Introduction to Comparative Politics

3

GOV 105B, SPRING 2014

COMPARATIVE POLITICS

INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS

GOVERNMENT 105B, SPRING 2014

MWF: 9:20–10:20 AM, Hepburn 20

Dr. Grace Huang
Hepburn 207
Office Hours: Mon. & Wed. 2–3 or by appointment
Phone: 229–5439
Email:
TA: Leigh Anne O’Mealia
Office Hours: Tues. 7–8 in Hepburn 105
Email:

f

Thinking without comparison is unthinkable. And, in the absence of comparison, so is all scientific thought and scientific research – Guy Swanson (1971:145)

f

Course OVERVIEW & Objectives

Welcome to Comparative Politics! This course investigates the theories underpinning the formation of the modern state and considers whether factors such as wars, institution building, culture, and ideas, enhance or undermine a state’s effectiveness. The course also examines the geography, political history, current political system, society, and economy of selected countries: the United Kingdom, Japan, India, Brazil, China, and South Africa.

By the end of this semester, you will be able to:

1.  Describe why certain events in history helped to produce strong or weak states and explain why there might be different interpretations on the impact of those events.

2.  Describe and compare how different political systems operate, focusing on historical formation, political institutions, and political behavior.

3.  Identify and discuss the major challenges facing rich and poor countries in isolation and in global interdependence.

In attaining these objectives, each of you will also come away with a set of critical tools to move from “big ideas” to particular cases and vice versa and to challenge assumptions underlying hypotheses regarding policymaking or political outcomes. My ultimate hope is that by analyzing and comparing other political systems, you will reflect more deeply on the nature of your own.

Course Expectations

Please ask questions! Remember, there are no stupid questions. I often find that a “stupid” question often is a step toward a conceptual breakthrough.

All readings must be done before class. They constitute a uniform starting point for class lectures and discussions. The quality of the class suffers in proportion to your neglect in preparation. If you have trouble with the readings, please see me. My job is to help you succeed in this class.

Please show respect by not leaving in the middle of class (take care of your business before or after!). Refrain from talking outside of discussion. Turn your cell-phone off. Pay active attention! I promise to do the same. We each make an important difference in contributing positively or negatively to the classroom environment.

Finally, be sure to understand St. Lawrence’s Constitution of the Academic Honor Council. Please consult me if you have any questions. All suspected violations of the academic honor code will be reported to the Academic Honor Council.

Readings

à  Please acquire the following at the bookstore:

1.  O’Neil, Patrick. 2013. Essentials of Comparative Politics. Fourth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.

2.  O’Neil, Patrick, Karl Fields, and Don Share. 2013. Cases in Comparative Politics. Fourth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.

(Please note that you get a discount by buying the two O’Neil books together).

3.  GOVT105 Course Packet. Please see Government department secretary, Patty Ashlaw (Hepburn 102) to purchase.

à  Current Events: Suggested websites for current events:

1.  BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/default.stm

2.  CNN http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/

3.  NYT http://nytimes.com/pages/world/index.html

4.  Economist http://www.economist.com/world/

Requirements and Grades

 Essays (30%): Three 2–3 page essays on a reading of your choice. Essays are due at 4 pm in my mailbox (Hepburn 102) on the assigned days. Late papers emailed to me receive an automatic 1-point deduction per day. One essay may be rewritten (the two grades will be averaged), and the rewrite is due one week after I hand papers back.

 In-class writing (3%): In class essay on movie: Long Walk to Freedom: An Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. This essay cannot be made up.

 Midterm exams (32%): Two midterm exams, 2/14 and 3/24, based on readings, class lectures, and discussions.

 Final Exam (25%): The final exam (5/6) is cumulative with an emphasis on materials after 3/24.

 Class Participation (10%): You are expected to be prepared (occasional pop quizzes will be given in class), participate actively, intelligently, and positively in this class. You are also expected to share three current events based on the criteria discussed in class.

·  Attendance Policy: If you have more than three absences, your class participation grade will automatically drop by 1/3 of a grade from the fourth missed class and onwards. For example, if you have an 85 for a participation grade and four absences, your participation grade drops to 82. Please note that if your participation grade falls below 60, it will affect other parts of your overall grade.

final Grade structure

Grade
Excellent / 4.0 / 94–100
3.75 / 92
3.5 / 90
3.25 / 88
Good / 3.0 / 85
2.75 / 82
2.5 / 80
2.25 / 78
Satisfactory / 2.0 / 75
1.75 / 72
1.5 / 70
Pass / 1 / 65
Failure / 0 / 0

Class Schedule

NOTE

Text= Essentials of Comparative Politics

CP= Course Packet

Cases=Cases in Comparative Politics

INTRODUCTION

Week 1

M. 1/20: Introduction

PART I: CONCEPTS & FRAMEWORKS

W. 1/22: Part One: What is comparative politics? An institutional approach

Text: Chapter 1

Read syllabus. Ask questions if something is unclear.

F. 1/24 Part Two: What is comparative politics? Three examples: studies by Hamilton, Weber, Durkheim

àCP: Bernard E. Brown, “Introduction: On Comparing Nations,” Comparative Politics: Notes and Readings, 10th edition, 1–17.

Week 2

the State

M. 1/27: What is the state and why use it as a unit of analysis?

Text: Chapter 2

W. 1/29: Missing Girls

CP: Meeta Singh and Vasu Mohan, “The rise of sex selection in India,” Democracy at Large, vol. 2, no. 1, 30–32.

CP: Valerie M. Hudson and Andrea M. den Boer, “Bare Branches in the Twenty-first Century,” Bare Branches: Security Implications of Asia’s Surplus Male Population, (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2004), 229–259.

F. 1/31: Presenting current events & writing critical essays

CP: Selected readings

Provide a grade for each of the three sample essays in course packet.

Complete current events exercise.

Week 3

The state continued

Nation, Identity, & culture

M. 2/03: State-Making & War

CP: Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, (London: Penguin Classics, 1985), 183–188, 227–228.

àCP: Jeffrey Herbst, “War and the State in Africa,” International Security 14, no. 4 (Spring 1990), 117–39.

W. 2/05: Nations & Identities

Text: Chapter 3

F. 2/07: Culture—Video clips (Jewish/Arab & British/Kenyan perspectives)

àCP: Wangari Maathai, “Culture: The Missing Link?” The Challenge for Africa. (New York: Random House, Inc.), pp. 160–187.

Week 4

Political economy

M. 2/10: Political Economy

Text: Chapter 4.

W. 2/12: Economic Development & the State

àCP: Douglass C. North, “Institutions,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 5, no. 1 (Winter 1991), 97–112.

F. 2/14: EXAM #1

Week 5

Liberty & an alternative story

M. 2/17: A Brief History of Human Liberty

àCP: Fareed Zakaria, “A Brief History of Human Liberty,” The Future of Freedom, (New York: W.W. Norton, 2003), 29–58.

W. 2/19: An Alternative History

àCP: Robert B. Marks, The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Ecological Narrative, New York: Roman & Littlefield, 2002), 1–19; 123–130.

F. 2/21: An Alternative History Continued

àCP: Robert B. Marks, 131–162.

Week 6

PART II: CASE STUDIES

M. 2/24: Building Stable Democracies

Text: Chapter 5

õ ESSAY #1 DUEõ Due 4 pm in my mailbox Hepburn 102.

W. 2/26: Challenges Facing Advanced Democracies

Text: Chapter 8

F. 2/28: Comparing Regimes in Rich Countries: Sweden, U.S., & Germany

àCP: Draper and Ramsay, The Good Society: An Introduction to Comparative Politics, (NY: Pearson & Longman, 2008), Chapter 5.

Week 7

M. 3/3: Case Study: United Kingdom I

Cases: Chapter 2, pp. 38–64.

W. 3/5: Case Study: United Kingdom II

Cases: Chapter 2, pp. 64–93.

F. 3/7: Should UK Members of Parliament Receive Double Digit Raises?

*CP: Selected Readings on Raising the UK MP’s Salaries.

Week 8

Spring Break (March 7 to March 16)

Week 9

3/17: Case Study: Japan I

Cases: 147–170.

W. 3/19: Case Study: Japan II

Cases: 171–191.

F. 3/21: Japan & Gift Giving III

àCP: Susan Pharr, “Contributions, Covenants, and Corruption: Politicians and Society in Japan,” (Lanham, MD: University of America Press, 2005), in Civil Society & Corruption: Mobilizing for Reform, ed. by Michael Johnston, 23–32.

Week 10

M. 3/24: EXAM #2

W. 3/26: Nondemocratic Regimes

Text: Chapter 6

F. 3/28: A closer look at North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jung-Un

CP:

·  “North Korea,” The New York Times, October 15, 2012

·  Naoko Aoki, “Korea’s Third Kim: Will Anything Change? Brown Journal of World Affairs, March/April 2012.

·  “North Korea Says Leader’s Uncle was Executed as a Traitor,” New York Times, December 12, 2013.

View clip (53 min.): Secret State of North Korea, dir. by James Jones, Frontline, January 14, 2013. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/secret-state-of-north-korea/

Week 11

3/31: The Postcommunist Transition

Text: Chapter 9

W. 4/02: Case Study: China I

Cases: Chapter 8, pp. 365–391.

F. 4/04: Case Study: China II

Cases: Chapter 8, pp. 391–421.

Week 12

M. 4/07: Brave Dragons

àCP: Jim Yardley, Brave Dragons: A Chinese Basketball Team, an American Coach, and Two Cultures Clashing, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012), 15–63.

W. 4/09: Less-Developed and Newly Industrializing Countries

Text: Chapter 10

F. 4/11: Case Study: India I

Cases: Chapter 9, 422–437.

õ ESSAY #2 DUEõ Due 4 pm in my mailbox Hepburn 102.

Week 13

M. 4/14: Case Study: India II

Cases: Chapter 9, 437–445.

W. 4/16: Case Study: Brazil I

Cases: Chapter 12, 576–599.

F. 4/18: Case Study: Brazil II

Cases: Chapter 12, 599–627.

Week 14

M. 4/21: Brazil’s Favelas, the 2014 World Cup, and the 2016 Summer Olympics

àCP: Robert Muggah and Albert Souza Mulli, “Rio Tries Counterinsurgency,” Current History, 111(742), February 2012, 62–66.

W. 4/23: Case Study: Africa

àCP: Paul Collier and Jan Willem Gunning, “Why has Africa Grown Slowly?” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 13(3), (Summer, 1999), 3–22).

F. 4/25: Case Study: South Africa I

Cases: Chapter 13, 628–652.

õSHORT ESSAY #3 DUEõ Due 4 pm in my mailbox Hepburn 102.

Weekend View Film: The Long Walk of Nelson Mandela: An Intimate Portrait of One of the 20th Century’s Greatest Leaders, dir. by Cliff Bestall (1999 (updated 12/2013); Frontline, 111 minutes). http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/

Week 15

M. 4/28: In-class writing and discussion on Nelson Mandela.

W. 4/30: Case Study: South Africa II

Cases: Chapter 13, 652–681.

F. 5/2: Equality & Freedom Among States in the 21st Century

CP: Amrita Narlikar, “Making Room for Rising Powers,” Current History, 113(759), January 2014, 33–35.

Week 16

T. 5/6: FINAL EXAM 8:30–11:30 a.m. Hepburn 20.