Principles of Comparative Politics Political Science 250

Transcription

1 Principles of Comparative Politics Political Science 250 Instructor: Quinn Mecham Office: Kimball Tower (KMBL) 770 and Kennedy Center (HRCB) 203 Office Phone: address: Office hours: 3:00-4:30 pm Mondays and Wednesdays in 770 KMBL 1:00-2:30 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays in 203 HRCB NOTE: Office hours during these times are by appointment. Please me to schedule a meeting time during the office hours above. Meetings are scheduled in 15- minute intervals. If you need more time, please sign-up for more than one slot. Teaching Assistant: Brynne Townley b.townley24@gmail.com Office hours to be announced in class Introduction: This course provides an introduction to the comparative study of political systems and to the logic of comparative inquiry. During the course, we will address the following questions: What is comparative politics? What are the characteristics of a state? How have states emerged in the global system? How do class, ideology, and nationalism influence politics? What do the variety of political institutions and regimes look like? How do regimes change? Why do some regimes transition to democracy? Why are some countries rich and others poor? How do political institutions shape patterns of economic development? What are the varieties of ways people participate in politics? How do social movements and civil society affect politics? Why does politics sometimes become violent? How does identity shape political participation? How does globalization affect the state? 1

2 We will address these questions by looking both at general theoretical approaches in comparative politics, and through the study of empirical examples of these issues in a variety of countries around the globe. Required texts: The following texts are available at the college bookstore and are on reserve at the library. 1) Patrick O'Neil and Ronald Rogowski Essential Readings in Comparative Politics, 5th edition. Norton. 2) David B. Abernethy The Dynamics of Global Dominance. Yale. 3) Arend Lijphart Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries, 2 nd edition. Yale. 4) Nelson Mandela Long Walk to Freedom. Back Bay Books. 5) Robert Putnam Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton. 6) Thomas Friedman From Beirut to Jerusalem, revised edition. Random House. Note: We will read substantive portions of these books, but will not read all of each book. You may prefer to make individual copies of the selected readings from the copies on course reserve. All of these texts are available at the college bookstore and are on course reserve for limited check-out at the Harold B. Lee Library. Additional readings marked (reserve) are available under the content tab on Learning Suite. Requirements: Regular attendance at class and the reading of assigned materials is expected. In addition, weekly informal writing assignments, two response papers (5-page limit each), and two exams are required. Grades will be calculated as follows: Informal writing and participation: 20% Response papers: 30% (15% each) Mid-term exam: 20% Final exam: 30% 2

3 Informal writing and participation: Students are expected to post informal writing to the course website 15 times during the semester. Each regular week of class there will be a discussion question posted online that either asks you to respond to a core question raised in class or to the weekly readings (in 1-2 paragraphs). There are also four opportunities to respond to film screenings. This makes a total of 18 opportunities for informal writing, of which you should complete at least 15. Weekly writing assignments should be posted online in your working group sections by Thursday at noon. Responses to film screenings are due at noon on the day the screening is designated on the syllabus. These postings will help frame our discussion during working group activities. Active participation in class and in working groups is expected. Instructions for accessing the course website and for accessing the films will be provided in class. Simulation: Students will participate in a state-building simulation in class over the course of the semester. Participation in the simulation is expected, and will begin during the third week of the course. Simulation participation will be included in the participation grade. A simulation schedule and other details will be provided in the first few weeks of the course. Response papers: One response paper is due during the first half of the course, on or before October 11. The second response paper is due during the second half of the course, on or before December 13. You should submit your paper on Learning Suite prior to the start of class on the day we discuss the readings in your paper. The papers should be no more than 5 double-spaced pages in length and should be a response to the assigned readings for one of class periods up to the due date. Each response paper should have a clear argument that focuses the paper. You should briefly address the following questions in the process of making your argument: What are the main arguments of the readings for the chosen date? What evidence do the authors use to make their arguments? Do you agree with the arguments? Why or why not? What are the political implications of your (and the authors ) arguments? Note that you do not have to address all of the readings on the syllabus for that date, nor do you need to address each reading equally. You should respond to more than one of the readings, however, and integrate the arguments of the authors into your response. Exam dates: Mid-term: Tuesday October 16 (in class) Final exam: Wednesday December 19 3:00-6:00pm (280 KMBL) Late policy: All response papers should be submitted on Learning Suite before class on the day the relevant readings will be discussed. All late papers will be docked a portion of the grade for each day that they are late (e.g., from B+ to B). No late papers will be 3

4 accepted after the final exam. Exams will not be given at any other time than those scheduled except for extraordinary circumstances. COURSE SCHEDULE T September 4 Course Introduction TH September 6 What is Comparative Politics? Patrick O Neil, Introduction, in Cases in Comparative Politics, 4 th ed., pp (Reserve) Mark Lichbach and Alan Zuckerman, Research Traditions and Theory in Comparative Politics: An Introduction, from Comparative Politics, pp. 4-9 in Arend Lijphart Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method, American Political Science Review 65:3 (September), pp (Reserve). John Stuart Mill, Of the Four Methods of Experimental Inquiry, pp in O Neil and Rogowski T September 11 The Science in Political Science Karl R. Popper "Philosophy of Science: A Personal Report." In British Philosophy in the Mid-Century: A Cambridge Symposium, ed. C.A. Mace. London: George Allen and Unwin, pp (Reserve) Thomas S. Kuhn "The Function of Dogma in Scientific Research." In Scientific Change: Historical Studies in the Intellectual, Social and Technical Conditions for Scientific Discovery and Technical Invention, from Antiquity to the Present, ed. A.C. Crombie. New York: Basic Books, pp (Reserve) Gary King, Robert Keohane, and Sidney Verba, The Science in Social Science, from Designing Social Inquiry, pp in Ronald Rogowski, The Rise of Experimentation in Political Science, pp in 4

5 TH September 13 The State and its Functions Aristotle. The Politics, pp Translated by Peter Phillips Simpson. UNC Press, (Reserve) Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation, pp in Francis Fukuyama, The Necessity of Politics, Chapter 1 in The Origins of Political Order, pp (Reserve) Read the September 13 New York Times (available on-line or in hard copy at the Kennedy Center) and write down all the functions of the state you see discussed within T September 18 The Emergence of the Modern State Charles Tilly, Cities and States in World History, pp in Coercion, Capital, and European States Basil Blackwell, (Reserve) Francis Fukuyama, The Coming of the Leviathan, Chapter 5 in The Origins of Political Order, pp (Reserve) David Abernethy, The Dynamics of Global Dominance, Chapter 1, pp TH September 20 Colonial Expansion and Administration David Abernethy, The Dynamics of Global Dominance, Chapters 3-6, pp T September 25 Nationalism Eric Hobsbawm, Nationalism, pp in Benedict Anderson, The Origins of National Consciousness, Chapter 3 in Imagined Communities, Verso, (Reserve) M. K. Gandhi, pp , pp in Hind Swaraj. From Hind Swaraj and Other Writings, Anthony Parel, ed. Cambridge University Press, In Matthew Festenstein and Michael Kenny, eds. Political Ideologies, Oxford University Press, (Reserve) David Abernethy, The Dynamics of Global Dominance, Chapter 7, 16, 17, pp , Alfred Stepan, Juan Linz, and Yogendra Yadav The Rise of State-Nations, pp in 5

6 TH September 27 Class and Ideology Giovanni Sartori, Politics, Ideology and Belief Systems, (selection) American Political Science Review 63 (1969), pp , In Matthew Festenstein and Michael Kenny, eds. Political Ideologies, Oxford University Press, (Reserve) Clifford Geertz, Ideology as a Cultural System, pp , in The Interpretation of Cultures. Basic Books, In Matthew Festenstein and Michael Kenny, eds. Political Ideologies, Oxford University Press, (Reserve) John Stuart Mill, Introductory, pp in On Liberty. Edward Alexander, ed. Broadview, (Reserve) Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party, pp in Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Gentile, pp in The Doctrine of Fascism, Italian Fascism, Adrian Lyttleton, ed., Cape, In Matthew Festenstein and Michael Kenny, eds. Political Ideologies, Oxford University Press, (Reserve) T October 2 Varieties of Authoritarianism Robert Dahl, pp in Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. Yale, (Reserve) Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan, Modern Nondemocratic Regimes, from Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation, pp in Larry Diamond, The Rule of Law Versus the Big Man, pp in O Neil and Rogowski Barbara Geddes, Erica Frantz, and Joseph Wright, Military Rule, pp in Screening: A State of Mind TH October 4 Hybrid Regimes Steven Levitisky and Lucan Way, The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism, pp in Grzegorz Ekiert, The Illiberal Challenge in Post-Communist Europe, pp in Nelson Mandela. Long Walk to Freedom, Part 5. 6

7 T October 9 Varieties of Democracy Philippe C. Schmitter and Terry Lynn Karl, What Democracy Is and Is Not, pp in Arend Lijphart, Constitutional Choices for New Democracies, pp in O Neil and Rogowski Arend Lijphart, Chapters 1-4, pp in Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries 2 nd ed. Yale University Press, Screening: The Queen TH October 11 Party and Electoral Systems **FIRST RESPONSE PAPER DUE** Juan Linz The Perils of Presidentialism, in The Global Resurgence of Democracy, Larry Diamond and Marc Plattner eds. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp (Reserve) Donald Horowitz Comparing Democratic Systems, in The Global Resurgence of Democracy, Larry Diamond and Marc Plattner eds. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp (Reserve) Maurice Duverger, The Number of Parties, pp in Arend Lijphart, Chapters 5 and 8, pp and in Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries, 2 nd ed. Yale University Press, T October 16 **MID-TERM EXAM** (in class) TH October 18 Why do Regimes Change? Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Parts 10-11, pp T October 23 Modernization and Regime Change Samuel Huntington, Political Order and Political Decay, pp in Political Order in Changing Societies, New Haven: Yale University Press, (Reserve) 7

8 Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi, Modernization: Theory and Facts, World Politics, Jan 1997 pp (Reserve) TH October 25 Revolutionary Change Crane Brinton, First Stages of Revolution, pp in The Anatomy of Revolution. Vintage, (Reserve) Theda Skocpol, France, Russia, China: A Structural Analysis of Social Revolutions, pp in Timur Kuran, Now Out of Never: The Element of Surprise in the East European Revolution of 1989 (Reserve) T October 30 Transitions to Democracy Samuel Huntington The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, Chapters 1-2, pp (Reserve) Timothy Garton-Ash, Warsaw: The First Election, pp in The Magic Lantern: The Revolution of 89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin and Prague. New York: Vintage Books. (Reserve) TH November 1 Civil Society Robert Putnam. Chapters 1, 3, 4, pp. 3-16, in Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, Screening The Agronomist T November 6 From Civil Society to Social Movements Robert Putnam. Chapter 6, pp in Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, Sidney Tarrow, pp in Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics, 2nd edition. Cambridge, (Reserve) Doug McAdam, The Heyday of Black Insurgency , pp in Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, (Reserve) 8

9 TH November 8 Types of Identity Politics Clifford Geertz Primordial Ties, pp in Hutchinson, John and Anthony D. Smith, eds. Ethnicity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, (Reserve) Jack Eller and Reed Coughlan The Poverty of Primordialism, pp in Hutchinson, John and Anthony D. Smith, eds. Ethnicity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, (Reserve) Joane Nagel Constructing Ethnicity, Social Problems, 41(1) February, pp (Reserve) Figure out who you are and what you care about before coming to class T November 13 Ethnic Politics Ted Robert Gurr, The Ethnic Basis of Political Action in the 1980s and 1990s, pp in Peoples Versus States: Minorities at Risk in the New Century. USIP, (Reserve) Ashutosh Varshney, Chapters 2 & 3, pp in Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life, Yale, (Reserve) Alberto Alesina and Eliana La Ferrara, Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance, pp in TH November 15 Identity in Conflict Thomas Friedman, From Beirut to Jerusalem, Chapters 2, 3, 13; pp , James Fearon and David Laitin, Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War, pp in Martha Crenshaw, The Causes of Terrorism, pp in Screening: Hotel Rwanda No class the week of Nov 19 (Thanksgiving holiday) Sometime this week read: Thomas Friedman, From Beirut to Jerusalem, Chapters 4, 14; pp ,

10 T November 27 Civil War and Failed States Robert D. Kaplan, An Unsentimental Journey, pp in The Ends of the Earth, New York: Vintage Press, (Reserve) Jeffrey Herbst, War and the State in Africa, pp in Robert Rotberg, The New Nature of Nation-State Failure, pp in O Neil and Rogowski TH November 29 Why are Some Countries Rich and Others Poor? Adam Smith, from An Inquiry into the Nature and the Causes of the Wealth of Nations, pp in Jeffrey Sachs, A Global Family Portrait, pp in The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Penguin, (Reserve) Douglass North, Institutions, pp in Daron Acemoglu, Root Causes: A Historical Approach to Assessing the Role of Institutions in Economic Development, pp in Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Enzo Faletto, Comprehensive Analysis of Development, pp in Dependency and Development in Latin America, University of California Press, (Reserve) T December 4 Politics and Development Outcomes William Easterly, To Help the Poor from The Elusive Quest for Growth, pp in Paul Collier and Jan Willem Gunning, Why Has Africa Grown Slowly?, pp in Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, James A. Robinson, and Pierre Yared, Income and Democracy, pp in Robert Wade, Introduction and Chapter 1, pp in Governing the Market: Economic Theory and the Role of Government in East Asian Industrialization. Princeton: Princeton University Press, (Reserve) Jeffrey Sachs, Making the Investments Needed to End Poverty, pp in The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Penguin, (Reserve) 10

11 TH December 6 Globalization and the State Stephen Krasner, Sovereignty, pp in Economist, Is Government Disappearing?, September 27, (Reserve) Francois Bourguignon, Inequality and Globalization, pp in O Neil and Rogowski Dani Rodrik, Is Global Governance Feasible? Is it Desirable? from The Globalization Paradox, pp in Niall Ferguson, Populism as a Backlash against Globalization: Historical Perspectives, pp in T Dec 11 Governance in the 21 st Century Arend Lijphart, Chapters 15 and 16, pp in Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries, 2 nd ed. Yale University Press, Economist, What s Gone Wrong With Democracy?, March 1, 2014 (Reserve) TH Dec 13 Conclusions: What Enables Good Governance? **SECOND RESPONSE PAPER DUE** John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, What is the State For? Chapter 9 in The Fourth Revolution: The Global Race to Reinvent the State. Penguin, 2014, pp (Reserve) Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, Understanding Prosperity and Poverty, Chapter 15 in Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. Crown Books, 2012, pp (Reserve) W Dec 19 *FINAL EXAM* 3-6pm (280 KMBL) 11