PSIR 462 | Course Introduction and Application Information - Department of Political Science and International Relations

Course Name

The Political Theory of Federalism

Code	Semester	Theory (hour/week)	Application/Lab (hour/week)	Local Credits	ECTS
PSIR 462	Fall/Spring	3	0	3	6

Prerequisites	None
Course Language	English
Course Type	Elective
Course Level	First Cycle
Mode of Delivery	face to face
Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course	Discussion Group Work Lecture / Presentation
National Occupation Classification	-
Course Coordinator	-
Course Lecturer(s)	Doç. Dr. Devrim SEZER
Assistant(s)	-

Course Objectives	This course is designed to introduce students to the political theory of federalism with particular emphasis on three main objectives: to examine the historical origins, normative and political goals, and contemporary applications and varieties of federalism.
Learning Outcomes	The students who succeeded in this course; analyze the historical origins as well as the moral and political foundations of federal thought and practice assess the strengths and weaknesses of classical and contemporary theoretical approaches to federalism. explain the relation between federalism and democracy. evaluate the relation between federalism, multiculturalism, and multinationalism with an eye to recognition demands. compare varieties of federal partnerships in different polities. discuss theoretical approaches to and applications of federalism in practice through oral presentation based on teamwork.
Course Description	The main purpose of this course is to introduce students to the political theory of federalism. Particular attention is paid to the historical origins, central political goals, and normative foundations of federalism. “Self-rule” and “shared rule” are widely viewed as the twin objectives of federal partnerships in federalism studies. Why would the central government concede power to local units and vice versa? Are there asymmetrical arrangements in federal systems? How do they differ from symmetrical federal partnerships? What is the relation between federalism and democracy? What are the main differences between monist and pluralist visions of federalism? What are the challenges confronting multinational and multicultural federal democracies? What are the strengths and weaknesses of competing federal models? Do federal arrangements play a positive role in conflict management or resolution? The course aims to explore these questions through a guided reading of both classical and contemporary theoretical approaches to federalism. While it has a primarily theoretical focus, a substantial part of the course is devoted to the study and discussion of how federalism is practiced in different countries such as Spain, Canada, Germany, and Switzerland.
Related Sustainable Development Goals

Course Category	Core Courses
	Major Area Courses	X
	Supportive Courses
	Media and Management Skills Courses
	Transferable Skill Courses

Week	Subjects	Related Preparation
1	Introduction: Federalism and Political Theory	Dimitrios Karmis & Wayne Norman, “The Revival of Federalism in Normative Political Theory”, in Theories of Federalism: A Reader, Dimitrios Karmis & Wayne Norman (eds.) (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2005), 3-21. Thomas Hueglin, “Federalism and Political Theory: A Case of Mutual Neglect?”, in A Research Agenda for Federalism Studies, John Kincaid (ed.) (Cheltenham: Elgar, 2019), 15-26.
2	The Moral and Political Foundations of American Federalism I	Hamilton, Jay, & Madison, “Federal Theory in The Federalist”, in Theories of Federalism: A Reader, Dimitrios Karmis & Wayne Norman (eds.) (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2005), 105-133. Iain Hampsher-Monk, “Democracy and Federation in the Federalist Papers”, Federal Democracies, Michael Burgess & Alain-G. Gagnon (London: Routledge, 2010), 29-45.
3	The Moral and Political Foundations of American Federalism II	Alexis de Tocqueville, “Federal Theory in Democracy in America”, in Theories of Federalism: A Reader, Dimitrios Karmis & Wayne Norman (eds.) (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2005), 147-63. James Schleifer, The Chicago Companion to Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012), 56-108.
4	Arendt’s (Con)Federal Vision: From America to Israel/Palestine	Hannah Arendt, “The Revolutionary Tradition and Its Lost Heritage”, On Revolution (Penguin, 1963). Hannah Arendt, “To Save the Jewish Homeland”, The Jewish Writings (Schocken, 2007), 388-401.
5	Karl Renner and National Cultural Autonomy: A Federal Model for Central Europe and Beyond	Karl Renner, “State and Nation”, in National Cultural Autonomy and Its Contemporary Critics, Ephraim Nimni (ed.) (London: Routledge, 2005), 13-40. Ephraim Nimni, “Introduction: The National Cultural Autonomy Model Revisited”, in National Cultural Autonomy and Its Contemporary Critics, Ephraim Nimni (ed.) (London: Routledge, 2005), 1-12. Rainer Bauböck, “Political Autonomy or Cultural Minority Rights?” in National Cultural Autonomy and Its Contemporary Critics, Ephraim Nimni (ed.) (London: Routledge, 2005), 83-95.
6	Varieties of Federal Polities	Ronald L. Watts, “Comparing Forms of Federal Partnerships”, in Theories of Federalism: A Reader, Dimitrios Karmis & Wayne Norman (eds.) (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2005), 233-253
7	Federalism and Democracy	Alfred Stepan, “Federalism and Democracy: Beyond the U.S. Model”, in Theories of Federalism: A Reader, Dimitrios Karmis & Wayne Norman (eds.) (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2005), 255-268. Ronal L. Watts, “Comparative Reflections on Federalism and Democracy”, in Federal Democracies, Michael Burgess & Alain-G. Gagnon (eds.) (London: Routledge, 2010), 325-346.
8	Midterm
9	Federalism, Multiculturalism, and Multinational Democracy	Will Kymlicka, “Federalism, Nationalism, and Multiculturalism”, in Theories of Federalism: A Reader, Dimitrios Karmis & Wayne Norman (eds.) (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2005), 269-291. James Tully, “Introduction”, in Multinational Democracies, Alain-G. Gagnon & James Tully (eds.) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 1-31.
10	The Spanish Case	Ferran Requejo, “Political Liberalism n Multinational States: The Legitimacy of Plural and Asymmetrical Federalism”, in Multinational Democracies, Alain-G. Gagnon & James Tully (eds.) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 110-132. Luis Moreno, “Ethnoterritorial Concurrence in Multinational Societies: The Spanish Communidas Autonomos”, in Multinational Democracies, Alain-G. Gagnon & James Tully (eds.) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 201-221.
11	Federalism in Canada	Michael Burgess, “Competing National Visions: Canada-Quebec Relations in a Comparative Perspective”, in Multinational Democracies, Alain-G. Gagnon & James Tully (eds.) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 257-273. Alain-G. Gagnon, “The Moral Foundation of Asymmetrical Federalism: A Normative Exploration of the Case of Quebec and Canada”, in Multinational Democracies, Alain-G. Gagnon & James Tully (eds.) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 319-337.
12	Federalism in Switzerland & Germany	Paolo Dardanelli, “Federal Democracy in Switzerland”, Federal Democracies, Michael Burgess & Alain-G. Gagnon (eds.) (London: Routledge, 2010), 142-159. Franz Gress, “Federalism and Democracy in the Federal Republic of Germany”, Federal Democracies, Michael Burgess & Alain-G. Gagnon (eds.) (London: Routledge, 2010), 178-201.
13	Federalism and Recognition Claims	Dimitrios Karmis & Alain-G. Gagnon, “Federalism, Federation and Collective Identities in Canada and Belgium: Different Routes, Similar Fragmentation”, in Multinational Democracies, Alain-G. Gagnon & James Tully (eds.) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 137-175. Pierre Coulombe, “Federalist Language Policies: The Cases of Canada and Spain”, in Multinational Democracies, Alain-G. Gagnon & James Tully (eds.) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 242-256.
14	Federalism and Conflict Resolution	Federalism and the Management of Conflict in Multinational Societies”, in Multinational Democracies, Alain-G. Gagnon & James Tully (eds.) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 338-364. Ephraim Nimni, “The Twilight of the Two-State Solution in Israel-Palestine: Shared Sovereignty and Nonterritorial Autonomy as the New Dawn”, Nationalities Papers 48 (2) (2020): 339-356.
15	Review
16	Final Exam

Course Notes/Textbooks

Dimitrios Karmis & Wayne Norman (eds.) Theories of Federalism: A Reader (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2005), ISBN: 9780312295813.

John Kincaid (ed.), A Research Agenda for Federalism Studies (Cheltenham: Elgar, 2019), ISBN: 9781788112963.

James Schleifer, The Chicago Companion to Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012), ISBN: 978-0226737034.

Hannah Arendt, On Revolution (Penguin, 1963), ISBN: 978-0143039907.

Hannah Arendt, The Jewish Writings (Schocken, 2007), ISBN: 978-0805211948.

Michael Burgess & Alain-G. Gagnon (eds.), Federal Democracies (London: Routledge, 2010), ISBN: 9780415555487.

Alain-G. Gagnon & James Tully (eds.) Multinational Democracies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), ISBN: 0521 800293.

Ephraim Nimni (ed.), National Cultural Autonomy and Its Contemporary Critics (London: Routledge, 2005), ISBN: 0415249643.

Suggested Readings/Materials

Semester Activities	Number	Weigthing
Participation	1	10
Laboratory / Application
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
Portfolio
Homework / Assignments
Presentation / Jury	1	30
Project
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exams
Midterm	1	30
Final Exam		30
Total

Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade	3	70
Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade	1	30
Total

Semester Activities	Number	Duration (Hours)	Workload
Theoretical Course Hours (Including exam week: 16 x total hours)	16	3	48
Laboratory / Application Hours (Including exam week: '.16.' x total hours)	16		0
Study Hours Out of Class	12	3	36
Field Work			0
Quizzes / Studio Critiques			0
Portfolio			0
Homework / Assignments			0
Presentation / Jury	1	2,5	2
Project			0
Seminar / Workshop			0
Oral Exam			0
Midterms	1	20	20
Final Exam		40	0
		Total	106

#	Program Competencies/Outcomes	* Contribution Level
#	Program Competencies/Outcomes	1	2	3	4	5
1	To be able to use the theoretical and practical knowledge acquired in the areas of Political Science and International Relations.	-	-	-	-	X
2	To be able to have the basic knowledge of, and make use of other disciplines which contribute to the areas of Political Science and International Relations.	-	-	-	-	-
3	To be able to distinguish the differences between classical and contemporary theories and to assess their relationship.	X	-	-	-	-
4	To be able to recognize regional and global issues, and develop sustainable solutions based on research.	-	X	-	-	-
5	To be able to assess the acquired knowledge and skills in the areas of Political Science and International Relations critically.	-	-	-	X	-
6	To be able to transfer ideas and proposals on issues in the areas of Political Science and International Relations to other people and institutions verbally and in writing.	X	-	-	-	-
7	To be able to identify the historical continuity and changes observed in the relations between the actors and institutions of national and international politics.	-	-	-	-	-
8	To be able to examine concepts, theories, and developments with scientific methods in the areas of Political Science and International Relations.	-	-	-	-	-
9	To be able to take responsibility as an individual and as a team member.	-	X	-	-	-
10	To be able to act in accordance with the scientific and ethical values in studies related to Political Science and International Relations.	-	-	-	-	-
11	To be able to collect data in the areas of Political Science and International Relations and communicate with colleagues in a foreign language ("European Language Portfolio Global Scale", Level B1).	-	-	-	-	-
12	To be able to speak a second foreign language at a medium level of fluency efficiently.	-	-	-	-	-
13	To be able to relate the knowledge accumulated throughout human history to their field of experience.	-	-	-	-	-

PSIR 462 | Course Introduction and Application Information

WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATION STUDIES

EVALUATION SYSTEM

ECTS / WORKLOAD TABLE

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS RELATIONSHIP

NEWSALL NEWS

New Book Chapter by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sıtkı Egeli on Emerging Disruptive Technologies and International Security

‘Scientific’ pride

Our Faculty Members and PhD Students Participated in the XI International Relations Council Congress

Umut Can Adısönmez Receives the 2026 UIK Young Scientist Encouragement Award!

New Publication by Umut Can Adısönmez: "The abject other in Turkish politics: populist securitization, affect, and the Victory Party"

Sıtkı Egeli at FRS Webinar: “Shield and Sword”

Umut Can Adısönmez at the Crisis Response Council and MEPS Forum Workshop: “In the Shadow of Geopolitics”

New Publication by Devrim Sezer in Politics and Space: “Ephemeral Architectures, Fugitive Assemblies”

IZMIR UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS GÜZELBAHÇE CAMPUS

GLOBAL CAREER

CONTRIBUTION TO SCIENCE

VALUING PEOPLE

BENEFIT TO SOCIETY