PS236 Introduction to Comparative Politics

Block V
(2021)

 

Joseph L. Derdzinski, PhD
Office hours: Mondays and Thursdays, 2:30 – 3:30; other times by arrangement
jderdzinski@coloradocollege.edu

The Course
aims to provide the intellectual, theoretical and practical foundations in comparative politics, the subfield of political science that seeks to understand how states and societies operate. Throughout the course, we attempt to appreciate not only what happens within each state, but also to study how global interdependence affects state actions and performance. So, using a combination of articles to introduce a particular theme and a “classic” case study, at the end of the course you will be able to identify and apply across all countries how comparative politics can shed deeper and more thoughtful insights into our world.

The course is conducted primarily via Zoom

Texts:
Required:
Patrick H. O’Neil and Ronald Rogowski, Essential Readings in Comparative Politics, 5^th ed.
Patrick H. O’Neil, Karl Fields, and Don Share, Cases in Comparative Politics, 7^th ed.

All other readings will be either on the course Canvas site or available as a linked article.
In addition to the case study reading in your O'Neil, Fields and Share text, review that country's page on: the BBC Country Profiles, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, and Transparency International. 

Graded Assignments:
Introduction to Comparative Politics develops and tests your knowledge of political systems around the world through a range of exercises on the topics and theoretical constructs in our field, and applies those topics and theories to “real-life” cases. These exercises include:

Paper I                                        150
Paper II                                       150
Debate                                       250
Course Exam                             350
Participation                              100
Total                                           1,000

Papers I and II are due at 5 PM on the course Canvas site on Lessons 5 and 10. 
Each is a review essay of three articles on one of these topics we explored in class. In about three-four double-spaced, 12-point, TNR, pages, you will introduce the topic, synopsize each of the three articles, and discuss how the three complement and contradict the other. What did you learn? 
This is intended to get you to understand the basics of a literature review and how theory can shape a longer research paper. 
Ask yourself: How did each define the topic? How was the topic researched?

Paper one's topic will be on either the state or state-society relations.
Paper two begins with a topic of your choice from any lesson from the course, and applied to one case (country) of your choosing. The paper is 4-5 pages, and follows roughly this format:

• Paragraph 1:  Introduction
• Page(s) 1-2    Topic and theory - Define the concepts (3-5 articles); "What are the theoretical exceptions?
• Pages 3-4      The case (i.e., country study) - "Just the facts" here; focus on the most-relevant data.
• Pages 4-5      Analysis - Did your case support the theory?

Daily Discussion Questions
Every day with assigned readings, bring two discussion questions to class, which will form a basis for that day’s discussion. Please see the end of the syllabus for examples of excellent questions.

The Debate is 25% of your final grade. I recall fondly how the preparation necessary for debates during grad school helped me to understand certain aspects of politics, even (maybe especially) when I was forced to defend a position contrary to my own. We will discuss this during the first week of class, but please see the debate outline at the end of the syllabus. Given the remote environment for the course, each team will record their debate and then post it for the class. Topics will include: parliamentary v. presidential systems; proportional representation v. first-past-the-post electoral systems; democracy v. authoritarian governance; and globalization as a positive or negative influence on governance.

The written Final Exam is on the last day of class. We will discuss the exam in more detail toward the end of the course.

Participation
This is not an automatic 100%; in fact, this can affect - up or down - your final grade, sometimes significantly. A major responsibility to yourself and to your colleagues is to read all the assigned articles, think through what they mean to you, and have prepared areas you would like to discuss further in class.

Policies
Attendance is mandatory.

Any plagiarism and other forms of cheating will receive the full penalty that the college allows.

If you have a disability for which you are requesting an accommodation, please let me know privately. I will do whatever I can to assist you.

Late assignments receive a 10% per day penalty.

Remote Learning
Learning remotely is so very different than learning inside together in a CC classroom. But, we are living in times that demand we not only utilize this new format, but that we also embrace it. Just as in the physical classroom, what you get out of this experience is very closely tied to what you put into it. I do my very best to engage you, push you, challenge you, and most importantly, support you throughout this online learning experience.

Your job, right now, is to buy into and believe our class is worthwhile and stimulating.

Please, be flexible. We are on the same team. A scheduled for the day or an assignment just may not work, and that’s fine. So, what you see below on the schedule may change. I’ll be in close contact with you as the block goes along, and you should never hesitate to reach out to me. I’m here. I have students talk to me positively about this course years later, and I expect this will be also be the case for this course.

 

Week I

Lesson 1 – Introductions and Course Overview
Welcome!

Lesson 2 – The State
Cases, Introduction
O’Neil and Rogowski, 27-63

Case Study: The United Kingdom 🇬🇧 
As an additional requirement, please watch the "Prime Minster's Questions" for at least ten minutes (though you might want to watch more... One caveat: Covid-related restrictions have made this far less lively!)

Lesson 3 – State-Society Relations Small Groups
O’Neil and Rogowski, 64-103
Review for Understanding: Skocpol, “Bringing the State Back In: Strategies of Analysis in Current Research.”

Case Study: the United States 🇺🇸
Consider listening to this three-minute NPR piece. Note that we will read a few articles by Professor Acemoglu.

Lesson 4 - What is Comparative Politics? Approaches and Methods
O’Neil and Rogowski, 1-26
Blondel, “Then and Now: Comparative Politics”
Bennett and Elman, “Qualitative Research: Recent Developments in Case Study Methods.”

Case Study: India 🇮🇳

Lesson 5 – Paper I due @ 5 PM on the course Canvas site

Film: Ghandi (1982) or The Queen (2006)
Please note that you only need to watch one film, not both.

 

Week II

Lesson 6 – Political Economy
O’Neil and Rogowski, 138-177

Case Study: Japan 🇯🇵 

Lesson 7 – Democracies; Guest Speaker: Richard Soudriette, IFES President Emeritus - Entire Class
          Note: This is a joint session of both groups, meeting 9:30 - Noon
O’Neil and Rogowski, 178-238
Review for understanding: Helmke and Levitsky, “Informal Institutions and Comparative Politics: A Research Agenda.”

Case Study: Mexico 🇲🇽 

Lesson 8 – Developed Democracies - Small Groups
O’Neil and Rogowski, 376-413 and 437-462

Case Studies: France 🇫🇷  and Germany 🇩🇪 

Lesson 9 – Transitioning (?) States; Guest Speaker Jeff Montera, CC alum and development specialist!  - Entire Class
         Note: This is a joint session of both groups, meeting 9:30 - Noon
Rustow, “Transitions to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model”
Carothers, “The End of the Transition Paradigm”
O’Neil and Rogowski, 413-437
Review and be prepared to discuss in class: International IDEA’s electoral assistance program (follow embedded link).

Case Study: For today's class, please review the resources listed at the top of our Canvas page and look at Vietnam 🇻🇳 and Nepal🇳🇵. 

Lesson 10 –Paper II due @ 5 PM on the course Canvas site

Film: No (2012) or  How to Stage a Coup (Netflix)
Please note that you only need to watch one film, not both.

Week III

Lesson 11 –Non-Democratic Regimes
O’Neil and Rogowski, 239-308
Review and be prepared to discuss in class: United Nations' programs for developing social capital (follow embedded link).

Case Study: Iran 🇮🇷 

Lesson 12 – Political Violence - Small Groups
O’Neil and Rogowski, 309-375
Reilly, “Political Engineering and Party Politics in Conflict-Prone Societies.”

Case Study: South Africa 🇿🇦 

Lesson 13 - "Developing" Countries; Guest Speaker: Hannah Rose Holloway, Development Expert - Entire Class
          Note: This is a joint session of both groups, meeting 9:30 - Noon
O’Neil and Rogowski, 507-548
Review for understanding: Inglehart and Welzel, “Political Culture and Democracy - Analyzing Cross-Level Linkages.”

Case Studies: Brazil 🇧🇷 and Nigeria 🇳🇬

Lesson 14 – Communism and Postcommunism
O’Neil and Rogowski, 463-506 (Focus on first three articles)

Case Studies: Russia 🇷🇺 and China 🇨🇳

Lesson 15 – Debate Day
No Readings while you prepare for your debate 
Record your debates and submit them by 12 PM; Complete peer review by 5 PM

Film: Last King of Scotland (2006) or Leviathan (2014)
Please note that you only need to watch one film, not both.

 

Week IV

Lesson 16 – Globalization
O’Neil and Rogowski, 549-590
Przeworski, “Divided we Stand?

 Lessons 17 - Wrapping it up; Global Political Cartoons - Entire Class @ 9:00-10:15
Have your political cartoons consolidated into one presentation
Plan to receive exam study outline by 2 PM today

Review to prepare for class: OECD’s Conflict, fragility and resilience program.

Lesson 18 - Final Exam

 

                                                                                          Debate Format

Team A - Prepared Speech 10 minutes
Team B - Prepared Speech 10 minutes
Team A - Rebuttal 5 minutes
Team B - Rebuttal 5 minutes
Crossfire btw. Teams A & B 5 minutes

– Five minute recess to gather thoughts –

Team A - Summary of Argument 2 minutes
Team B - Summary of Argument 2 minutes

Please don't forget to post your debate video by noon on Friday, and your evaluation by 5 PM Friday.

 

                                                                   Examples of ‘A’ Discussion Questions
                                                                               (Each is one question)

From Professor Wolfe’s course:

One of the many findings presented in “The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion” is that both politically unaware “hawks” and “doves” were unlikely to support aid to the Contras, with “no value-based differences at all” (24) present in their support for such a policy. More broadly, citizens with low-political awareness are unlikely to make value judgments about a specific issue, and hence appear similar in their support for a position to a low-information person with opposing values, as was also shown in regards to wealth inequality in Bartels (2008). Can the opposing values of these voters be re-activated by their respective elites, or are they protected from this via the dint of their unawareness? Does the existence of low-information partisans lead to the false appearance of moderation in public opinion from dormant partisanship?

In examining the effects of political campaigns on election outcomes, Stimson focuses on the effects of party conventions and debates. He concludes that debates have imperceptible effects on election outcomes and that conventions have marginal but significant ramifications. What is the effect of political ads on election outcomes? Do they effectively sway voters? Are some types of ads more persuasive? For example, is attacking the opposing candidate in an ad more effective than elaborating on one’s position? or vice-a-versa? Can a particularly bad ad cause voters who once supported a candidate to switch sides?