MP204Zk Political Science

Faculty of Law
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Ing. Mgr. Jaroslav Benák, Ph.D. (lecturer)
prof. JUDr. David Kosař, Ph.D., LL.M., J. S. D. (lecturer)
doc. JUDr. Mgr. Pavel Molek, Ph.D., LL.M. (lecturer)
Mgr. et Mgr. Katarína Šipulová, Ph.D., MSt (lecturer)
JUDr. Zuzana Vikarská, MJur, MPhil, Ph.D. (lecturer)
JUDr. Ladislav Vyhnánek, Ph.D., LL.M. (lecturer)
doc. JUDr. PhDr. Robert Zbíral, Ph.D. (lecturer)
JUDr. Bc. Michaela Dvořáková (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. JUDr. PhDr. Robert Zbíral, Ph.D.
Department of Constitutional Law and Political Science – Faculty of Law
Contact Person: Andrea Špačková, DiS.
Supplier department: Department of Constitutional Law and Political Science – Faculty of Law
Prerequisites
Knowledge of the foundations of social sciences taught at secondary schools.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
  • Law (programme PrF, PR_) (2)
  • Law (programme PrF, M-PPV) (2)
Course objectives
The objective of the course is not only to introduce students to the broad results of knowledge that allow to understand the current state of the politics (what the political science found out), but also to explore the processes and ways of understanding that have allowed to gain that knowledge (how the political scientists proceeded). To support the strategy on an example, the ambition is not to burden you with facts such as "who is the current prime minister of Italy", but rather to force you to critically assess issues and events, discern credibility and persuasiveness of information. To put it differently, the course shall serve as an instrument to gain or extend general skills required to functioning of modern 21st century society.
Learning outcomes
familiarize students with main concepts of political science, explain context of political systems‘ functioning, identify pros and cons of models of society’s organization, understand basic principles of comparison and other research methods of political science“
Syllabus
  • 1. What is politics and why and how to deal with and research it? An introduction to the secrets of political science 2. Political ideologies as a form of answer to every question 3. Democracy (and its enemies) 4. Elections: still a holiday (not only) of democracy? 5. Policy drivers: political parties and interest groups 6. Where and how politics is played: governments, parliaments, bureaucracies 7. No One Is an Island Anymore: International Relations and Globalization 8. The Czech Republic as a land of stories: a brief guide to "our" politics 9. The Road to Illiberal Democracy: How Orbán Changed Hungary (Case Study) 10. Is money more important than politics? An example of a solution to the Eurozone crisis (case study) 11. Too Warm Future vs Green Deal: Climate Change and Efforts to Avert It (Case Study) 12. What does modern political science research look like?: example of the procedure for solving a specific research problem (case study)
Literature
    recommended literature
  • LORENZ,A.,FORMÁNKOVÁ,H. Politický systém Česka.Brno : CDK,2019
  • PARSONS, Craig. Introduction to Political Science: How to Think for Yourself about Politics. London: Pearson, 2017.
  • NOVÁK, Miroslav, Lubomír BROKL, Petr DRULÁK, Pavol FRIČ, Martin GREGOR, Dušan HENDRYCH, Miroslav HROCH, Hynek JEŘÁBEK, Karel KOUBA, Oldřich KRULÍK, Michal KUBÁT, Jan KYSELA, Tomáš LEBEDA, Milan NAKONEČNÝ, Martin POTŮČEK, Petr SKALNÍK and Marek SKOVAJSA. Úvod do studia politiky. Druhé vydání, rozšířen. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství (SLON), 2019, 921 stran. ISBN 9788074192630. info
  • HLOUŠEK, Vít and Lubomír KOPEČEK. Politické strany. Původ, ideologie a transformace politických stran v západní a střední Evropě (Political Parties. Origin, Ideology and Transformation of Political Parties in Western and Central Europe). Praha: Grada, 2010, 320 pp. edice Politologie. ISBN 978-80-247-3192-6. URL info
  • HEYWOOD, Andrew. Politologie. Translated by Zdeněk Masopust. 3. vyd. Plzeň: Aleš Čeněk, 2008, 537 s. ISBN 9788073801151. info
  • SARTORI, Giovanni. Srovnávací ústavní inženýrství : zkoumání struktur, podnětů a výsledků. Translated by Jana Ogrocká. Vyd. 1. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství, 2001, 238 s. ISBN 808585094X. info
Teaching methods
lectures
Assessment methods
written exam in the form of short take-home essay
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
Teacher's information
Additional study materials are available in the Interactive Course in the Information system.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2000, Spring 2001, Spring 2002, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
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