BSSn4403 Comparative Analysis of Security Policy

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 7 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Vendula Divišová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Lucie Konečná, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Vendula Divišová, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Lucie Pospíšilová
Supplier department: Division of Security and Strategic Studies – Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! BSS403 Comparative Analysis of Sec. && !NOW( BSS403 Comparative Analysis of Sec. )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to familiarize students with the discipline of comparative analysis with a focus on security policy at the national and international level, and thus increase their analytical skills in this area that can be used both in practice and in the field of science and research.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students should have an overview of basic theoretical and methodological approaches to comparative analysis and be aware of the specifics of comparing different policies with the security dimension as well as comparing security in selected regions. Furthermore, they should be able to carry out their own comparative analysis of policies in the field of security and adopt a critical approach to the evaluation of security policy.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introductory lesson 2. Security policy and security as a concept for comparative analysis 3. Comparative politics 4. Case study and Process tracing 5. Comparative case study 6. Qualitative comparative analysis 7. Comparative integration policy in selected EU states 8. Comparison of defense and foreign policy 9. Comparison of internal and criminal policy 10. Comparison of security in the regions of South and East Africa 11. Student case studies 12. Student case studies 13. Student case studies
Literature
    required literature
  • Caramani, Daniele. 2020. Comparative politics. Fifth edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, s. 50-65.
  • Peters, Guy B. 1998. Comparative Politics: Theory and Methods. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press LTD, s. 1-57-
  • Morag, Nadav. 2011. Comparative homeland security: global lessons. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley. (Úvod a kapitola 4)
  • Mahoney, J. Goertz, G. 2006. A Tale of Two Cultures: Contrasting Quantitative and Qualitative Research. Political Analysis 14(1), pp. 227-249.
  • Lijphart, Arend. 1971. Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method. The American Political Science Review, Vol. 65, No. 3, pp. 682-693.
  • Drulák, Petr a kol. 2008. Jak zkoumat politiku. Praha: Portál, Kapitola 3 – Komparativní případová studie, pp. 62-89.
  • Breuning, Marijke. 2007. Foreign policy analysis: a comparative introduction. Springer (Chapter 1 “Why Study Foreign Policy Comparatively?”)
  • Wilson III, Isaiah, and James J. F. Forest. 2008. “Introduction to the Politics of Defence Policy” (Chapter 1). In Handbook of Defence Politics: International and Comparative Perspectives, Isaiah Wilson III and James J. F. Forest. Routledge.
  • Tonry, Michael. 2015. “Is cross-national and comparative research on the criminal justice system useful?” European Journal of Criminology 12 (4): 505-516. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370815581699.
  • Collier, David. 2011. “Understanding Process Tracing”. 44 (4), pp. 823-830. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096511001429.
  • Ragin, Charles. 2008. Redesigning Social Inquiry: Fuzzy Sets and Beyond. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 13-44.
Teaching methods
Lectures, seminars, written papers.
Assessment methods
The assessment consists of the preparation of a seminar paper (max. 20 points), an oral presentation of the draft of this seminar paper (max. 10 points) and passing an exam in the form of a written test (max. 30 points). The seminar work will be developed on a selected topic from the field of comparative analysis of security policy. In order to pass the course successfully, it is necessary to obtain at least 35 points (60% of the maximum possible number). A) 60-56 points B) 55-51 points C) 50-46 points D) 45-41 points E) 40-36 points F) 35 points and less
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: in blocks.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
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