The Department of Political Sciences offers undergraduate programs of three years (General Degree) or four years (Special Degree). Students who successfully complete the two semesters of their first year with a minimum of 30 credits have the option of following either a General Degree or a Special Degree in Arts Program. Admission to the Special Degree in Political Science is competitive and based on students’ GPA in Political Science at the 1000-level examination.
Introduction to Politics and Political Science; Major themes in political studies; Key concepts in political studies: power, authority, state, government, and legitimacy; Approaches to the study of political science; Roles and functions of government in modern societies; Relations of people with state, regime and government; Sovereignty; Separation of power; Democracy and forms of government; International politics and state system.
Introduction to political ecology of Sri Lanka: caste, class, religion and ethnicity etc.; Present governmental system; Fundamental rights; Elections and electoral systems; Political parties and party system; Multi-level governance: provincial council system and local government; Issues and challenges of citizenry
Nature and scope of political theory; Political theory in ancient Greek: justice, ethics, virtue, republicanism, citizenship, separation of power, natural law, city states; Roman political theory: law, cosmopolitanism, empire, senate, social and temporal life, dual citizenship, justice; Medieval political theory: religion vs politics, divine theory, temporal and spiritual power; Eastern political theory: political theory of Hinduism, political theory of Buddhism, political theory of Islam.
Introduction to quantitative techniques; Use and validity of statistics in political analysis; Inferences and parametric measures; Sampling, sampling designs and sampling error; Descriptive and analytical statistics; Presentation of data; Measures of central tendency; Measures of dispersion; Skewness, moments and kurtosis; Correlation analysis; Simple regression analysis; Time-series analysis
Nature, scope and development of public administration; Public vs private administration; Ethical foundation administration; Art science controversy; Public administration as a social science, Relationship with other social sciences; Approaches to the study of public administration; Main currents in administration theory: scientific management, bureaucracy, human relations, administrative principles, formal and informal organization, hierarchy, unity of command, span of control, planning, coordination, centralization, decentralization, authority and responsibility chief executive, line and staff agencies, supervision, delegation, leadership, communication, decision-making, public relations, delegated legislation.
Sri Lanka and colonialism; Colebrooke-Cameron reforms of 1833: Main structure of the government from 1830s to 1912, transition of Governor’s government to near democratic government, constitutional, administrative and economic development; Donoughmore reforms and constitutional architecture: executive committee system, significance of reforms; Westminster model under the Soulbury Constitution: main characteristics of government: parliamentary system, civil service and the judiciary, electoral system and electoral reforms; First republican constitution of 1972 and naval features; Second republican constitution and novel exercise of organizing government; Milestones of constitutional amendments; Electoral system; Political party system and pressure groups.
Nature of international politics; Approaches to the study of international politics; Actors of international society; National objectives and interests; National power and determinants of national power; Instruments of achieving national objectives and interests: foreign policy and diplomacy, penetration, propaganda, intervention and war; Concepts on managing state behaviourand control of national power: balance of power, collective security, disarmament and arms control, world public opinion, international morality, world government, international law.
Introduction to peace and conflict studies: definitions, nature; Typologies of conflicts: inter-state, intra-state, social, economic, socio-cultural, religious, political; Ethnic conflicts; Normative foundations, Theories of conflicts; Approaches to deal with conflicts: resolution, management, transformation, early warning, peace education; Concept of peace: definitions and nature; Peace-building; Peace movements and peace culture; Gender in conflict and peace; United Nations Organization and world peace; Development of the field of conflict and peace studies and contribution of great thinkers; Field work.
Modernity and political theory; Natural rights, human nature, non-resistance and sovereignty; Human nature, equality and social contract; Commonwealth, political authority, and aristocracy; Separation of powers, liberty and law; State of nature, general will, nationalism, and popular sovereignty; Freedom and cooperation; Utilitarianism, and subjection of women; Social freedom and state; Class struggle; Dictatorship of proletariat; Political economy and revolution; Human condition and totalitarianism; Legitimacy and justice
Introduction to government and governance; Role of government in governance (evolution), network governance; Changing dynamics of government organs in governance and their role in modern government: the legislature, the executive, the judiciary; Relationship between legislative, executive and judicial institutions in modern government; Democratic and authoritarian government: parliamentary system, presidential system, semi-presidential system, military rule, absolute monarchy, one-party rule, theocracy, unitary, federal and confederal systems; Methods of people’s participation in modern government: initiative, re-call, referendum, elections and representation
Introduction to the study of public policy: definition and nature; Types of public policy; Public vs private policies; Policy environment; Policy process: policy cycle; Actors and forces in policy formulation process; Sources for policy-making; Theories of public policy-making; Tools for analysing public policy; Development of policy science; Introducing policy scientists.
Nature of contemporary conflicts; Inter-state and intra-state conflicts; Conflict and conflict resolution process in selected cases. The cases will be determined
Approaches to human rights; Historical context of human rights discourses; Evolution of human rights; Classification of human rights; Regimes of human rights; Politics of human rights; Human rights and fundamental rights; National, regional and international human rights systems; Human rights and international humanitarian law; Human rights and human security
Shifting of managing public affairs from government to governance; Theories of governance: information-based governance theory, discourse theory, institutional theory, and public choice theory; Types of governance: network governance, electronic governance, meta-governance, decentred governance, urban and regional governance; Politics and good governance; Regulatory governance; Corporate governance; Global governance; Partnership in governance arrangement; Field visits.
Introduction to comparative politics; Approaches to comparative politics; Comparative research methods: case study methods; qualitative methods; quantitative methods; State: emergence and expansion; diversity, and challenges to the modern state; Regimes: democratic and non-democratic; Legislatures: structure, members, functions, internal organizational structure of legislature (committees), assessing legislature’s power; Government: forms of government: presidential, parliamentary, semi-presidential, the internal working of government; The political capacity of government; Bureaucracies: evolution, organization, recruitment, problems of bureaucracy; New public management system; E-government and multilevel governance; Constitutions and courts; The role of courts: judicial activism, judicial independence and recruitment; Elections and voters; Party system.
Introduction to comparative public administration (CPA); Approach to study of CPA; Evolution of comparative public administration; Administrative systems in comparative perspective: United Kingdom, France, United States of America, China, Denmark, India and Sri Lanka; Issues and new developments in the field of comparative public administration.
Nature and scope of political economy; Embeddedness of the economy in politics (Polanyi and others); Classical political economy on class structure and growth (with especial reference to Adam Smith and David Ricardo); Reflections: what is political economy? Is it a better approach?; Marxist political economy; Keynes: Orthodox or heterodox?; World market and global accumulation (periodization);Political economy of development; Preparing for field work-based studies with mini-lecture on political economy research methods: (E.g., Meethotamulla, Colombo Port City, Uma Oya, IranaiTheevu etc.).
Qualifications and disqualification and their rationale for public sector employment; Constitutional provisions related to public sector employees; Political rights and limitation for the public sector employees; Duties and virtues required from a public sector employee; Role of treasury in the personnel management in public sector; Disciplinary control and procedures; Role of auditor general and public service commission; Dispute settlement mechanism in public sector: Ombudsman, administrative tribunal, courts and settlement boards; Right to information act and its implications; The UN code of conduct for public officials.
Scholars and experts conduct seminars and lectures on contemporary issues, problems and dilemmas in the real-world politics on different perspectives. The course deals with issues, problems and dilemmas over world order, war, terrorism, international law and human rights, and humanitarian intervention, economic development, population growth, environmental issues, fundamentalism, disarmament, arms control and etc.
Introduction to South Asian society and culture; Government system; Separatist movement; Radicalization of youth; Secular and non-secular practices in governance; Extremists groups in politics and government; South Asia in global politics; Issues and challenges for regional cooperation.
The relationship of research and knowledge; Philosophy of science; Philosophies of knowledge and knowledge claims; Literature review; Formulation of research problem and research questions; Developing research designs; Writing research report / thesis; Publication of research findings
Introduction to main streams of recent development in political science; Critical theory of the Frankfurt School; Theorizing superstructure: Antonio Gramsci and NicosPoulantzas; Psycho-analysis; Michael Foucault, Pierre Bourdieu and Reflexive Sociology, Post-Marxism: Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe; Civil society and political society: Mamdani and ParthaChatterjee; Subaltern studies and its critique; Debate of nationalism; The debate on redistribution and difference.
Definition, nature and scope of administrative law; Sources of administrative law; Administrative law as different branch of law; Constitutional law and administrative law; The doctrine of ultra vires; Discretion and discretionary powers; Rule of law & separation of power, natural Justice; Delegated legislation with special reference to Sri Lanka: necessity, forms and characteristics of delegated legislation; Regulation, rules and circulars; Control mechanisms of delegated legislation in Sri Lanka: parliamentary, procedural and judicial
Qualities of effective conflict manager: effective listening, non-violent and non-verbal communication, and ethnics; Conflict management tools: mediation, negotiation, bargaining and facilitation; Tools for analyzing conflicts; Importance of identifying and analyzing the nature of conflicts; Options for managers; Emotional intelligence; Skills for community and group empowerment; Teamwork; Fieldwork.
Nature, scope and content of international law; Classification of international law; Domestic law and international law; Nation-state system and international law; The subjects of international law: Legal approach to state and state in international system; Diplomacy and international law; Role of international law in controlling and regulating the behaviour of actors in international society; Humanitarian law and international law; Efficacy of international tribunals; Issues and challenges of international law
Nature, content and role of political ideologies in real world politics; Major ideologies: Liberalism and capitalism: democratic deficit; Conservatism; Socialism and communism and their role in contemporary societies; Anarchism: socialist and liberal; Fascism; Nationalism; Feminism; Environmentalism; Multiculturalism; Religious fundamentalism; Social democracy; Democratic socialism; Postmodernism; Debate on the end of political ideology.
Nature of foreign policy and diplomatic practices of small states; Factors influencing foreign policy decision making and diplomatic practices in Sri Lanka; Key actors of Sri Lanka’s foreign policy decision making and implementation process; Training diplomats; New trends in Sri Lanka’s foreign policy and diplomatic practices.
Emergence of implementation studies; Approaches to policy implementation: top-down & bottom-up, structural, procedural, behavioural, bureaucratic, managerial and political; Policy implementation: actors, forces and processes; New mechanism of public policy implementation and management: privatization, public-private partnership, beneficiary organizations and civil society; Policy review and change; Challenges in policy implementation and management; Field visits.
Democracy and local government; Major role and functions of local government in Sri Lanka; Rights and duties of citizens under local government arrangements; Evolution of local government of Sri Lanka; Relationship between three tiers of governments; The local government as a legal person; the consensus bound by democratic practices in local government laws; Issues and challenges of management in local governance: personnel management, Field works
Socio-economic and geographic profiles; China since 1949 to 1970; Role of Communist party; Government structure in China; State structure of China; Ethnic and demographic policy of China; One country, two systems; New trends in China’ domestic and foreign policy; China and the world.
Concepts/and theories of transnational and trans-governmentalpolitics; Emerging of transnational and trans-governmental actors; Actors of transnational and trans-governmental politics; Nature of contemporary transnational and trans-governmental politics; interplay between transnational, trans-governmental actors and nations states/national non-state actors; Role of transnational and trans-governmental actors in global governance and globalization; Transnational and trans-governmental political advocacy networks; Responses of the transnational and trans-governmental actors towards transnational and trans-governmental political issues, threats and problems.
Conceptualizing gender in politics and feminist approaches; Gender-thinking in politics and political narratives; Universal franchise movements and gender in elections and voting; Gender-balanced parliament and local government bodies; Gender-balanced governments and decision-making bodies; Gender, human rights and equality; Gender in armed conflicts and peace building; Gender and development; Gender empowerment in politics
Concepts and nature of multiculturalism and human rights; approaches to multiculturalism and human rights; Cultural diversity and cultural pluralism in Sri Lanka: National identity, citizenship, religion, culture, ethnicity, gender, caste, languages and regionalism; Politics of multiculturalism and human rights in Sri Lanka: Governments’ measures towards multiculturalism and human rights; Multiculturalism and national integration; Human Rights and Multiculturalism discourses in Post-war Sri Lanka.
The undergraduate dissertation project within a chosen specialization is an individual study that must include substantial new data or ideas showing originality. This includes search, studies and summary of scholarly/scientific literature, practical work in the chosen field, compilation and critical analysis of the results, and oral and written presentation. The undergraduate dissertation is mastered under individual supervision. The supervision includes how to perform a scientific study and how to orally and in writing present gathered data or ideas in acceptable scientific manner. The dissertation must have documented scientific experience. The students must submit a complete written dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the degree. The Dissertation Writing Guidelines will be prepared and used.
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Address Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya Peradeniya, 20400, Sri Lanka |
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Telephone Head:+94 81 239 2625 Office:+94 81 239 2626 |
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Email politicalpsc@yahoo.com |