The Costa Rican Political System International Relations & Business Program Fall 2018 Semester - San Jose

In this course, the Costa Rican political system is analyzed, with emphasis on the origin, the evolution and the current state of democracy. It facilitates for the student the permanent critical assessment of today´s political system from the perspective of the democratic ideal, in order to thus determine how close or far the country is in this regard, under a dynamic approach and with a long-term view, facing the celebration of the bicentennial. In the course, the students study in depth the historical evolution of the long transition to democracy in Costa Rica, as well as the challenges that are currently present not only in political terms, but also economic, social, environmental and cultural. Through the analysis of current issues in the blog, and the in-depth group research of the problems that democracy faces, the students identify and discuss the main challenges for the improvement and strengthening of Costa Rican democracy, in such a way that they will exhibit their competence to contribute to the improvement of the democratic quality of the Costa Rican political system through their critical and purposeful assessment. Although professional people in social sciences display their analytical skills, especially in the context of the international dynamics, they should also identify and assess the basic elements of how the political systems work in general and on a national level, and especially the democratic ones. This because, in the end, the logic that drives the subjects in the international context, is directly related, when not determined, by the internal situations of each country. In addition, the student analyzes the internal political factors that sustain, finally, the foreign policy of Costa Rica, based on which they can critically discuss, with propriety, not only the country´s actions in international policy, particularly with regard to issues that it has historically promoted and is expected to position in the international agenda (human rights, democracy, disarmament, among others), but also propose alternate routes of foreign policy.