Introduction to Comparative Politics POL 2339WA Tuesdays 7-10pm Carla Sherman cvsherma@lakeheadu.ca office hours: Monday 10am-12pm The aim of this course is for students to gain a basic understanding of comparative politics while going into major political ideologies and theories. Through class engagement and independent work one will be able to see examples of countries to contextualize theories touched upon. Students will be able to take away from the course fundamentals that will be useful and elaborated upon in upper years. REQUIRED MATERIALS Essentials of Comparative Politics (Fourth Edition) by Patrick H. O'Neil Essential Readings of Comparative Politics (Fourth Edition) by Patrick H. O'Neil & Ronald Rogowski ASSIGNMENT & GRADING BREAKDOWN Grading Scale: Attendance & Participation: 5% Presentation: 10% Midterm: 20% Term Paper: 25% Final Exam: 40% TOTAL: 100% 1) Attendance & Participation Attendance is crucial as all material discussed in class will not be provided at a later date via email or other means. We will from time to time engaged in class discussions where class participation is important in providing input and opinions that are within the scope of the material at hand. At the end of each class attendance and participation will be accounted for and tallied up at the end of the term.
2) Midterm The Mid-term Quiz will be held during regular class time. The format will be discussed at a later date. The date is Tuesday February 25th 2015. Please note that there will not be any make-up dates for the midterm. 3) Presentation Each student is responsible for a 10 minute presentation representing a topic discussed throughout the course. The student may choose the topic on a first come first serve basis from a list provided in class. The second textbook "Cases of Comparative Politics." Topics correspond with lecture dates and in order to maintain the flow of the course, failure to present on the initially assigned date will result in a zero. PLEASE NOTE the topic you choose to present on cannot be the topic of your essay. 4) Essay - Each student is responsible for the production of a research paper on a topic relevant to the course. Please use Times Roman Numeral in 12pt font. The paper should be between 6 to 8 pages in length. The mandatory minimum for academic sources is 8, refrain from using all academic sources from the Internet. Please refer to your textbooks, additional books, as well as academic journals for references. Paper is due on March 17 th at the beginning of class. After class has begun the late penalty for a day will be applied. Late papers will be subject to a 5 % penalty per day and accepted until March 20 th. Any papers handed in after the aforementioned date will result in a zero. ** Please refer to the Code of Student Behaviour and Disciplinary Procedures regarding plagiarism** http://vpacademic.lakeheadu.ca/?display=page&pageid=46 5) Final Exam - The final exam will cover all topics that have been discussed throughout the course from January onwards. Date and format TBA
Week One: January 6th Go over syllabus and course expectations What is Comparative Politics? o Key thinkers and the development of the subject o Trends in comparative politics Week Two: January 13th All about the "state" Defining the state and discussing its facets State Vs. Regime Political Organizations Chapter Two in "Essentials in Comparative Politics" Chapter two in "Essential Readings in Comparative Politics" 1. Francis Fukuyama, The Necessity of Politics, from The Origins of Political Order 2. Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation 3. Stephen D. Krasner, Sovereignty Week Three: January 20th Nations & Society Defining the terms Identities o Ethnic vs. National Citizenship o Relationship to the state o Patriotism Conflicts o National vs. Ethnic What does it mean when one discusses political ideology? Political Ideologies explored: Liberalism, Communism and beyond How ideologies are similar yet distinct Chapter Three in "Essentials in Comparative Politics" Chapter Three in "Essential Readings in Comparative Politics" 1. Eric Hobsbawm, Nationalism 2. James D. Fearon and David D. Laitin, Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War Week Four: January 27th Systems of Government Democracy Political Participation
Chapter Five in "Essentials of Comparative Politics" Chapter Five in "Essential Readings in Comparative Politics" Week Five: February 3rd Systems of Government Continued Non-Democratic Regimes Chapter Six in "Essentials of Comparative Politics" Chapter Six in "Essential Readings in Comparative Politics" 1. Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan, Modern Nondemocratic Regimes, from Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation 2. Larry Diamond, The Rule of Law Versus the Big Man 3. Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way, The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism Week Six: February 10th Class discussion on political systems MIDTERM REVIEW & QUESTIONS Week Seven: READING WEEK Week Eight: February 24th Midterm at beginning of class Advanced Democracy Chapter Eight in "Essentials in Comparative Politics" Week Nine: March 3rd Systems of Government Continued Advanced Democracy continued Communism & Post-communism Chapters Eight & Nine in "Essentials in Comparative Politics" Chapter Eight in "Essential Readings of Comparative Politics" 1. Alexis de Tocqueville, Author s Introduction, from Democracy in America Chapter Nine in "Essential Readings of Comparative Politics" 2. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party 3. Keith Darden and Anna Grzymala-Busse, The Great Divide: Literacy, Nationalism, and the Communist Collapse Week Ten: March 10th Political Economy (a brief overview) Less Developed and Newly Industrializing Countries Globalization
Chapters Four, Ten & Eleven in "Essentials in Comparative Politics" Chapter Four in "Essential Readings in Comparative Politics" 1. Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations Chapter Ten in "Essential Readings in Comparative Politics" 2. William Easterly, To Help the Poor, from The Elusive Quest for Growth Chapter 11 in "Essential Readings in Comparative Politics" 3. Richard Florida, The World Is Spiky: Globalization Has Changed the Economic Playing Field, But Hasn t Leveled It Week Eleven: March 17th **PAPERS DUE AT BEGINNING OF CLASS** Discussion on Globalization Documentary to watch Week Twelve: March 24th Political Violence: similarities and differences Social Movements Chapters Seven in "Essentials in Comparative Politics" Chapters Seven in "Essentials in Comparative Politics" 1. Theda Skocpol, France, Russia, China: A Structural Analysis of Social Revolutions 2. Martha Crenshaw, The Causes of Terrorism 3. Jack Goldstone, Understanding the Revolutions of 2011: Weakness and Resilience in Middle Eastern Autocracies Week Thirteen: March 31st IN CLASS REVIEW FOR FINAL