Dr. Sarah Bütikofer teaches Introduction to Political Sciences workshop course at ETH Zentrum, Zurich; 1 ECTS point.
Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center
Science and Policy: Introduction to Political Sciences
Lecturer: Dr. Sarah Bütikofer (Department of Political Science, UZH and DeFacto) Location: ETH Zentrum Dates: October 20 and 27, 2026 Credit Points: 1 ECTS
Description:
The workshop is designed to empower students to engage with the way political and social scientists think.
It offers an introduction to politics in a globalised world, with a focus on how political science tries to understand and explain cross-country and cross-time differences. The lectures concentrate on political behaviour, institutions, and actors, focusing mainly on democratic and partially democratic countries. Students will learn about the influence of political actors on decision-making processes, political institutions and political outcome.
The group works are as important as the lectures. The students are asked to participate actively in all kind of group work and mutual learning forms. In addition, small groups of students will prepare a poster (exposition) in order to obtain the ECTS point. Aims and objectives: The main aims of this course are to: • introduce students to the main differences between democratic and non- democratic regimes • explain how political institutions work • explain how political behaviour and institutions shape policy outcomes • prepare students to achieve further knowledge of political processes The course is divided into the following main sections:
• Section A: Thinking like a political scientist • Section B: Democracies in the World & Democratic backslinding • Section C: In-class assignment “Case study: Adopt a country”
Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center
Individual Performance and Assessment: In order to obtain the 1 ECTS point, the participants are required to prepare a poster, a handout and to actively participate in the discussions during the course days.
Prior Knowledge: None
Number of Participants: Participation is limited to 20 people.
Lecturer: Dr. Sarah Bütikofer studied political science and international law at the University of Zurich and at the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. She was a lecturer and research assistant at the Universities of Zurich and Geneva and received her PhD in political science from the University of Zurich in 2011. She is based at the University of Zurich as editor of “DeFacto.expert”. DeFacto.expert is the online journal of the political science departments in Switzerland with the aim of making political science research more visible to a wider audience. Sarah teaches Swiss politics and communicating science in various institutions and is also a project partner at Sotomo, where she has contributed to various studies on Swiss politics and society.