Spanish Politics

UAB

The course aims at making students familiar with the main features of the Spanish political system, its problems and its evolutionary trends. We will see how Spain is organized politically; how Spanish people vote; the country’s relationship with the European Union; and who are its main political actors. Also, it will focus on providing students with the analytical tools necessary to examine the different elements of the Catalan political system, paying special attention to the transformation that it has undergone in the past few years, not only regarding the different profiles of Catalan society, but also its political culture and electoral behaviour.

The students will have the unique opportunity to visit the Parlament of Catalonia, in order to learn firsthand how it works and how is the day to day of Spanish politics.

Courses generally have little or no prerequisite knowledge required for a given topic, however if students face any doubts, we recommend they contact course professors to clarify.

Spanish Politics
Week	Contents	Teaching/learning activities
1	Block 1: The Political Institutions: Spain’s transition to democracy Spain’s new democratic regime Policy making in democratic Spain The territorial organization of the State Spain & the EU	In-class debate Article analysis Essay writing
2	Block 2: Political Culture & Political Actors: Citizens attitudes & political participation Elections in Spain The Spanish party system Political parties Interest groups & social movements	In-class debate Article analysis Documentary analysis Electoral analysis Essay writing
3	Block 3: Catalan Politics: Catalan political institutions Electoral behaviour & political competition The Catalan party system Catalan nationalism Catalonia, a challenge to the Spanish transition?	In-class debate Article analysis Documentary analysis Essay writing

Joan Ricart is an associate professor at the UAB where he teaches Catalan Politics and Electoral Processes in the World. He’s also an associate professor at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) where he teaches European Politics. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Political Science at the UAB and his PhD at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) with a thesis on Indonesian political parties and their process of institutionalization in a decentralized reality. He is the coordinator and an author of the publication: Los Sistemas Políticos de España e Indonesia. Una perspectiva comparada; Editorial UOC; 2016.

E-mail: joan.ricart@uab.cat
Department of Political Science and Pubilc Law

Spanish Politics

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