Please note: At your instructor's discretion,
there may be minor alterations to the reading
assignments listed below. One of the major advantages to
providing you with an on-line readings archive is that
timely articles can be added or substituted when
appropriate. Opening documents downloaded from this
website will require that your computer have
Acrobat Reader . You will also need the
class-specific password to open individual files.
Introduction to the study of comparative
politics
Topic 1 (8/22)—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:
Topic 2 (8/24)—How and why do we
compare countries and regions?
What concepts, reading, and information
do you need to understand well to prepare for your first
exam that will happen in a month or so? Take a look at
the focus questions (i.e., the draft study guide that is in
the the handouts file (PPTs->Unit 1 materials) linked
from the course homepage).
O'Neil, Essentials, Chp. 1. Go
here if your book hasn't arrived yet.
Unit 1: How Can the Advanced
Industrial Democracies Adapt to the Opportunities and
Challenges of Globalization?
Topic 1 (8/29, 8/31):
What makes a country an advanced democracy and where do
they differ?
-
O'Neil, Essentials, Chp. 5 "Democratic
Regimes" (This is the last sample chapter that
will be posted. You should have books by now), but if
there is a temporary delay, see Prof. Setzler for
assistance). Read this chapter closely (using your
study guide as a indicator of what you need to know)
except for the section on "Contemporary
Democratization," which will be discussed in detail in
the last course unit. What you should be primarily
interested in learning about in thischapter is how the
key institutions of democracy--federalism, elections,
presidential/parliamentary systems, etc.--differ.
-
Terry Lynn Karl and Philippe C. Schmitter, “What
Democracy Is…and Is Not
” (Journal of Democracy, 1991, 12pp). Review
what the authors see as required for a nation to be
considered democratic (similar ideas are in
"Democratic Regimes), and carefuly examine some of the
major wasy that modern democracies differ (starting on
page 83).
-
O’Neil, Essentials,
“Developed Democracies.” Become familiar with what
defines an advanced democracy. Although, we will
mostly dig into these ideas on the the next topic,
please pay close 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.
You do not need to dig deeply into the material on the
European Union.
Topic 2 (9/5, 9/7)—
What is globalization, and why does it seem to be making
so many people unhappy in the advanced industrial
democracies?
For Tuesday:
-
O’Neil, Essentials, Chapter
11, “Globalization and the Future of Comparative
Politics.” Just read the sections on what
globalization is.
-
The Economist, "An Open and Shut Case" (2016,
5pp)
-
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 reading. Read this
article quickly if you are interested in this article,
focusing on what Pharr and Putnam see as the causes
behind the problems 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). It is interesting
to note that these political scientists were
anticipating today's problems nearly 20 years ago).
Topic 3 (9/12)—How
and why is power so centralized in Britain's democracy?
Topic 4 (9/14)—Does
Great Britain need a constitutional
revolution, devolution, or "independence" to better deal
with today's challenges?
Topic 5 (9/18)—Why did advanced democracy come so late
to Germany? What's so special about its democratic
choices and system?
Topic 6 (9/20)—Is Germany still a
model for modern democracy as it deals with
globalization?
Tuesday,
September 26: In-class examination 1. Make sure
to review the
handout with focus questions for the test.
Topic 7 (9/28)—A recap of the
challenges that globalization is posing for the advanced
industrial democracies
Unit 2: The rise, evolution,
and decline of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes
Reminder: Wednesday,
October 4: Analytical essay #1 is due at 5pm. Per
the syllabus, all papers must be submitted in either MS
Word or PDF format. The electronic copy must be submitted
as an attached document to:
psc2510fall2017@sendtodropbox.com. An exact
hard copy of the paper is due at the start of class on
Thursday, October 5.
Topic 1 (10/3)—How do
nondemocratic regimes vary, and why is it getting harder
over time for tyrants to cling to power?
Wednesday,
October 4: Analytical essay #1 is due at 5pm.
Per the syllabus, all papers must be submitted in either
MS Word or PDF format. The electronic copy must be
submitted as an attached document to: psc2510fall2017@sendtodropbox.com
An exact hard copy of the paper is the start of class
on Thursday, October 5.
Topic
2 (10/5) —Why do
revolutions aiming to improve life for everyday people
almost always go brutally wrong?
Topic 3 (10/10)
—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?
Topic 4 (10/12) —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?
No Classes on October 17 and 19: Fall Break
Topic 5 (10/24, 10/26)—Why isn’t democracy
emerging in Russia, and how do the autocrats like
Vladimir Putin stay in power despite holding elections?
-
What does democracy look like in
Russia?:
https://freedomhouse.org/report/nations-transit/2015/russia
. Just read the document's main findings, which
run from the start of the document up to page 533 (3
pages). When later writing your essay on this unit,
you may want to dig a little deeper for more examples
of how the Kremlin abuses democracy in Russia.
-
Russia's completely ignored "Bill of
Rights" (and it lists lots of rights, not just
liberties as is mostly the case with our version of
this document":
http://www.constitution.ru/en/10003000-03.htm
. What do they promise their citizens that we don't?
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.
- Optional because it was a late add (but very useful
for your paper): The Economist, "Enter Tsar Vladimir"
(The Economist, 2017, 3pp)
Topic 6 (10/31)—How successful have Iranian
leaders been in institutionalizing their revolutionary
ideals? How does government work in a modern
“theocracy”?
Topic 7 (11/2)—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 7: Unit 2
Examination in class. The instructions
for Unit 2's paper have been distributed in class; a copy
is available in the PPT-Assignment file.
Unit 3: The challenges of development and
democratization
Topic 1 (11/9):
Why do some countries stay poor when others do not?
Domestic theories of development and underdevelopment
-
I have posed the
instructions for your last essay assignment of the
term, It is due at the start of our last regular
class meeting.
The assignment instructions can be reviewed here
. Please don't leave this assignment to the last
minute.
-
I also have posted a draft set of focus questions for
the third course unit. Any changes during the unit
will be noted in bold. Based on the pace that material
have been covered in previous terms, it may well be
the case that we do not cover India in as much detail
as the focus questions suggest,
Monday, November 13—
Analytical essay #2 is due
at 5pm. Per the syllabus, all papers must be
submitted in either MS Word or PDF format. The electronic
copy must be submitted as an attached document to:
psc2510fall2017@sendtodropbox.com. An exact
hard copy of the paper is due at the start of class on
Tuesday, November 14.
Topic 2 (11/14):
Why do some countries become and stay democratic?
What is the relationship between economic
development and democratization?
Topic 3 (11/16, 11/21)—
How and why has Chinese socialism,
totalitarianism, and authoritarianism differed from the
Russian experience? How did China's approach to economic
development change its politics after communism under
Mao?
-
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 (11/28, 11/30)—
Can the CCP hold on to power over the long run?
Will continued economic growth and more international
power end up making China democratic ?
Last class day (12/5)—Course wrap
up
-
Your opinion essay is due.
The assignment instructions can be reviewed here
. Please note, to receive full
credit for this assignment, you will need to upload it
to a designated website so that it can be reviewed by
members of the college's GBS committee.
Final examination: The
final exam will be administered in the three-hour period
designated by the university, which is 12-3 pm on
Saturday, December 9. As noted in the syllabus, the final
exam is worth one quarter of your course grade. Early
examinations will not be given.
The test will be administered in two parts. The first,
which is designed to be completed in about an hour, covers
just the third course unit. The format of this part of
your exam will be identical to the tests you took after
the first two units. The second, which is worth one-third
of the test score, will be a long essay question on a
topic that will be distributed on the last day of class.
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