https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2025-2026/S_PACCThis course is the final substantive and concluding course of the first year of the Bachelor Political Science. The purpose of the course is to show students how the knowledge of the four classic “subfields” of political science (Comparative Politics, International Relations, Public Administration and Political Theory) taught earlier in this year can help them analyze and understand current political issues (events, developments or contentious issues and debates). In other words, as a (first-year) political scientist, what do you know more than an informed citizen, the general public opinion, political commentators or journalists? The learning objectives are as follows: Knowledge and Understanding.(1) knowledge of relevant facts and background on a range of current political issues;(2) understanding of the relevance, possibilities and limitations of political science concepts, approaches, doctrines and theories for analysis and understanding of these current political issues;Skills(3) quickly and efficiently gather and organize relevant and reliable information on a current issue;(4) the competence to apply more abstract and theoretical political science knowledge to these current issues;Attitude(5) the willingness to critically question and assess both one's own, as well as generally accepted, analyses, interpretations, and conceptions of a current political issue.Each academic year, six current political issues, (developments, issues or events) will be selected as topics for this course. These may include wars, uprisings, elections, discussions of policy or legislative proposals, political crises, major international meetings, or current public discussions. In short: issues that were the focus of national and/or international political news that year. These topics will be announced prior to the course. Students will then be divided into groups of 4-5 students based on their topic preferences as much as possible. There will then be about 4-5 groups for each topic. These groups will be asked to prepare a case report on their topic. The form of that report will be free: a written report, a podcast, or a video. These reports will be presented to fellow students, on the basis of which unanswered questions will be prepared. After submission and joint discussion of the case reports, there will be a guest appearance by one of the program's lecturers who will give his or her view and interpretation of the topic, followed by a Q&A with the students.Presentations on case report by students, guest lecture by lecturers and Q&A with students.Case report, group presentation on the report, and final exam on a case.To be announced in the course manual (see CANVAS)First-year students in the bachelor Political Science: Global PoliticsPreferably succesful completion of all preceding substantive courses.