Topic 1 (8/23)—What will you learn in this course?

Right after our first class, please take an hour or so to review several on-line handouts that will help you to get the most out of this course:

• A handout on how your class participation grade will be assigned 

• A handout on how your papers will be graded. You should also take a look at the matching grade sheet I use to give you feedback on written work.

• A handout explaining how grades on test questions and in-class essays are assigned.

• A handout explaining the citation requirements you will have for all take-home essays

• The High Point University Honor Code. Please carefully read the section on academic integrity.

Topic 2 (8/25)—How and why do we compare countries and regions?

• O'Neil, Essentials, Chp. 1 "Introduction." Temporary link until our textbook's arrive; remember to use the password to open

• O'Neil, Essentials, Chp. 2 "States." Skim or skip entirely the sections on "The Origins of Political Organization" and "The Rise of the Modern State." Temporary link until our textbook's arrive; remember to use the password to open

Unit 1: How Can the Advanced Industrial Democracies Better Adapt to the Opportunities and Challenges of Globalization?

Topic 1 (8/30): What makes a country an advanced democracy and where do they differ?

• O'Neil, Essentials, Chp. 5 "Democratic Regimes" Temporary link until our textbook's arrive; remember to use the password to open. Read this chapter very closely except for the section on "Contemporary Democratization," which will be discussed in detail in the last course unit. 

• Terry Lynn Karl and Philippe C. Schmitter, “What Democracy Is…and Is Not ” (Journal of Democracy, 1991, 12pp). Focus on what the authors' see as required for a nation to be considered democratic

• If you want to get a jump, read Essentials' chapter 8 on several of the main challenges facing the Advanced Industrial Democracies, which will be discussed mostly on Tuesday.

Topic 2 (9/1, 9/6)—What is globalization and why is it making so many people unhappy in the advanced industrial democracies?

• http://rankingamerica.wordpress.com: Most of the data on this site obviously has no relevance to our course, but please take a look at please take a look at the various charts related educational performance, economic freedom, economic inequality, happiness, healthcare, and other issues that are important when comparing the performance of governments around the world. In what areas is the US a model of excellence? Are there areas where we might consider exploring how other countries do things?

• O’Neil, Essentials, “Advanced Democracies.” While you want to be familiar with the whole chapter and what defines an advanced democracy, please pay closest attention to the later parts of the chapter that examine how post-materialism, post-industrialization, globalization, and political unrest are stressing these types of political systems. 

• O’Neil, Essentials, Chapter 11, “Globalization and the Future of Comparative Politics.” Just read the sections on what globalization is. 

• Roberto Stefan Foa and Yascha Mounk, "The Democratic Disconnect" (Journal of Democracy 2016, 14pp)

• "What's Gone Wrong with Democracy?" (The Economist, 2014, 12pp)

• Charles Kupchan, "The Democratic Malaise" (Foreign Affairs, 2012, 6pp).

• Optional. Read very quickly, focusing on what Pharr and Putnam see as the causes behind the issues that seem to be impacting all advanced democracies: Susan J. Pharr, Robert Putnam, and Russell Dalton, "A Quarter-Century of Declining Confidence" (Journal of Democracy, 2000, 21pp)

Topic 3 (9/8)—How and why is power so centralized in Britain's democracy?

• O’Neil, et al. Cases, “United Kingdom.” Just read the sections on British political history and the structure of its main political institutions. 

• Uri Dadush, "A Tale of Two Polities" (Current History 2010, 3pp)

• Optional: The Blair: Inside Story, Part One (59 min.); Part Two (59 min)

Topic 4 (9/13 - 9/20)—Does Great Britain need a constitutional revolution, devolution, or "independence" to better deal with today's challenges? If you want to get a jump on materials that we will be covering next week:

• The rest of O'Neil, et al.'s UK chapter

• Vernon Bogdanor, "The Historic Legacy of Tony Blair" (Current History, 2007, 7pp). Focus most intently on Blair's "third way" and on the first few pages that outline changes to Britain's "constitution" during the period in which Labour was in power.

• Stephen Tierney and Katie Boyle, "Yes or No, 2014's Scotland Referendum Carries Significant Constitutional Implications" (Democratic Audit 2014, 4pp). Tedious reading for sure, but focus on what it means when a country leaves the UK or the UK leaves the EU.

• The Economist, "UK RIP?" (Economist, 2014, 3pp)

• "Britain's One Party State" (Economist 2016, 2pp)

• Some very short Brexit readings. Optional (late add): Jonathan Hopkin, "The Populist Rage Fueling the Referendum" (Foreign Affairs, 2016, 3 pp)

• Please note that Donald Trump will be visiting campus on 9/20. Students who wish to attend his rally, a protest presentation, or both may do so without the absence being noted because the issues that are being covered in these activities are directly relevant to this course and the unit we are covering. 

• I have posted your Unit 1 paper topic. Make sure to read through these materials very carefully before you begin to write (which you should do after we have finished the materials on Germany). You also should review the grading criteria for papers before you start writing. To help you in self-assessing your work, you should download my essay grading rubric so that you know exactly what the expectations for this assignment are.

Topic 5 (9/22)—Why did democracy come so late to Germany? What's so special about its democratic choices and system? Can it still be a model for modern democracy as it deal with globalization. 

• O’Neil, et al. Cases, “Germany.”

• James L. Payne, "Did the United States Create Democracy in Germany?" (Independent Review, 2016, 13pp)

• J Maximilian Müller-Härlin, "Germany's Indecisive Election" (Contemporary Review, 2005, 6pp.). This is a tedious and outdated reading, but one that gives examples of a real problem in multi-party parliamentary democracies. Just focus on what happens in parliamentary systems if no party wins a majority in the election.  What do you think about a system where voters do not have a direct say in what combination of parties will govern after an election?

• A quick summary of German social policy (focus on the measures for and descriptions of "Social Policy," "Education," "Social Inclusion," "Health Policy," and "Families":
  http://www.sgi-network.org/2016/Germany/Social_Policies 
  For comparison, look at:
  http://www.sgi-network.org/2016/United_Kingdom/Social_Policies
  and 
  http://www.sgi-network.org/2016/United_States/Social_Policies

• Eamonn Fingleton, "Germany's Economic Engine" (The American Prospect, 3pp)

• Dirk Kurbjuweit, "Germany Enters a Dangerous New Political Era" (Der Spiegel, 2016, 5pp)

• German politics is turning into a six-party system (The Economist, 2016, 3pp)

• See above: Your paper topic for the unit is posted

Tuesday, 9/27: Unit 1 Examination in class

Monday, October 3—Unit 1 Essay due in hard copy by 5pm. Make sure to read through the topic and instructions very carefully. You also should review the grading criteria for papers in this class before you start. More comments on this assignment are note above.

Unit 2: The Rise, Evolution, and Perhaps Decline of Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes

Topic 1 (9/29)—How do nondemocratic regimes vary, and why is it getting harder over time for tyrants to cling to power?

• O’Neil, Essentials of Comparative Politics, Chapter 6, “Nondemocratic Regimes”

• Andreas Schedler, "Authoritarianism's Last Line of Defense" (Journal of Democracy, 2010, 12pp)

Topic 2 (10/4)—Why do revolutions aiming to improve life for everyday people almost always go brutally wrong?

• Howard Handleman: "Revolutionary Change" [2006, through page 208 only (i.e., print pdf pages 1-7)]

• Textbook chp. on revolutionary states and totalitarianism. 

Topic 3 (10/6)—How and why did Karl Marx’s vision of communist equality turn into totalitarianism in most settings that adopted central command economies and a Marxist-Leninist political system?

• O’Neil, Essentials of Comparative Politics, “Communism and Post-Communism”

• The Economist, “The Strange Case of Karl and Adolf” (1999, 6pp)

Topic 4 (10/11 - 10/13) —What role did Soviet communism play in leading Russia to become one of the world’s strongest states, and why has its fall been so difficult for everyday Russians?

• O’Neil, et al. Cases, “Russia”

• Jeffrey Taylor, “Russia is Finished” (Atlantic Monthly, 2001, 12pp) 

• Putin's Way (PBS Frontline, 2015, 55 min):
  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/putins-way/. This is for Thursday's class, but you may want to watch it over the weekend before this class rather than juggling it and two articles for Thursday. 

Topic 5 (10/15)—Why isn’t democracy emerging in Russia, and how do the autocrats like Vladimir Putin stay in power despite holding elections?

• Russia's completely ignored "Bill of Rights": http://www.constitution.ru/en/10003000-03.htm. What does this tell you about the globalization of democratic norms and how old our Constitution is?

• Lilia Shevtsova, "Forward to the Past in Russia" (Journal of Democracy, 2015, 15pp)

• Ivan Krastev and Stephen Homes, "An Autopsy of Managed Democracy" (Journal of Democracy, 2012, 13pp). This article was written at a low point of political support for Putin. 

No Classes on October 18 or October 20: Fall Break

Topic 6 (10/25)—How successful have Iranian leaders been in institutionalizing their revolutionary ideals? How does government work in a modern “theocracy”?

• A quick primer (13:40min) An engaging John Green lecture on the Iranian Revolution):
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w4Ku6l7OEI 

• Laura Secor, "From Shaw to Supreme Leader," (Foreign Affairs , Jan/Feb 2014 Issue)

• O’Neil, et al. Cases, “Iran.”

Topic 7 (10/27) —Iran: A model for Middle-Eastern democracy or a political dead end for reform?

• Abbas Milani, "Iran's Paradoxical Regime" (Journal of Democracy, 2015, 8pp)

• The Economist, "The Revolution is Over" (2014, 16pp)

• Karl Vick, "Is Iran Finally Ready to Change" (Time, 2015, 6pp)

• Optional: Akbar Ganji, "Who Is Ali Khamenei? The Worldview of Iran's Supreme Leader" (Foreign Affairs, 2012, 8pp)

Tuesday, November 3: Unit 2 Examination in class

Friday, November 11—Unit 2 Essay due in hard copy by 5pm. Make sure to read through the topic and instructions very carefully. You also should review the grading criteria for papers in this class before you start. More comments on this assignment are note above.

Topic 1 (11/8, 11/10): Why do some countries stay poor when others do not? Domestic theories of development and underdevelopment

• I have posted the topic and instructions for your last paper of the term. It is due the last day of class, but you are welcome to submit it earlier in the term if you would like.

• 200 years of development history in a four minutes or so: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo

• O’Neil, Essentials of Comparative Politics, “Developing Countries”

• Measuring development: Robert Wade, “Global Inequality: Winners and Losers” (the Economist, 2001, 5pp)

• Why so many people still live in poverty?: Niall Ferguson, “The Least Among Us” (A review of Paul Collier’s The Bottom Billion).

• How part of the "third world" has figured development out: The Economist, "Climbing Back" (2006, 4pp)

• Optional, but very interesting:
  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/01/15/40-charts-that-explain-the-world/ 

Topic 2 (11/15): Why do some countries become and stay democratic? What is the relationship between economic development and democratization?

• Textbook chapter on Democracy and Development, 2013, 36pp.  

• Reread an outtake from O’Neil, Essentials of Comparative Politics, “Democratic Regimes” (Only review the section on "Contemporary Democratization": pp. 143-148.)

• Joseph T. Siegle, et al., “Why Democracies Excel” (Foreign Affairs, 2004, 14pp)

• Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and George W. Downs, "Development and Democracy" (Foreign Affairs, 2005, 5pp)

Topic 3 (11/17)—How and why has Chinese socialism, totalitarianism, and authoritarianism differed from the Russian experience? How did its approach to economic development cahnge its politics after communism under Mao?

• O’Neil, et al. Cases, “China.”

• Watch the secon installment ("1949-1976," roughly two hours of "Born Under the Red Flag" (from a six-part documentary: China, A Century of Revolution):
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZLYKnQ8c4Q
  The film covers Mao's totalitarian rule of China. Other sections of installments of the documentary are available on YouTube if you are interested. 

Topic 4 (11/22)—Can the CCP hold on to power over the long run? Will continued economic growth and more international power end up making China democratic? 

• Zhenhua Su, Hui Zhao, and Jingkai He. "Authoritarianism and Contestation" (Journal of Democracy, 2013, 15pp)

• Andrew J. Nathan, "Foreseeing the Unforeseeable" (Journal of Democracy, 2013, 6pp)

• James Fallows, "China's Great Leap Backwards" (The Atlantic, 2016, 8pp).

• Optional: Suisheng Zhao, "Xi Jinping's Maoist Revival" (Journal of Democracy, 2016, 15pp)

Tuesday, November 22, No class; Thanksgiving Break. 

(11/29)—China, cont.

Topic 5, 6 (12/2)—Making India's Democracy ; Balancing Democracy and Development in India

• O’Neil, et al. Cases, “India” (Chapter 9). 

• Ashutosh Varshney, "India's Democratic Challenge" (Foreign Affairs, 2007, 6pp)

• Roberto Zagha, "India's Inequality: An Uneasy Reconciliation with Economic Growth" (Current History, 2016, 9pp)

• Optional: "Arvind Rajagopal, The Rise of Hindu Populism in India’s Public Sphere" (Current History, 2016, 7pp)

Last class day (12/6)—Course wrap up

• Tuesday, December 6: Your opinion essay is due by email and in hard copy by the start of our last class period. Make sure to read through the topic and instructions very carefully. Please note that you are welcome to turn this essay in earlier in the term if you would like.

Thursday, December 8, Noon—3: Final examination. Your three-hour final test will be taken during the university-scheduled exam period. By college policy, students must take the exam during the regularly scheduled period. Early exams will not be administered.