Antalya International University
College of Business, POLS 205
Comparative Politics
Fall 2014
Class time: Wednesday-Friday 11:00-12:20
Office hours: 10.30-11.00 or by appointment
Cerem I. Cenker Özek
cerem.cenker@antalya.edu.tr
(A2-73)
The objective of this course is to prepare students for comparative analysis of political
systems. For this purpose, the course focuses on the basic tenets of comparative method as well.
This course is an introductory course to comparative politics; hence, it overviews some of the major
themes of the field such as the comparison of the political regimes and institutions; political actors,
interest groups and political culture; and government performance and political economy. Besides
the use of secondary sources for country comparisons, students are encouraged to use comparative
data sets such as Freedom House, World Values Survey, World Development Indicators, and Human
Development Index through weekly assignments and in-class discussions. The aim is to introduce
students the basics of comparative research by focusing on as many case studies as possible from
different countries across the globe.
Course book:
POLS 205 Course Reader (available in copy center)
Expectations & Requirements:
1)
Attendance & Participation (10%): Attendance and participation make up 10% of your
overall course grade. Students are expected to actively participate in the course besides their
attendance. Active participation means following the course carefully, asking questions when
deemed necessary, making comments and giving examples about the relevant topics/themes.
2)
Assignment (15%): There are twelve assignments prepared for this course. Each student is
supposed to choose ONE assignment; answer its question; submit the answer as a print-out; and
present his/her answer in class. Students are expected to submit and present their assignments
following the lecture in which the assignment was given. Assignments should be submitted as a
printed Word document, 12 font, 1.5 space. Hand-written assignments as well as assignment
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submission through e-mail IS NOT accepted. The assignment will constitute 15% of your overall
grade.
3)
Mid-term (30%): You will have one mid-term exam throughout the semester and it will
constitute 30% of your overall grade. Midterm will base on ALL of the course material we will cover
until the exam date.
4)
Final exam (45%): You will have a final exam at the end of the semester and it will make 45%
of your overall grade. The majority of the final exam questions will base on the course material we
will cover after the midterm exam.
Plagiarism: Copying another author’s ideas and expressions is considered as plagiarism, and it is
considered as academic dishonesty. In the first lecture, I will give detailed information about
plagiarism and students will be asked to provide a written statement that they understand what
plagiarism is and that they accept any penalty in case they attempt plagiarism. Students who are
proven to plagiarize in their assignments will have a ZERO from this assignment and their cases will
also be referred to Disciplinary Committee.
Expected Student Conduct in the Classroom
AIU students are expected to behave in a certain way during the class hours. The expected
student conduct in the classroom includes and not limited to:
 Coming to class on time and not leaving the class early without prior permission of the
instructor.
 Focusing carefully on the course and avoiding engaging in not-class related activities such as
checking e-mails from laptops/cell phones, reading not-class related materials such as
newspapers and magazines, engaging in side conversations.
 Students are expected to behave mindful about the instructor as well as the fellow students
while asking questions and making comments. They should request permission from the
instructor before asking a question or making a comment. Also, they should respect other
student’s right to ask questions/make comments.
 Students are expected to behave mindful about the physical environment as well. They
should be careful not to trash the classroom. Students should clean up their garbage before
leaving the classroom.
 Students should make sure they turn off their cell phones during the class time and they
should use their laptops only for class-related purposes.
Course Schedule
WEEK 1 (Sep.15-21)
September 15. General discussion on development of comparative politics
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September 17. Development of comparative politics
Reading: Jean Blondel “Then and Now: Comparative Politics”, Political Studies, Vol. 47, No.1 (March
1999), pp.152-160
WEEK 2 (Sep.22-28)
September . The scientific language of comparison
September . Methods of comparison
Reading: Todd Landman, Issues and Methods in Comparative Politics, London: Routledge, 2000,
pp.23-45
WEEK 3. (Sep. 29-Oct.5)
September . Rise of the Modern State
October . Comparing state power
Reading: Patrick H. O’Neil, Essentials of Comparative Politics, New York: W.W. Norton & Company,
2007, pp. 20-41
Assignment 1: Analyze your country’s state power by focusing on O’Neil’s capacity and autonomy
dimensions.
WEEK 4. (Oct.8-10 –Religious holiday)
October. Library visit. Discussions on Assignment 1.
WEEK 5. (Oct. 13-19)
October . Political Regimes I: Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism
October . Political Regimes II: Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism
Reading: Paul Brooker, “ Authoritarian Regimes “, in Daniele Caramani (ed.), Comparative Politics,
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, pp. 102-119.
Assignment 2: Find two authoritarian countries: 1) Why do you consider them as “authoritarian”?
2) Provide a comparison of these countries in terms of the type of ruling and the source(s) of
legitimacy 3) Do their publics support these regimes? 4) What are your indicators of “public
support”? 5) Can these countries be considered as “developed” ? 6) What are your indicators of
“development”?
WEEK 6. (Oct.20-26)
October. Political Regimes III: Democracy and democratization
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October . Political Regimes III: Democracy and democratization
Reading: Peter Mair, “Democracies”, in Daniele Caramani (ed.), Comparative Politics, Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2011, pp. 84-101.
Check out: http://www.freedomhouse.org/
Assignment 3: Find two democratic countries: 1) Why do you consider them as “democratic”? 2) By
focusing on Dahl’s democratic development indicators and Freedom House country reports,
provide a comparative analysis about democratic development levels of these two countries.
WEEK 7. (Oct. 27-Nov.2)
October . Political Culture
Nov . Political Behavior
Reading: Kenneth Newton and Jan W. Van Deth, Foundations of Comparative Politics, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2010, pp. 171-197.
Check out: http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/wvs.jsp
Assignment 4: Prepare a table that compares 5 countries of your choice in terms of citizens’
political interest, political action, civil society participation and generalized trust: 1) Do you
observe similar tendencies among these attitudes within each country? 2) How similar or different
are these countries’ political culture from each other? 3) What may be the reasons for either the
similar or the different attitudes?
WEEK 8. (Nov.3-9)
November . Nationalism and national identity I
November . Nationalism and national identity II
Reading: J. Tyler Dickovick and Jonathan Eastwood, Comparative Politics: Integrating Theories,
Methods, and Cases, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013, pp. 306-332
Assignment 5: Focus on a contemporary ethno-national conflict. Analyze its causes in line with
different causes Dickovick and Eastwood present. Which cause(s) does make more sense to explain
this particular conflict. Why?
WEEK 9. (Nov. 10-16)
Nov . Midterm
Nov . Constitutions and Separation of Powers
Reading: Gabriel A. Almond, G. Bingham Powell, Russell J. Dalton, and Kaare Strom, Comparative
Politics Today, New York: Pearson, 2010, pp. 101-110
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WEEK 10 (Nov. 17-23)
November . Elections and electoral systems
Reading: Kenneth Newton and Jan W. Van Deth, Foundations of Comparative Politics, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2010, pp. 245-266.
Assignment 6: “Plurality/majority voting system is better than proportional representation system;
because, it results in more effective government”. Do you agree with this statement? Discuss. In
your discussion, make sure you provide comparison between at least TWO countries.
November . Political Parties and Party Systems
Reading: Kenneth Newton and Jan W. Van Deth, Foundations of Comparative Politics, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2010, pp. 268-288.
Assignment 7: “Coalition governments are less desirable than single party governments because
they are both unstable and unaccountable”. Do you agree with this statement? Discuss. In your
discussion, make sure you provide comparison between at least TWO countries.
WEEK 11 (Nov.24-30)
November . Presidentialism and Parliamentarism
Reading: J. Tyler Dickovick and Jonathan Eastwood, Comparative Politics: Integrating Theories,
Methods, and Cases, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013, pp. 224-249.
Assignment 8: In his seminal article written in 1990, Linz argued that parliamentary systems are
better for democratic regimes. Discuss Linz’s assertion by focusing on five points he made to
defend parliamentary systems. In your discussion, make sure you provide country comparisons.
November . Discussion on Assignment 6, Assignment 7, and Assignment 8
WEEK 12 (Dec. 1-7)
December . Political economy
Reading: Patrick H. O’Neil, Essentials of Comparative Politics, New York: W.W. Norton & Company,
2007, pp. 77-108.
December . Globalization and the nation-state
Reading: Georg Sorensen, “Globalization and the nation-state”, in Daniele Caramani (ed.),
Comparative Politics, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, pp. 451-467.
Check out: http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators
http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi
Assignment 9:
“Globalization transforms states in positive ways”. Do you agree with this
statement? Discuss with providing country comparisons.
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WEEK 13 (Dec. 8-14)
December . Politics in the US
Reading: Patrick H. O’Neil, Karl Fields, and Don Share, Cases in Comparative Politics, New York: W.W.
Norton & Company, 2013, pp. 94-148.
December . Politics in Germany
Reading: Patrick H. O’Neil, Karl Fields, and Don Share, Cases in Comparative Politics, New York: W.W.
Norton & Company, 2013, pp. 94-148.
Assignment 10: Compare the US and Germany in terms of political institutions and political and
economic performance. What, do you think, may explain good performance of both countries
despite their different political institutions?
WEEK 14 (Dec.15-21)
December . Politics in Russia
Reading: Gabriel A. Almond, G. Bingham Powell, Russell J. Dalton, and Kaare Strom, Comparative
Politics Today, New York: Pearson, 2010, pp. 354-396
December . Politics in China
Reading: Gabriel A. Almond, G. Bingham Powell, Russell J. Dalton, and Kaare Strom, Comparative
Politics Today, New York: Pearson, 2010, pp. 400-444
Assignment 11: By focusing on state power, political and economic performance of Russia and
China, discuss whether these two countries can be considered as superpowers of the 21th century.
In your answer, you may compare these countries with established powers such as the US and the
UK as well as other emerging powers such as India and Brazil.
WEEK 15 (Dec. 22-28)
December . Politics in Iran
Reading: J. Tyler Dickovick and Jonathan Eastwood, Comparative Politics: Integrating Theories,
Methods, and Cases, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013, pp. 548-562.
December . Politics in Nigeria
Reading: Gabriel A. Almond, G. Bingham Powell, Russell J. Dalton, and Kaare Strom, Comparative
Politics Today, New York: Pearson, 2010, pp. 654-704
Assignment 12: Why does the Iranian political system not considered as democratic despite the
institutionalization of elections? In your answer, make sure you mention criteria for democratic
rule as well as specific features of Iranian political system.
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