Political Institutions and Decision-Making
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
A course aimed at giving analytical, methodological and interpretative skills for knowledge, understanding and analysis of political decision
making in institutional arena (parliament, government, party system), focusing in particular on the Italian political system and its evolution over time
making in institutional arena (parliament, government, party system), focusing in particular on the Italian political system and its evolution over time
Expected learning outcomes
a) Knowledge and Understanding: at the end of the course, the student will have got a set of analytical, methodological and interpretative skills, related to the contents and the outcomes of decision making in the main institutional arenas of a democratic polity. From a methodological point of view, these competences will be framed in a systematic knowledge of some useful tools to analyze and diagnose decision-making in political institutions.
b) Applying Knowledge and Learning Skills: this toolkit should allow the student to make analysis of the main decision-making processes concerning with the functioning of a political system, mainly with regards to the Italian political system. The student will learn to examine parties interaction, law making, parliament and government relations, parties' strategies in government coalitions, government decision making, between institutional level and leadership effects. The understanding of these processes will be combined with a relatively good knowledge of the functioning of the Italian political system.
c) Communication Skills: presentation and discussion of case studies in classroom, should allow the student learning to communicate contents and results of the analysis of a given political decision-making to several interlocutors, specialists and non-specialists ones.
b) Applying Knowledge and Learning Skills: this toolkit should allow the student to make analysis of the main decision-making processes concerning with the functioning of a political system, mainly with regards to the Italian political system. The student will learn to examine parties interaction, law making, parliament and government relations, parties' strategies in government coalitions, government decision making, between institutional level and leadership effects. The understanding of these processes will be combined with a relatively good knowledge of the functioning of the Italian political system.
c) Communication Skills: presentation and discussion of case studies in classroom, should allow the student learning to communicate contents and results of the analysis of a given political decision-making to several interlocutors, specialists and non-specialists ones.
Lesson period: First trimester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First trimester
Delivery
The lessons will be held on the Microsoft Teams platform and can be followed only synchronously, based on the ordinary lesson schedule. Further teaching materials, to compensate the impossibility of holding lessons in person, will be available on the ARIEL platform.
Program and reference
The program and reference will not change.
Learning evaluation procedures and assessment criteria
The exam will take place in oral form, using the Microsoft Teams platform.
The lessons will be held on the Microsoft Teams platform and can be followed only synchronously, based on the ordinary lesson schedule. Further teaching materials, to compensate the impossibility of holding lessons in person, will be available on the ARIEL platform.
Program and reference
The program and reference will not change.
Learning evaluation procedures and assessment criteria
The exam will take place in oral form, using the Microsoft Teams platform.
Course syllabus
After an introduction to the fundamental theoretical models for the study of decision-making processes and political institutions, the course will focus on the analysis of the Italian political system, which will be examined from a synchronic and diachronic perspective, as well as in comparison with other Western democracies, starting from its origins and evolution, and with reference to its fundamental structures and the critical junctures it has experienced over time. The monographic part of the course will be dedicated to the study of abstentionism, through the analysis of this phenomenon in the Italian case, investigated in a comparative perspective with other major Western democracies.
The programme is divided into two teaching units (a+b), each lasting twenty hours.
Teaching unit programme (a)
The first teaching unit, which is introductory in nature, illustrates some of the theoretical tools used in the analysis of decision-making processes and the study of political institutions in the context of Western democratic political systems. Particular attention will be paid to the fundamental mechanisms of political actors' behaviour at the micro level, between constraints of social norms and freedom of action in terms of strategic rationality. Reference will be made above all to the decision-making model from the perspective of rational choice theory and other variants of action theory. The analytical aspects of these approaches will be systematically explored with reference to actors, institutions and processes of the political system in the typical context of a democratic polity. The theoretical analysis will be supplemented by a comparative reading of the functioning of the main democratic political systems in the Western world (in addition to Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States).
Teaching Unit Programme (b)
The second teaching unit aims to analyse the functioning of the Italian political system. The different stages of development of the political system and parties will be examined, focusing in particular on their evolution from the post-war period to the last general election: from the approval of the Italian Constitution, through the so-called "Republic of Parties", to the unstable tripolarisation and strong party fragmentation that have characterised recent years, up to the emergence of the current asymmetrical bipolarism, in the context of a now de-institutionalised party system. The course will focus on the behaviour of the actors and the structural characteristics of the fundamental institutional arrangements, highlighting the anomalies and critical issues that have marked the historical experience of our country, from the origins of the unified state to the constituent phase of the republic, up to the present day. Finally, particular attention will be paid to the phenomenon of abstentionism, as a critical issue which, due to its current numerical consistency and the structural nature it is assuming, must now be considered a serious problem for the proper functioning and quality of Italian democracy.
The programme is divided into two teaching units (a+b), each lasting twenty hours.
Teaching unit programme (a)
The first teaching unit, which is introductory in nature, illustrates some of the theoretical tools used in the analysis of decision-making processes and the study of political institutions in the context of Western democratic political systems. Particular attention will be paid to the fundamental mechanisms of political actors' behaviour at the micro level, between constraints of social norms and freedom of action in terms of strategic rationality. Reference will be made above all to the decision-making model from the perspective of rational choice theory and other variants of action theory. The analytical aspects of these approaches will be systematically explored with reference to actors, institutions and processes of the political system in the typical context of a democratic polity. The theoretical analysis will be supplemented by a comparative reading of the functioning of the main democratic political systems in the Western world (in addition to Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States).
Teaching Unit Programme (b)
The second teaching unit aims to analyse the functioning of the Italian political system. The different stages of development of the political system and parties will be examined, focusing in particular on their evolution from the post-war period to the last general election: from the approval of the Italian Constitution, through the so-called "Republic of Parties", to the unstable tripolarisation and strong party fragmentation that have characterised recent years, up to the emergence of the current asymmetrical bipolarism, in the context of a now de-institutionalised party system. The course will focus on the behaviour of the actors and the structural characteristics of the fundamental institutional arrangements, highlighting the anomalies and critical issues that have marked the historical experience of our country, from the origins of the unified state to the constituent phase of the republic, up to the present day. Finally, particular attention will be paid to the phenomenon of abstentionism, as a critical issue which, due to its current numerical consistency and the structural nature it is assuming, must now be considered a serious problem for the proper functioning and quality of Italian democracy.
Prerequisites for admission
None prerequisite is required.
Teaching methods
Frontal lessons, written report and presentations by students, case studies, group discussions, also with the participation of testimonials from the political and institutional world. Teaching integration materials will be available on ARIEL.
Teaching Resources
Teaching unit (a):
1- W.R. Clark, M. Golder e S. Nadanichek Golder, Principi di Scienza politica, II° edizione, Extract from the volume specially prepared for the course Political Institutions and Decision-Making Processes (Prof. L.M. Fasano), McGraw Hill CREATE, McGraw Hill, Milan 2022. Find ISBN code: 9781307822649.
2- G. Pasquino e M. Valbruzzi, Sistemi democratici comparati, il Mulino, Bologna 2025.
Teaching unit (b):
1- N. Addario e L.M. Fasano, Il sistema politico italiano. Origini, evoluzione, struttura, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2019.
2- G. Baldini e A. Pritoni (a cura di), Il sistema politico italiano. Cittadini, attori e istituzioni, Mondadori Università, Milano 2022.
3- P. Natale, L.M. Fasano e R. Biorcio, Schede bianche. Perché gli italiani votano sempre meno, LUISS University Press, Roma 2025.
To supplement the material provided for Teaching Unit (b), if you do not have sufficient historical knowledge of the Italian political system and the evolution of the Italian Republic from the post-war period to the present day, we strongly recommend consulting and studying the following two volumes:
a) G. Mammarella, L'Italia contemporanea (1943-2011), il Mulino, Bologna 2012.
b) R. D'Alimonte e G. Mammarella, L'Italia della svolta (2011-2021), il Mulino, Bologna 2022.
Alternatively, a more concise and highly effective introduction to the history of our country, from the birth of the Republic to the present day, strongly recommended for students attending the course, is:
c) G. Formigoni, Storia essenziale dell'Italia repubblicana, il Mulino, Bologna 2023.
1- W.R. Clark, M. Golder e S. Nadanichek Golder, Principi di Scienza politica, II° edizione, Extract from the volume specially prepared for the course Political Institutions and Decision-Making Processes (Prof. L.M. Fasano), McGraw Hill CREATE, McGraw Hill, Milan 2022. Find ISBN code: 9781307822649.
2- G. Pasquino e M. Valbruzzi, Sistemi democratici comparati, il Mulino, Bologna 2025.
Teaching unit (b):
1- N. Addario e L.M. Fasano, Il sistema politico italiano. Origini, evoluzione, struttura, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2019.
2- G. Baldini e A. Pritoni (a cura di), Il sistema politico italiano. Cittadini, attori e istituzioni, Mondadori Università, Milano 2022.
3- P. Natale, L.M. Fasano e R. Biorcio, Schede bianche. Perché gli italiani votano sempre meno, LUISS University Press, Roma 2025.
To supplement the material provided for Teaching Unit (b), if you do not have sufficient historical knowledge of the Italian political system and the evolution of the Italian Republic from the post-war period to the present day, we strongly recommend consulting and studying the following two volumes:
a) G. Mammarella, L'Italia contemporanea (1943-2011), il Mulino, Bologna 2012.
b) R. D'Alimonte e G. Mammarella, L'Italia della svolta (2011-2021), il Mulino, Bologna 2022.
Alternatively, a more concise and highly effective introduction to the history of our country, from the birth of the Republic to the present day, strongly recommended for students attending the course, is:
c) G. Formigoni, Storia essenziale dell'Italia repubblicana, il Mulino, Bologna 2023.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Oral exam: 20-25 minutes interview aimed at verifying learning of analytical, methodological and interpretative skills aimed at knowing and mastering the decision-making process as it is carried out in the context of political and government institutions, with particular reference to the Italian political systems and its government institutions.
SPS/04 - POLITICAL SCIENCE - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours
Professor:
Fasano Luciano Mario
Professor(s)
Reception:
Students can contact the teacher by e-mail to arrange for day and reception hour. Until the end of March 2025, time options for the reception usually are: Monday (16.30-17.30) and Thursday (15.00-17.00), unless otherwise agreed.
Room 313 - SPS Department of Social and Political Science, 3rd Floor. During Covid-19 Emergency only for my undergraduates and by previous appointment.