Comparative Political Systems
- Offered byCoursera
- Public/Government Institute
Comparative Political Systems at Coursera Overview
Duration | 10 hours |
Total fee | Free |
Mode of learning | Online |
Official Website | Explore Free Course  |
Credential | Certificate |
- Overview
- Highlights
- Course Details
- Curriculum
Comparative Political Systems at Coursera Highlights
- Flexible deadlines Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.
- Shareable Certificate Earn a Certificate upon completion
- 100% online Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.
- Coursera Labs Includes hands on learning projects. Learn more about Coursera Labs External Link
- Beginner Level No background needed
- Approx. 10 hours to complete
- English Subtitles: English
Comparative Political Systems at Coursera Course details
- Comparative politics covers a wide variety of topics and themes. The course starts with the definition of the comparative method giving special emphasis to concept formation and historical and institutional approaches. The bulk of the course is devoted to the theory of coalitions and the processes of government formation, functioning, termination. Through several in-depth analyses, the course will throw light on the way democratic regimes are governed. Electoral rules will receive special attention and their impact both on citizens’ behavior and parties and the party system will be thoroughly examined.
- The types of Parliaments, their structures and their role will be taken into consideration also in order to understand how they affect the formation of governing coalitions. Hence the dynamics and the transformation of those coalitions, with special attention to their more or less frequent rotation in office, will be explored and explained. The assets and the liabilities of the different institutional arrangements will be evaluated. The final part of the course will be devoted to an assessment of the quality of the different democratic regimes and to the proposals for change. The overall picture likely to emerge is that of the existence of several institutional solutions to the challenges and the problems of contemporary democracies.
Comparative Political Systems at Coursera Curriculum
Introduction to comparative politics
Comparative politics
Research methods
Comparative method
Political System
Changing political community
The creation of a new community
Political authority
Party leaders
Types of authority
The world of comparative politics
Research methods
Comparative method
Political System
The political community and its transformations
Changing political community
The Alsace-Lorraine question: a contested territory between France and Germany
The creation of new communities
A federal state: the United States of America
The conceptual matrix of ‘Authority’
Political Authorities
Significant comparisons: Germany vs. United Kingdom (1945-2015)
Different methods of candidate selection and leadership election
Political authorities
Party leaders
What makes authority legitimate?
Charismatic authority
Rational-legal authority
Challenge yourself: Comparative politics and comparative method
Challenge yourself: Political system and political community
Challenge yourself: The authorities, recruitment, selection, circulation
Political regimes
Political regime
Parliamentary regime
Government types
Presidential regime
Diffusion of presidentialism
Divided government
Semi-presidential regime
Cohabitation
Presidents and Prime Ministers
Introduction to political regimes
Political regimes across time and space
Parliamentarism
Parliamentary regime and types of government
Coalitions
Significant comparisons
Parliamentary vs presidential regimes
Juan Linz’s critique
Diffusion of presidentialism and types of executive
Divided governments in presidential regimes
What is Semi-presidentialism?
Constitutional system of semi-presidentialism
Cohabitation
Defining feature of Semi-presidential regime
Challenge yourself: Parliamentary democracies
Challenge yourself: Presidential democracies
Challenge yourself: Semi-presidential democracies
Party Systems and Electoral Systems
Classifying party systems
Multi-party systems
Consequences of the electoral systems
Types of electoral system
Strategic voting
Power of the voter
Institutions, constitutions and political parties
A typology of party systems
Counting rules for political parties
The dynamics of party systems
Duverger’s “laws”
Elections and electoral systems
Majoritarian electoral systems
Proportional electoral systems
Theory of individual voting
The power of the voter
Challenge yourself: Party systems
Challenge yourself: Electoral Systems
Autocracy and Democracy
Authoritarian regimes
Varieties of authoritarian regimes
Waves of democratization
Democratic consolidation
Types of democracy
Future of democracy
Authoritarian regimes
Varieties of authoritarian regimes /1
Varieties of authoritarian regimes /2
Three waves of democratization
The democratization process
Democratic transition and consolidation
Electoral and Liberal democracies
Two patterns of democratic regimes
Majoritarian and Consensus democracies
Schumpeter’s definition of democracy
Dahl’s Poliarchy
The ‘wind’ of globalization
Challenge yourself: Authoritarian regimes
Challenge yourself: Democracy and poliarchy
Other courses offered by Coursera
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?
Useful Links
Know more about Coursera
Know more about Programs
- Teaching & Education
- Middle School
- Physical Education
- Pre Primary & Primary School
- Secondary & Sr. Secondary School
- Nursery & Primary Teacher Training (NPTT)
- Special Education
- Nursery Teacher Training (NTT)
- Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE)
- Vocational Education
- Pre Primary Teacher Training (PPTT)
- Primary Teacher Training (PTT)