BILKENT UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION FALL 2019 POLS 303-02: COMPARATIVE POLITICS I: ADVANCED INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES Tue 10:40-12:30 and Fri 9:40- 10:30, A229 (Spare Hour: Fri 8:40-9:30) Instructor: Meral Uğur Çınar Email: meral.ugur@bilkent.edu.tr Office Hours: Fridays 10.40-12.30, or by appointment, Room AZ27A COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES This course is intended to provide an introduction to the comparative study of political institutions and processes in established democracies. We will combine theoretical questions on political phenomena with the study of empirical cases to endow students with conceptual, theoretical, and analytical tools and to enhance critical thinking skills that will help students achieve a well-rounded understanding of politics. After first laying the groundwork and providing conceptual clarity by discussing main elements of comparative political analysis of the developed world, we will particularly focus on Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States concentrating on topics such as democracy, development, political economy, institutional-design, participation and representation. Students are of course encouraged to apply what they learn in class to other cases and to current political events in class discussions as well as exams and assignments throughout the semester. At the end of this course student are expected to have a good grasp on comparative political research, including how it is done and what its primary objectives are. They will also be able to find patterns of similarities and differences across political systems in areas such as political regimes and economic development. They will be able to analyze such similarities and differences using the conceptual, methodological and analytical skills acquired in this class. REQUIRED READINGS Course Textbook: M. Kesselman, J. Krieger, and W.A. Joseph (2018) Introduction to Comparative Politics: Political Challenges and Changing Agendas, 8th Edition, Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning (Available at Meteksan Bookstore). Additional assigned readings will be provided by the instructor through Moodle. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Laptops are not allowed during class. To ensure academic integrity, dishonest acts such as cheating and plagiarism will face punishments in accordance with Bilkent regulations. Regulations regarding academic dishonesty can be found at http://www.provost.bilkent.edu.tr/procedures/DisipKopya.htm Make-up exams for the quiz, midterm and final examination will be strictly conducted under the eligibility rules specified by Bilkent. There will be no opportunity to write a make-up exam after the formal make-up exam has taken place. Requests for makeup exams should be submitted (with required documentation within two working days of the ending of the official excuse) to the instructor and the Political Science departmental office. Informed, active participation is a requirement of the course. This means that you need to come to class in time, do the readings in advance and contribute to class discussions. Attendance and participation is also essential for your success in this class because you will also be tested on material covered in class in addition to assigned readings. Students will be responsible for readings, lectures, class discussions, and any additional course material (such as documentaries, films, and news excerpts) for the inclass assignments. Further details on the requirements and format of the assignments will be announced in class. Three in-class assignments will be given and students will have a choice in taking two of these. There will be no opportunity for making up the assignments. The grade breakdown for the class is as follows: 10% - participation 10% - 2 in-class assignment (5% each) 10% - quiz 30% - midterm exam 40% - final exam MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY FOR THE FINAL EXAM Students need to take the quiz, midterm examination and at least one of the assignments. GRADE SCALE 96-100 A 91-95 A- 86-90 B+ 81-85 B 76-80 71-75 BC+ 66-70 61-65 C C- 56-60 D+ 50-55 D 0 - 49 F COURSE CONTENT September 24: Course Introduction September 27: What is Comparative Politics? October 1 & 4: The Modern State Poggi, G. (2011). “State,” in B. Badie D. Berg-Schlosser & L. Morlino (eds.), International Encyclopedia of Political Science, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2486-2496. Tilly, C. (1985) “War-Making and State-Making as Organized Crime,” in Peter Evans et al. (eds.), Bringing the State Back In, Cambridge University Press, 169-187. Spruyt, H. The Sovereign State and Its Competitors (Princeton University Press, 1994), 153-180. October 8 & 11: Democracy Schmitter, P. and Karl, T. L. (1991) ‘What Democracy is … and is Not’, Journal of Democracy, 2 (3), 75-87. Levitsky, S. & Way, L. A. (2010). “Democracy's Past and Future: Why Democracy Needs a Level Playing Field,” Journal of Democracy 21(1), 57-68. 2 Take a look at the following websites of two leading democracy indices: Polity IV Project http://www.systemicpeace.org/polityproject.html Freedom House Scores 2019 https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2019 October 15 (approximate date, subject to change) ---QUIZ--- October 18, 22, 25 & November 1: Britain in Comparative Perspective “Britain,” in Introduction to Comparative Politics ---- In-class assignment I ---October 29: National Holiday, No Class November 5, 8, 12, 15: France in Comparative Perspective “France,” in Introduction to Comparative Politics ---- MIDTERM EXAM ---November 19, 22, 26, 29: Germany in Comparative Perspective “Germany,” in Introduction to Comparative Politics ---- In-class assignment II ---December 3, 6, 10,13: Japan in Comparative Perspective “Japan,” in Introduction to Comparative Politics ---- In-class assignment III ---December 17, 20, 24, 27: United States in Comparative Perspective DeSipio, L. (2014) ‘The United States’, in Kesselman, Krieger, and Joseph (eds.) Introduction to Comparative Politics, 282-329. December 31: Conclusions and Review ---- FINAL EXAM ---- 3
