AP Comparative Government and Politics
Jennifer Hoefler
Room 2300
Conference: 5th period (11:02-12:27)
Webpage: www2.pearlandisd.org/webpages/jhoefler
Tutorials: W&F 2:15-2:45 or by appointment
Edmodo code:
Course Description:
The AP course in Comparative Government and Politics introduces students to
fundamental concepts used by political scientists to study the processes and
outcomes of politics in a variety of country settings. The course aims to illustrate the rich
diversity of political life, to show available institutional alternatives, to explain
differences in processes and policy outcomes, and to communicate to students the
importance of global political and economic changes. The course will focus on six
countries to illustrate concrete examples of abstract concepts: China, Great Britain,
Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, and Russia.
This course contains a college-level curriculum designed to enable students to
achieve a passing score on the AP Comparative Government and Politics exam given
May 12, 2016. Students scoring a 3 or higher on this exam may receive college credit.
College credit requirements should be verified through your chosen institution of
higher learning, however, Texas recently passed a law requiring all state schools to
award credit for a passing exam score.
Textbook:
O’Neil, Patrick H., Karl Fields, and Don Share. Essentials of Comparative Politics with
cases, 5th AP Edition. W.W. Norton and Company: 2015.
Supplemental Resources
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Assigned articles from a variety of sources including:
o BBC
o The Economist
o The New York Times
o other scholarly journals
The College Board Briefing Papers
O’Neil, Patrick and Ronald Rogoski. Essential Readings in Comparative Politics,
4th Edition. W.W. Norton and Company: 2013.
Curriculum Outline
I.
Unit One: Introduction to Comparative Government
3weeks
a. Readings:
i. Comparative Politics and Introduction
1. Introductory Chapter 1 [provided by teacher]
2. O’Neil (pages 6-19)
ii. Globalization and Democratization
1. College Board Briefing Paper: Democratization
2. Florida, Richard “The World is Spiky” from Essentials
b. Themes and Concepts to be covered (among others)
i. Comparative Politics [1 week]
1. Definition
2. Comparative Politics as a science
a. Different types of research
b. Normative and empirical considerations
c. Levels of analysis
ii. Introduction to Comparative Study [1 week]
1. Political legitimacy
2. Sovereignty, Power, and Authority: Students will be able to
define these terms and apply concepts to particular country
cases
3. Regime types and Political Institutions
4. Nations, States, and Nation-States: Students will be able to
define these terms and apply concepts to particular country
cases
5. Citizens, Society, and the State – including political
participation
iii. Globalization [1 week]
1. Economic globalization
2. Globalization and Inequality
3. Global governance
a. The World Bank, IMF, WTO, WHO, UN, EU, NAFTA, GATT
c. Activities
i. Students will use scholarly research articles to identify types of
variables, empirical/normative research, and analyze limits of
research
II.
Unit Two: Great Britain[Advanced Democracies]
2 weeks
a. Readings
i. O’Neil, Case 1 - United Kingdom (pg 238)
ii. Bailey, Suzanne “The British Electoral System and the 2005 British
Elections”
iii. Gov.UK: “David Cameron’s Immigration Speech” 3.25.13
iv. Economist: “How to Sell the National Health Service” 8.3.13
b. Themes and Concepts to be covered (among others)
i. Historical Foundations: constitutionalism, Colonialism, Legitimacy,
Nation/State, Liberal Democracy British citizens, Society, and the
State: Demographics, Cleavages, Civil Society
ii. Political Institutions: Political Parties/Elections, Westminister Model,
Parliamentary and Presidential Systems
iii. Role of E.U.: Sovereignty
iv. Public Policy: Thatcherism and the Third Way, N. Ireland, Role of
National Health Service, Immigration, Terrorism
c. Activities
i. Vocabulary
ii. Watch Question Hour on CSPAN
iii. Analyze recent election returns for trends
d. Assessment
i. Multiple Choice Exam with Short Answer Questions/Analytical Essays
ii. Country Portfolio (more information attached)
III.
Unit Three: Russia [Post Communist]
2 weeks
a. Readings
i. O’Neil, Case 2 – Russia (pg 364)
ii. Marx and Engels, “Manifesto of the Communist Party” [ER]
b. Themes and Concepts to be covered (among others)
i. Historical Foundations and Political Change: Tsars to Bolsheviks,
Soviet Union, glasnost, post-Cold War,
ii. Russian Citizens, Society and the State: Slavophile v. Westernizer
iii. Political Institutions: President/Prime Minister, Illiberal Democracy,
Duma, Corporatism
iv. Policy: G8, Chechnya
c. Activities
i. Vocabulary
ii. Russian Political Culture (CFL Activity)- compare to U.S. political
culture
d. Assessment
i. Multiple Choice Exam with Short Answer Questions/Analytical Essays
ii. Country Portfolio
IV.
Unit Four: China [Communist]
2 weeks
a. Readings
i. O’Neil, Case 3 – China (pg 414)
ii. Economist: “The Real Great Leap Forward” 9.30.04
iii. Bloomberg Business Week: “China Moves on Reforming Hukou?”
6.28.13
iv. Economist: “Worried in Beijing” 8.5.99
v. BBC: “China’s Intolerance of Dissent” 3.8.05
vi. Baogang He and Mark E. Warren; “Authoritarian Deliberation: The
Deliberative Turn in Chinese Political Development” [ER]
b. Themes and Concepts to be covered (among others)
i. Historical Foundations: Revolution, Cultural Revolution, Economic
Modernization
ii. Chinese Society: Rich/poor cleavages
iii. Political Institutions: Guanxi Corruption, Mass Line, Democratic
Centralism
iv. Public Policy: Privatization, Falun Gong, Taiwan and Tibet, One
Child Policy and Hukou system
c. Activities
i. Vocabulary
ii. Russia/China Economic Comparison
iii. YouTube: Tiananmen Square – NBC News Special Report
d. Assessment
i. Multiple Choice Exam with Short Answer Questions/Analytical Essays
ii. Country Portfolio
V.
Unit Five: Mexico[Newly Industrialized]
2 weeks
a. Readings
i. O’Neil, Case 5 – Mexico (Ch 564)
ii. Economist: “Redrawing the Federal Map” 3.27.03
iii. Economist: “Shallow Graves, Deeping Alarm” 4.28.11
b. Themes and Concepts to be covered (among others)
i. Historical Foundations
ii. Mexican Citizens, Society and the State
iii. Political Institutions: Camarilla, Corporatism, Legitimate Elections
iv. Public Policy: NAFTA, Chiapas, Immigration, Structural Adjustment
c. Activities
i. Vocabulary
ii. Compare Mexico and Russia Party Systems (from College Board)
d. Assessment
i. Multiple Choice Exam with Short Answer Questions/Analytical Essays
ii. Country Portfolio
VI.
Unit Six: Nigeria[Less Developed Country]
2 weeks
a. Readings
i. O’Neil, Case 6 – Nigeria (pg 622)
ii. Collier, Paul and Jan Willem Gunning, “Why Has Africa Grown
Slowly” [ER]
b. Themes and Concepts to be covered (among others)
i. Historical Foundations: Colonialism, Military Coups, Authority
ii. Nigerian Citizens, Society and the State
iii. Political Institutions: Religion and Federalism, National Assembly
iv. Public Policy: Corruption, Terrorism, Poverty, Oil
v. Political Violence
c. Activities
i. Vocabulary
ii. Nigeria’s Political Party System – CFL Activity
iii. Political Economy – Bead Game: Students will analyze the difficulty
for less developed countries with a more globalized economy
iv. Political Development: Students will analyze the concepts related to
economic structure and development and compare each of the
six countries
v. Nigerian Boko Haram Simulation
d. Assessment
i. Multiple Choice Exam with Short Answer Questions/Analytical Essays
ii. Country Portfolio
VII.
Unit Seven: Iran [Newly Industrialized]
2 weeks
a. Readings
i. O’Neil, Case 4 – Iran (pg 510)
ii. BBC News: “Neda Agha Soltan’s Family Accused Iran of Her Killing”
12.4.09
b. Themes and Concepts to be covered (among others)
i. Historical Foundations: Revolution (Political Change)
ii. ranian Citizens, Society, and the State: Globalization/Fragmentation
iii. Political Institutions: Role of Islam, Theocracy
iv. Public Policy: Petropolitics, Nuclear Weapons, Iraq
c. Activities
i. Vocabulary
ii. Policy Making In Iran – CFL Activity: Students will analyze decision
making process of Iran
iii. Iranian Spelling Bee: Students must match concepts and people to
their correct description then students may volunteer for the spelling
bee
d. Assessment
i. Multiple Choice Exam with Short Answer Questions/Analytical Essays
ii. Country Portfolio
Student Evaluation
Following school board policy, 60% of a student’s grade will be based on major
assignments and 40% on daily grades.
Major grades
Unit exams: Each unit exam will consist of multiple choice and short-answer/Free
Response Question writing tasks to mirror the AP Exam. The intent of shortanswer questions is for the student to think analytically about the concepts and
countries addressed throughout the course.
 For a tentative list of test dates, please visit our class Edmodo page
Daily grades
 Vocabulary quizzes, reading quizzes, in-class assignments, discussions, writing
assignments, etc.
 Current Event Article Analysis
 Country Portfolios: Once we begin our case studies, you will be required to
complete country portfolios. The portfolios will be worth a minimum of two daily
grades for each unit of study. These portfolios will be due each test day and
should guide your studying for the particular unit.
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Notice
The instructor reserves the right to alter or change the above schedule at any time to
accommodate unforeseen circumstances, but will not do so without proper
notification.
Test Retake Policy
Pearland High School’s grading policy permits students to prove mastery of content by
retaking failed tests. In this class, test retakes will be formatted as an FRQ question that
can cover any of the content from the test in question to ensure mastery. You must
request and complete the retake within one week of receiving your test grade.
Make-up Policy
Students absent from class are responsible for meeting with the teacher before or after
school to discuss any missing assignments, tests, or other material.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception
and is an educational objective of this institution. Academic dishonesty includes, but is
not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating of information or citations, facilitating
acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of
examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without
informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. Any
violation of the above will be punished to the fullest extent permitted by district policy
and may result in removal from the advanced placement program.