An exploration of special topics in European comparative politics. The themes and geographic focus vary from year to year. They may include current political institutions and forces, and the historical evolution of the European politics, in both Western and Eastern Europe. Particular attention is given to the legal traditions that gird the institutional frameworks of the countries under study. This course blends an analysis of individual nation states with an examination of the critical issues that confront them all, which are addressed comparatively. It takes account of both the national and transnational factors that affect, and are affected by, politics in Europe—notably European integration and globalization.