Fundamental courses (CF)

2 hours per week over 12 weeks:

CF1S1 Comparative Political Economy (Syllabus) - English-taught
Pr Panel
Why are there so many states today? Do parliamentary regimes produce better outcomes than presidential regimes? Why are hereditary monarchies more stable than military dictatorships? Does it make sense to vote? This course covers twelve central topics in comparative political economy and the many questions they raise. Comparative political economy (CPE) studies political institutions but analyzes them using tools borrowed from economics. This means that, from a theoretical perspective, the unit of analysis is the individual, who is motivated to achieve goals but must act within the constraints of political institutions. Therefore, the main aim of CPE is to understand how institutions affect individual behavior and produce specific outcomes. From a methodological perspective, knowledge about the origins and effects of political institutions is derived from statistical analysis or experiments. There are no prerequisites for attending this lecture, but you need to be reasonably comfortable with English (e.g., be able to take notes).

CF1 S1 Comparative Politics (Syllabus) - French-taught
PoliticalScience Majors
This foundational course introduces students to comparative political science. It focuses on the main political institutions and structures of contemporary democratic regimes and, to a lesser extent, non-democratic ones. By the end of this course, students should be able to: understand the main methodological tools used to analyze and compare political systems in different geographical and cultural contexts; distinguish between the major categories of institutions, organizations, or policies (e.g., authoritarian regimes or types of electoral systems); be familiar with the major theoretical and conceptual principles that explain the functioning of contemporary political regimes; have a factual understanding of the political institutions and structures in place in several major Western democracies that are systematically covered in the course—Germany, the United States, France, India, and Switzerland.

CF1S1 Introduction to Sociology (Syllabus) - French-taught
Prof. Naulin
This course introduces students to sociological reasoning by familiarizing them with its methods, theories, and specific approach to the social world. Through the study of central themes such as norms, deviance, the economy, inequalities, social stratification, culture, education, the family, the city, the state, and gender, it presents the contributions of major classical sociological thinkers such as Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Becker, and Bourdieu. The goal is to understand how sociology enables the scientific analysis of social dynamics and to grasp the main findings produced by more than a century of research in the discipline.

CF1S1 History of France in the 19th Century (Syllabus) - French-taught
A lot of prior knowledge required!
Prof. Lignereux
This course focuses on the major issues that shaped the long 19th century in France, from 1789 to 1919, such as national sovereignty, citizenship and civil liberties, politicization, the struggle between the “two Frances,” republican culture, the Civil Code, and the relationship to modernity. Following a chronological framework, each session addresses a key question: 1. How to bring an end to the Ancien Régime? 2. How to bring the Revolution to a close? 3. How to emerge from the French Wars? 4. To what extent should the monarchy be restored? 5. How to stabilize a “Juste Milieu”? 6. Which Republic should be restored? 7. Which Empire should be reinvented? 8. What form should French imperialism take in the age of globalization? 9. How did France become a republic? 10. How did the Republic become a colonial empire? 11. How did peasants become French? 12. How did the Great War bring the 19th century to a close?

2 hours per week over 12 weeks:

CF1S2 Microeconomics (Syllabus) - Taught in French
Prof. Varaine
The objective of this course is to introduce the basic concepts of microeconomics and some useful tools for analyzing how markets function and the ways in which the government intervenes (market equilibrium, surplus, etc.). The course begins by examining the behavior of consumers and producers under perfect competition, then covers the main market failures (public goods, information asymmetries, and externalities), and finally explores the various forms of industrial organization (monopoly, oligopoly, etc.).

CF1S2 Political Sociology - French-taught
Prof. Zmerli
This methodology course offers an introduction to political sociology, which studies the relationships between the governed and the governing from a scientific perspective, distinguishing itself from normative or intuitive discourses. It focuses on topics such as political behavior, elites, political parties, elections, and the media, with an emphasis on the logic behind individual actions. The course has two objectives: to provide students with a solid foundation in political sociology and to enable them to produce an informed analysis of political phenomena based on scholarly readings. It also aims to develop transferable skills such as oral presentation, argumentation, debate, and teamwork. By the end of the semester, students should be able to draw on scholarly sources to construct rigorous arguments and engage in critical and constructive exchanges during oral discussions.

CF1S2 Political and Administrative Institutions (Syllabus) - French-taught
Prof. Blaquière
This course explores the legal framework that shapes the political and administrative institutions not only of France but also of other major democratic systems. To this end, we will examine the foundational concepts of constitutional law, such as the state, the separation of powers, and the Constitution. While particular attention will be given to the Fifth Republic, we will not neglect to take a few steps back through historical analysis, as well as a few steps to the side through comparative law. This course will also provide an opportunity to take a cross-cutting approach to some of the major issues shaping contemporary constitutional law, such as questions regarding the role of judges vis-à-vis political power, the growing emphasis on fundamental freedoms, and the “re-parliamentarization” of the Fifth Republic. Finally, a brief overview of the French judicial and administrative systems will also be provided.

2 hours per week over 12 weeks:

CF3S1 Contemporary Sociology (Syllabus) - French-taught
Prof. Bastin
The objective of this course is to approach the study of contemporary sociology through theoretical inquiries into research traditions, concepts, and methods that are the subject of discussion within the discipline as it is practiced today. This course aims both to describe the changes in contemporary societies and to examine the tensions that these changes provoke within the discipline of sociology. By examining these tensions throughout the course, we will engage in an exercise in “sociological imagination”: a reflection on the tools through which we can all attempt to understand the social world in which we live and—thereby—influence it. These questions will serve as the guiding thread of the course and will allow us to gradually move toward formulating the great secret of contemporary societies: the existence, maintenance, and reproduction of inequalities.

CF3S1 Economics (Syllabus) - French-taught
Prof. Echinard
Since the 1980s, the idea that institutions play a central role in economics has become widely accepted. This course builds on this recognition to analyze various institutionalist approaches, exploring how institutions influence individual behavior, forms of organization such as firms, coordination mechanisms such as the market, and the role of the state. As systems of formal or informal rules, institutions structure economic action at multiple levels. The course aims to contextualize, compare, and critique the main economic theories of coordination and governance. It offers conceptual tools for examining fundamental concepts such as the market, money, the economic agent, and the firm, and seeks to foster dialogue between economics and other social sciences regarding major contemporary controversies.

CF3S1 Public Policy (Syllabus) - French-taught
Prof. Bourgeois
The Introductory Course in Public Policy helps students understand public action as a fundamental component of political power, and thus of change in contemporary states. As part of the trilogy that defines political science—the polity (the political system and its rules), politics (the political process and its elections)—public policies (policies) refer more generally to what the state does in society and under what conditions.

2 hours per week over 12 weeks:

CF3S2 Global History of the Contemporary World (19th–20th Centuries) (Syllabus) - Taught in French
Prof. Becot
This course explores the social and political history of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) from the late 19th to the early 21st century, on the eve of the Arab Spring. It adopts a global and interconnected historical perspective, as well as a postcolonial lens, to analyze a modernity that is not limited to the European viewpoint. The course highlights internal processes of modernization in regions outside the direct domination of European empires—such as the Ottoman Empire, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt—drawing on movements such as the Nahda, Islamism, and Arabism. It also examines the impact of European colonialism and imperialism in the region. Finally, it addresses issues related to ethnic and religious minorities, the role of religions, ideologies, and social dynamics.

CF3S2 European Union Law (Syllabus) - English-taught
Fabien Terpan
In the context of economic and political crises (Euroskepticism, Brexit), is the European Union increasingly influenced by its member states, particularly the most powerful ones? Has the “Community method”—which has been the hallmark of the European model of regional integration—given way to operating methods that are more respectful of state sovereignty? Conversely, is the expansion of competencies transforming the Union into a quasi-federal organization? Although not a state, can the Union be a democracy and an international power? The objective of this course is to provide an analytical framework to answer these and other questions. It is not only about describing the European Union but also, and above all, about analyzing it, explaining its transformations, and understanding its main drivers, beyond the caricatured debates between supporters of integration and advocates of sovereignty, and defenders and critics of neoliberalism.