YEAR THREE
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICS
Scandinavian Government arid Politics Lectures 1980/81
Term 1
1.
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October 9.
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Introductory I: Scandinavia as a region.
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2.
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October 16.
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Introductory II: Scandinavian political culture.
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3.
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October 30.
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The multi-party systems I: the Social Democrats as dominant parties.
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4.
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November 13.
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The multi-party systems II: distinguishing characteristics
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5.
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November 27
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The multi-party systems III: P.R. and effective government.
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6.
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December 4.
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Class and Politics in Scandinavia
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Term 2
7.
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January 15.
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Politics and industry in Scandinavia I
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8.
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January 23.
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Politics and industry in Scandinavia II
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9.
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February 5.
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The Nordic Council and the Nordic Balance
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10.
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February 19.
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Scandinavia and the EEC
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11.
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March 6.
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Finiand: the special case?
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12.
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March 13.
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Consensus politics: myth or reality?
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Lectures will be at 2.10 p.m. on Thursdays in Lecture Room S18
YEAR THREE
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICS
SCANDINAVIAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Year Three: Essays 1980/81
Any THREE of the following are to be written during the session - not assessed, but part of the course requirement. The first falls due on Friday, 5 December, the second on Friday, 30 January 1981, the third on Friday, 6 March.
- The Scandinavian states, it has been asserted, are at the top of the list of stable democracies. Can there be a satisfactory theory of stable democracy? And do you agree with this assessment? (Sweden, Norway, Denmark).
- Compare and Contrast Finnish and Swedish neutrality. Many Swedes claim for their country an unusually high degree of success in solving the political problems of an advanced industrial society. Are they justified?
- How important is class in Scandinavian politics?
- "In domestic politics, Finland can fairly be described as the France of Northern Europe." Discuss.
- Assess the factors working for and against the political integration of Scandinavia. On which side does the balance fall, and why?
- "Iceland - the odd one out among the Scandinavian states." Disc' with special reference to (a) the domestic political landscape (b) foreign policy.
- Does Scandinavian experience go to show that Second Chambers are unnecessary in a modern unitary state?
THE UNIVERSITY OF HULL
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Final Examination Part II for the Special Degree of Bachelor of Arts POLITICS, EUROPEAN STUDIES
Final Examination for the Special Degree of Bachelor of Arts SCANDINAVIAN STUDIES
Final Examination Part II for the Joint Degree of Bachelor of Arts AMERICAN STUDIES & POLITICS, ECONOMICS, POLITICS & SOCIOLOGY, HISTORY & POLITICS, POLITICS & SOCIOLOGY
Final Examination for the Joint Degree of Bachelor of Arts: GERMAN & SWEDISH
1981
SCANDINAVIAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Monday 1st June, 9.30 am - 12.30 pm
Answer FOUR questions
- Account for the weakness of conservatism in Scandinavia.
- To what extent do foreign policy considerations account for the support given in Scandinavia to parties to the left of the Social Democrats/Labour?
- "Neither socialist nor bourgeois." Comment on this self-image of the Scandinavian Centre Parties.
- "It is a central paradox in Scandinavian political life that class is the main determinant of voting behaviour in the region but only a feeble determinant of public policy outputs." Discuss.
- "Finland - a Soviet watchdog in the Baltic.' "Finland - between East and West." "Finland - Scandinavian outpost." Which of these three do you consider comes closest to describing Finland's position, and why?
- Write a brief analytic survey of the distinctive characteristics of the Icelandic political system.
- "Norway's rejection of the EEC was due to a combination of bad management on the part of the government and sheer bad luck." Discuss.
- What new items, apart from the EEC, have appeared on the political agenda of any one Scandinavian country in the 1970s? How far have they been peculiar to the region and how far part of a wider West European development?
- "The Ombudsman provides a good example of the feasibility of, and the limits to, the transferability of political institutions between states." Discuss.
- Can Britain learn anything from Swedish experience in the political management of a modern advanced industrial economy?
- "Walk softly, and carry a big stick." How convincingly would this characterise Swedish neutrality policy?
- "The weakness of integrationist tendencies in the Scandinavian region is shown by the fact that increased intra-regional co-operation only occurs in response to the pull of external influences on one or more of the member states." Discuss.
Adrian Worsfold