POLS 3401-02: INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS | SPRING 2019
Professor
Dr. James H. Sunday (sunday@aucegypt.edu)
Teaching Assistant
Ms. Nadine M. Kamaly (nadinekamaly7@aucegypt.edu)
Office Location
HUSS 2002 (Professor), HUSS 2030 (TA)
Office Hours
MR 13:00-14:00 (Professor); By appointment (TA)
Office Extension
1939
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COURSE DESCRIPTION
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The goal of this course is to introduce students generally to the study of comparative politics. This course not only covers
major concepts and theories in the study of comparative politics, but also offers empirical analyses of the government and
politics in a select group of countries. The course covers a wide range of issues, including the formation of the nation-state,
democratisation, authoritarianism, political culture, political development, comparative political economy, nationalism, ethnic
politics, politics of religion, and political institutions. The course will also discuss some debates in comparative politics that
have been important in the policy-making community in recent decades, such as state-building, role of the state in economy,
the concept of social capital, and the effort to promote democracy around the world. Although paying attention to
countries in Asia, Middle East, and Africa, a select group of Western countries will also be studied in a comparative format.
As such, several objectives and learning outcomes of the course become clear:
• Knowledge of the major theories and approaches in the discipline of Comparative Politics
• Ability to critically evaluate and apply such theories and approaches
• Knowledge of major substantive themes in Comparative Politics
• Ability to think critically about the relevance of mainstream theories of Comparative Politics and their relevance to
experience and interests of actors in Asia, Africa and the Middle East
• Ability to analyse world politics from a variety of perspectives
• Ability to apply theories to case studies
N.B. For repeating students, please read the following carefully, as this agreement has changed.
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ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION (10%)
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The first step to success in this course is attendance, and each student is expected to attend all classes. Obviously things
come up-- whether sickness, personal issues, or something else. As such, you are allowed in accordance with Registrar
policy, the equivalence of three weeks of absences from our sessions though I encourage you to minimise the number as
much as possible. Please note that any absence counts towards this three-week limit, meaning that university-sanctioned
activities (e.g MUN/MAL), sickness with medical clinic documentation, and any other such absence counts. Without
documentation that I approve, missed assignments are calculated as zero toward the final course mark. Any student missing
more than the equivalent of three weeks starting at midnight following the 'add/drop' period (six sessions in a normal
semester) will automatically fail the course with no exceptions. After all, I am sure we can agree that missing that much time
would call into question what you are able to get out of this course.
By far the easiest way to guarantee a strong participation assessment is with substantive contribution to class discussion in
our weekly meetings; that means quality takes precedence over quantity. However, I understand that in a class of close to 30
people, some students may not feel comfortable speaking in a crowd. I suggest trying to overcome that reticence, but
because personalities vary, participation can also be maintained with visits to my office hours and e-mail contact which
directly discuss the course readings, topics, concepts and the like. In short: make your contributions count whichever way
you feel most comfortable; the point is to engage with the class and its material and to demonstrate clearly that you are
doing so.
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ASSIGNMENTS & PRESENTATIONS/MODERATIONS (40%)
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There will be three assignments throughout the term, and each one will count toward the final grade. As such, each
Reaction Paper will consist of either 10% or 20% (with the higher mark receiving the higher weight) while each
Presentation/Moderation is 10% in total (with 5% for presentation and 5% for moderation of the discussion). The total of
Reaction Paper marks equals 30% maximum, with the total for Presentation/Moderation marks totalling 10% maximum.
Reaction Paper 1
10% or 20%
Due by March 28, 2019
Reaction Paper 2
10% or 20%
Due by May 9, 2019
Presentation/Moderation
10%
Varies per student
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EXAMS (50%)
There will be two exams, each one counting 25% of the final grade.
Exam 1
25%
March 11-14, 2019 (two parts, 15% and 10%)
Exam 2
25%
May 24, 2019 (8:30-10:30AM)
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OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
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There will be no extra credit assignments under any circumstance.
Finally in terms of your time in this course, please note that plagiarism is not acceptable in any form, and it will result in
immediate failure of the entire course and my submitting the case to all relevant administrative bodies: the Department,
HUSS Dean, and Academic Integrity Committee. If you are unsure about citations or what constitutes plagiarism, refer to
the AUC policies on Academic Integrity (available HERE), visit the Writing Centre (details HERE), and definitely feel free
to ask!
And lastly, a note about Office Hours: come to see me. You will do better in this course, and getting into the habit of
engaging and talking with your professors on a regular basis will lead you to do better in your academic career. With added
individual attention, I can provide you with readings on various topics, clarify things that might not be clear to you, and
overall help you to do well.
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READINGS FOR THE COURSE
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On the general course page (website to be e-mailed out), you will find the general schedule we will follow throughout the
term. For the readings themselves, everything is made available electronically via the course website, which requires you to
log in with your AUC e-mail credentials:
In addition to the Required Readings listed for each week, it is highly recommended to familiarise yourselves with the
additional resources (Further Readings) under each listing as they can help you to build your foundation in comparative
politics by topic and theme. The ‘further’ readings can be accessed from the course website; only the ‘required’ readings are
listed on this version of the syllabus.
For those students wanting to purchase or borrow the texts, they are:
• Lichbach, Mark Irving and Alan S Zuckerman. (2009) Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure. Cambridge
Studies in Comparative Politics. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Newton, Ken and Jan W van Deth. (2005). Foundations of Comparative Politics. Cambridge Textbooks in Comparative
Politics. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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SCHEDULE OF READINGS
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Please note well that ALL of the following readings are required for the course. Additional 'further readings' can
be found under the lecture topic for each week on the course website. Also, note that “A” denotes a Monday
lecture, and “B” a Thursday lecture.
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PART I: GETTING STARTED
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Week 1 (B). January 31, 2019
WHAT IS COMPARATIVE POLITICS?
Guiding questions:
•
What is comparative politics?
•
What are the various trajectories and research traditions in this subfield?
Required Reading
•
Boix, Carles, and Susan C. Stokes. (2007) "Introduction" in The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, edited by
Carles Boix and Susan C. Stokes: 3-23. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Week 2 (A). February 4, 2019
APPROACHES I: RATIONAL CHOICE & STRUCTURAL APPROACHES
Guiding questions:
•
Compare and contrast Rational Choice and Structuralist approaches.
Required Reading
•
Katznelson, Ira. (2009) "Strong Theory, Complex History: Structure and Configuration in Comparative Politics
Revisited" in Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure, edited by Mark Irving Lichbach and Alan S.
Zuckerman: 96-116. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
•
Levi, Margaret. (2009) "Reconsiderations of Rational Choice in Comparative and Historical Analysis"
in Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure, edited by Mark Irving Lichbach and Alan S. Zuckerman:
117-33. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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Week 2 (B). February 7, 2019
APPROACHES II: COMPARATIVE POLITICAL ECONOMY & POLITICAL CULTURE
Guiding questions:
•
Compare and contrast Comparative Political Economy and Cultural approaches.
•
When and how are these approaches used?
Required Reading
•
Blyth, Mark. (2009) "An Approach to Comparative Analysis or a Subfield within a Subfield? Political Economy"
in Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure, edited by Mark Irving Lichbach and Alan S. Zuckerman:
193-219. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
•
Ross, Marc Howard. (2009) "Culture in Comparative Political Analysis" in Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and
Structure, edited by Mark Irving Lichbach and Alan S. Zuckerman: 134-61. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
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PART II: FROM ABOVE: THE STATE
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Week 3 (A). February 11, 2019
THE STATE
Guiding questions:
•
What is the state? And how is this concept useful for comparative politics?
•
Is the concept of the 'state' inescapable in the study of politics?
•
How can our understanding of the state enhance our understanding of how politics is performed? Of statesociety relations?
•
What are the difficulties in researching the state?
Required Reading
•
Migdal, Joel S. (2009) "Researching the State" in Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure, edited by Mark
Irving Lichbach and Alan S. Zuckerman: 162-92. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
•
Mitchell, Timothy. (1991) The Limits of the State: Beyond Statist Approaches and Their Critics. The American
Political Science Review 85(1): 77-96.
Week 3 (B). February 14, 2019
THE STATE: DISCUSSION
Guiding questions:
How can a conceptualisation of the state allow us to investigate state-society relations in varying contexts?
How do state-society relations vary according to different understandings of the state?
Required Reading
•
Anderson, Lisa. (1987) The State in the Middle East and North Africa. Comparative Politics 20(1): 1-18.
•
Ismail, Salwa. (1995) State-Society Relations in Egypt: Restructuring the Political. Arab Studies Quarterly 17(3): 37.
•
Ong, Aihwa. (1990) State Versus Islam: Malay Families, Women's Bodies, and the Body Politic in
Malaysia. American Ethnologist 17: 258–276.
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Week 4 (A). February 18, 2019
REGIME TYPES
Guiding questions:
•
Compare and contrast state and regime.
•
What are the various types of regimes? And how are they approached?
•
Does regime matter?
•
What are the differences between regime/citizenry and state/society relations?
•
How are regimes approached within comparative politics?
Required Reading
•
Tilly, Charles. (2006) "What Are Regimes?" in Regimes and Repertoires: 1-17. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
•
_____. (2006) "How Regimes Work" in Regimes and Repertoires: 18-29. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Week 4 (B). February 21, 2019
REGIME TYPES: DISCUSSION
Guiding questions:
•
How are regimes compared? What are the pros and cons about the application of regime type (read:
classifications) within different case studies?
•
How can we best approach the complexities of investigating regime type?
Required Reading
•
Ayubi, Nazih N. (1992) Withered Socialism or Whether Socialism? The Radical Arab States as Populist-Corporatist
Regimes. Third World Quarterly 13: 89–105.
•
Heydemann, Steven, and Reinoud Leenders. (2013) Authoritarian Governance in Syria and Iran: Chellenged,
Reconfiguring, and Resilient. In Middle East Authoritarianisms: Governance, Contestation, and Regime Resilience in Syria and
Iran, edited by Steven Heydemann and Reinoud Leenders. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
•
Kurzman, Charles. (2003) The Qum Protests and the Coming of the Iranian Revolution, 1975 and 1978. Social
Science History 27: 287–325.
Week 5 (A). February 25, 2019
THE BRANCHES
Guiding Questions:
•
What is the separation of powers? And how can we use this 'idea' to study various regimes?
•
What are the historical roots of power-sharing and the institutionalisation of a separation of powers?
•
How does the relationship between branches vary according to regime type, and why?
•
What distinguishes the functions of different branches?
Required Reading
•
Samuels, David. (2007) "Separation of Powers" in The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, edited by Carles Boix
and Susan C. Stokes: 703-26. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Week 5 (B). February 28, 2019
THE BRANCHES: DISCUSSION
Guiding questions:
•
How does the separation of powers factor in with a study of Latin America?
•
Describe the relationship(s) between the various branches in a given case study.
Required Reading
•
Domingo, Pilar. (2004) Judicialization of Politics or Politicization of the Judiciary? Recent Trends in Latin
America. Democratization 11(1): 104-26.
•
Figueiredo, Argelina Cheibub, and Fernando Limongi. (2000) Presidential Power, Legislative Organization, and
Party Behavior in Brazil. Comparative Politics 32(2): 151-70.
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Week 6 (A). March 4, 2019
POLITICAL PARTIES & ELECTORAL SYSTEMS
Required Reading
•
Boix, Carles. (2007) The Emergence of Parties and Party Systems. In The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics,
edited by Carles Boix and Susan C Stokes: 499-521. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
•
Taagepera, Rein. (2007) Electoral Systems. In The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, edited by Carles Boix and
Susan C Stokes: 678-702. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Week 6 (B). March 7, 2019
POLITICAL PARTIES & ELECTORAL SYSTEMS: DISCUSSION
Required Reading
•
Chabal, Patrick. (1998) A Few Considerations on Democracy in Africa. International Affairs 74: 289–303.
•
Chhibber, Pradeep K. (1996) State Policy, Rent Seeking, and the Electoral Success of a Religious Party in
Algeria. The Journal of Politics 58: 126–148.
•
Kraetzschmar, Hendrik, and Francesco Cavatorta. (2010) Bullets Over Ballots: Islamist Groups, the State and
Electoral Violence in Egypt and Morocco. Democratization 17: 326–349.
Week 7 (A). March 11, 2019
EXAM 1: PART A (CONCEPTUAL)
Week 7 (B). March 14, 2019
EXAM 1: PART B (EMPIRICAL)
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PART III: FROM BELOW: SOCIETY
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Week 8 (A). March 18, 2019
POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR & PARTICIPATION
Required Reading
•
Lamprianou, Iasonas. (2012) Contemporary Political Participation Research: A Critical Assessment. In Democracy in
Transition: Political Participation in the European Union, edited by Kyriakos N Demetrio: 21-42. Dordrecht: Springer.
•
Newton, Ken, and Jan W van Deth. (2005a) Political Attitudes and Behaviour. In Foundations of Comparative Politics:
135-58. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Week 8 (B). March 21, 2019
POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR & PARTICIPATION: DISCUSSION
Required Reading
•
Al-Ali, Nadje. (2003) Gender and Civil Society in the Middle East. International Feminist Journal of Politics 5: 216–232.
•
Hutchison, Jane. (2007) The 'Disallowed‘ Political Participation of Manila’s Urban Poor. Democratization 14: 853–
872.
•
Verba, Sidney, Nancy Burns, and Kay Lehman Schlozman. (2003) Unequal at the Starting Line: Creating
Participatory Inequalities Across Generations and Among Groups. The American Sociologist 34: 45–69.
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Week 9 (A). March 25, 2019
POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES
Guiding questions:
•
What relationship do ideologies have to truth?
•
Will there ever be a time when there are no ideologies?
•
What is the relationship between ideologies and political activity?
•
Are ideologies really just the ideas of ideologues?
Required Reading
•
Newton, Ken, and Jan W van Deth. (2005) "Political Ideologies: Conservatism, Liberalism, Christian Democracy
and Socialism" in Foundations of Comparative Politics: 241-262. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
•
Nealon, Jeffrey, and Susan Searls Giroux. (2012) "Ideology" in The Theory Toolbox: Critical Concepts for the Humanities,
Arts, and Social Sciences: 93-105. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Week 9 (B). March 28, 2019 (Reaction Paper 1 Due)
POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES: DISCUSSION
Required Reading
•
Deeb, Marius K. (1986) Radical Political Ideologies and Concepts of Property in Libya and South Yemen. Middle
East Journal 40: 445–461.
•
Hidalgo, Manuel. (2009) Hugo Chávez's Petro-Socialism. Journal of Democracy 20: 78–92.
•
Sharabi, Hisham. (1965) The Transformation of Ideology in the Arab World. Middle East Journal 19: 471–486.
Week 10 (A). April 1, 2019
CONTENTIOUS POLITICS
Guiding questions:
•
Do social movements that do not target the state fall outside the range of contentious politics?
•
Are the major outcomes of contentious politics limited to the policy terrain, or do they also involve cultural
change and biographical impacts?
•
Do new forms of collective action—particularly Internet-based campaigns—challenge existing approaches to
contentious politics, or will they eventually be absorbed into the repertoire of contention, much as the newspaper
and television were?
•
Does globalisation shift the targets of contention from national states to something beyond the state, or does it
sim- ply add the possibility of ‘forum shopping’ to claim-making strategies?
Required Reading
•
Auyero, Javier. (2004) When Everyday Life, Routine Politics, and Protest Meet. Theory and Society 33: 417–441.
•
McAdam, Doug, Sidney Tarrow, and Charles Tilly. (2009) "Comparative Perspectives on Contentious Politics"
in Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure, edited by Mark Irving Lichbach and Alan S. Zuckerman:
260-90. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
•
Tilly, Charles. (2004) Contentious Choices. Theory and Society 33: 473–481.
Week 10 (B). April 4, 2019
CONTENTIOUS POLITICS: DISCUSSION
Required Reading
•
Bayat, Asef. (2003) The “Street” and the Politics of Dissent in the Arab World. Middle East Report: 10–17.
•
Kuran, Timur. (1991) Now Out of Never: The Element of Surprise in the East European Revolution of
1989. World Politics 44: 7–48.
•
Stillerman, Joel. (2006) The Politics of Space and Culture in Santiago, Chile’s Street Markets. Qualitative Sociology 29:
507–530.
•
Tripp, Charles R.H. (2012) The Art of Resistance in the Middle East. Asian Affairs 43: 393–409.
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Week 11 (A). April 8, 2019
NATIONS & NATIONALISM
Required Reading
•
Hobsbawm, Eric J. (2000) "Nationalism in the Late Twentieth Century" in Nations and Nationalism since 1780:
Programme, Myth, Reality: 164-192. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
•
Smith, Anthony D. (2009) "The Role of Nationalism" in Ethno-Symbolism and Nationalism: A Cultural
Approach: 61-80. Oxford: Routledge.
Week 11 (B). April 11, 2019
NATIONS & NATIONALISM: DISCUSSION
Required Reading
•
AbuKhalil, As'ad. (1992) A New Arab Ideology?: The Rejuvenation of Arab Nationalism. Middle East Journal 46:
22–36.
•
Anderson, Kevin B. (2010) "Ireland: Nationalism, Class, and the Labor Movement" in Marx at the Margins: On
Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Non-Western Societies: 115-53. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
•
Chatterjee, Partha. (1986) Transferring a Political Theory: Early Nationalist Thought in India. Economic and Political
Weekly 21: 120–128.
•
Firro, Kais M. (2003) "The Present in the Past: From 'Mt. Lebanon' to 'Greater Lebanon'" in Inventing Lebanon:
Nationalism and the State under the Mandate: 15-41. London: I.B. Taurus.
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PART IV: CRITICAL APPROACHES
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Week 12 (A). April 15, 2019
CLASS & CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS
Required Reading
•
Dworkin, Dennis. (2007) "Introduction" in Class Struggles: 1-12. Harlow: Pearson.
•
___. (2007) "The Making of Class" in Class Struggles: 15-35. Harlow: Pearson.
•
___. (2007) "Class and Class Consciousness" in Class Struggles: 36-60. Harlow: Pearson.
Week 12 (B). April 18, 2019
CLASS & CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS: DISCUSSION
Required Reading
•
•
•
•
•
Beinin, Joel. (2012) Egyptian Workers and January 25th: a Social Movement in Historical Context. Social
Research 79: 323–348.
Joseph, Suad. (1983) Working-Class Women's Networks in a Sectarian State: a Political Paradox. American
Ethnologist 10: 1–22.
Lockman, Zachary. (1994) Imagining the Working Class: Culture, Nationalism, and Class Formation in Egypt,
1899-1914. Poetics Today 15: 157–190.
Sabea, Hanan. (2010) Codifying Manamba: History, Knowledge Production and Sisal Plantation Workers in
Tanzania. Journal of Historical Sociology 23: 144–170.
Wallerstein, Immanuel. (1973) Class and Class-Conflict in Contemporary Africa. Canadian Journal of African
Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines 7: 375–380.
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Week 13 (A). May 6, 2019
FEMINIST & CRITICAL APPROACHES
Required Reading
•
Chambers, Simone. (2004) "The Politics of Critical Theory" in The Cambridge Companion to Critical Theory: 219-247,
edited by Fred Rush. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
•
Goldstein, Philip. (2005) "Sex Gender and Philosophy: The Feminist Post-Marxism of Judith Butler" in PostMarxist Theory: An Introduction: 67-79. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Week 13 (B). May 9, 2019 (Reaction Paper 2 Due)
FEMINIST & CRITICAL APPROACHES: DISCUSSION
Required Material
•
Al Ali, Nadje. (2011) "On Not Travelling Lightly: Transnational Feminist Journeys to and from the Middle East."
SOAS Inaugural Lecture. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Week 14 (A). May 13, 2019
GENEALOGY, DECONSTRUCTION & DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
Required Reading
•
TBD. (See course website)
Week 14 (B). May 16, 2019
REVIEW SESSION
Week 15. May 24, 2018 (Exam Week)
EXAM 2 (May 24, 2019 — 8:30-10:30AM)
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