AP Comparative Government And Politics Syllabus
AP Comparative Government and Politics
Syllabus
J. Howland ()
Comparative Government and Politics is a college-level, one semester course that focuses
on government and politics in the following six countries: United Kingdom , Russia ,
China , Mexico , Nigeria , and Iran. This course is structured to provide a theoretical
framework to compare political systems around the world and to gain insight into
political complexities of our global environment and commonalities and differences
among modern political systems. Students will become aware of the interconnections
between the citizenry and state policies and they will gain a critical perspective of the
working of these government systems. The course begins with theory and concepts, then takes a country by country approach, with a heavy emphasis on cross-country conceptual comparisons. [CR13] This is a weighted course. The district requires that students take the national examination in May which is given by the College Board. If a student chooses to not take the national examination, the student will lose that weighted credit.
Textbook:
Almond, Gabriel, Powell, and Strom. Comparative Politics Today: A World View. AP
Edition. Updated Eighth Edition. Pearson Longman, 2007 .
For Reference:
Charles Hauss, Comparative Politics Domestic Responses to Global Challenges, 5th ed.
Boston: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2005.
Patrick O’Neil. Essentials of Comparative Politics. New York: W.W. Norton, 2004. This
text takes a theoretical approach, and is used at the beginning of the course.
Max Kesselman, Introduction to Comparative Politics, 4th edition Houghton Mifflin,
2007. (for country data sheets)
Additional Required Reading:
The Economist (subscribers see www.economist.com, but all students have access to The
Economist either through the school library database or on reserve). See
ProQuest/Publications/Economist for full text articles.
Thomas L. Friedman, The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty - firs t Century.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. (Chapters 1 and 2) [CR16]
Frequently used internet websites:
www.bbc.com (country profiles)
www.npr.org/frontlineworld
cfr.org (Council on Foreign Relations)
loc.gov (Library of Congress)
Other Resources:
Question Hour: Taped sessions of the British House of Commons, as aired on CSPAN
most Sunday evenings.
Course Requirements
READING: In order for students to be successful in this course, it is essential that they
complete all assigned reading prior to class. The required reading, both from the text and
the supplementary articles, goes along with the daily lectures and will be necessary to
fully understand those lectures. In addition, participation in class discussions is a crucial
element of the course and therefore having read the assigned readings is essential.
DATA AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Students will be required to analyze various
political statistical data. This will include exercises and assignments involving the
analysis of charts and graphs on the internet.
JOURNAL: Students will be expected to read The Economist and write a weekly short
entry in a notebook journal. Each entry should discuss one particular political/social
issue about your assigned country. Note the article’s title, author, date, and page number
in your entry. Briefly review the content of the article and give a short political analysis
of the piece by either: comparing the country to the political systems we are learning in class, or relating the article to the key concepts in Comparative Politics, or discussing
the political implications for that particular country. Students will turn in their journal roughly every four weeks. Each time you turn it in, it should have four entries. You must obtain permission from me in order to use a source other than The Economist. For each entry, keep in mind the following concepts as you discuss the significance of the article:
- sovereignty, authority, power, e.g. political culture, socialization, nations and
state, belief systems, governance, etc.
- political institutions, e.g. levels of government, political parties, bureaucracies,
judiciaries, etc.
- citizens, society and the state, e.g. racial, class, gender, or religious cleavages
and politics, political participation, etc.
- political and economic change, e.g. revolution, democratization, economic
change, globalization, etc.
- common policy issues, e.g. poverty, education, civil rights, freedoms,
migration, etc.
COUNTRY PRESENTATIONS: During the first week of the semester, students will be
assigned to a group that will research one of the six countries over the course of the
semester. At the end of the semester, each group will give a 45 minute oral presentation
on their assigned country. The presentation should include visual aids and statistical
analysis.
EXAMINATIONS: There will be reading quizzes given for each assigned country as
well as comprehensive tests and essays. Students will take practice AP multiple choice
tests and write AP timed essays. [CR15]
The following is a broad schedule of the semester course:
Weeks 1-3: Concepts in Comparative Government
Unit 1: Introduction of Concepts in Comparative Government
Readings: O’Neill, Chapter 11, Globalization
Friedman, Chapters 1,2
Almond, Chapters 1 and 6
Larry Diamond, “The Global State of Democracy”
Introduce concepts: Sovereignty, authority power [CR1]
Political and economic change [CR2]
Citizens, society and the state [CR3]
Political institutions [CR4]
Public policy [CR6]
Introduce the Comparative Method, and analyzing and interpreting data relevant to
comparative government and politics, including statistical data, charts and graphs.
Have students make index cards of each of the concepts. As we study each country have
the students use their index cards to consider how each term may or may not apply to the
country being studied. Also, at this point, assign students their country to study and have
them begin their journals. [CR1,14,16]
Weeks 4-5: Britain
Advanced Democracies: Britain and the European Union
Reading: O’Neil, Chapter 7, “Advanced Democracies”
Hauss, Chapter 7 on European Union
Constitution of the European Union
Almond, Chapter 8
Kesselman country data sheet
Watch “Question Hour” on CSPAN
First deal with the European Union, constitutions, limitations on government power,
regulation, distribution of wealth, geographic distribution of power. Then focus on
Britain. Explore Britain’s parliamentary system, its move away from a unitary system of
government, its currency, its membership in the European Union, etc. Look at the
Scottish Parliament and its significance. Read charts, graphs. Students will participate in
a mock parliamentary session with each student playing a role in the government or in
the opposition. [CR6,8]
Weeks 6-7: Russia
Communist and Post-Communist Russia
Reading: Almond, Chapter 12
Kesselman country data sheet
Articles on Litvenenko’s death, Putin, etc.
Explore Russia when it was the Soviet Union and since, the difference between Yeltsin
and Putin, political corruption, economic inequalities, the low birth rate and subsequent
falling population, its relationship with the U.S. and Europe, Chechnya. [CR6,12]
Weeks 8-9: China
Communist and the new “China Way”
Reading: Almond, Chapter 9
Kesselman country data sheet
Explore the one birth policy in China, demographic issues, the migration of people into
cities, economic rise, unemployment, the move away from communism, control of the
currency, political repression at Tianamen Square, the Olympics, the trade imbalance
with the United States. [CR6,7]
Weeks 10-11: Mexico
Developing Mexico
Reading: Almond, Chapter 10
Kesselman country data sheet
Explore political and economic corruption, recent elections, emigration, the relationship
with the United States, urban versus rural issues. [CR6,10]
Weeks 12- 13: Nigeria
Less Developed Nigeria
Reading: Almond, Chapter 11
Kesselman country data sheet
Explore political and economic corruption, oil spills, environmental problems,
demographic issues, religious divisions, tribal divisions. Compare with other countries.
[CR11]
Weeks 14-15: Iran
Theocracy, Totalitarian, Authoritarian or Democratic: Iran
Reading: Almond, Chapter 14
Kesselman country data sheet
Explore political/economic corruption, recent elections, prospects for future elections,
political participation of women in Iran, demographic issues, the nuclear issue,
connections to international terrorism, gas shortages, relationship to supranational
organizations (United Nations. IAEA, OPEC). Contrast Iran with other countries.[CR4,9]
Weeks 16-18: Comparison, Analysis, and Review
Reading: Ethel Wood, AP Comparative Government and Politics Review
Review concepts and how each concept does or does not apply to each of the core six
countries. Compare countries using butcher block paper and create a country’s
correlation chart. Review for the AP exam. Students will give their group presentations
of their assigned countries. Oral presentations will last 45 minutes per country with
accompanying visual aids and charts. Students will take practice AP multiple choice test questions and strategize about answering the eight essay questions, including the five short answer questions, the one core concept question, and the two country questions. [CR13,15]