Master courses

One of the core LawTransform’s activities is using knowledge produced by research projects based at the centre to improve courses taught at the University of Bergen. On this page you will find the course program and reading list for such courses, at the master’s level.


COURSES SPRING 2022

JUS286-2-A/AORG216: Constitution and Politics (University of Bergen, Faculty of Law and Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Administration and Organization Theory)

This is a course of lectures and seminars for MA and advanced BA students.

The course is an interdisciplinary project between the Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Administration and Organization Theory and the Faculty of Law, and addresses the topic both from a legal and a social science perspective.

The lectures will be given by teachers from both faculties, as well as invited guests. The aim is to bring together students who share the same interest or constitutional matters in the conjunction between law and politics, but who rarely meet in the spaces created by the university.

The course introduces students to ongoing research on central aspects of
constitutional development and bring students up to date on the frontiers
of research and literature in the field, encourages active participation and
independent thinking in engaging with the issues, and provide a forum for
students to exchange ideas and reflections. Through this course the student
will gain an overview of the research literature on constitutionalism and the relationship between rule of law and democracy in Norway and compared with other countries. A constitution is an outcome of political activity, and at the same time it constitutes rules and arenas for politics, establishing the boundaries for all branches of the state, including the parliament, the central administrative apparatus and the courts. The students will engage with the main theoretical perspectives to understand the dilemmas involved in securing the rule of law in a modern state, and the checks and balances between the executive, the legislator and the courts. This is done though group work and engagement with art and film, in addition to guest lectures and seminars.

Language of teaching: English

ECTS Credits: 10,00

Start: Spring semester 2022

Course plan: here

Reading list: here (NB: Reading list for spring 2021)


COURSES SPRING 2021

Lawfare: Law as Political Strategy (University of Bergen – Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Comparative Politics)

This is a course of seminar discussions, guest lectures and group work. The course offers an introduction to the debates on the potential and limits of law as an instrument of social change, and opportunities to engage with international research projects currently seeking better answers to these questions and will include guest lectures by prominent scholars. The course will be offered at irregular intervals.

Language of teaching: English

ECTS Credits: 10,00

Start: Spring semester 2021

Understanding Backlash Against Democracy (University of Bergen – Faculty of Law and Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Comparative Politics)

Description:

This is a course of literature seminars and workshop/writing seminars. Across the globe, democracy is challenged in ways that challenge the scholarly literature on democratic development. Breaking Bad: Understanding Backlash Against Democracy is a graduate research seminar focusing on theoretical and empirical analyses of the state of democracy in the world today, with a particular emphasis on new democracies in the global south. The graduate course project aims to develop a rigorous empirical basis for understanding the scope, causes, responses to and effects of the backlash against democracy. The course is structured around four distinctive democratic rights clusters, contestation rights, associational rights, gender rights and rule of law (judicial independence). To each rights dimension, we will present and discuss central theoretical arguments and empirical applications. The course is offered at irregular intervals.

Language of teaching: English

ECTS Credits: 10,00

Start: Spring semester 2021


To find out more about previous courses, email mathea.loen@uib.no