Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

This is a specialised comparative politics third stage module that assumes students have some knowledge of different political and electoral systems. Therefore, students should have taken either POL1015 or POL2111 to be able to take advantage of the module.

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

Introduce the students to the study of politics in Mexico.
Comprehend the politics of authoritarianism and democratization focused on the Mexican case.
Understand the role of political institutions, political elites, and civil society in the democratisation process.
Analyse voters’ political behaviour during the authoritarian and democratic periods from a comparative perspective
Understand the current challenges faced by Mexico’s political system

Students will develop critical abilities to design their own essay question, while also providing productive feedback to each other. Moreover, the module creates space for students to take ownership of their own learning experience, working in teams to organise seminar activities.

Outline Of Syllabus

The course will start with a brief introduction to the history of Mexico before the Mexican Revolution in 1910 to concentrate into the development of the hegemonic party system and its transformation into an authoritarian competitive regime. We will explore both the reasons that explain the stability of the hegemonic/authoritarian periods for over seven decades in the 20thcentury, as well as the democratisation process that involved social movements, economic crisis, an emerging civil society, and political elites. Finally, we will discuss Mexico’s current challenges that might complicate the consolidation of its democratic system.
Topics:
1)       Pre-Revolutionary Mexico
2)       The Social Revolution of 1910 and the Constitution of 1917
3)       Hegemonic Period: Politics, Economics, and Society
4)       From Competitive Authoritarianism to Democracy: New Economic Paradigm, Social Movements, Political Elites, and Elections
5)       Presidentialism and Federalism under Democratic Rules
6)       Political Parties Before and After 2000
7)       Electoral Behaviour: Preferences, Identities, and Prejudice
8)       Current Challenges: Discrimination, Corruption, Rule of Law, Cartels, and Violence

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

1)       Understand the factors, the international and national contexts, as well as the institutions that benefited the survival of an authoritarian system in Mexico for decades.
2)       Comprehend the effect of political institutions (i.e. presidentialism, federalism) on Mexico’s democratisation process.
3)       Analyse the political behaviour, attitudes, and identities of voters in young democracies focused on the Mexican case.
4)       Understand the challenges a developing democracy faces while trying to consolidate democratic practices and institutions.

Intended Skill Outcomes

1)       Improve writing and analytical skills through both an essay plan and a written essay, as well as in-class participation
2)       Enhance the ability to synthesize theories and information as well as presentation skills through in-class organisation and presentation
3)       Improve critical thinking through discussion of different theories and facts about Mexican politics in class

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Lectures are essential to explain key concepts, actors, and processes of Mexican politics. In addition to the lecturer extensive knowledge and research into the subjects studied, the lectures rely on use of PowerPoint slides as well as multi-media to provide students with examples and help them understand the readings and topics. Student feedback has been positive about having a blended approach, half of the lectures online and half in person. They have said they like the flexibility of watching the videos at their convenience. Moreover, I can add videos (i.e., documentaries) to illustrate the points made in the online lecture in a coherent way. In sum, the blended approach takes advantage of the online and in-person approaches.

The small discussion seminars will allow students to reinforce the knowledge acquired through the readings and lectures, as the students will be able to come up with questions and continue their learning experience by discussing and exchanging points of views with other students.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The quizzes and collaborative work aims to keep students engaged through the semester with the module. In case students cannot attend the seminar, they will be able to submit on three occasions critical summaries of the readings assigned for that week to avoid losing points related to this assessment. I have received positive feedback from students regarding this assessment, as it motivates students to attend seminars systematically creating a stable learning community. Finally, the essay plan will provide time and space for students to plan how to answer the essay question they choose for the final essay as well as the sources they will use to do so. Students will engage in peer-review of the plan in order to assimilate better the essay requirements and think about how to improve their own essay while giving other students feedback. Finally, the essay will help students develop their written skills while improving their critical thinking and writing abilities building on from the essay plan. As a whole, the tasks will enable students to end the module with a good understanding of broad concepts in politics and specific understanding of the Mexican context, while improving their critical, analytical and written abilities.

General Notes

N/A