Principles of Comparative Politics Political Science 250 Instructor: Quinn Mecham Office: 203 HRCB and 770 SWKT Office Phone: 801-42-5317 E-mail address: qmecham@byu.edu Office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 3-4pm (770 SWKT) Tuesdays 1-3pm (203 HRCB) NOTE: Office hours during these times are by appointment. Please e-mail 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: Maeser Allen Email: maeser.allen@gmail.com Office hours: Tuesdays 12pm-1pm and Thursdays 1-2pm 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
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. 2010. Essential Readings in Comparative Politics, 4 rd ed. Norton. 2) David B. Abernethy. 2002. The Dynamics of Global Dominance. Yale. 3) Arend Lijphart. 2012. Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries, 2 nd edition. Yale. 4) Nelson Mandela. 1995. Long Walk to Freedom. Back Bay Books. 5) Robert Putnam.1994. Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton. 6) Thomas Friedman. 2012. 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 at the Harold B. Lee Library. Additional readings are available on Learning Suite. Requirements: Regular attendance at class and the reading of assigned materials is expected. In addition, weekly web-postings, 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
Informal writing and participation: Students are expected to post informal writing to the course website 15 times during the semester. Each week there will be a discussion question posted online that either asks you to respond to a core concept 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. Weekly writing assignments should be posted online in your working group sections by Wednesday at 10am. Responses to film screenings are due Monday at 10am the week following the viewing assignment. 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 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 16. The second response paper is due during the second half of the course, on or before December 11. 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 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: Wednesday October 18 (in class) Final exam: Tuesday December 19 2:30-5:30pm (280 SWKT) 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 accepted after the final exam. Exams will not be given at any other time than those scheduled except for extraordinary circumstances. 3
COURSE SCHEDULE W September 6 Course Introduction M September 11 What is Comparative Politics? Patrick O Neil, Introduction, in Cases in Comparative Politics, 4 th ed., pp. 12-36. (Reserve) Mark Lichbach and Alan Zuckerman, Research Traditions and Theory in Comparative Politics: An Introduction, from Comparative Politics, pp. 3-7 in O Neil and Rogowski Arend Lijphart. 1971. Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method, American Political Science Review 65:3 (September), pp. 682-293 (Reserve). W September 13 The Science in Political Science Karl R. Popper. 1957. "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. 155-189. (Reserve) Thomas S. Kuhn. 1963. "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. 347-95. (Reserve) Gary King, Robert Keohane, and Sidney Verba, The Science in Social Science, from Designing Social Inquiry, pp. 7-13 in O Neil and Rogowski Larry Bartels, Some Unfulfilled Promises of Quantitative Imperialism, pp. 13-17 in O Neil and Rogowski Ronald Rogowski, How Inference in the Social (But Not the Physical) Sciences Neglects Theoretical Anomaly, pp. 17-23 in O Neil and Rogowski M September 18 The State and its Functions Aristotle. The Politics, pp. 75-101. Translated by Peter Phillips Simpson. UNC Press, 1997. (Reserve) Francis Fukuyama, The Necessity of Politics, from The Origins of Political Order, pp. 26-39 in O Neil and Rogowski 4
Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation, pp. 39-45 in O Neil and Rogowski Read the September 18 New York Times (available on-line or at the Kennedy Center) and write down all the functions of the state you see discussed within W September 20 The Emergence of the Modern State Charles Tilly, Cities and States in World History, pp. 1-37 in Coercion, Capital, and European States 990-1990. Basil Blackwell, 1990. (Reserve) Fareed Zakaria, A Brief History of Human Liberty, from The Future of Freedom, pp. 188-203 in O Neil and Rogowski, David Abernethy, The Dynamics of Global Dominance, Chapter 1, pp. 3-17 M September 25 Colonial Expansion and Administration David Abernethy, The Dynamics of Global Dominance, Chapters 3-6, pp. 45-132 W September 27 Nationalism Eric Hobsbawm, Nationalism, pp. 77-86 in O Neil and Rogowski Benedict Anderson, The Origins of National Consciousness, Chapter 3 in Imagined Communities, Verso, 2006. (Reserve) M. K. Gandhi, pp. 52-54, pp. 116-19 in Hind Swaraj. From Hind Swaraj and Other Writings, Anthony Parel, ed. Cambridge University Press, 1997. In Matthew Festenstein and Michael Kenny, eds. Political Ideologies, Oxford University Press, 2005. (Reserve) David Abernethy, The Dynamics of Global Dominance, Chapter 7, 16, 17, pp. 133-172, 363-407 Alfred Stepan, Juan Linz, and Yogendra Yadav The Rise of State-Nations, pp. 250-264 in O Neil and Rogowski M October 2 Class and Ideology Giovanni Sartori, Politics, Ideology and Belief Systems, (selection) American Political Science Review 63 (1969), pp. 400-403, 410-411. In Matthew Festenstein and Michael Kenny, eds. Political Ideologies, Oxford University Press, 2005. (Reserve) 5
Clifford Geertz, Ideology as a Cultural System, pp. 217-20, 230-33 in The Interpretation of Cultures. Basic Books, 1973. In Matthew Festenstein and Michael Kenny, eds. Political Ideologies, Oxford University Press, 2005. (Reserve) John Stuart Mill, Introductory, pp. 43-57 in On Liberty. Edward Alexander, ed. Broadview, 1999. (Reserve) Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party, pp. 469-481 in O Neil and Rogowski Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Gentile, pp. 39-44 in The Doctrine of Fascism, Italian Fascism, Adrian Lyttleton, ed., Cape, 1973. In Matthew Festenstein and Michael Kenny, eds. Political Ideologies, Oxford University Press, 2005. (Reserve) W October 4 Varieties of Authoritarianism Robert Dahl, pp. 1-32 in Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. Yale, 1971. (Reserve) Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan, Modern Nondemocratic Regimes, from Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation, pp. 267-279 in O Neil and Rogowski Larry Diamond, The Rule of Law Versus the Big Man, pp. 294-303 in O Neil and Rogowski Baogang He and Mark Warren, Authoritarian Deliberation: The Deliberative Turn in Chinese Political Development, pp. 509-538 in O Neil and Rogowski Screening: A State of Mind (watch this week) M October 9 Hybrid Regimes Steven Levitisky and Lucan Way, The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism, pp. 303-313 in O Neil and Rogowski Ivan Krastev, Paradoxes of the New Authoritarianism, pp. 502-509 in O Neil and Rogowski Nelson Mandela. Long Walk to Freedom, Part 5. W October 11 Varieties of Democracy 6
Alexis de Tocqueville, Introduction to Democracy in America, pp. 398-405 in O Neil and Rogowski Philippe C. Schmitter and Terry Lynn Karl, What Democracy Is and Is Not, pp. 203-213 in O Neil and Rogowski Arend Lijphart, Constitutional Choices for New Democracies, pp. 213-222 in O Neil and Rogowski Arend Lijphart, Chapters 1-4, pp. 1-59 in Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries 2 nd ed. Yale University Press, 2012. Screening: The Queen (watch this week) M October 16 Party and Electoral Systems **FIRST RESPONSE PAPER DUE** Juan Linz. 1996. The Perils of Presidentialism, in The Global Resurgence of Democracy, Larry Diamond and Marc Plattner eds. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 124-142. (Reserve) Donald Horowitz. 1996. Comparing Democratic Systems, in The Global Resurgence of Democracy, Larry Diamond and Marc Plattner eds. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 143-149. (Reserve) Maurice Duverger, The Number of Parties, pp. 436-440 in O Neil and Rogowski Arend Lijphart, Chapters 5 and 8, pp. 60-78 and 130-157 in Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries, 2 nd ed. Yale University Press, 2012. W October 18 **MID-TERM EXAM** (in class) M October 23 Why do Regimes Change? Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Parts 10-11, pp. 511-626. W October 25 Modernization and Regime Change Samuel Huntington, Political Order and Political Decay, pp. 1-92 in Political Order in Changing Societies, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968. (Reserve) 7
Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi, Modernization: Theory and Facts, World Politics, Jan 1997 pp. 155-184. (Reserve) M October 30 Revolutionary Change Crane Brinton, First Stages of Revolution, pp. 67-91 in The Anatomy of Revolution. Vintage, 1965. (Reserve) Theda Skocpol, France, Russia, China: A Structural Analysis of Social Revolutions, pp. 316-333 in O Neil and Rogowski Jack Goldstone, Understanding the Revolutions of 2011: Weakness and Resilience in Middle Eastern Autocracies, pp. 366-372 in O Neil and Rogowski Timur Kuran, Now Out of Never: The Element of Surprise in the East European Revolution of 1989, in O Neil and Rogowski pp. 349-366 W November 1 Transitions to Democracy Samuel Huntington. 1991. The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, Chapters 1-2, pp. 3-108. (Reserve) Timothy Garton-Ash, Warsaw: The First Election, and Prague: Inside the Magic Lantern, pp. 25-46 and 78-130 in The Magic Lantern: The Revolution of 89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin and Prague. New York: Vintage Books. (Reserve) M November 6 Civil Society Robert Putnam. Chapters 1, 3, 4, pp. 3-16, 63-120 in Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993. Robert Putnam, Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America, pp. 222-250 in O Neil and Rogowski Screening The Agronomist (watch this week) W November 8 From Civil Society to Social Movements Robert Putnam. Chapter 6, pp. 163-185 in Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993. 8
Sidney Tarrow, pp. 1-25 in Power in Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics, 2nd edition. Cambridge, 1998. (Reserve) Doug McAdam, The Heyday of Black Insurgency 1961-1965, pp. 146-180 in Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, 1930-1970. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1988. (Reserve) M November 13 Types of Identity Politics Clifford Geertz. 1963. Primordial Ties, pp. 40-45 in Hutchinson, John and Anthony D. Smith, eds. Ethnicity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. (Reserve) Jack Eller and Reed Coughlan. 1993. The Poverty of Primordialism, pp. 45-51 in Hutchinson, John and Anthony D. Smith, eds. Ethnicity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. (Reserve) Joane Nagel. 1994. Constructing Ethnicity, Social Problems, 41(1) February, pp. 152-179. (Reserve) Samuel Huntington, The Cultural Reconfiguration of Global Politics, pp. 125-154 in The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. Simon and Schuster, 1996. (Reserve) Mark Juergensmeyer, The New Religious State, pp. 58-66 in O Neil and Rogowski W November 15 Ethnic Politics Ted Robert Gurr, The Ethnic Basis of Political Action in the 1980s and 1990s, pp. 3-20 in Peoples Versus States: Minorities at Risk in the New Century. USIP, 2000. (Reserve) Ashutosh Varshney, Chapters 2 & 3, pp. 23-86 in Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life, Yale, 2002. (Reserve) Alberto Alesina and Eliana La Ferrara, Ethnic Diversity and Economic Performance, pp. 96-114 in O Neil and Rogowski Figure out who you are and what you care about before coming to class M November 20 Identity in Conflict Thomas Friedman, From Beirut to Jerusalem, Chapters 2, 3, 13; pp. 21-75, 322-365 9
James Fearon and David Laitin, Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War, pp. 86-96 in O Neil and Rogowski Martha Crenshaw, The Causes of Terrorism, pp. 333-349 in O Neil and Rogowski Screening: Hotel Rwanda (watch this week) W November 22 No class (Thanksgiving Break) M November 27 Civil War and Failed States Robert D. Kaplan, An Unsentimental Journey, pp. 3-31 in The Ends of the Earth, New York: Vintage Press, 1996. (Reserve) Jeffrey Herbst, War and the State in Africa, pp. 45-60 in O Neil and Rogowski Robert Rotberg, The New Nature of Nation-State Failure, pp. 60-68 in O Neil and Rogowski Thomas Friedman, From Beirut to Jerusalem, Chapters 4, 14; pp. 76-105, 366-424. W 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. 137-143 in O Neil and Rogowski Douglass North, Institutions, pp. 116-128 in O Neil and Rogowski Jeffrey Sachs, A Global Family Portrait, pp. 3-25 in The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Penguin, 2005. (Reserve) Daron Acemoglu, Root Causes: A Historical Approach to Assessing the Role of Institutions in Economic Development, pp. 155-160 in O Neil and Rogowski Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Enzo Faletto, Comprehensive Analysis of Development, pp. 8-28 in Dependency and Development in Latin America, University of California Press, 1979. (Reserve) Gregory Mankiw, The Trilemma of International Finance, pp. 184-185 in O Neil and Rogowski M December 4 Politics and Development Outcomes 10
William Easterly, To Help the Poor from The Elusive Quest for Growth, pp. 547-553 in O Neil and Rogowski Paul Collier and Jan Willem Gunning, Why Has Africa Grown Slowly?, pp. 553-571 in O Neil and Rogowski Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, James Robinson, and Pierre Yared, Income and Democracy, pp. 405-411 in O Neil and Rogowski Torben Iversen and David Soskice, Electoral Institutions and the Politics of Coalitions: Why Some Democracies Redistribute More than Others pp. 440-450 in O Neil and Rogowski Robert Wade, Introduction and Chapter 1, pp. 3-33 in Governing the Market: Economic Theory and the Role of Government in East Asian Industrialization. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990. (Reserve) Jeffrey Sachs, Making the Investments Needed to End Poverty, pp. 244-265 in The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. Penguin, 2005. (Reserve) W December 6 Globalization and the State Stephen Krasner, Sovereignty, pp. 68-74 in O Neil and Rogowski Economist, Is Government Disappearing?, September 27, 2001. (Reserve) Richard Florida, The World is Spiky: Globalization has Changed the Economic Playing Field, But Hasn t Leveled It, pp. 590-594 in O Neil and Rogowski Dani Rodrik, Is Global Governance Feasible? Is it Desirable? from The Globalization Paradox, pp. 595-609 in O Neil and Rogowski Joseph Stiglitz, The Way Ahead, pp. 214-252 in Globalization and its Discontents, Norton, 2002. (Reserve) M Dec 11 Governance in the 21 st Century **SECOND RESPONSE PAPER DUE** Arend Lijphart, Chapters 15 and 16, pp. 255-94 in Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries, 2 nd ed. Yale University Press, 2012. 11
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. 221-248. (Reserve) Economist, What s Gone Wrong With Democracy?, March 1, 2014 (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. 428-461. (Reserve) W Dec 13 Conclusions: What Enables Good Governance? T Dec 19 FINAL EXAM 2:30-5:30pm (280 SWKT) 12