ECTS:

4

Code:

ΚΕ0Ε56

Cycle / Level:

Undergraduate

Compulsory / Optional:

Optional

Teaching Period:

Spring

Course Content:

The aim of the course is to provide, from a cognitivel and methodological point of view, material for comparison between the political and social systems of Southern Europe. It includes lectures by guest speakers on the political systems of the individual countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus) and then comparative presentations on important areas of their political systems (economy, society, relations with the EU, the effects of the crisis and social movements). ) while also examining particular implications (disruption or weakness of the political community, as is the cases in Catalonia and southern Italy).
The course is structured as follows:
1. Introduction and historical overview of the path to democratization in Southern Europe
2. The Greek party and political system
3. The Italian party and political system
4. The Spanish party and political system
5. The Portuguese party and political system
6. The economies of the European South in a comparative perspective
7. The political consequences of the Eurozone and economic crisis in Southern Europe: towards the formation of new party systems?
8. Social movements in the European South with emphasis on the period of the economic crisis
9. Southern Europe and the European Union
10. Study of the political culture in Southern Europe
11. Case study: Catalonia
12. Case study: the uneven development between North and South in Italy
13. Summing up

Upon successful completion of the course, students: gain an understanding of the historical dynamics and current policy characteristics of southern European countries, both on an individual basis φor each country and comparatively and at the European context, and understand the key political and social trends in the countries concerned develop skills of reading scientific texts, writing and presenting papers, which will serve them in their further career. increase their ability to think critically and to be able to evaluate various theoretical interpretations and conflicting evidence.

Course Bibliography (Eudoxus)
Articles available in elearning

Additional bibliography for study

• Bellucci, P., Costa Lobo, M., & Lewis-Beck, M.S (2012) ‘Economic crisis and elections: the European periphery, Electoral Studies, vol.31, no.3, pp.469-71.
• Bellucci, Paolo, and Oliver Heath. 2007. The political salience of social cleavages in Italy, 1963-2006. Occasional Paper No. 18/2007, Centre for the Study of Political Change: University of Siena.
• Bosco, A. & Verney, S. (2012) ‘Electoral epidemic: the political cost of economic crisis in Southern Europe, 2010–11’, South European Society and Politics, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 129–154. doi:10.1080/13608746.2012.747272.
• Conti, Nicolò, Maurizio Cotta, and Pedro Tavares de Almeida. 2010. Southern Europe: a distinctive and more pro-European region in the EU?. South European Society and Politics 15 (1): 97-118.
• Fishman, R.M. (2011) Rethinking State and Regime: Southern Europe's Transition to Democracy, Oxford University Press
• Freire, A., Teperoglou, E. & Moury, C. (2014) ‘Awakening the sleeping giant in Greece and Portugal? Elites’ and voters’ attitudes towards EU integration in difficult economic times’, South European Society and Politics, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 477–499. doi:10.1080/13608746.2014.983311.
• Gunther, Richard, and José Ramon Montero. 2001. The anchors of partisanship: a comparative analysis of voting behavior in four southern European democracies, στο Parties, Politics, and Democracy in the New Southern Europe, eds. Nikiforos P. Diamandouros and Richard Gunther, 83-152. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Magalhães, P. (2014) ‘Introduction: financial crisis, austerity and electoral politics’, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 125–133 Teperoglou, E. and Emmanouil Tsatsanis (2012) “Mapping the south European ideological space: the impact of globalization on party discourse in Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain”, Perspectivas – Portuguese Journal of Political Science and International Relations, τχ. 8, σελ. 5-36.
• Teperoglou, E. André Freire, Ioannis Andreadis and José Manuel Leite Viegas (2014) “Elites’ and Voters’ attitudes towards austerity policies and their consequences in Greece and Portugal”, South European Society and Politics, τχ. 19 (4), σελ. 457-476
• Torcal, M. (2014) ‘The decline of political trust in Spain and Portugal. Economic performance or political responsiveness’, American Behavioral Scientist, vol.58, no.12, pp. 1542-1567.