Compensation from one of the following VALTA1; VALTA4; VALTS2b or VALTS2d; VALTS3; or ISSS: VALIES14 or VALIES18.

Lectures (12 h), seminar (12 h), readings and an essay.

Registration for the course by e-mail at tapani.turkka@uta.fi by September 12 by 12 am.

To develop an advanced interdisciplinary understanding of the main approaches and theories of European integration and an ability to apply them to the enlargement of the European Union (EU).

Lectures 36 h + exam (3 ECTS) 5 Sept - 24 Oct; essay seminar 6 h (5 ECTS) 10 - 17 Nov.

Compensations:

International Relations:
KVPOA3, Wiener - Diez (3 ECTS) or Wiener - Diez and Bindi/Vogt - Maier (5 ECTS)

Political Science: VALTA7, 3-5 ECTS.

Lecture course on game theory. Students can earn 3 to 7 ECTS credits. 7 credits can be earned by writing a research paper.

In addition to attending the lectures and seminar, students are provided with a reading list and are required to write a seminar paper to complete the course.

Description and objectives:

The course explores the history of the concept of "Europe" both theoretically and empirically, understood in its historical, cultural and normative terms. The mutual perceptions between the "West" and the "East" of the continent, as well as individual nations´ images with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe since the 19th Century and up till now will also be examined. The material is structured by time periods, themes and regions and is supported by case studies. Such concepts as identity, self- and other´s perception, xenophobia, inter-ethnic and inter-state relations will be dealt with and illustrated during the course by such visual material as pictures, short films, and historical maps.

This seminar is an attempt to find plausible answers to the following questions:

What are and were mutual perceptions between Eastern and Western Europe and for what reasons? What connects and what divides both parts of the continent?  Where is the border separating it into the Western, Central and Eastern Europe?  Which historical and contemporary factors contributed to the current state of affairs? What role should we attach to religion? How were the images of the "other" interpreted and understood over time? What factors were crucial for the dynamics of the pan-European communication processes, political rapprochement and current institutional developments? What roles were played over the past two centuries by different stereotypes among nations? What is the relation of the elites / "agents of change" and parties to the political-symbolic "European process"? How did the Europeanization take place after 1945 and 1989?  What was the nature of post-1945/1989 reshaping of Europe? How is European integration and successive rounds of enlargement assessed today? Is a pan-European identity possible?

The seminar has a total of 16 hours. The seminar will be devoted to teaching of skills of analysis and knowledge over the transformation of "Europe". Course participants should recognize the complexity of the issues, describe, understand and explain the processes in Europe. Systematic presence is required. Each session consists of two academic hours.

Methods: traditional teaching, case study analysis, group discussions, individual presentations, course work, oral presentations, final essay.

Modes of study: teaching in English; lectures, seminar; readings; oral presentation / essay (ca. 3000 words).

Maximum number of students: 20

Sign up for the seminar in advance (29 August - 19 September) by using the course enrolment service NettiOpsu

Compensations:

International Relations KVPOA3 (two books of the following: Bengtsson, Vogt-Mayer, Bindi) 4 ECTS

Political Science VALTA7 5 ECTS or VALTS2e (two books) 6 ECTS

Compensation from one of the following VALTA1; VALTA4; VALTS2b or VALTS2d; VALTS3; or ISSS: VALIES14 or VALIES18.

Lectures (12 h), seminar (12 h), readings and an essay.

Registration for the course by e-mail at tapani.turkka@uta.fi by September 12 by 12 am.

Description and objectives:

The course explores the history of the concept of "Europe" both theoretically and empirically, understood in its historical, cultural and normative terms. The mutual perceptions between the "West" and the "East" of the continent, as well as individual nations´ images with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe since the 19th Century and up till now will also be examined. The material is structured by time periods, themes and regions and is supported by case studies. Such concepts as identity, self- and other´s perception, xenophobia, inter-ethnic and inter-state relations will be dealt with and illustrated during the course by such visual material as pictures, short films, and historical maps.

This seminar is an attempt to find plausible answers to the following questions:

What are and were mutual perceptions between Eastern and Western Europe and for what reasons? What connects and what divides both parts of the continent?  Where is the border separating it into the Western, Central and Eastern Europe?  Which historical and contemporary factors contributed to the current state of affairs? What role should we attach to religion? How were the images of the "other" interpreted and understood over time? What factors were crucial for the dynamics of the pan-European communication processes, political rapprochement and current institutional developments? What roles were played over the past two centuries by different stereotypes among nations? What is the relation of the elites / "agents of change" and parties to the political-symbolic "European process"? How did the Europeanization take place after 1945 and 1989?  What was the nature of post-1945/1989 reshaping of Europe? How is European integration and successive rounds of enlargement assessed today? Is a pan-European identity possible?

The seminar has a total of 16 hours. The seminar will be devoted to teaching of skills of analysis and knowledge over the transformation of "Europe". Course participants should recognize the complexity of the issues, describe, understand and explain the processes in Europe. Systematic presence is required. Each session consists of two academic hours.

Methods: traditional teaching, case study analysis, group discussions, individual presentations, course work, oral presentations, final essay.

Modes of study: teaching in English; lectures, seminar; readings; oral presentation / essay (ca. 3000 words).

Maximum number of students: 20

Sign up for the seminar in advance (29 August - 19 September) by using the course enrolment service NettiOpsu

Compensations:

International Relations KVPOA3 (two books of the following: Bengtsson, Vogt-Mayer, Bindi) 4 ECTS

Political Science VALTA7 5 ECTS or VALTS2e (two books) 6 ECTS

Students may earn 7 to 10 ECTS credits form this seminar. With arrangements with the professor the seminar will account for NAM-10

Compensation from one of the following VALTA1; VALTA4; VALTS2b or VALTS2d; VALTS3; or ISSS: VALIES14 or VALIES18.

Lectures (12 h), seminar (12 h), readings and an essay.

Registration for the course by e-mail at tapani.turkka@uta.fi by September 12 by 12 am.

To develop an advanced interdisciplinary understanding of the main approaches and theories of European integration and an ability to apply them to the enlargement of the European Union (EU).

Lectures 36 h + exam (3 ECTS) 5 Sept - 24 Oct; essay seminar 6 h (5 ECTS) 10 - 17 Nov.

Compensations:

International Relations:
KVPOA3, Wiener - Diez (3 ECTS) or Wiener - Diez and Bindi/Vogt - Maier (5 ECTS)

Political Science: VALTA7, 3-5 ECTS.

Lecture course on game theory. Students can earn 3 to 7 ECTS credits. 7 credits can be earned by writing a research paper.

In addition to attending the lectures and seminar, students are provided with a reading list and are required to write a seminar paper to complete the course.

Description and objectives:

The course explores the history of the concept of "Europe" both theoretically and empirically, understood in its historical, cultural and normative terms. The mutual perceptions between the "West" and the "East" of the continent, as well as individual nations´ images with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe since the 19th Century and up till now will also be examined. The material is structured by time periods, themes and regions and is supported by case studies. Such concepts as identity, self- and other´s perception, xenophobia, inter-ethnic and inter-state relations will be dealt with and illustrated during the course by such visual material as pictures, short films, and historical maps.

This seminar is an attempt to find plausible answers to the following questions:

What are and were mutual perceptions between Eastern and Western Europe and for what reasons? What connects and what divides both parts of the continent?  Where is the border separating it into the Western, Central and Eastern Europe?  Which historical and contemporary factors contributed to the current state of affairs? What role should we attach to religion? How were the images of the "other" interpreted and understood over time? What factors were crucial for the dynamics of the pan-European communication processes, political rapprochement and current institutional developments? What roles were played over the past two centuries by different stereotypes among nations? What is the relation of the elites / "agents of change" and parties to the political-symbolic "European process"? How did the Europeanization take place after 1945 and 1989?  What was the nature of post-1945/1989 reshaping of Europe? How is European integration and successive rounds of enlargement assessed today? Is a pan-European identity possible?

The seminar has a total of 16 hours. The seminar will be devoted to teaching of skills of analysis and knowledge over the transformation of "Europe". Course participants should recognize the complexity of the issues, describe, understand and explain the processes in Europe. Systematic presence is required. Each session consists of two academic hours.

Methods: traditional teaching, case study analysis, group discussions, individual presentations, course work, oral presentations, final essay.

Modes of study: teaching in English; lectures, seminar; readings; oral presentation / essay (ca. 3000 words).

Maximum number of students: 20

Sign up for the seminar in advance (29 August - 19 September) by using the course enrolment service NettiOpsu

Compensations:

International Relations KVPOA3 (two books of the following: Bengtsson, Vogt-Mayer, Bindi) 4 ECTS

Political Science VALTA7 5 ECTS or VALTS2e (two books) 6 ECTS

Compensation from one of the following VALTA1; VALTA4; VALTS2b or VALTS2d; VALTS3; or ISSS: VALIES14 or VALIES18.

Lectures (12 h), seminar (12 h), readings and an essay.

Registration for the course by e-mail at tapani.turkka@uta.fi by September 12 by 12 am.

Description and objectives:

The course explores the history of the concept of "Europe" both theoretically and empirically, understood in its historical, cultural and normative terms. The mutual perceptions between the "West" and the "East" of the continent, as well as individual nations´ images with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe since the 19th Century and up till now will also be examined. The material is structured by time periods, themes and regions and is supported by case studies. Such concepts as identity, self- and other´s perception, xenophobia, inter-ethnic and inter-state relations will be dealt with and illustrated during the course by such visual material as pictures, short films, and historical maps.

This seminar is an attempt to find plausible answers to the following questions:

What are and were mutual perceptions between Eastern and Western Europe and for what reasons? What connects and what divides both parts of the continent?  Where is the border separating it into the Western, Central and Eastern Europe?  Which historical and contemporary factors contributed to the current state of affairs? What role should we attach to religion? How were the images of the "other" interpreted and understood over time? What factors were crucial for the dynamics of the pan-European communication processes, political rapprochement and current institutional developments? What roles were played over the past two centuries by different stereotypes among nations? What is the relation of the elites / "agents of change" and parties to the political-symbolic "European process"? How did the Europeanization take place after 1945 and 1989?  What was the nature of post-1945/1989 reshaping of Europe? How is European integration and successive rounds of enlargement assessed today? Is a pan-European identity possible?

The seminar has a total of 16 hours. The seminar will be devoted to teaching of skills of analysis and knowledge over the transformation of "Europe". Course participants should recognize the complexity of the issues, describe, understand and explain the processes in Europe. Systematic presence is required. Each session consists of two academic hours.

Methods: traditional teaching, case study analysis, group discussions, individual presentations, course work, oral presentations, final essay.

Modes of study: teaching in English; lectures, seminar; readings; oral presentation / essay (ca. 3000 words).

Maximum number of students: 20

Sign up for the seminar in advance (29 August - 19 September) by using the course enrolment service NettiOpsu

Compensations:

International Relations KVPOA3 (two books of the following: Bengtsson, Vogt-Mayer, Bindi) 4 ECTS

Political Science VALTA7 5 ECTS or VALTS2e (two books) 6 ECTS

Students may earn 7 to 10 ECTS credits form this seminar. With arrangements with the professor the seminar will account for NAM-10

VALTA3: 5 ECTS or VALTS2b: Ware, 4 ECTS.

'Successor Parties' in Contemporary Western Europe

This course is about new parties and especially one particular type of new party - the 'successor party'. New parties come - witness the Tea Party in the United States - and new parties go. Who can remember Risto E.J. Penttilä's Nuorsuomalainen puolue which gained two Eduskunta seats in 1995? New parties may attract much media interest, as in the case of New Democracy in Sweden, which described the 'old parties' as comprising crocodile politicians - 'all mouth and no ears'. New parties may be protest parties or they may belong to an established 'party family' (Christian Democrats, Greens etc). But there are new parties and new parties. Some are formed from splits in an existing party or a merger between existing parties; others are ?genuinely new? and not related to existing parties. Then there are those which directly replace parties that have ceased to exist. In this respect, the True Finns (PS) could be viewed as a 'successor party', replacing the defunct Finnish Rural Party (SMP). So the course is about new parties, the various types of new party, why some are successful and others not and what significance new parties have for the party system as a whole.

What follows are the main course themes rather than a detailed lecture programme.

1. How are new parties formed?

- Surveying the cosmos of new parties since the Second World War (Christian Democrat, left-libertarian, populist radical right etc)

- Where do parties come from? - the nature of the founding context and the process of party origination

- Classifying parties on the basis of how they originated (Duverger, Sartori)

- Approaches to the formation of new parties: Harmel and Robertson; Mair etc

2. Towards a Typology of New Parliamentary Parties in Contemporary Europe

- Identifying new parties: the fusion party, the re-nominated party; the seceder party; new blood party and the successor party

- The communist successor parties in Central-Eastern Europe

- The loose use of the term 'successor party' in the West European party literature: post-war successor parties, post-communist successor parties

- Definition and characteristics of the successor party

3. When is a new party a new party?

- Why do new parties matter? (Sartori, Bolleyer) How new is a new party?

- How can we assess the 'newness' of a party?

- Barnea and Rahat?s distinction between 'new' and 'pseudo-new' parties: "All parties are not new until proven otherwise"

- Threshold-based definitions and an application to the Austrian Freedom Party

4. The True Finns- From 'successor party' to 'new party'?

- Is the True Finn Party a new party in no more than name, how does it differ from its predecessor, the Finnish Rural Party, and has it evolved into something genuinely new?

- This will serve as a case-study and apply a modified version of Barnea and Rahat's schema

5. The 'Tavits question': Who do new parties emerge even in well-established party systems'?

- Why do they emerge and what makes some new parties successful and others less so?

- The permissiveness of the electoral system

- The extent of neo-corporatist policy-making

- The institutionalisation of the party system

Course Assessment: 8-10 page essay (English or Finnish) = 80%; Group Discussion = 20%

Obligatory pre-registering for this course, see 'enrolment'. Limited number of participants accepted.

Please register in advance for this course by emailing david.arter(at)uta.fi by 16 December!

NB. Pre-registration is obligatory for this course. Only a limited number of participants are accepted.

VALTA4 (5 ECTS) / VALTS2b (6 ECTS)

Teacher: Helen Drake (Loughborough University)

The course consists of lectures (6 h) and an essay. The lectures will begin with an introduction to the political system of today?s Fifth French Republic, with particular reference to French political culture, the nature of French semi-presidentialism, and the highly-Europeanised nature of French governance. The second pair of lectures will focus on the role of the French president in the political system with reference to the 1958 Constitution and to key moments in the life of the Fifth Republic that have definitively altered the nature of the presidential role. The third pair of lectures will study the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-) and the forthcoming 2012 presidential elections, with a view to understanding the current debates surrounding the role of the president in French politics, and to assessing the likelihood of a Sixth French Republic in the foreseeable future.

The lecture times are (held in Linna K113):

Mon 23.1., 9-11
Tue 24.1., 14-16
Wed 25.1., 9-11

The essay must focus on a particular aspect of French politics covered in the lectures. The essay (14-16 pages, font size 12, 1.5 spacing) must be handed in by the end of March to Tapio Raunio (tapio.raunio(at)uta.fi). Tapio Raunio is also the person to contact if you have any questions about the course (for example, essay topics).  

VALTA3: 5 ECTS or VALTS2b: Ware, 4 ECTS.

'Successor Parties' in Contemporary Western Europe

This course is about new parties and especially one particular type of new party - the 'successor party'. New parties come - witness the Tea Party in the United States - and new parties go. Who can remember Risto E.J. Penttilä's Nuorsuomalainen puolue which gained two Eduskunta seats in 1995? New parties may attract much media interest, as in the case of New Democracy in Sweden, which described the 'old parties' as comprising crocodile politicians - 'all mouth and no ears'. New parties may be protest parties or they may belong to an established 'party family' (Christian Democrats, Greens etc). But there are new parties and new parties. Some are formed from splits in an existing party or a merger between existing parties; others are ?genuinely new? and not related to existing parties. Then there are those which directly replace parties that have ceased to exist. In this respect, the True Finns (PS) could be viewed as a 'successor party', replacing the defunct Finnish Rural Party (SMP). So the course is about new parties, the various types of new party, why some are successful and others not and what significance new parties have for the party system as a whole.

What follows are the main course themes rather than a detailed lecture programme.

1. How are new parties formed?

- Surveying the cosmos of new parties since the Second World War (Christian Democrat, left-libertarian, populist radical right etc)

- Where do parties come from? - the nature of the founding context and the process of party origination

- Classifying parties on the basis of how they originated (Duverger, Sartori)

- Approaches to the formation of new parties: Harmel and Robertson; Mair etc

2. Towards a Typology of New Parliamentary Parties in Contemporary Europe

- Identifying new parties: the fusion party, the re-nominated party; the seceder party; new blood party and the successor party

- The communist successor parties in Central-Eastern Europe

- The loose use of the term 'successor party' in the West European party literature: post-war successor parties, post-communist successor parties

- Definition and characteristics of the successor party

3. When is a new party a new party?

- Why do new parties matter? (Sartori, Bolleyer) How new is a new party?

- How can we assess the 'newness' of a party?

- Barnea and Rahat?s distinction between 'new' and 'pseudo-new' parties: "All parties are not new until proven otherwise"

- Threshold-based definitions and an application to the Austrian Freedom Party

4. The True Finns- From 'successor party' to 'new party'?

- Is the True Finn Party a new party in no more than name, how does it differ from its predecessor, the Finnish Rural Party, and has it evolved into something genuinely new?

- This will serve as a case-study and apply a modified version of Barnea and Rahat's schema

5. The 'Tavits question': Who do new parties emerge even in well-established party systems'?

- Why do they emerge and what makes some new parties successful and others less so?

- The permissiveness of the electoral system

- The extent of neo-corporatist policy-making

- The institutionalisation of the party system

Course Assessment: 8-10 page essay (English or Finnish) = 80%; Group Discussion = 20%

Obligatory pre-registering for this course, see 'enrolment'. Limited number of participants accepted.

Please register in advance for this course by emailing david.arter(at)uta.fi by 16 December!

NB. Pre-registration is obligatory for this course. Only a limited number of participants are accepted.

VALTA4 (5 ECTS) / VALTS2b (6 ECTS)

Teacher: Helen Drake (Loughborough University)

The course consists of lectures (6 h) and an essay. The lectures will begin with an introduction to the political system of today?s Fifth French Republic, with particular reference to French political culture, the nature of French semi-presidentialism, and the highly-Europeanised nature of French governance. The second pair of lectures will focus on the role of the French president in the political system with reference to the 1958 Constitution and to key moments in the life of the Fifth Republic that have definitively altered the nature of the presidential role. The third pair of lectures will study the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-) and the forthcoming 2012 presidential elections, with a view to understanding the current debates surrounding the role of the president in French politics, and to assessing the likelihood of a Sixth French Republic in the foreseeable future.

The lecture times are (held in Linna K113):

Mon 23.1., 9-11
Tue 24.1., 14-16
Wed 25.1., 9-11

The essay must focus on a particular aspect of French politics covered in the lectures. The essay (14-16 pages, font size 12, 1.5 spacing) must be handed in by the end of March to Tapio Raunio (tapio.raunio(at)uta.fi). Tapio Raunio is also the person to contact if you have any questions about the course (for example, essay topics).  

Aim: The aim of this course is to show how one can use SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) to conduct a linear regression and correlation. The course covers two basic themes in statistics, as these are: 1) How to find the linear relationship between variables and 2) How to find if one variable affects the other. Each class will start with a lecture introducing the day's topic. The second part of the class will take place in a computer LAB where students will have the chance to practice with real world elections data.

Objectives: The course has two objectives: 1) Link theory with applications 2) Learn the basics of SPSS that the student might use in her/his future studies or work.

Schedule: Each lecture will last for 3 hours (1.5 hours class + 1.5 hours LAB).

Learning method: The main idea behind the course is to teach concepts that may seem to be 'difficult' in a fun way and in a relaxed atmosphere! After completing this course, students will know the basics in linear regression and correlation and be able to perform some useful tasks in SPSS.

Course requirements: This is an introductory course and therefore there are no requirements, other than willingness to learn new things.

Target group: Undergraduates or postgraduates of political science, economics, finance, social sciences, humanities and everybody else who wants to grasp some basics in linear regression.

Grade: Participation and a learning diary.

Lectures

Lecture 1 (3h): Linear relationship between variables
In this lecture we see how to test whether there is a linear relationship between variables. We learn concepts such as: linear relationship, scatter diagram, Pearson r correlation, critical value,  etc.

Lecture 2 (3h): Linear regression I
This lecture covers simple linear regressions. We learn concepts such as: The slope, the intercept, prediction equation, coefficient of determination, etc.  

Lecture 3 (3h): Linear regression II
This lecture continues from the previous one. We learn concepts such as: Ordinary least squares, heteroscedasticity, regression with error terms, etc.

Some text books on statistics and SPSS

For an introduction in the theory of statistics, a good book is:
"Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences" (1997) by Agresti Alan and Finlay Barbara. Prentice Hall.
You can find this book at Linna library: LINNA Kurssikirjat

Another good book is:

"Applied regression. An introduction" (1980) by Michael S. Lewis Beck. Sage: Quantitative applications in the Social Sciences.
You can find this book at Linna library: 31 Lewis-Beck

WWW version: http://SRMO.sagepub.com/view/applied-regression/SAGE.xml
 
For an introduction to SPSS a good and accessible book is: "SPSS Survival Manual: A Step by Step Guide to Data Analysis Using SPSS for Windows" by Lulie Pallant (2007); Open University Press [Available at Linna; 61 Pallant; 1 copy] and "Discovering Statistics using SPSS (And sex and drugs and rock n? roll)" by Field Andy (2009); Sage Publication. [Available at Linna; 31 Field; 1 copy]. Also, there are plenty of internet sources that one can use to grasp the basics of SPSS. For example:

http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/spss/

http://calcnet.mth.cmich.edu/org/spss/toc.htm

http://faculty.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/PA765/statnote.htm

Registration is required: There is a limited space available relevant to the size of the computer lab. Register yourself until the 6th of May 2011 by sending an e-mail to: Achillefs.Papageorgiou@uta.fi