Admission requirements
This course is only available for students in the BA International Studies programme.
Limited places are also open for exchange students.
Please note: this course takes place in The Hague. Traveling between University buildings from Leiden to The Hague may take about 45 minutes.
Description
As the United States marks its 250th anniversary this academic year, Politics: NA (NAP) offers a timely and critical examination of the U.S. political system and the enduring debates that have shaped and challenged the American democratic experiment. The class attempts to balance a concentration on contemporary issues in U.S. politics with a historical overview that furnishes essential context to help explain American political developments and issues today. How do we start to explain the current American predicament?
We will explore how the U.S. Constitution’s original framework has been interpreted and contested over two and a half centuries, focusing on institutions, political behavior, and policy development. Students will engage with the evolution of American democracy and its persistent tensions around representation, rights, and governance. Topics include the intersection of political development with race, class, and gender, as well as key issues such as civil rights, civil liberties, and economic (in)equality.
We will examine the structure and behavior of the formal institutions of government, Congress, the presidency, and the courts, as well as federalism and the important role of states. The course also explores the development of political parties and their influence on governance. Through analysis of landmark legislation, Supreme Court decisions, and key political debates, students will investigate how power is exercised, how policies are made, and how citizens influence political outcomes. In doing so, you will reflect on the character of the American political order: its peculiarities, its drama, its inmost contradictions.
Unique among Area courses, tutorials center on a thematic exploration of environmental democracy in the United States. Students will apply insights from lectures and readings to investigate how public authorities and local communities have responded to the challenges of the "Great Acceleration" and climate change. Through a Virtual Exchange, students will collaborate with students in the United States to explore how distinctive forms of environmental democracy have emerged, engaging in shared research, co-writing, and structured online dialog that challenges and expands their environmental worldviews.
NAP invites students to reflect critically on the legacy and trajectory of American democracy at a pivotal historical moment. The instructors believe that studying U.S. politics offers a uniquely powerful lens for understanding the turbulence of our times and for exploring political tensions and transformations that resonate far beyond U.S. borders.
Course objectives
Students develop a critical understanding of the U.S. political system and its constitutional foundations.
Students analyze how American institutions and political behavior have evolved over time.
Students examine key issues in American political development, including race, rights, representation, and inequality.
Students apply theoretical and historical insights to contemporary political debates and policy challenges.
Students collaborate on a Virtual Exchange project focused on environmental democracy in the United States.
Students learn how to write a literature review (2,500 words) and become acquainted with academic debates on topics related to both lectures and tutorials.
Students critically engage with advanced academic texts.
Students apply theories, concepts and research techniques relevant to the field of politics.
Students reflect on the legacy and future of American democracy in the context of its 250th anniversary.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
Mode of instruction
Lectures
Lectures are held every week, with the exception of the midterm exam week. Weekly lectures will cover issues both inside and outside the readings.
Tutorials
Tutorials are held once every three weeks, with the exception of the midterm exam week. Attending all tutorial sessions is compulsory. If you are unable to attend a session, please inform your Tutorial-lecturer in advance. Being absent at more than one of the tutorial sessions will result in a lowering of your tutorial grade (40% of the end grade) with 1 point for each session missed after the first session. Please note that being absent at any tutorial session may have a negative impact on the grade of the assignment due for that particular tutorial session. This is at the discretion of the Tutorial-lecturer.
Assessment method
Assessment
Midterm Exam:
Written examination with a combination of some MC questions, short-answer questions, as well as longer-answer questions.Final Exam:
Written examination with a combination of some MC questions, short-answer questions, as well as longer-answer questions.
Weighing
| Partial grade | Weighing |
|---|---|
| Tutorials | 40% |
| Midterm Exam | 30% |
| Final Exam | 30% |
End Grade
To successfully complete the course, please take note of the following:
The end grade of the course is established by determining the weighted average of Tutorial grade, Midterm Exam grade, and Final Exam grade.
The weighted average of the Midterm Exam grade and the Final Exam grade needs to be 5.5 or higher.
This means that failing Exam grades cannot be compensated with a high Tutorial grade.
Resit
If the end grade is insufficient (lower than a 6.0), or the weighted average of Midterm- and Final Exams is lower than 5.5, there is a possibility of retaking the full 60% of the exam material, replacing both the earlier Midterm- and Final Exam grades. No resit for the tutorial is possible.
Please note that if the Resit Exam grade is lower than 5.5, you will not pass the course, regardless of the tutorial grade.
Retaking a passing grade
Please consult the Course and Examination Regulations 2025 – 2026.
Exam review and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organised.
Reading list
To be announced.
Registration
- Enrolment through My Studymap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Registration Exchange
For the registration of exchange students contact Humanities International Office.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Student Affairs Office for BA International Studies
Remarks
All other information.