Granada, Spain - Course Descriptions - Present Sociopolitical Situation in Spain (HS)

Course Information

Contact Hours and Credits

Availability

Summary

Offered only in the second semester, this course covers the basic fundamentals of contemporary politics in Spain, paying special attention to the contemporary social and political structure. This course is particularly recommended to those students who enrolled on the Politics and Government in Spain course in the first semester and who wish to broaden their knowledge in this field. References will be made to both social and cultural aspects.

In order to pass the course, regular class attendance and participation are compulsory as well as passing the mid-term exam - set in April – and the final exam, set on the date established by the Authorities in the Centre. If the students wish they may do a short piece of work on one of the topics in the syllabus and this would constitute up to a third of the final mark. Under no circumstances may a student hand in a piece of work instead of doing the mid-term or final exam. Certain activities will be organised outside the academic syllabus – attendance at conferences, visits to institutions, etc – and the students will be expected to write a short piece of work on these experiences.

Syllabus

I. Institutional bases of the Spanish political system.
1. Model of Participative Democracy in Spain. The Parliamentary Monarchy: The General Courts. The Head of State. The Government. Basic elements of the territorial planning of the State. Fundamental Rights and Duties.

II Electoral system and political parties in Spain.
2. Political parties in Spain (I): participative tradition and culture in Spain. Political parties as a form of political participation. The institutionalization of the political parties. The structure of the political parties.
3. Political parties in Spain (II): The state political parties. The non-state political parties.
4. The system of political parties in Spain: political parties and the political system. The Spanish political party system. The sub-systems of autonomous political parties in Spain. The political party system in Andalusia.
5. The electoral system: the vote as a means of political participation.
6. Elections in Spain. The elections in Spain. General elections to the Congress and to the Senate. Municipal and autonomous elections. Elections to the European Parliament.

III. The political processes.
7. The political elites: political elites in Spain: their institutionalisation. Parliamentary elites. Government and opposition elites. Non-parliamentary elites and politics.
8. Pressure groups: pressure groups and lobby groups. Old and new corporations in present-day Spain. Business and union organisations. The church. The Armed Forces.
9. Social movements: origin and nature of the social movements in Spain. Their function in the political system. Modalities of social movements in Spain.
10. The political culture of the Spanish.
11. Political violence in Spain. Terrorism in the Basque Country. The Lizarra pact, the Pact of Estella, Ermua.

Activities
The students will attend the usual class lectures.

Assessment
A final exam will be set. There will also be, at least, one mid-term exam, which, if the student passes, will count for 50% of the exam, thereby eliminating that material from the final exam. Other such tests may also be carried out which will act as guides for the students as to their progress.

Bibliography
ALCANTARA, Manuel and MARTÍNEZ, Antoñio (editors), Política y Gobierno en España, Valencia, Tirant lo Blanch, 1997.
RAMOS GASCÓN, A., España hoy, volume II, Madrid, Cátedra, 1991.
GARCÍA MORILLO, J., La democracia en España, Madrid, Alianza Editorial, 1996.
ROMAN, P., (Co-ordinator), Sistema político español, Madrid, McGraw-Hill,1995.
Other documentation used: films and documentaries related to the topics will be shown.

Full Description

This course covers the basic fundamentals of contemporary politics in Spain, paying special attention to the contemporary social and political structure.

1. Institutional bases of the Spanish political system.
1. Model of Participative Democracy in Spain. The Parliamentary Monarchy: The General Courts. The Head of State. The Government. Basic elements of the territorial planning of the State. Fundamental Rights and Duties.
2. Electoral system and political parties in Spain.
1. Political parties in Spain (I): participative tradition and culture in Spain. Political parties as a form of political participation. The institutionalization of the political parties. The structure of the political parties.
2. Political parties in Spain (II): The state political parties. The non-state political parties.
3. The system of political parties in Spain: political parties and the political system. The Spanish political party system. The sub-systems of autonomous political parties in Spain. The political party system in Andalusia.
4. The electoral system: the vote as a means of political participation.
5. Elections in Spain. The elections in Spain. General elections to the Congress and to the Senate. Municipal and autonomous elections. Elections to the European Parliament.
3. The political processes.
1. The political elites: political elites in Spain: their institutionalisation. Parliamentary elites. Government and opposition elites. Non-parliamentary elites and politics.
2. Pressure groups: pressure groups and lobby groups. Old and new corporations in present-day Spain. Business and union organisations. The church. The Armed Forces.
3. Social movements: origin and nature of the social movements in Spain. Their function in the political system. Modalities of social movements in Spain.
4. The political culture of the Spanish.
5. Political violence in Spain. Terrorism in the Basque Country. The Lizarra pact, the Pact of Estella, Ermua.