GLS102: Comparative Government and Politics Bentley University, Fall 2013 Lectures: Monday: 9.55am – 11.10am Thursday: 11.20am – 12.35pm (start Sept. 5, 2013) Classroom: Instructor: Johannes (Hans) Eijmberts E mail: jeijmberts@bentley.edu Office: Morison 130 Tel.: 617 888 9021 (cell) Office hours: Monday: 11.20am – 12.30pm Thursday: 10am – 11.10am Course Description: The assumption of comparative politics is that we may better understand domestic politics, governance, and policy by comparing the political conditions and institutions of different countries. This course focuses on introducing students to the methodological and theoretical components of cross-­‐country comparison. By the conclusion of the course the students should have the ability to understand and compare different political systems. While the course introduces the students to a wide range of issues, the course addresses two broad questions: why are some states more democratic than others and why are some states more developed than others? To achieve its goals, the course provides students with a range of case studies, introducing them to the modern political and economic history of a number of countries in the world. Essential Readings: All readings of the syllabus are required. Most of them come from three books that are available for purchase at the Bentley University Bookstore1. They are: •
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O’Neil, Patrick H. (2013). Essentials of Comparative Politics.” 4th Ed. New York: W.W. Norton. (Textbook)
O’Neil, Patrick H., Rogowksi, Ronald, Eds. (2013). Essential Readings in Comparative Politics. 4th Ed. New York W.W. Norton. (Readings)
O’Neil, Patrick H., Karl Fields and Don Share, Eds. (2013). Cases in Comparative Politics. 4th Ed. New York: W.W. Norton. (Ebook). (Cases).
Total cost approx. S75,-­‐
Additional assigned articles and material will be available through the course’s Blackboard site or send to all students by e mail. If you have any problems opening them, please contact the course instructor.
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If you choose to buy books on the internet, make sure you purchase the correct edition. 1 It is required that you follow current events on a daily basis. Be prepared to refer to new sources such as nytimes.com, new.bbc.co.uk or economist.com. The library also offers access to many news sources through its website, see for instance the LexisNexis database. Course requirements: Participation: 15% 2 opinions: 20% (10% each) Paper: 25% Mid term exam: 20% Final exam: 20% Final grades will be determined using the following percentage scale: 4.0 = 100 – 95, 3.7 = 94 – 90, 3.3 = 89 – 87, 3.0 = 86 – 83, 2.7 = 82 – 80, 2.3 = 79 – 77, 2.0 = 76 – 73, 1.7 = 72 – 70, 1.3 = 69 – 67, 1.0 = 66 – 63, 0.7 = 62 – 60, F = < 60. Participation: Attendance is mandatory. The instructor keeps track of attendance. If you have circumstances that preclude you from attending, you are expected to inform the instructor in a timely manner. Students are expected to read the assigned texts thoroughly and come to class prepared to contribute to the discussion and to answer any question. Use of laptops in class is allowed, yet should be limited to taking notes and reviewing course material. Any other use of computers will not be tolerated. The use in any way of cell phones is not allowed in class. Opinions: Each student will write two short opinion pieces. For each the student is asked to find and come prepared to discuss a current event news article that relates to one of the broad topics that covered in class. Instructions for completing these opinions will be distributed during the course. All assignments will be submitted though Blackboard. No deadline extension will be offered. Opinions handed in after the specified time will have ten percent subtracted from their final score for each day they are late. Research Paper: Each student will write a research paper. Instructions for completing this paper will be distributed during the course. The paper for this course will be no more than 10 – 12 pages, double spaced. The paper will require the use of outside resources. Students MUST cite any and all sources used. All assignments will be submitted though Blackboard. No deadline extension will be offered. Papers handed in after the specified time will have ten percent subtracted from their final score for each day they are late. Mid term exam: The midterm exam will cover all the material up to that point. See the course outline below for the specific date of the midterm exam. 2 Final Exam: The final exam will focus on all the material covered after the midterm exam. See the course outline below for the specific date of the final exam. Respect for Others: Discussions in a political science course can occasionally be controversial and disconcerting for some. Students should remember that this is an academic environment in which the primary objective is learning. Though it is not necessary to agree with another’s viewpoint (including the instructor’s), students are expected to be respectful of other people’s perspectives and ideas. Academic Honesty: WARNING. The Department of Global Studies takes very seriously the issue of academic honesty. Plagiarism is broadly defined as taking ideas, concepts, or actual words of another person and passing them off as your own work. Of particular note is the increase in cut-­‐and-­‐paste plagiarism, which involves downloading phrases from websites or other internet sources. The instructor will clarify specific guidelines on fair use of material for this class. If a proven violation involves an exam of course assignment, the student shall receive a failing grade for the assignment, in addition to sanctions imposed by the Department or the University. Individual faculty, with the support of the Department, can impose harsher penalties, as they deem necessary. Policy on Incompletes: Except in the direst circumstances, incompletes in this course are not possible. Amendments: The instructor reserves the right to change this syllabus during the semester. In the event of a change, the class will be informed at the next session and an updated copy of the syllabus will be posted on Blackboard. Students are required to have the latest version of the syllabus. Dates to remember: Monday September 23 Opinion 1 due – 10am through turn-­‐it-­‐in drop box Monday October 14 Columbus Day – no class Monday October 21 Mid-­‐term Exam Monday November 11 Opinion 2 due – 10am through turn-­‐it-­‐in drop box Thursday November 28 Thanksgiving Break -­‐ no class Monday December 9 Last class Final paper due – 10am through turn-­‐it-­‐in drop box December TBA Final exam Tentative course schedule: Week 1 Thursday September 5 Introduction of the course Have textbook, readings, and cases with you. Download & read the course syllabus from the course Blackboard site. 3 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Monday September 9 Methodology Read: Textbook Chapter 1 “Introduction”, Cases Chapter 1 “Introduction”, and browse through Cases Chapter 3 ‘USA’, read pages 95 & 96. Thursday September 12 Introduction to Comparative Politics Read: Almond, Gabriel A. (1991), “Capitalism and Democracy”, in PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 24, No.3, p. 467 -­‐ 474. On Blackboard Read: Inglehart, Ronald and Christian Welzel (2009), “How Development Leads to Democracy: What We Know About Modernization.” In Foreign Affairs, Vol. 88, No. 2, March – April 2009, p. 33 – 39. On Blackboard Monday September 16 … continued Read: Readings: Mark I. Lichbach and Alan S. Zuckerman “Research Traditions and Theory in Comparative Politics: An Introduction.” p. 3 – 7 Read: Readings: Douglas C. North “Institutions.” 1st part p. 143 – 144 Thursday September 19 The State Read: Textbook Chapter 2 “States.” Monday September 23 Democracy Opinion 1 due Read: Textbook Chapter 5 “Democratic Regimes.” Thursday September 26 Democracy – continued. Read: Readings: Lijphart, Arend. “Constitutional Choices for new Democracies.” Read: Readings: Putnam, Robert D. “Tuning In, Tuning Out: The Strange Disappearance of Social Capital in America.” Monday September 30 Case: Germany Read: Cases: Chapter 5 “Germany.” 4 Read: “Merkel’s Standing Takes a Hit in Local German Elections” NY Times 7/22/2013 On Blackboard Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Thursday October 3 Case: India & China Read: Cases: Chapter 9 “India.” Read: Cases Chapter 8 “China” Monday October 7 Nondemocratic regimes Read: Textbook Chapter 6 “Nondemocratic Regimes.” Thursday October 10 Case: Iran Read: Cases Chapter 10 “Iran” Browse: Huntington, Samuel “Clash of Civilizations” Foreign Affairs (1993) On Blackboard Monday October 14 Columbus Day – No Class Thursday October 17 Monday October 21 Wrapping up & review Midterm Exam Thursday October 24 Communism & Post-­‐Communism Read: Textbook Chapter 9 “Communism and Post-­‐Communism.” NB p. 256 -­‐ 273 Read: Readings: Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels” Manifesto of the Communist Party.” In class we’ll watch part of PBS (2005) “Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism.” Monday October 28 … continued Read: Textbook Chapter 8 “Communism and Post-­‐Communism.” Note p. 203 – 229. Read: Readings: McFaul, Michael. “Transitions from Post-­‐
Communism.” p. 273 – 289 Thursday October 31 Case: Russia 5 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Read: Cases Chapter 7 “Russia.” Read: Hassner, Pierre. “Russia’s Transition to Autocracy.” Journal of Democracy, Vol. 19, no 2, April 2008. On Blackboard. Read: Eberstadt, Nicholas. "The Dying Bear: Russia's Demographic Disaster." Foreign Affairs Vol. 90 No. 6 (2011). On Blackboard Monday November 4 Political economy Read: Textbook Chapter 4 “Political Economy.” Thursday November 7 … continued Read: Textbook Chapter 7 “Advanced Democracies.” p. 224 – 230. Read: Russell Shorto, “Going Dutch: How I Learned to Love the European Welfare State.” The New York Times. April 29, 2009. On Blackboard Monday November 11 … continued Opinion 2 due Read: Textbook Chapter 10 “Less-­‐developed and Newly Industrializing Countries.” Read: Readings: Acemoglu, Daron “Root Causes: A Historical Approach to Assessing the Role of Institutions in Economic Development.” Thursday November 14 Foreign Aid Read: “Foreign Aid and Domestic Governance” On Blackboard Go over: US Government Foreign Assistance Policy statement: http://www.usaid.gov/who-­‐we-­‐are Monday November 18 Case: Brazil Read: Cases Chapter 12 “Brazil.” Read: Readings: “Barro, Robert J. “Democracy: A Recipe for Growth?” 6 Read: Readings: Przeworksi, Adam et al “Political Regimes and Economic Growth.” Week 13 Week 14 Week 15 Thursday November 21 Case: Japan Read: Cases Chapter 6 “Japan.” Monday November 25 China – revisited / Taiwan Reread: Cases Chapter 8 “China” p. 317 – 320. Read: Guthrie, Doug. “China: The Quiet Revolution: The Emergence of Capitalism. Harvard International Review, Summer 2003. p. 48 – 53. On Blackboard Thursday November 28 Thanksgiving – NO CLASS Monday December 2 Globalization Read: Textbook Chapter 11 “Globalization and the Future of Comparative Politics.” p. 322 – 339. Read: Readings: Ricardo, David “On Foreign Trade.” P 112 – 113. In class we’ll watch “New Rulers of the World.” (2007). A documentary by John Pilger Thursday December 5 Globalization …. continued Read: Textbook Chapter 11 “Globalization and the Future of Comparative Politics.” p. 339 – 350. Read: Altman, Roger C. “Globalization in Retreat.” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 88, No 4, July/August 2009. On Blackboard Read: Readings: Florida, Richard “The World is Spiky: Globalization Has Changed the Economic Playing Field, But Hasn’t Leveled It.” Read: Readings: Rodrik, Dani. “Is Global Governance Feasible?” Monday December 9 Future of Comparative Politics: Revisiting course questions & Review Paper due on Blackboard at 10am. Week 15 or 16 Final Exam TBA 7 8