The course aims to investigate the transformation of modern democracies in the context of the process of Europeanization and internationalization of domestic politics, thereby comparing them with non-democratic regimes. It is divided in two parts: the first part consists of the comparative analysis of the political institutions of contemporary democracies, focusing on the processes of nation-, state- and market-building in Europe and the United States. The aim of this part is to show the functional and institutional differences between nation states and unions of states, focusing on forms of government and models of democracy; (2) the second part consists of a specific institutional analysis of the European Union (EU) as the most significant examples of a democratic unions of states. A special focus will be placed on its main theories, institutionalization, policy process, party system and external relations. The course will also cover the politics of Asian regional cooperation, with a focus on the political system of China.

Knowledge and understanding: By the end of the course, students will acquire: - Knowledge of how key concepts like state, nation, democracy and market developed differently in Europe and in the United States; - Knowledge of the development and functioning of the European Union in comparative perspective, with a focus on the institutional settings, key political actors and foreign policy developments; understanding of the debates at the heart of the integration process; familiarity with American politics; - Knowledge of the development, the current role and the future perspectives of Asian political systems, with a focus on China. Applying knowledge and understanding: Students will be able to apply the acquired knowledge in their future professional activities, in several ways. In particular, they will be trained in: - Collecting and engaging with relevant academic as well as non-academic literature and grasping the key content; discussing topics and readings in class with the instructor and with colleagues; - Preparing policy briefs, analytical notes or memos aimed at political decision-makers and other stakeholders; - Carrying out research (either academic or for professional purposes) on the content of the course, applying the relevant methodologies of the discipline. Making judgements: Due to the emphasis placed on re-elaboration and discussion of the readings, students will be able to: - Critically analyse complex phenomena related to European and global politics and contextualize them in the light of the knowledge acquired in the course; - Develop problem solving capacity and the ability to work as a team; - Thanks to the understanding of the course’s key topics and debates, develop an autonomous and critical judgement about facts of international politics, also taking into consideration a comparative point of view. Communication skills: During the course students will be asked to contribute to the discussion in several ways, primarily through questions from the instructor or through encouragement to present their argued and critical view on a certain topic. Because of this, they will: - Improve the control of course-related terminology in English but at the same time be able to present complex content in an easy accessible form; - Become acquainted with engaging in critical discussion in front of a larger audience, communicating questions or comments in a clear way to the rest of the class, thus stimulating a general debate; - Learn from each other. Learning skills: By the end of the course students are expected to acquire the following skills: - Capacity to autonomously carry out research work on different topics related to the course; ability to present the results of the research in oral and written form, particularly through academic papers; - Capacity to engage with opposite arguments and to develop one’s own position in a well-organized and clear way based on facts or data; - Capacity to compare complex phenomena and develop a broad perspective on assessing problems.

Comparative analysis of democratic political systems in Europe and the United States. Institutional features of the European Union. Comparative analysis of Asian political systems, with a focus on China. The role of the European Union in the global arena, with a focus on diplomacy, trade and economic security.

- S. Fabbrini. 2010. Compound Democracies: Why the United States and Europe Are Becoming Similar. Oxford: Oxford University Press. - S. Fabbrini. 2015. Which European Union? Europe After the Euro Crisis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. - G. Sartori. 1994. Comparative Constitutional Engineering: An Inquiry into Structures, Incentives and Outcomes. Palgrave Macmillan. - Hodson, D., Puetter, U., Saurugger, S., and Peterson, J. eds. (2021). The Institutions of the European Union. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. - Cini, M., and Borragán, N.P. eds. (2022). European Union Politics. 7th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

The course comprises lectures, guest lectures and group debates. The lectures are aimed at presenting the main content of the course and its basic concepts. The guest lectures are held by experts in the field on a given week’s topic. Group debates will be held by two group of students for each session, discussing a broad question and advancing arguments and counterarguments. The group debates will be moderated by a teacher or teaching assistant. The group debates will be part of the final evaluation (1/3 of the final grade) and each group will share the same evaluation, so cooperation and participation by all group members is strongly recommended.

For attending students, the final grade will be determined by two components. A group debate will be worth 1/3 of the final grade. At the beginning of the course, each student will be assigned to a group and will be expected to discuss a general question and advance an argument or counterargument in one of the course’s sessions starting from week 4. The question and arguments will be decided by the teachers and communicated in the MyLuiss page of the course in advance. The rest of the class will act as audience and ask further questions or make comments for the groups. The group debate will be moderated by a teacher or teaching assistant. The group members will share the same evaluation, so active participation by all group members is strongly encouraged and will affect the group’s grade. A final oral examination will be worth 2/3 of the final grade. The final oral examination will cover the whole programme of the course and will take place in the official appelli (exam days) at the end of the course. For non-attending students, or students who rejected the grade of the group debate, the final grade will be determined by the final oral examination only. These students will be allowed to take the exam starting from the second appello (exam day) of the first exam session (the first exam day is reserved for attending students who retained the grade of the group debate) and their final oral examination will comprise more questions and be more detailed than the oral examination for attending students.

Strong interest in the subject, active participation throughout the course and a grade equal or greater than 29.