POLS- 3401-01 Introduction to Comparative Politics
Spring-2017
Instructor: Ashraf El Sherif
Monday-Thursday 2:00-3:20 pm. WALEED CP56
Office hours: Monday-Thursday
3:30-5:00 pm
Office: HUSS 2023
Email:
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I keep six honest serving men (They taught me all I knew);
Their names are what and Why and When and How and
Where and Who.
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
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COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course provides an introduction in the core concept, issues and questions of comparative politics. It is intended for students with little/no prior knowledge about comparative politics. The course has three major parts. The first part offers a theoretical and methodological introduction. The second part inquires into the major determinants of political systems: constitutions, states and institutions of government; structures of policy making, political parties, political ideologies, interest groups, bureaucracy, municipal politics, electoral politics and civil society. The final part addresses selective issues in comparative politics: political economy of development and under-development; international security and cooperation; social movements; and the future of liberal democracy and possible political alternatives.
COURSE PHILOSOPHY
A sage (Karl Jaspers) once said: “University life is no less dependent on students than on professors. The best professors flounder helplessly at a school where the student body is unfit. Hence, it is all up to the young people who are supposedly entitled to study. They must show themselves worthy of this privilege to the best of their ability.”
This course has been organized on the premise that you are worthy of this privilege. The success of this course depends entirely on your continued and sustained participation. Thus, I ask that you be agile participants and intervene as often as possible in class discussion by posing questions and comments or even disagreements (based on additional or alternative readings or personal experiences).
In this course you will be exposed to a wide range of ideas, norms, preferences, and values different from your own. This exposure may force you to question, rethink (and if needed, abandon) your present "understanding" of the Middle East. Who knows by the end of the course you might feel that you have taken part in a serendipitous voyage of discovery!
In the course, we will analyze such categories as states, classes, ethnicity, modes of production, ideologies, elites, civic culture, and gender that have been used to shed light on the various political configurations in this region. The readings will introduce the students to some of the more important scholarship on the subject, and form the springboard for interactive class discussions. My role is to steer class discussion and engender an informal participatory class environment where we can all search collectively for the broader understanding of the subject matter at hand. Importantly, an excess of readings was given for each theme and students will be left with the choice of selecting from the given readings.
Please do not hesitate to drop by my office should you have problems with the course, or just want to talk. My office hours provide us with an opportunity to get to know each other better. So, it is incumbent upon you to take advantage of my office hours to pursue interests and concerns not raised in class. Students who may need special consideration because of any sort of disability should make an appointment to see me in private at the beginning of the semester.
ACADEMIC QUALITY
In addition to the above issue, my main priority now is to promote academic quality and make sure that students who come out of my classes meet the highest educational standards. This is a shared responsibility of the instructor and the students. My part is to come to class prepared, update my lectures, be involved, address your questions, and be available during office hours. Your part is to come to class on time, do the readings in advance, raise questions and participate effectively in class discussions, turn in your assignments on time, and be involved. Let us all strive to fight mediocrity (According to Oxford Dictionary, a mediocre person is: indifferent, ordinary, common place, average, medium, third-rate, inferior, poor).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Attendance: In view of the fact that my presentations will complement rather than reiterate the assigned readings, it is expected that you attend all class meetings. You will be held responsible for all the material we cover in readings and lectures. Attendance is also mandatory for all exams, and make-ups will be given only for bona fide emergencies (i.e., severe illness documented by a physician). Missed classes will be penalized according to the university new policy.
Participation: In addition to being physically present, I expect you to be mentally present as well! As such, you should complete all assigned readings before each class meeting, so that you are familiar with the concepts, facts, theories, and controversies with which we are dealing.
Exams: You will have one midterm and a final
Paper and presentation of a research paper: Students are required to write a research paper (length: 2.500 words—+/- 10% of word-count—including notes and bibliography) on a topic of their own choice selected on the basis of the theoretical and empirical approaches in the course. The process of writing the paper has four stages:
(1) Until March 16th, each student will provide the instructor with a research question which is directly related to one of the subjects covered in the course;
(2) Until April 6th h, each student will produce an outline (1.5-2 pages of
written text, no bullet points; submission in class) which clearly states the research puzzle, the line of argument, and the resources to be used;
(3) Final deadline for submission of the research paper is April 27th (submission of word document by e-mail to instructor and of a hard copy in class). Late submissions will NOT be accepted;
(4) In the last two weeks of the semester, each student mist give a short presentation of his or her paper in class (maximum 10 minutes).
COURSE GRADE
Participation and attendance 10%
Midterm 30%
Paper and presentation 30%
Final Exam 30%
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Lim, Timothy C. (2010): Doing Comparative Politics. An Introduction to Approaches and Issues, (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner).
Newton, Kenneth and Jan W. van Deth (2010): Foundations of Comparative Politics, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed.).
COURSE OUTLINE
January 30th
Introduction
Part I: Comparative Politics: Theory and Methodology
February 2nd
Need for Comparison
Lim-Chapter 1 and 6
Almond, G. and Powell, B. and Mundt, R. 1993. Comparative politics : a theoretical framework, Introduction
February 5th
Theories and approaches of Comparative Politics
Lim- Chapters 2- 3
Lichbach, Mark Irving and Alan S Zuckerman. (2009) Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure. Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Ch.3 pp.72-95
Recommended:
Katznelson, Ira. (2009) "Strong Theory, Complex History: Structure and Configuration in Comparative Politics Revisited" in Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure, edited by Mark Irving Lichbach and Alan S. Zuckerman: 96-116. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gabriel Almond, ''A Functional Approach to Comparative Politics, in Howard Wiarda, (ed.) (2005), Critical Concepts in Political Science, Oxon: Routledge, pp.159-213.
Wiarda (2000), Op.Cit, pp.79-99.
Andre Lecours (ed.) (2005), New Institutionalism: Theory and Analysis, Canada: University of Tornoto Press, pp.3-29; pp.151-176.
-Paul F. Whiteley (1991), Book Notes-- Nested Gamed: Rational choice in Comparative Politics...by Political Studies.
Part II: Comparative Politics: Key Institutions, actors, Processes and dynamics
February 9th
Modern States
Newton- Chapters 1 and 2
Skocpol, T., Evans, P. and Rueschemeyer, D., (1999(. Bringing the state back in. Cambridge, pages TBA
Anderson, Lisa. (1987) The State in the Middle East and North Africa. Comparative Politics 20(1): 1-18.
Ismail, Salwa. (1995) State-Society Relations in Egypt: Restructuring the Political. Arab Studies Quarterly 17(3): 37.
Recommended:
Mitchell, Timothy. (1991) The Limits of the State: Beyond Statist Approaches and Their Critics. The American Political Science Review 85(1): 77-96.
February 12th
Constitutions and government
Newton- Chapters 4, 5 and 6
February 16th
Policy Making, bureaucracy and governance: Processes and Actors
Newton- Chapters 7 and 8
February 19th -23rd
Political Parties and electoral processes
Newton-Chapters 12 and 13
Boix, Carles. (2007) The Emergence of Parties and Party Systems. In The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, edited by Carles Boix and Susan C Stokes: 499-521. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Taagepera, Rein. (2007) Electoral Systems. In The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, edited by Carles Boix and Susan C Stokes: 678-702. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Recommended:
Lipset, S.M. and Rokkan, S., 1967. Cleavage structures, party systems, and voter alignments: an introduction
February 26th
Civil Society, political participation and Pressure/interest groups
Newton-Chapters 9, 11 and pp. 135-58
Edwards, M., (2009). Civil society. Polity, chapter one
Part III- Comparative politics: Systems
March 2nd
Democracy and future models of change
Lim- Chapter 6 and Newton chapter 18
Coppedge, M., Lindberg, S. and Gerring, J., 1990. Varieties of Democracy. Studies in Comparative International Development, 25(1), pp.51-72.
Chabal, Patrick. (1998) A Few Considerations on Democracy in Africa. International Affairs 74: 289–303.
March 6th
Non-democratic systems: Authoritarianism and totalitarianism
Linz, J., 1993. Authoritarianism. The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993)
Linz, J.J., 1975. Totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. Handbook of political science, chapter one
Recommended:
Hannah Arendt. Origins of Totalitarianism. Pages TBA
March 9th
MIDTERM
Part IV- Comparative politics: Issues and probelmatics
March 13th
Political Ideologies and regimes
Newton, 291-313
Newton, Ken, and Jan W van Deth. (2005) "Political Ideologies: Conservatism, Liberalism, Christian Democracy and Socialism" in Foundations of Comparative Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: : 241-262
Tilly, Charles. (2006) in Regimes and Repertoires. Chicago: University of Chicago Press: 1-29.
William Shepard. (1987) “Islam and ideology: Towards a typology “. International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 19: 307-335
Sharabi, Hisham. (1965) The Transformation of Ideology in the Arab World. Middle East Journal 19: 471–486.
Recommended
Nealon, Jeffrey, and Susan Searls Giroux. (2012) "Ideology" in The Theory Toolbox: Critical Concepts for the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences: 93-105. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Gerges, Fawaz A.” The Islamist Moment: From Islamic State to Civil Islam?” Political Science Quarterly. Fall 2013.Vol.128, Issue 3,p.389-426
Ayubi, Nazih N. (1992) Withered Socialism or Whether Socialism? The Radical Arab States as Populist-Corporatist Regimes. Third World Quarterly 13: 89–105.
March - 16th
Military and politics
Samuel Finer, The Man on a horseback: The role of military in politics. Pages TBA
Springborg, Robert. Arab Militaries in Lynch, M. ed., 2014. The Arab uprisings explained: New contentious politics in the Middle East. Columbia University Press
March- 20th
Institutionalization and Political change
Huntington, S.P., 2006. Political Order in Changing Societies. Yale University Press, chapter one
March 23rd
Religion and politics
Scott Hibbard (2010). Religious politics and secular states. Pages TBA
Stepan, Alfred (2000). Religion, democracy, and the" Twin Tolerations". Journal of democracy, 11(4), pp.37-57.
Recommended:
Journal of Democracy, Special issue on Islam and democracy, Vol.14, No.2 (2003).
Kraetzschmar, Hendrik, and Francesco Cavatorta. (2010) Bullets Over Ballots: Islamist Groups, the State and Electoral Violence in Egypt and Morocco. Democratization 17: 326–349.
March 27th
Political economy of Development
Lim- chapters 4 and 5
Caporaso, J.A. and Levine, D.P., (1992). Theories of political economy. Cambridge University Press, chapter one
March 30th
Regime type and economic transformation
Lipset, S.M., (1959). Some social requisites of democracy: Economic development and political legitimacy. American political science review, 53(01), pp.69-105
Coates, D. ed., 2005. Varieties of capitalism, varieties of approaches. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, chapter one
Adam Przeworski, (1991). Democracy and the Market: Political and Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe and Latin America(Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1991), chapters 1 and 2
Recommended:
Karl, T.L., 1997. The paradox of plenty: Oil booms and petro-states (Vol. 26). University of California Press, chapter one
Kelly Johnson, ''Developmentalism then and Now: the Origins and Resurgence of a Grand Theory'', in Howard wiarda (ed.) (2010), Grand Theories and Ideologies in the Social Sciences, Harvard, pp. 19-41.
April 3rd
Revolutions and contention
Lim, chapter 7
Skocpol, T. (1979). States and social revolutions: A comparative analysis of France, Russia and China. Cambridge University Press, chapter one
Gurr, Ted. (2011). Why men rebel? Routledge, Pages TBA
McAdam, Doug, Sidney Tarrow, and Charles Tilly. (2009) "Comparative Perspectives on Contentious Politics" in Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure, edited by Mark Irving Lichbach and Alan S. Zuckerman: 260-90. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Tripp, Charles R.H. (2012) The Art of Resistance in the Middle East. Asian Affairs 43: 393–409.
Recommended:
Thomas N. Ratliff and other (2014), “Practicing the Art of dissent: Towards a Typology of Protest Activity in the United States”, in Humanity and Society, Vol. 38(3), 268--‐294.
.Tilly, Charles. (2004) Contentious Choices. Theory and Society 33: 473–481.
Bayat, Asef. (2003) The “Street” and the Politics of Dissent in the Arab World. Middle East Report: 10–17.
April 6th
Nationalism and ethnic politics
Hobsbawm, Eric J. (2000) "Nationalism in the Late Twentieth Century" in Nations and Nationalism since 1780: Programme, Myth, Reality. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 164-192.
Smith, Anthony D. (2009) "The Role of Nationalism" in Ethno-Symbolism and Nationalism: A Cultural Approach. Oxford: Routledge: 61-80
Recommended:
McGarry, J. and O'leary, B., (2013). The Politics of Ethnic Conflict Regulation: Case Studies of Protracted Ethnic Conflicts. Routledge, chapter one
Chatterjee, Partha. (1986) Transferring a Political Theory: Early Nationalist Thought in India. Economic and Political Weekly 21: 120–128.
Hourani, Albert. (2012). Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age. Cambridge University Press, chapter 11
Anderson, Kevin B. (2010) "Ireland: Nationalism, Class, and the Labor Movement" in Marx at the Margins: On Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Non-Western Societies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press: 115-53
April 27th
Classes and class analysis
Dworkin, Dennis. (2007) Class Struggles. Harlow: Pearson: 1-60.