Introduction to AP Comparative Government
What This Class Covers
I. Why Compare?
A. Comparative politicsB. Comparison as a social science
C. Understanding our own system better
D. Understanding of a globalized world
II. Why these Countries?
A. Levels of Development
B. Levels of Democratization
C. Regions of the World
D. Different Government Systems
III. What Will We Be Covering?
A. Introduction (0-10%)
1. Organization of political science
2. Globalization/interdependence
3. Nation/state/gov’t/regime
4. Legitimacy, power, and authority
5. Political and economic systems
B. Sovereignty, Authority, Power (15-25%)
1. Sovereignty w/in and w/out
2. Supranational organizations
3. Political organization
4. Legitimacy of political systems
5. Economy role in gov’t and political system
6. Culture and belief systems
C. Political Institutions (30-40%)
1. Formal and informal structures
2. Relationships between and roles of parts of government
3. Non-governmental institutions
4. Recruitment of elites
5. Interest groups
6. Parties and elections
D. Citizens, Society, and the State (10-20%)
1. Cleavages
2. Relationship b/w civil society and power
3. Forms of political action and citizen participation
4. Media
E. Political and Economic Change (10-20%)
1. Common trends of political and economic change
2. Relationship b/w politics and the economy in transition
3. Role of supranational organizations
4. Role of globalization
5. Cultural changes and cleavages
F. Public Policy (5-15%)
1. Influences of policy decisions
2. Scope and choice of policy
3. Implementation of policy
Comparative Method
I. Types of Analysis
A. Variables
1. Dependent2. IndependentB. Causality vs Correlation
1. Causality2. CorrelationC. Normative vs Empirical Questions
1. Normative2. EmpiricalD. Quantitative, qualitative analysis
1. Quantitative analysis2. Qualitative analysisII. Approaches
A. Most-Similar ApproachB. Most-Different ApproachIII. Theories
A. Theory validity1. Internal validity2. External validity- Constitution)
B. Rational-Choice TheoryC. Systems-Theory1. Environment2. Input3. Decision making4. Output5. FeedbackD. Middle-Level Theory-
Themes of Comparison
I. A World of States
A. Nation1. Nationalism2. SupranationalB. StateC. Nation-stateD. GovernmentE. RegimeII. Governing the Economy
A. Political EconomyB. Measuring the Economy
1. GDP/GNP2. Per capita3. Real4. PPP5. Gini IndexC. Level of Development-Human Development Index
D. Types of economies
1. Capitalism2. Socialism3. Command4. Mixeda. Social welfare capitalismb. Protectionismc. Socialist market/State capitalismE. Economic Policies
1. Fiscal2. MonetaryIII. Democratic Idea
IV. Politics of Collective Identity
A. Collective IdentityB. Sources of Collective IdentityC. Social Cleavages1. Cross-cutting cleavages2. Coinciding or polarizing cleavages-
Political Systems
I. Political Spectrum
A. Early Left vs Right
1. Left:
2. Right:
B. Authority vs Liberty
1. Liberalisma. Neoliberalismb. Libertarianism2. Authoritarianisma. Communismb. Fascismc. TotalitarianismC. Conservatism vs Progressivism
1. Conservatisma. Reactionaries2. ProgressiveII. Democracy
A. Elements of Democracy
B. 1st, 2nd, 3rd World Approach
C. Overall Trends:
D. Key aspects in defining a regime is
III. Substantive Democracy
A. Meets all five of the criteria, functions as a democracy
B. Liberal Democracy
C. Considered a Consolidated Democracy
1. Usually high per capita GDP
2. Have both formal rules and informal rules
3. Have strong civil society
a.
b.
c. Political efficacy- people believe in the gov’t and believe
that they can influence it
D. Examples in this class:
IV. Procedural democracy
A. Merely has the form of democracy (Illiberal Democracy)
B. Elections
C. Transitional (consolidating) democracyD. Examples in this class:
V. Non-Democracy
A. Is authoritarian, does not follow any of five conditions
B. Authority and legitimacy comes from
C. Low social capital, citizens participate in limited ways
D. Examples in this class:
Globalization
I. History of Globalization
A. Explorers and Columbian ExchangeB. European EmpiresC. ProtectionismD. Post WWIIE. Post 1991- economic liberalizationII. Economic Interdependence
A. InterdependenceB. Multinational corporations
C. Economic supranational organizations:
1. IMF, World Bank2. World Trade Organization3. European Union4. NAFTAD. Developed and developing world
1. Developing world2. Direct Foreign InvestmentIII. Benefits of Globalization
A.
IV. Costs of Globalization
A.