The lecture introduces you to the Austrian political system in the European context. The textbook The Political System of Austria. Basic Knowledge and Research Insights accompanies you through the lecture. On the book's website you will find illustrative examples, exercises, practice questions and further tips. The lecture is divided into four sections: In the first section, we discuss the main features of our democratic system based on the Austrian Federal Constitution. Subsequently, the parties/the party system and electoral law, the election campaign with the role of the media, the voters and the possibilities of participation outside of elections are presented. The third topic area, deals with the legislative and executive branches as well as governance in the multi-level system (regional/local and EU level). Finally, the fourth topic area is dedicated to selected policy areas. We look at the areas of social policy, environmental and climate policy and migration policy.

What is a comparison and what advantages does the method of comparison bring to the scientific analysis of politics? The Comparative Politics course starts with an answer to these two central questions and from there provides an overview of the topics of the sub-discipline Comparative Politics. Specifically, we deal with the following content: Political systems can be designed very differently as, for example, the comparison of presidential, parliamentary and semi-presidential systems shows. The established system subsequently has an impact on the electoral system or the elections held in a country. In turn, there is a connection between the electoral system on the one hand and the party system on the other. Countries that have established a first-past-the-post electoral system usually have fewer relevant parties than countries that use proportional representation. Not surprisingly, this also has an effect on the composition of parliaments, governments and, ultimately, the policy-making of countries. The overview of the contents of the sub-discipline is rounded off with a look at political culture.

This course introduces students to how institutions and ideas interact with interests to structure policy making processes and influence actor behaviour, policy output, as well as prospects for participation and engagement. The course adopts a broad understanding of political institutions and takes a governance perspective. Rather than being just branches of government, political institutions – be they formal or informal – significantly frame and affect actor behaviour. Policy making does not happen in a vacuum but it is constrained by different institutional settings which enable or disempower particular actors, include or exclude them, encourage or discourage association or dispersion of actor groups.

What is a comparison and what advantages does the method of comparison bring to the scientific analysis of politics? The Comparative Politics course starts with an answer to these two central questions and from there provides an overview of the topics of the sub-discipline Comparative Politics. Specifically, we deal with the following content: Political systems can be designed very differently as, for example, the comparison of presidential, parliamentary and semi-presidential systems shows. The established system subsequently has an impact on the electoral system or the elections held in a country. In turn, there is a connection between the electoral system on the one hand and the party system on the other. Countries that have established a first-past-the-post electoral system usually have fewer relevant parties than countries that use proportional representation. Not surprisingly, this also has an effect on the composition of parliaments, governments and, ultimately, the policy-making of countries. The overview of the contents of the sub-discipline is rounded off with a look at political culture.

What is a comparison and what advantages does the method of comparison bring to the scientific analysis of politics? The Comparative Politics course starts with an answer to these two central questions and from there provides an overview of the topics of the sub-discipline Comparative Politics. Specifically, we deal with the following content: Political systems can be designed very differently as, for example, the comparison of presidential, parliamentary and semi-presidential systems shows. The established system subsequently has an impact on the electoral system or the elections held in a country. In turn, there is a connection between the electoral system on the one hand and the party system on the other. Countries that have established a first-past-the-post electoral system usually have fewer relevant parties than countries that use proportional representation. Not surprisingly, this also has an effect on the composition of parliaments, governments and, ultimately, the policy-making of countries. The overview of the contents of the sub-discipline is rounded off with a look at political culture.

What is a comparison and what advantages does the method of comparison bring to the scientific analysis of politics? The Comparative Politics course starts with an answer to these two central questions and from there provides an overview of the topics of the sub-discipline Comparative Politics. Specifically, we deal with the following content: Political systems can be designed very differently as, for example, the comparison of presidential, parliamentary and semi-presidential systems shows. The established system subsequently has an impact on the electoral system or the elections held in a country. In turn, there is a connection between the electoral system on the one hand and the party system on the other. Countries that have established a first-past-the-post electoral system usually have fewer relevant parties than countries that use proportional representation. Not surprisingly, this also has an effect on the composition of parliaments, governments and, ultimately, the policy-making of countries. The overview of the contents of the sub-discipline is rounded off with a look at political culture.

This course provides a comprehensive understanding of the Austrian political system and the European Union. It is structured along three main topics, which are political institutions, political participation and multi-level politics. Within the first topic, we will look at the state of our democracy, the parliament, parties as well as policy-making and we will have the opportunity to visit the Austrian parliament together. Within the topic of political participation, we will work on party competition, elections and the different forms of participation besides an election. Finally, we engage with multi-level politics and aim to understand Austrian federalism and the European Union. For each class, we will read two scientific texts in advance. Our discussions in class will be based upon these two texts as well as short student presentations and input from myself. My goal is to enrich these discussions with related literature, more background information and new empirical data that we will interpret together. Upon completion of this course, you will have a profound knowledge regarding the Austrian political system and the European Union. In addition, you will be able to read, understand and criticize scientific texts.

This course provides a comprehensive understanding of the Austrian political system and the European Union. It is structured along three main topics, which are political institutions, political participation and multi-level politics. Within the first topic, we will look at the state of our democracy, the parliament, parties as well as policy-making and we will have the opportunity to visit the Austrian parliament together. Within the topic of political participation, we will work on party competition, elections and the different forms of participation besides an election. Finally, we engage with multi-level politics and aim to understand Austrian federalism and the European Union. For each class, we will read two scientific texts in advance. Our discussions in class will be based upon these two texts as well as short student presentations and input from myself. My goal is to enrich these discussions with related literature, more background information and new empirical data that we will interpret together. Upon completion of this course, you will have a profound knowledge regarding the Austrian political system and the European Union. In addition, you will be able to read, understand and criticize scientific texts.

This course focuses on research designs and methods applied in political science. We will work with both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Looking at scientific articles dealing with the Austrian political system and parties, we examine the structure and the content of these studies. What is the research question? Which methods are applied? Are the methods selected adequate to answer the research question at hand? We aim to comprehend and critically discuss the individual steps of these authors’ research processes. In addition, we apply some of the methods ourselves. On completion of the course, you will be able to develop your own interesting research question and to select the adequate method to answer your research problem.

Parties and their candidates are central actors in modern democracies. They bundle social interests into political programmes, they participate in election campaigns and finally they fill the political offices available to them. They are thus responsible for both the content and the personnel from which voters can choose their political representatives. The seminar is therefore dedicated to the time of the election campaign and looks at this important phase of political representation in detail. Who stands for election with which programmes? How do political actors try to convince potential voters? What is the connection between party competition and the political system? After an introduction to empirical campaign research, we will first look at the definition of parties, the role of candidates and different electoral systems. We will then look at election campaigns in Western democracies, each focusing on a specific topic - such as the use of Twitter in election campaigns, the relevance of gender of candidates or the role of the media.

When people speak of contemporary democracies, they mostly mean representative democracies. This means that the voters of a system can indirectly determine the course of state politics through political parties and their actors. Elections are held to select political representatives. The regularity of elections allows voters to decide on their representatives again after a certain period of time. However, political representation does not only take place at the nation-state level. European and international interdependencies between nation states make today's relations of representation increasingly complex. The seminar will first examine the emergence of representative systems. We will then deal with modern theories of representation and ask ourselves what functions elections fulfil. The different forms of political representation will be examined. The seminar also focuses on discussing current research that empirically tests the applicability of theoretical concepts.

The seminar provides students with concrete support and advice for the conception and implementation of research designs in comparative research and regional studies. To this end, the contents of the first part of the course are first revisited in a goal-oriented manner and with a focus on the respective planned research design and discussed (if necessary, in topic- and method-related small groups): Question, case selection, material selection and method selection, as well as the central steps in planning a research design: how do you find a topic and how do you find a question? How should one proceed in case selection? How do you write an exposé? How does one implement the research project in concrete terms? In the second part, the students' research designs are presented and discussed, and concrete implementation issues are discussed.

When people speak of contemporary democracies, they mostly mean representative democracies. This means that the voters of a system can indirectly determine the course of state politics through political parties and their actors. Elections are held to select political representatives. The regularity of elections allows voters to decide on their representatives again after a certain period of time. However, political representation does not only take place at the nation-state level. European and international interdependencies between nation states make today's relations of representation increasingly complex. The seminar will first examine the emergence of representative systems. We will then deal with modern theories of representation and ask ourselves what functions elections fulfil. The different forms of political representation will be examined. The seminar also focuses on discussing current research that empirically tests the applicability of theoretical concepts.

The focus of the lecture series is the developments in the European Community after Great Britain's referendum to leave the EU. In many European countries, right-wing populist parties have gained significant votes in recent elections and negotiations on the UK's exit from the European Union are still in their infancy following the British referendum last June. The event will examine both the consequences for the European integration process and the rise of right-wing populist parties in many European countries. In order to enable a comprehensive debate of the topic from different perspectives, not only well-known academics but also parliamentarians of the European Parliament and further practical observers (e.g. think tank representatives) will have their say. The event is designed as a public lecture series. The topic of the lecture series as well as the variety of perspectives offered by the lecturers will provide a broad public with an insight into current problems and (scientific) debates in Europe. After each lecture, the audience is given the opportunity to participate in this practically relevant debate with questions and contributions to the discussion. In addition, students can deal with the lectures or individual topics in greater depth within the framework of essays or blog entries.

Parties and their candidates are central actors in modern democracies. They bundle social interests into political programmes, they participate in election campaigns and finally they fill the political offices available to them. They are thus responsible for both the content and the personnel from which voters can choose their political representatives. The seminar is therefore dedicated to the time of the election campaign and looks at this important phase of political representation in detail. Who stands for election with which programmes? How do political actors try to convince potential voters? What is the connection between party competition and the political system? After an introduction to empirical campaign research, we will first look at the definition of parties, the role of candidates and different electoral systems. We will then look at election campaigns in Western democracies, each focusing on a specific topic - such as the use of Twitter in election campaigns, the relevance of gender of candidates or the role of the media.

Representative democracies are characterized by a variety of delegation processes. In a delegation process a principal delegates power to an agent. For example, in parliamentary democracies, the electorate delegates policy-making to parties. Some of the parties gaining legislative representation will then form a government and the government will appoint its ministers. This kind of consecutive delegation is often described as chain of delegation. The seminar will look at legislatures which are a key element in the chain of delegation. First, we will work on a classification of legislatures. In general, legislatures can be described as assemblies that have the power to make laws. Depending on the political system, these assemblies vary greatly with regard to their roles, their organizational structure and their interaction with the executive body. In the next sessions, we will focus on some examples of legislatures. More specifically, we will look at the US Congress, the British and French Parliament as well as the European Parliament. The last sessions of the class are devoted to the relationship between legislatures and (i) the electorate, (ii) the executive and (iii) the European Union. Therefore, we will examine legislatures in their roles both as agents and as principals of delegation processes.

In the 1960s, the two much-cited authors Seymour M. Lipset and Stein Rokkan, after analysing party systems, came to the conclusion that party systems are largely stable and the scope for new actors is accordingly small. However, this so-called freezing thesis on 'frozen' party systems has been increasingly challenged throughout history. In particular, the emergence of green parties as well as the success of right-wing parties in some countries were at odds with this. The seminar questions the origins of the freezing thesis and looks for the reasons that can explain continuity and change in Western party systems. We start with an introduction to political science research on parties and party systems. We then discuss definitions of parties and try to make them empirically measurable. Finally, the focus of the seminar is on the emergence, development and classification of party systems.

When people speak of contemporary democracies, they mostly mean representative democracies. This means that the voters of a system can indirectly determine the course of state politics through political parties and their actors. Elections are held to select political representatives. The regularity of elections allows voters to decide on their representatives again after a certain period of time. However, political representation does not only take place at the nation-state level. European and international interdependencies between nation states make today's relations of representation increasingly complex. The seminar will first examine the emergence of representative systems. We will then deal with modern theories of representation and ask ourselves what functions elections fulfil. The different forms of political representation will be examined. The seminar also focuses on discussing current research that empirically tests the applicability of theoretical concepts.

Coalition governments are a prominent feature of most European democracies. Especially in multiparty systems with proportional representation, cabinets that consist of two or more parties are rather the rule than the exception. Therefore, political scientists have been given considerable scrutiny to understanding the processes of coalition formation, coalition governance and coalition termination. The seminar is organized along this so-called coalition life cycle (Müller et al. 2008). After an introductory section, we will discuss theories on coalition formation in order to examine the birth of a coalition. In the following section, we will focus on policy-making during a coalition's life time and then, we will look at the termination or death of a coalition. The last sessions of the seminar are devoted to coalition types that do not fit into classical coalition theories. Specifically, we will discuss minority governments, oversized coalitions and grand coalitions.

The course provides an overview of the core areas of comparative politics. The central content is the reading of texts, which are explained and discussed in more detail in the course. The course deals with the following topics: Methods of Comparative Politics; Parties, Elections and Voters; Parliaments, Legislation and Governments as well as Policy Field Analysis (Welfare State and Political Culture).

The course provides an overview of the core areas of comparative politics. The central content is the reading of texts, which are explained and discussed in more detail in the course. The course deals with the following topics: Methods of Comparative Politics; Parties, Elections and Voters; Parliaments, Legislation and Governments as well as Policy Field Analysis (Welfare State and Political Culture).

The exercise offers an introduction to the statistical software Stata. Students learn to develop their own questions and to work on them with the help of quantitative methods. The contents discussed in the course include scale levels, tables, measures of location and dispersion, graphical methods and statistical tests (t-test, chi2-test). The exercise focuses on the Austrian National Election Study AUTNES (www.autnes.at). Students work, among other things, with data from the Austrian Post-Election Study 2009 on voting behaviour in the 2008 National Council elections.

The exercise offers an introduction to the statistical software Stata. Students learn to develop their own questions and to work on them with the help of quantitative methods. The contents discussed in the course include scale levels, tables, measures of location and dispersion, graphical methods and statistical tests (t-test, chi2-test). The exercise focuses on the Austrian National Election Study AUTNES (www.autnes.at). Students work, among other things, with data from the Austrian Post-Election Study 2009 on voting behaviour in the 2008 National Council elections.