Iran Group
Possible Readings about Iran:
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Barber, Benjamin R. “Jihad vs. McWorld.” The Atlantic Online. March 1992.
< http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/199203/barber>. Online.
Golkar, Saeid. “Politics of Piety: The Basij and Moral Control of Iranian Society.” Journal of the
Middle East and Africa, 2:207–219, 2011.
Hakakian , Roya. “Misreading Iran’s Elections.” World Affairs. 2013.
“Iran: Country Brief.” World Bank. 2010.
Jahanbegloo , Ramin. “Iran and the Democratic Struggle in the Middle East.” Middle East Law
and Governance. 3 (2011). 126–135.
Zarif, Mohammad Javad. “What Iran Really Wants.” Foreign Affairs. May2014, Vol. 93, Issue 3.
Possible Activity Ideas:
Please note that these are not exclusive and you may find/come up with your own.
 Watch Persepolis
 Watch PBS Frontline Showdown with Iran
 Watch clips from The Iranian Embassy Siege
 Watch clips from Argo
 Watch various 60 Minutes clips over Iranian government and society
 Iranian Spelling Bee Activity
 Iranian Nuclear Group Activity
 Have students research and debate whether the Green Movement in Iran will pose a threat to
the legitimacy of the state
 Have students explore how the rights of women have evolved under the regimes led by the
Shah and Khomeini, and in Iran today.
 Have the students analyze the role that religion plays in Iran. Then, compare Islamic
fundamentalism to resurgent Hindu and Christian fundamentalism. What aspects do they have
in common and how does fundamentalism affect democracy and democratization?
China Group
Possible Readings about China:
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“Friend or Foe?” The Economist. December 4, 2010.
Hou, Xiaoshuo. “Dissecting China’s Rise.” China Perspectives. 2014.
Nathan, Andrew and Andrew Scobell. “Globalization as a Security Strategy: Power and
Vulnerability in the ‘China Model.’” Political Science Quarterly. Vol. 128, Issue 3. 2013.
“Special Report: China.” The Economist. April 19, 2014.
Weller, Robert. “The Politics of Increasing Religious Diversity in China.” Journal of the American
Academy of Arts & Sciences. 2014.
Possible Activity Ideas:
Please note that these are not exclusive and you may find/come up with your own.
 Watch parts of China from the Inside
 Watch China: Inside Out with Bob Woodruff
 Watch Frontline: PBS Young and Restless in China
 Watch various 60 Minutes clips that have to do with Chinese politics, society and economy
 Have students debate the effectiveness of Iran and China’s social policies (i.e. family planning)
 Watch parts of To Live and then do the Politburo simulation activity
 Have students chart how cultural homogeneity has contributed to China’s political stability and
the ability of the CCP to continue to govern. Point out the numerous similarities between the
imperial and communist eras.
 Have students describe the basic principles of capitalism and democracy as separate concepts
and then discuss the ways that capitalism and democracy both support and undermine each
other.
 Have students chart how CCP rule influences the decisions of government at all levels.
 Have students research China’s One Child Policy.
Russia Group
Possible Readings about Russia:
 Foglesong, David and Gordon M. Hahn. “Ten Myths about Russia.” Problems of PostCommunism, vol. 49, no. 6, November/December 2002, pp. 3–15.
 Kara-Murza, Vladimir. “Politics in Russia: The Kremlin’s Troubles.” World Affairs. Jan/Feb 2014.
 Mankoff, Jeffrey. “Russia’s Latest Land Grab: How Russia won Crimea and Lost Ukraine.”
Foreign Affairs. Vol. 93. No. 3.
 Pomerantsev, Peter. “Russia: A Postmodern Dictatorship?” Institute of Modern Russia. 2013.
 Zakaria, Fareed. “The Rise of Illiberal Democracy.” Foreign Affairs. Vol. 76, No. 6. Pp. 22-43.
Possible Activity Ideas:
Please note that these are not exclusive and you may find/come up with your own.
 Russian transition Activity/Discussion
 Watch “Putin’s Media War – Russia” for discussion over media environment
 Watch PBS Frontline: Putin’s Plan, Moscow’s Sex and the City, and Rich in Russia
 Watch various 60 Minutes clips that have to do with Russia
 Debate whether Russia is now an authoritarian state, rather than a procedural democracy
 Compare and Contrast the Russian, American and French Revolutions
 Compare Russia’s Duma to UK Parliament
 Debate Russia’s belief in their role in the world
Mexico Group
Possible Readings over Mexico:
 The Economist. “Special Report: Mexico.” The Economist. November 2012.
 O'Neil, Shannon K. “Mexico.” Foreign Affairs. Jan/Feb2014, Vol. 93, Issue 1
 Roman, Richard and Edur Velasco. “Mexico: The State Against the Working Class.” NACLA. 2014.
 Castañeda, Jorge G. “NAFTAs Mixed Record.” Foreign Affairs. Jan/Feb2014, Vol. 93, Issue 1.
Possible Activity Ideas:
Please note that these are not exclusive and you may find/come up with your own.
 Watch PBS Frontline: Mexico: Crimes at the Border
 Watch various 60 Minutes clips over Mexico
 Compare Russia’s Duma to Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies
 Have students debate the effects of NAFTA
 Mexico and Russia experienced the first modern social revolutions. Compare these revolutions,
especially with respect to their outcomes. What are the similarities and differences in the types
of hegemonic parties that prevailed, and what is the significance of these types for the
democratic transitions that ultimately followed?
 Outline with students why the former authoritarian regime in Mexico is considered “the perfect
dictatorship,” with special reference to the interaction between corporatism, clientelism,
corruption, the structure of the PRI, and Mexican presidentialism. Review how each functioned
and discuss how they interacted to form this “perfect dictatorship.”
Nigeria Group
Possible Readings over Nigeria:
 Akanle, Olayinka. “The Development Exceptionality of Nigeria: The Context of Political and Social
Currents.” Africa Today 59 (3). Pp. 31-48.
 Katsina, Aliyu Mukhtar. “A Contextual Analysis of Party System Formation in Nigeria, 19602011.” Intellectual Discourse, 21:2 (2013) 221-240.
 “Nigeria.” Ed. Philip Walker. The Economist Intelligence Unit. 2012.
 Nwozor, Agaptus. “Media, Ethnicity and the Challenge of Peace: Exploring the Crisis of StateBuilding in Nigeria.” The Journal of Pan African Studies. Vol.6, No.9. May 2014.
 Osakwe, Emman. “The Dynamics of Citizenship Participation and Inclusion in Nigeria.” The
International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences. Volume 6, Issue 11. 2012.
Possible Activity Ideas:
Please note that these are not exclusive and you may find/come up with your own.
 Watch TED Talks “Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Aid versus trade” (2007)
 Watch TED Talks “Franco Sacchi Tours Nigeria’s Booming Nollywood” (2007)
 Watch various 60 Minutes clips over Nigeria
 Have students compare the level of executive power in Nigeria to the executive power in Mexico
 Have students compare the activities of MEND in Nigeria with the Chiapas Rebellion and the
effectiveness of each government’s response
 Have students compare the Human Development Index rating of Nigeria with the five other
countries
 Class discussion with students on how oil dependence has created negative effects for the
Nigerian economy and politics. Explore whether this is a pattern for other oil-dependent states,
considering that Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia are all either nondemocratic or
precariously democratic.
 Compare each of the Nigerian republics with respect to its institutional design (format of the
executive branch, electoral system, federal divisions, and so forth). Analyze with students which
particular institutional configurations worked better and which were less successful.
 Have students chart the process by which Africa was carved apart by European countries in the
late nineteenth century at the Berlin Conference. Explore how lack of consideration for the
ethnic composition of the resulting states created myriad problems in Africa.