List of courses (selection) – Prof. Dr. Jasmin Riedl

(2018): Lecture: Theories of Comparative Politics (MA), two TWS.

Content: The lecture conveys basic knowledge of comparative politics in three sessions, including the (historical) classification of the sub-field and the logic of comparative political science (research centring, qualitative and quantitative approaches and strategies for case selection), theories of comparative politics and policy analysis. Special emphasis is placed on contextualising the theories presented: When and why did certain explanatory models develop (further)? Topics covered in the lecture are: systems theory, behaviouralism, rational choice theory, rational choice neo-institutionalism, historical neo-institutionalism, multiple streams approach and veto player approach.

(2018): Seminar: Research Design with a special focus on "Time and Politics" (MA), two TWS.

Content: The seminar focuses on the temporality of German federal legislation. Based on this example, the students develop a research design to answer a concrete research question. They formulate a research question, justify its scientific relevance, determine a case selection and choose a procedure for data collection and evaluation. The small groups implement the research design in the form of a journal article. In the seminar, concrete contents of German legislation are discussed, time concepts are discussed and standards of research logic are developed and practised. The basics of legislation include, for example, the course of legislation, the procedure within the legislative bodies, differences between consent and objection laws. The discussion of time concepts includes the question of what the terms duration, speed and acceleration can mean in the context of legislation. For the development of a research design, the scientificity and justification of research questions, procedures of case selection and particularities of single case studies as well as process tracing and qualitative interviews are discussed as examples of procedures/methods.

(2017): Lecture: Fundamentals and Theories of Comparative Politics (MA), two TWS.

Content: The lecture conveys basic knowledge of comparative politics in three sessions, including the (historical) classification of the sub-field in political science as a whole and the logic of comparative political science (research centring, qualitative and quantitative approaches and strategies for case selection). In the following sessions, theories and recent approaches of comparative political science are introduced, with a focus on neo-institutionalisms and policy theories: systems theory according to David Easton and rational choice theory will be presented using Downs as an example. With regard to neo-institutionalism, the differences/commonalities of rational choice neo-institutionalism, historical neo-institutionalism, sociological neo-institutionalism and discursive neo-institutionalism are discussed in detail. Among policy theories, the multiple streams approach, the advocacy coalition approach and the punctuated equilibrium approach are presented.

(2017): Seminar:  Research Design with a special focus on "Time and Politics" (MA), two courses à two TWS.

Content: Based on the importance of time for policy-making, this seminar teaches the logic of research. In the course of the seminar, the participants work out a research question in small groups that is located in the thematic field of "Time and Politics", justify its scientific relevance, determine a case selection and choose a procedure for data collection and evaluation. The small groups implement this research design in the form of a journal article. The seminar focuses on three topics in particular: the time-strategic behaviour of governments after focusing events, time-related possibilities for the actions of the parliamentary opposition and desynchronisation of society and politics.

(2016): Lecture: Theories and Approaches in Comparative Politics (MA), two TWS.

Content: The lecture conveys basic knowledge of comparative political science in three sessions. This includes, for example, the (historical) classification of the sub-field in political science as a whole and the logic of political science comparison (research centring, qualitative and quantitative approaches and strategies for case selection). Based on this, theories and explanatory approaches of comparative political science are presented. The lecture covers the following topics in more detail: systems theory, behaviouralism, rational choice theory, rational choice neo-institutionalism, historical neo-institutionalism, sociological neo-institutionalism, multiple streams approach, punctuated equilibrium approach, advocacy coalition approach, party difference thesis and policy linkage thesis.

(2016): Seminar: Qualitative Research Design in Comparative Political Science (MA), two TWS.

(2016): Seminar: Politics of Domestic Security in Germany (BA), two TWS.

Content: Based on the policy field of domestic security, the seminar teaches the basics of the German political system. The seminar covers the parliamentary system of government, legislation, the federal organisation of the state and the party system. These topics are each examined from the perspective of the political field of domestic security. Thus, the following points, in particular, will be considered within the seminar: Control of the government in the federal and state governments due to the so-called Grand Coalition on Domestic Security, preparation of legislative projects in the ministry (esp. Ministry of the Interior), executive federalism and de-parliamentarization, state competences and federal competences in internal security.

(2014): Lecture: Theories, Research Approaches and Fields of Application of Comparative Politics (MA), two TWS.

(2014): Seminar: Research Design in Comparative Politics (MA), two TWS.

(2014): Summer module: Text Analysis (BA), one TWS.

(2013): Seminar: Qualitative Research Design in Comparative Political Science (MA), two courses à two TWS.

(2013): Summer module: Text Analysis (BA), one TWS.

(2012): Seminar: Qualitative research design in comparative political science (MA), two TWS.

(2012): Seminar: Methods in Comparative Politics (MA), two TWS.

(2012): Summer module: Text Analysis (BA), one TWS.

(2011): Seminar: Research Design and Methods in Comparative Politics (MA), two courses à two TWS.

(2011): Summer module: Text Analysis (BA), one TWS.

(2010): Seminar: Research Design in Comparative Politics (MA), two courses à two TWS.

Content: Based on the topic "Majority and Consensus Democracy", the seminar deals with the question of how research is designed within Comparative Politics: Formulation of a research question, scientific and social relevance, importance of theories in the research process, advantages and disadvantages of qualitative and quantitative research strategies, procedures and justification of case selection. These topics will each be discussed using two publications as examples: Arend Lijphart "Patterns of Democracy "and André Kaiser "Majority Democracy and Institutional Reform".

(2010): Summer module: Text Analysis (BA) (with Ursula Münch), one TWS.

(2009): Seminar: The German Political System (BA), two courses of two TWS each.

Content: The seminar teaches the basics of the German political system. The parliamentary system of government, the political organs, the course of legislation, the functioning of working parliaments, federalism, the party system and the type of democracy are discussed. The seminar also teaches the rules of academic work. These include rules for writing scientific texts (layout, style, structure, citation methods, bibliography) as well as data and literature research.

(2008): Seminar: The German political system (BA), two courses of three TWS each.

Content: The seminar teaches the basics of the German political system. The parliamentary system of government, the political organs, the course of legislation, the functioning of working parliaments, composite federalism, the party system and the type of democracy are discussed. The seminar also provides an insight into different explanatory approaches (e.g. veto player approach, selected theories of democracy, policy interdependence thesis, party difference thesis). In addition, the seminar teaches the rules of scientific work. These include rules for writing scientific texts (layout, style, structure, citation methods, bibliography) as well as data and literature research.