Political regimes: Developments, Typologies and Consequences

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This course on Political regimes is designed to introduce students to the social scientific study of political regimes. We will start by discussing definitions of institutions and regimes and investigate patterns in regime frequencies over time across the globe. We will then venture into regime change, why regimes collapse, and why new regimes are designed the way they are. Finally, we will discuss the economic consequences of different political regimes, and whether and how the choice of political institutions affects human welfare.  The class will focus broadly on differences between autocratic and democratic rule, also highlighting the development of what we call hybrid regimes. The course will maintain a focus on philosophy of science when discussing these theoretical issues and challenge the students to reflect on how we can generate systematic knowledge about social phenomenon.

The class will combine statistical trends and patterns with detailed descriptions of country-cases. We encourage participants to share insight about the political system of countries they know particularly well. We will also have guest lecturers to teach us on particular cases or topics. For example, Professor Scott Gates will hold a guest lecture on the political system of USA.

All participants will receive a diploma from the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) proving that they have taken the course. In order to have the course recommended as equivalent to a 5 ECTS course, participants must submit a paper of 4000 words, which is evaluated as passed.

The course is part of the NORHED II project, Partnership for Peace: Better Higher Education for Resilient Societies. 

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