The student who successfully completes the course will have a good knowledge of contemporary political phenomena, such as party politics; interest groups and policies; third sector and associations and their role in contemporary welfare systems, electoral methods; institutional settings (governments, bureaucracy, parliaments) and policy-making process; international organizations in contemporary democracies. This student will acquire the theoretical and conceptual tools to understand political and social processes and the methodological instruments to analyse them. This type of knowledge will help those students looking for a professional profile to be used in public administrations, political institutions and private organizations which interact with them and/or are involved in public policy arenas.