Political and Administrative Systems

The course contributes to the general learning objectives of the Degree in Scienze del Lavoro, Amministrazione e Management (LAM) providing the theoretical and analytical tools necessary to understand the functioning of the Italian political system and the process of producing public policies in the perspective of political science. The course is divided into two parts. The first part aims to provide students with the tools and analytical categories necessary for the study of political and administrative systems in a comparative perspective. In the second part the different components of the Italian political system are analyzed - institutional architecture (government, parliament, centralization/decentralization, center-periphery relations), political culture, party and electoral system, electoral dynamics and political competition, pressure groups and forms of political participation, decision-making processes and public policies production - applying the concepts illustrated in the first part.

At the end of the course, students will be able to describe, by using the theoretical and analytical tools of political science, the functioning of political and administrative systems in a comparative perspective as well as - in particular - of the Italian political system and public policies. Moreover, students will also be able to use the acquired knowledge to frame critically the different components of the Italian political system - institutional architecture (government, parliament, territorial arrangement between centralization and decentralization), political culture, party and electoral system, electoral dynamics and political competition, pressure groups and forms of political participation, decision-making processes and public policies - even if these have not been directly addressed during the lessons.