UVSSPUD007 Introduction to politics and regional politics

Faculty of Public Policies in Opava
Summer 2026
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Lukáš Vomlela, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Lukáš Vomlela, Ph.D.
Institute of Public Administration and Social Policy – Faculty of Public Policies in Opava
Contact Person: Ing. Lucie Kamrádová, Ph.D.
Prerequisites
FAKULTA(FVP) && TYP_STUDIA(C)
General overview at the secondary school level.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields 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 acquaint students with the development and structure of political science, the main disciplines and the most important issues of contemporary political science and the role of the state. The course is designed in three broad blocks. In the first of them the students will gain a basic understanding of the development, the object and division of political science, the main theoretical approaches, political philosophy and political ideologies, as as well as the problems of democratic and non-democratic forms of government. The next section provides a brief typological overview of democratic political systems, political parties and party systems, political actors, elections and electoral systems, selected aspects of multilevel governance, and decentralization processes. The last four lectures form a coherent block dealing with regional politics, its instruments, development and main approaches to regional politics, taking into account the possible social impacts in the implementation of selected strategies related to regional politics.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, the student will be able to characterize the development of political science as an independent discipline, and will be able to explain the main areas of interest of political science with regard to its development. The student will be able to define the main aspects and features of political systems with respect to the theoretical definitions of democratic and non-democratic systems. The student will also be able to characterise regional politics and its area of interest.
Syllabus
1. Politics and political science (basic concepts and subdivisions) 2. Political philosophy, political ideologies 3. Theories of non-democratic regimes 4. Theories of democracy and transitions to democracy 5. Political regimes 6. Political parties 7. Party systems 8. Elections and electoral systems 9. Regional politics and its instruments 10. Approaches to regional policy 11. Multi-level governance 12. The development of regional policy and the regional policy of the European Union.
Literature
    required literature
  • KROUPA, J. Srovnávací politologie. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2017. ISBN 978-80-210-8365-3.
  • CABADA, L. - CHARVÁT, J. a STULÍK, O. Současná komparativní politologie. Klíčové koncepty. Plzeň - Praha: Aleš Čeněk - Metropolitní univerzita Praha, 2015. ISBN 978-80-7380-577-7.
  • VOMLELA, L. Základy politické vědy. Opava: Fakulta veřejných politik v Opavě, 2020. Dostupné z: https://elearning.slu.cz/course/index.php?categoryid=66
  • HLOUŠEK, V., KOPEČEK, L., ŠEDO, J. Politické systémy. Praha, Barrister & Principal, 2018. ISBN: 978-80-7485-150-6.
  • PÁNA, L. a kol. Nástroje a aktuální problémy regionální politiky. České Budějovice: Vysoká škola evropských a regionálních studií, 2016. ISBN 978-80-87472-99-6.
  • NOVÁK, Miroslav a kol. Úvod do studia politiky. Praha: Slon 2019. ISBN 978-80-7419-263-0.
    recommended literature
  • DUVERGER, M. Politické strany. Praha: Univerzita Karlova 2016. ISBN 978-80-246-2568-3.
  • HANCOCK Donald M. (ed.). Politics in Europe. 7th Edition. Washington: CQ Press, 2018. ISBN 9781506399096
  • DANICS, Š., DUBSKÝ J. a URBAN, L. Základy sociologie a politologie. Plzeň: Vydavatelství a nakladatelství Aleš Čeněk, s.r.o., 2016. ISBN 978-80-7380-590-6.
Teaching methods
lectures, seminars, discussion
Assessment methods
Credit: Completion of seminar assignments and attendance are prerequisites for taking the credit test, which will assess knowledge of the lectures and required reading according to the course syllabus.
Language of instruction
Czech
Teacher's information
During the semester, students can take advantage of a total of 13 hours of face-to-face lectures, which include explanations of difficult parts of the curriculum. The student uses the study guide for continuous study, from which he/she will prepare selected correspondence assignments to be discussed in individual and group consultations (study guide available here: https://elearning.slu.cz/course/index.php?categoryid=66). For the credit, the student will demonstrate knowledge of the required literature, the study guide and the contact teaching lectures. The student may consult individually studied course topics on an ongoing basis via email, individual or group consultations. Consultation days and times are set by the instructor at the beginning of the semester, but are available outside of the scheduled consultation times by appointment, depending on student need.
The course is also listed under the following terms Summer 2023, Summer 2024, Summer 2025.
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