaten, E. (2016). Fossil fuels, employment, and support for climate policies. Energy Policy, 96, 364–371.
Spoon, J., Hobolt, S. B., & De Vries, C. E. (2014). Going green: Explaining issue competition on the environment. European Journal of Political Research, 53(2), 363–380.
Lockwood, M. (2018). Right-wing populism and the climate change agenda. Environmental Politics, 27(4), 712–732.
Dolšak, N., & Prakash, A. (2022). Three faces of climate justice. Annual Review of Political Science, 25, 283–301.
Thomas, K. et al. (2019). Explaining differential vulnerability to climate change: A social science review. WIREs Climate Change, 10(2), e565.
Bolet, D., Green, F., & González-Eguino, M. (2024). How to get coal country to vote for climate policy. American Political Science Review, 118(3), 1344–1359.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Presentation and written report for 3 CP / Presentation and term paper for 6 CP.
(Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung bei 3 CP; Referat und Hausarbeit bei 6 CP.)

Political parties are central actors in democracies. In recent decades, established party systems have been re-shaped by the effects of globalisation, de-industrialisation and demographic change, and by the actions of political parties both old and new. This seminar deals with the origins and development of parties and party systems in democracies, as well as changes over time. We discuss connections between parties and citizens, changing lines of conflict, and dynamics of political competition. The aim is to deepen understanding of the role and behaviour of political parties, and enable participants to compare parties and party systems among countries and over time.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3CP or 6CP

This course studies political and economic development from a political economy perspective. It revolves around the questions: Why don’t poor countries catch up? Why do some countries strive while others fail? What is the micro-foundation of development? With a particular focus on (a) the crucial role of institutions and (b) the behavioral micro-foundation of development, we investigate which factors account for economic growth, democratization and regime stability. We study the explanatory power of factor endowments, institutions, regime type, clientelism, ethnic heterogeneity and corruption for development and growth. Taking into account historical legacies, ethnic conflicts, and natural resources, we shed light on the different components that influence the politics of development. At the micro level we zoom in on general theories of political behavior, investigating preference formation, voting behavior and political activism. We learn about the incentive structures of political elites, citizens and social groups, and reflect on challenges for cooperation. We tap into motivations for individuals to engage in protests, conflicts and revolt and study the impact of clientelism, group membership and corruption on vote choices in elections.

The course will provide you with a set of micro theories and institutional theories to study and explain economic and political development. The readings span from classical work to the current research frontier, so that the course will equip you with insights into the key debates in comparative and international political economy research. Methodologically, we will come across a variety of approaches such as regression analysis, multilevel models, field experiments, laboratory experiments and qualitative case studies. Geographically, the course covers a variety of cases, from Sub-Sahara Africa and Latin America, but also East and Western Europe.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Keefer, P. and S. Knack (1997): Why Don't Poor Countries Catch Up? A Cross-National Test Of An Institutional Explanation. Economic Inquiry, Vol. XXXV: 590-602.

Acemoglu, D. and J. Robinson (2012), Why Nations Fail: Chapters 1-2 (pp. 7-69).

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Term paper/Hausarbeit 6CP; Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung des Referats bei 3CP/ In-class presentation and written report of presentation topic for 3 CP

The class introduces students to the literature on the interplay between institutions and the economy based on the influential model case of German capitalism. Based on exemplary historical, institutionalist, and quantitative research, the class features discussions of the origins, sources of stability, and sources of change of a distinctively German variety of capitalism. Institutional fields at the core of the seminar are the financial system, the innovation system, education and training, corporatism, the labor market, Federalism, and corporate governance.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Streeck, W. 1997. German capitalism: Does it exist? Can it survive? New Political Economy, 2 (2), 237–256.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Students are required to prepare a term paper (8–10 pages). Deadlines, subjects, structure, and requirements for the paper will be discussed in session 1 and developed throughout the course.

Positive Political Theory (PPT) explores political phenomena using formal approaches drawn from decision theory and game theory. Over the past decades, PPT has become increasingly influential within political science, offering valuable insights into how social and political institutions shape behavior and outcomes.
This course introduces the core principles and methods of decision and game theory, with a particular emphasis on experimental approaches. In experimental decision and game theory, strategic incentive and interaction problems are first analyzed theoretically and then tested empirically through laboratory or field experiments involving human participants. The observed behavior, which shows how individuals respond and make decisions in strategic situations, is then compared to theoretical predictions derived from game theory.
Across a range of topics, including decision-making under risk, coordination games, zero-sum games, mixed-motive games, and sequential games, experimental research has developed a set of standard games that are widely used in the field. The course covers these key game structures, their formal solutions, and the sometimes surprising or contradictory experimental findings.
By the end of the course, students will be able to interpret real-world political conflicts as strategic problems of incentives and interaction. They will also learn how to apply standard experimental games to their own research interests.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung [preparatory literature]:
Behnke, Joachim 2020. Entscheidungs- und Spieltheorie. Baden. Nomos.
Riker, William H. 1982. Liberalism Against Populism: A Confrontation between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman and Company.
Shepsle, Kenneth A. 2010. Analyzing Politics. Rationality, Behavior, and Institutions (Second Edition). New York/ London: W W Norton & Company.

Art der Prüfungsleistung (CP) [credits and assignments]:
Teilprüfung 1 (6 CP): mündliche Prüfung (30 Minuten), Teilprüfung 2 (3 CP): mündliche Prüfung (15 Minuten)

In this text-centered seminar, we will discuss seminal contributions to the ethics of migration, which has become a cottage industry in political and moral philosophy over the last few decades. We know that in many places borders are not open, but ought they to be so from a moral point of view? Or does this depend on the circumstances? If so, which circumstances matter and why? Do states that restrict immigration (by certain groups of people) violate human rights (and how would we know that)? Or do they merely exercise the right of self-determination of the political community they represent? These are the kinds of questions that we will raise in this seminar, after paving the ground by looking at some conceptual, empirical, and theoretical issues in the initial meetings.

Preparatory Reading

Wellman, Christopher Heath (2024): Immigration. In: Zalta, Edward N./Nodelman, Uri (eds.): The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2024 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2024/entries/immigration/

Assignments and Credits

6 CP (TP 1, GS, Erasmus): term paper (15-20 pp.) or oral exam (30 min.)

3 CP (TP 2, GS, Erasmus): presentation (15 min.) with written elaboration (5 pp.) or short term paper (8-10 pp.)

The class provides an introduction to core concepts of international relations theory. The focus is on what different theories consider to be the key drivers of international and transnational relations. global politics, focusing on key concepts and issues of theories of international relations: states, sovereignty, conflict, cooperation, international institutions, non-governmental organizations, delegation and (indirect) global governance. The course starts with a focus on classical, Western literatures but concludes with sessions on gender, race, colonialism and the end of the Western-dominated liberal international order. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand and apply the key concepts in their own research.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

any textbook on IR

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

6 CP
Requirements

Attendance: Students are expected to be present and prepared for every class session. Active participation during seminar discussions is essential. If unavoidable circumstances arise which prevent attendance or preparation, the instructor should be advised in advance by email.

Reseearch paper:Each student submits a brief paper at the end of the seminar. The paper should engage with one of the readings of this class, summarize the main argument and comment on it. Grading will consider the rigor of the analysis, and the quality of writing. The word limit is 3000 words everything included. Each student presents his or her paper idea in a short presentation during the final session. .

This course is designed to introduce students to core debates and to cutting edge research in the field of political violence, highlighting postcolonial, decolonial, Indigenous, Black studies, and queer approaches.The premise is to question violence as endemic or a natural aspect and acknowledge that it has many contingent modalities that can be best understood in a historical perspective. The course also considers the productive effects of violence, as violent practices constitute nationalism, revolutionary thought, and state politics. The central questions asked during the course include: What is violence? How are different forms and sites of violence connected? How do technologies of gender, sex, and race shape understandings of certain practices of violence as political, lawful, legitimate and/or necessary?

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3 & 6 Credit Points

Political parties are central actors in democracies. In recent decades, established party systems have been re-shaped by the effects of globalisation, de-industrialisation and demographic change, and by the actions of political parties both old and new. This seminar deals with the origins and development of parties and party systems in democracies, as well as changes over time. We discuss connections between parties and citizens, changing lines of conflict, and dynamics of political competition. The aim is to deepen understanding of the role and behaviour of political parties, and enable participants to compare parties and party systems among countries and over time.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

3CP or 6CP

This course studies political and economic development from a political economy perspective. It revolves around the questions: Why don’t poor countries catch up? Why do some countries strive while others fail? What is the micro-foundation of development? With a particular focus on (a) the crucial role of institutions and (b) the behavioral micro-foundation of development, we investigate which factors account for economic growth, democratization and regime stability. We study the explanatory power of factor endowments, institutions, regime type, clientelism, ethnic heterogeneity and corruption for development and growth. Taking into account historical legacies, ethnic conflicts, and natural resources, we shed light on the different components that influence the politics of development. At the micro level we zoom in on general theories of political behavior, investigating preference formation, voting behavior and political activism. We learn about the incentive structures of political elites, citizens and social groups, and reflect on challenges for cooperation. We tap into motivations for individuals to engage in protests, conflicts and revolt and study the impact of clientelism, group membership and corruption on vote choices in elections.

The course will provide you with a set of micro theories and institutional theories to study and explain economic and political development. The readings span from classical work to the current research frontier, so that the course will equip you with insights into the key debates in comparative and international political economy research. Methodologically, we will come across a variety of approaches such as regression analysis, multilevel models, field experiments, laboratory experiments and qualitative case studies. Geographically, the course covers a variety of cases, from Sub-Sahara Africa and Latin America, but also East and Western Europe.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Keefer, P. and S. Knack (1997): Why Don't Poor Countries Catch Up? A Cross-National Test Of An Institutional Explanation. Economic Inquiry, Vol. XXXV: 590-602.

Acemoglu, D. and J. Robinson (2012), Why Nations Fail: Chapters 1-2 (pp. 7-69).

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Term paper/Hausarbeit 6CP; Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung des Referats bei 3CP/ In-class presentation and written report of presentation topic for 3 CP

In this course we study climate change as a political and social challenge using approaches from comparative politics and international political economy. Climate change raises questions of power, fairness and responsibility that are central to political analysis. The seminar examines why climate policies differ across countries, parties and governments and how citizens perceive fairness and justice in climate action.
The course is divided into two main parts. The first addresses the formation of climate policy and explores how public opinion, party competition and political communication shape the political supply of environmental policies. The second part focuses on inequality, justice and the social consequences of climate change, including vulnerability, protest and transitions. Students work with comparative case studies, survey and experimental evidence and recent empirical research.
By the end of the course students will be able to explain why climate change is a political issue, compare how institutions and interests influence climate policy, and evaluate questions of fairness, inequality and justice in climate action.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Tvinnereim, E., & Ivarsflaten, E. (2016). Fossil fuels, employment, and support for climate policies. Energy Policy, 96, 364–371.
Spoon, J., Hobolt, S. B., & De Vries, C. E. (2014). Going green: Explaining issue competition on the environment. European Journal of Political Research, 53(2), 363–380.
Lockwood, M. (2018). Right-wing populism and the climate change agenda. Environmental Politics, 27(4), 712–732.
Dolšak, N., & Prakash, A. (2022). Three faces of climate justice. Annual Review of Political Science, 25, 283–301.
Thomas, K. et al. (2019). Explaining differential vulnerability to climate change: A social science review. WIREs Climate Change, 10(2), e565.
Bolet, D., Green, F., & González-Eguino, M. (2024). How to get coal country to vote for climate policy. American Political Science Review, 118(3), 1344–1359.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Presentation and written report for 3 CP / Presentation and term paper for 6 CP.
(Referat und schriftliche Ausarbeitung bei 3 CP; Referat und Hausarbeit bei 6 CP.)

The class introduces students to the literature on the interplay between institutions and the economy based on the influential model case of German capitalism. Based on exemplary historical, institutionalist, and quantitative research, the class features discussions of the origins, sources of stability, and sources of change of a distinctively German variety of capitalism. Institutional fields at the core of the seminar are the financial system, the innovation system, education and training, corporatism, the labor market, Federalism, and corporate governance.

Literatur zur Vorbereitung/Preparatory Reading:

Streeck, W. 1997. German capitalism: Does it exist? Can it survive? New Political Economy, 2 (2), 237–256.

Prüfungsleistungen und CP/Assignments and Credits:

Students are required to prepare a term paper (8–10 pages). Deadlines, subjects, structure, and requirements for the paper will be discussed in session 1 and developed throughout the course.