Southern Europe Political Systems

This specialized course focuses on Portugal, Spain and Greece, three countries that have carried out democratization processes since the mid-seventies. While Southern Europe?s political regimes continue to undergo considerable transformations (a totally new and original left alliance in Portugal, the Socialist Party renewal in Spain, the aftermath of Syriza experience in Greece), their in-depth analysis is more than ever relevant. In fact, it allows us to observe cases of democratization which constitutionalists and political scientists have often looked down on and described as behind compared to those in Northern Europe which they consider to be pioneering. But the history of constitutionalism and democracy in these countries is longer than it seems, and their recent developments are full of surprise and originality.

The course begins with a segmented presentation of these countries before proposing a comparative analysis of recent political developments. Topics include: constitutional and political history, the role of the military as a political actor, political institutions, political parties and elections, local democracy (regions, local power), state-religion relations. In order to understand the most recent transformations of these systems, the course aims to observe how they combine phenomena arising from the European integration and dynamics of internal transformations.

Along with ex-cathedra teaching sessions, the course uses visual « PowerPoint » presentations and clips from films or documentaries. It thus provides all students with detailed analytical support and a bibliography (general and by country). Readings are also proposed to the students.

Sciences Po Grenoble - UGA awards credits based on the ECTS system. Contact hours listed under a course description may vary due to the combination of lecture-based and independent work required for each course. CEA CAPA's recommended credits are based on the ECTS credits assigned by Sciences Po Grenoble - UGA (2 ECTS credits equals 1 U.S. credit therefore, 5 ECTS credits is equivalent to 2.5 U.S. credits).