Syllabus
Programme – Summer Term 2023:
All classes except for the introductory online session are held in in Room 508 at Voršilská 1/144
(https://mapy.cz/zakladni?x=14.4190873&y=50.0801448&z=17&q=praha%20vor%C5%A1ilsk%C3%A1%201%2F144&source=addr&id=8938770).
Lecture and Seminar times:
Teaching session 1:
Monday, March 20th (9:30-12:15 + 14:30-16:00)
Tuesday, March 21th (9:30-12:00)
Teaching Session 2:
Monday, April 3rd (9:30-12:00 + 14:000-16:00)
Tuesday, April 4th (9:30-12:00)
March Session (Scot Peterson)
Class 1 (Monday 20 March, 9:30)
Q&A on organisation of the course, requirements and sources (Jan Váška)
The UK Constitution: Executive, Legislature, Judiciary
Class 2 (Monday 20 March 14:00)
Parties: Traditional, National and Issue-Oriented
Class 3 (Tuesday 21 March, 9:30) 3.1 Electoral Behaviour and Unpredictability 3.2 Where are We Now? What Happens Next?
April Session (Iain McLean)
Class 4 (Monday 3 April, 9:30)
Q&A on organisation of the course, requirements and sources (Jan Váška)
Brexit in three elections, two referendums, and the possible break-up of the United Kingdom
Class 5 (Monday 3 April, 14:00)
More detailed analysis: Brexit and the Irish border. Why the ‘protocol’ is such a difficult issue.
Class 6 (Tuesday 4 April, 9:30) 6.1 Federalism in the UK: Brexit and Scotland 6.2 Picking up the pieces in England and Wales
Annotation
In Summer Term 2023, this course will tak place in two blocs on the following dates:
Monday 20 March 2023 morning + afternoon
Tuesday 21 March 2023 morning
Monday 3 April 2023 morning + afternoon
Tuesday 4 April 2023 morning
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This course seeks to explore the impact of the 2016 referendum's decision to leave the EU, along with the elections that followed in 2017 and 2019, on the relations among the four parts of the United Kingdom, British politics and political culture, constitution, and party system. There is a special focus on the non-English parts of the UK: Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Brexit is putting immense strain on the uncodified British constitution, as evidenced by the succession of Conservative Prime Ministers following the election and particularly in 2022. The tensions introduced by Brexit will be related to constitutional and institutional structures of British politics, including the legislature and the judiciary, the electoral system and the party system. The immediate implications are discussed in real time.
The Moodle platform for the course can be accessed at https://dl2.cuni.cz/course/view.php?id=4219, enrollment key JTB310.
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Instructors: Professor Iain McLean and Dr Scot Peterson, Department of Politics & International Relations, Oxford University. Course coordinator at Charles University, to whom all queries concerning the organisation of this course should be directed, is Dr Jan Váška (jan.vaska@fsv.cuni.cz).