Dr. Emily Edmonds Poli IPJ 286A Telephone: 260-7802 Email: edmonds@sandiego.edu OH: MWF: 12-2pm
Fall 2004 IPJ 217 Section 1: MWF 11:05-12pm Section 2: MWF 10am-10:55
Political Science 350: Comparative Politics
Course Description and Objective The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the study of comparative politics. It is designed to provide an overview of the most important theoretical approaches to this subject and to examine the experiences of individual countries in some detail. The central goal of the course is to seek an understanding of political development in various regions in the world. The organizing theme of this course can be posed as a question: why are some countries stable democracies while others are not? We will examine several theoretical approaches and answers to this question and evaluate them in the context of several countries from around the world. By the end of the semester students should have a clear idea of the factors and processes that help and hinder the development of democracy. Course Requirements Your grade in this course will be based on your performance in the following areas: 1) Attendance/Participation 2) Exams (3 @ 20% each) 3) Policy project/Final Exam 10% 60% 30% 100%
Attendance/Participation: Students are expected to attend all class meetings and to come prepared to discuss the theoretical and empirical issues presented in the readings. Class discussions will focus on the assigned readings, so it is imperative that you have completed the reading assignment before the class day under which it is listed. Failure to complete assignments on time, or to attend class regularly, will hinder your ability to perform well in the discussion, and therefore have a negative affect on your participation grade. Exams: There will be three exams during the semester. Each will take one of two forms: either you will be given a list of short identification questions in which you will be asked to define and explain the significance of a concept/event/issue, or you will be asked to respond to an essay question. (Exam dates: 10/6, 11/1, 11/22)
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Policy Project/Final Exam: During the last two weeks of class students will be divided into small groups in order to complete a policy project in which they make recommendations about the future of democracy in a specific country. Each group will turn in a written paper and make a class presentation during the final exam period. More specific information on this project will be provided in class. Please note that group assignments and a more thorough introduction to this assignment will be provided on Wednesday, November 24 (the day before Thanksgiving). Attendance to this class is mandatory. If you choose to skip this class and start your vacation early, it will be YOUR responsibility to find out what group you are assigned to and the exact nature/expectations of the project. Notes ! Under no circumstances will students be allowed to make up exams or to take the final exam at a time/day other than that scheduled by the University. ! All assignments must be handed in on time. There are no exceptions to this rule. Anything turned in after the date and time listed on the syllabus will be penalized one full letter grade for every day they are late. Plan accordingly. Academic Integrity While students are encouraged to discuss issues outside class and to form study groups for test preparation, they are also expected to comply fully with the standards of academic integrity set forth by the University of San Diego. Any incident of academic dishonesty (as defined in the Undergraduate Bulletin) will be punished to the full extent allowed by the University. Office Hours Students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the professors’ office hours (MWF 12-2pm). If you are not able to make it during regularly scheduled times, please talk to or email me to set up a time that is mutually convenient. Required Materials There are two required texts for this course. Both are available at the USD bookstore: ! Robert Dahl. On Democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000. ! Michael Sodaro. Comparative Politics: A Global Introduction. New York: McGrawHill, 2004. Other required readings are available at Copley Library on e-reserve. The password to access e-res is: COMPOL. The materials are also available on traditional two-hour reserve. Class Schedule and Reading Assignments Friday, September 3: Course Introduction
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Week 1: Comparative method and democracy Monday, September 6: Labor Day Holiday (No class) Wednesday, September 8: Why compare? ! Michael Sodaro. “Critical Thinking about Politics: Analytical Techniques of Political Science—The Logic of Hypothesis Testing.” Friday, September 10: What is democracy? ! Robert Dahl, On Democracy. Chapters 1-4 Week 2: How do we know democracy when we see it? Monday, September 13: What is democracy? ! Robert Dahl, On Democracy. Chapters 5-7 Wednesday, September 15: Democratic institutions ! Robert Dahl, On Democracy. Chapters 8-11 Friday, September 17: Conditions that facilitate/hinder democracy ! Robert Dahl, On Democracy. Chapters 12-15 Week 3: Political economy: Do economics determine politics? Monday, September 20: What is a “political economy” approach? ! Michael Sodaro. “Political Economy: Laissez-Faire, Central Planning, Mixed Economies, Welfare States.” Wednesday, September 22: No bourgeoisie, no democracy? ! Barrington Moore. Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World. Boston: Beacon Press, 1966. Chapters 1 and 7. (e-res) Friday, September 24: Democracy in the UK ! Michael Sodaro. “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” Week 4: Political economy approaches, continued Monday, September 27: What happens when the middle class is not democratic? ! Guillermo O’Donnell. “Toward an Alternative Conceptualization of South American Politics.” In Peter Klarén and Thomas Bossert, eds., Promise of Development: Theories of Change in Latin America. Boulder: Westview Press, 1986. (e-res) ! Guillermo O’Donnell. “Tensions in the Bureaucratic-Authoritarian State and the Question of Democracy.” In Peter Klarén and Thomas Bossert, eds., Promise of Development: Theories of Change in Latin America. Boulder: Westview Press, 1986. pp. 280-299 (e-res) Wednesday, September 29: Is Argentina democratic today? ! Aldo Vacs. “Argentina.” In Harry Vanden and Gary Prevost, eds., Politics of Latin America: The Power Game. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. (eres) Friday, October 1: Can poor countries become democratic? A look at India ! Michael Sodaro. “The Politics of Development”
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Week 5: Review and Exam I Monday, October 4: How convincing are political economy approaches? Review Wednesday, October 6: Exam I Friday, October 8: Film Week 6: Political culture: Is there a “democratic” political culture? Monday, October 11: What is political culture? ! Michael Sodaro. “Political Culture.” Wednesday, October 13: What makes political culture “democratic?” ! Scott Flanagan. “The Genesis of Variant Political Cultures: Contemporary Citizen Orientations in Japan, America, Britain and Italy.” In Sidney Verba and Lucian Pye, eds. The Citizen and Politics: A Comparative Perspective. Stamford: Greylock, 1978. (e-res) Friday, October 15: Does the US have a “democratic” political culture? ! Robert Putnam. “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital.” Journal of Democracy 6:1 (Winter 1995). (e-res) Week 7: Political culture approaches, continued. Monday, October 18: How does an imperial power become democratic? Japan ! Dean Collinwood. “Japan,” in Michael Sodaro, Comparative Politics: A Global Introduction. Wednesday, October 20: Is democracy possible in post-communist systems? Russia ! Michael Sodaro. “Russia” Friday, October 22: Can Islamic countries become democratic? ! Daniel Brumberg and Larry Diamond. “Introduction,” in Larry Diamond, Marc Plattner, and Daniel Brumberg, eds. Islam and Democracy in the Middle East. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. ! John Esposito and John Voll. “Islam and Democracy: Heritage and Global Context,” and “State and Opposition in Islamic History,” in Islam and Democracy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Week 8: Political culture approaches, continued Monday, October 25:Is Egypt an Islamic democracy? ! Ann Mosely Lesch. “Politics in Egypt,” in Gabriel Almond, G. Bingham Powell, Jr., Kaare Strom, and Russell Dalton, eds., Comparative Politics Today: A World View, 8/e. New York: Pearson Longman, 2004. (e-res) ! Jason Brownlee. “The Decline of Pluralism in Mubarak’s Egypt,” in Larry Diamond, Marc Plattner, and Daniel Brumberg, eds. Islam and Democracy in the Middle East. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. (e-res) Wednesday, October 27: The prospects for democracy in Iran ! John Esposito and John Voll. “Iran: Revolutionary Islam in Power” in Islam and Democracy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. (e-res) ! Shaul Bakhash. “Iran’s Remarkable Election,” in Larry Diamond, Marc Plattner, and Daniel Brumberg, eds. Islam and Democracy in the Middle East. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. (e-res)
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! Haleh Esfandiari. “Is Iran Democratizing? Observations on Election Day,” in Larry Diamond, Marc Plattner, and Daniel Brumberg, eds. Islam and Democracy in the Middle East. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. (e-res) ! Ladan Boroumand and Roya Boroumand. “Is Iran Democratizing? Reform at an Impasse,” in Larry Diamond, Marc Plattner, and Daniel Brumberg, eds. Islam and Democracy in the Middle East. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. (e-res) Friday, October 29: How important is political culture for democracy? Review Week 9: Exam II and Institutional Approaches Monday, November 1: Exam II Wednesday, November 3: Can political institutions create democracy? ! Review Robert Dahl, On Democracy. Chapters 8-11. Friday, November 5: Constitutions ! Michael Sodaro. “Democracy: How Does it Work?” (Section on state institutions) ! Juan Linz. “The Perils of Presidentialism,” Journal of Democracy 1 (Winter 1990). (e-res) ! Donald Horowitz, Seymour Martin Lipset, and Juan Linz. “Debate: Presidents vs. Parliaments,” Journal of Democracy No. 1 and 4 (Winter and Fall 1990). (e-res) Week 10: Institutional Approaches, continued. Monday, November 8: Electoral Systems ! Michael Sodaro. “Democracy: How Does it Work?” (Section on electoral systems) Wednesday, November 10: Can institutions bring divided societies together? ! Arendt Lijphart. “Consociational Democracy” and “Favorable Conditions for Consociational Democracy,” in Democracy in Plural Societies: A Comparative Exploration. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1977. (e-res) Friday, November 12: Democracy by design? Nigeria ! Michael Sodaro. “Nigeria and South Africa.” Sections on Africa and Nigeria. ! Chudi Uwazurike. “Politics and the Search for Accommodation in Nigeria: Will Rotational Consociationalilsm Suffice?” In Paul Beckett and Crawford Young eds., Dilemmas of Democracy in Nigeria. Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 1997. (e-res) ! Rotimi Suberu. “Federalism, Ethnicity and Regionalism in Nigeria.” In Paul Beckett and Crawford Young eds., Dilemmas of Democracy in Nigeria. Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 1997. (e-res) Week 11: Institutional Approaches, continued. Monday, November 15: Democracy by design? South Africa ! Michael Sodaro. “Nigeria and South Africa.” Section on South Africa ! Mary de Haas and Paulus Zulu. “Ethnicity and Federalism: The Case of Kwa/Zulu/Natal.” Journal of Southern African Studies, Vol 20, No. 3 (September 1994), 433-446. (e-res)
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! FC de Beer. “Nation-Building in South Africa—exploring the ethnic landscape.” South African Journal of Ethnology, Vol 24, No. 4 (2001). (e-res) ! Rupert Taylor and Thabisi Hoeane. “Interpreting the South African Election of June 1999.” Politikon, Vol. 26, No. 2 (1999), 133-144. (e-res) Wednesday, November 17: Are institutions the building blocks of democracy? ! Arthur Schlessinger, Jr. “Leave the Constitutions Alone.” In Donald L. Robinson, ed. Reforming American Government. Boulder: Westview Press, 1985. (e-res) Friday, November 19: Review Week 12: Exam III and Introduction to Policy Project Monday, November 22: Exam III Wednesday, November 24: Introduction to Policy Project: Attendance is mandatory! Friday, November 26: Thanksgiving Holiday (no class) Weeks 13/14: Policy Project Monday, November 29-Monday, December 13: Policy Project FINAL EXAMS: Section 1 (11:05-12pm): Section 2 (10-10:55 am):
Friday, December 17 from 11am-1pm Monday, December 20 from 11am-1pm
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