Introduction to Comparative Politics (PSC 001) Fall 2011
Wednesday and Friday, 11:10-1200
1957 E Street, Rm 113
Professor Kimberly Morgan
Office: Hall of Government, Rm. 418
Phone: 994-2809 Email: kjmorgan@gwu.edu
Office Hours: www.tungle.me/kimberlymorgan
SUMMARY
This class is an introduction to the study of comparative politics. You will learn not only
about politics in a select group of countries, but also about some of the major concepts
used in the study of comparative politics. The course will cover a wide range of issues,
including the formation of the nation-state, democratization, authoritarianism, the role of
religion in politics, political institutions, and strategies of economic development. We
also will discuss some debates in comparative politics that have been important in the
policy-making community in recent years, such as the “clash of civilizations,” the
concept of social capital, and the effort to promote democracy in the world.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
In this class, you will:
 Learn basic concepts in political science and comparative politics;
 Apply these concepts in a wide array of countries;
 Compare countries so as to better understand why they differ in their political and
economic trajectories;
 Demonstrate your knowledge through several short assignment and two exams.
READING
There are two required texts for this class that you can purchase at the GWU bookstore.
Patrick O’Neil et al., Essentials of Comparative Politics, 3rd edition (2009).
Patrick O’Neil et al., Cases in Comparative Politics, 3rd edition (2009).
http://books.wwnorton.com/nortonebooks/discipline.aspx?DiscId=14
NOTE: You may purchase these books for as much as 50% less as e-books through the
Norton website. This may be especially cost-effective for the Cases book, which we will
not be reading in its entirety.
The other required readings (marked with an *) are available as pdf files through ereserves on the Blackboard system – you can either read them on-line or print them out.
BLACKBOARD
In addition to the required reading, you will find other useful information on Blackboard,
such as a copy of the syllabus, information about exams, and your grades. I also will post
any tables, graphs, or maps shown in lecture.
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To access Blackboard, you must have a Colonial e-mail account and be registered for this
course. To log in, go to http://blackboard.gwu.edu and type in your NetID and email
password. If you have problems or questions, try going to http://helpdesk.gwu.edu.
Please try to access Blackboard as soon as possible, to make sure that you are in the
system and that you understand its various features.
NOTE: you may have trouble accessing the articles posted on blackboard if you are not
using a university-networked computer. In that instance, you should download the
articles on a university-networked computer and print or save them to read at home.
TECHNOLOGY
Laptop computers are not allowed in lectures or discussions. During exams, students
may not use any electronic devices, such as cell phones, PDAs, I-pods, dictionaries, or
any other electronic equipment. Students found using any such device will fail the exam.
CURRENT EVENTS
One goal of the class is to make you a more sophisticated consumer of news. To keep up
with current events, I strongly suggest you regularly read one of the major national
newspapers (The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal) or international
newspapers (Financial Times). Some useful magazines and journals that are available
through Gelman include The Economist, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and the Journal
of Democracy.
REQUIREMENTS
Your grade will be based on the following:
Two short papers: during the semester there will be two short writing assignments. These
will give you an opportunity to demonstrate both your comprehension of the readings and
your ability to develop an argument.
Midterm/Final: Both exams will consist of identifications and essays. The first exam, on
October 28 will cover the first half of the course (everything through 10/19). The final
will cover the entire class and will be given during exam week.
Discussion sections: the weekly discussion sections are extremely important for this
class, as it is at these sessions that you will have a chance to discuss the reading and
themes of the course. Attendance is mandatory, and you will be evaluated on your
contributions to the discussion. This means you must do the assigned reading for each
week prior to the discussion section meeting.
You will be allowed to miss one discussion section, no questions asked, and this will not
affect your grade. Any further, unexcused absences will count against your participation
grade.
GRADING
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Short papers: 30% (15% each)
Class participation (discussion section): 15%
Midterm exam: 25%
Final exam: 30%
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
According to the GW Code of Academic Integrity, “Academic dishonesty is defined as
cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting one's own work, taking credit for the
work of others without crediting them and without appropriate authorization, and the
fabrication of information.” For the remainder of the code, see:
http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html
SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
DISABILITY SUPPORT SERVICES (DSS)
Any student who may need an accommodation based on the potential impact of a
disability should contact the Disability Support Services office at 202-994-8250 in the
Marvin Center, Suite 242, to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable
accommodations. For additional information please refer to: http://gwired.gwu.edu/dss/
Please speak with me in the first week of class to discuss what kinds of accommodations
can be made for you.
OTHER CLASS POLICIES
University Policy on Religious Holidays:
Students should notify me during the first week of the semester of their intention to be
absent from class on their day(s) of religious observance.
INTRODUCTION & THE COMPARATIVE METHOD
August 31: Introduction
September 2: Thinking about Politics Comparatively
O’Neil, Essentials, chp. 1, “Introduction,” pp. 1-20.
STATES AND SOCIETIES
September 7: The concept of the state.
O’Neil, Essentials, chp. 2 “States,” pp. 21-46.
* Fukuyama, “The Imperative of State-Building.”
September 9: Formation and collapse of states.
* Herbst, “War and the State in Africa.”
* Rotberg, “The New Nature of Nation-State Failure.”
* Patrick, “The Brutal Truth.”
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September 14: Nationalism, creator and destroyer of states.
O’Neil, Essentials, chp. 3 “Nations and Society,” pp. 47-57.
* Muller, “Us and Them.”
* Mayall, “Irredentist and Secessionist Challenges.”
September 16: Civil society and collective action
* Putnam, “Bowling Alone.”
* Foley and Edwards, “The Paradox of Civil Society.”
* Lim, “What Makes a Social Movement?”
POLITICAL ECONOMY
September 21: Early Industrializers
O’Neil, Essentials, chp. 4, “Political Economy,” pp. 77-108.
O’Neil, Essentials, chp. 7, “Advanced Democracies,” pp. 167-76, 186-95.
September 23: Less Developed/Newly Industrializing Countries
O’Neil, Essentials, chp. 9, “Less Developed and Newly Industrializing
Countries,” pp. 230-60.
* Acemoglu, “Root Causes.”
* Ross, “Blood Barrels.”
September 28: Globalization
O’Neil, Essentials, chp. 11, “Globalization,” pp. 291-317.
* Abdelal and Segal, “Has Globalization Passed its Peak?”
* Spence, “The Impact of Globalization on Income and Employment.”
REGIMES
September 30: Democracy and Democratization
O’Neil, Essentials, chp. 5, “Democratic Regimes” pp. 109-118.
* Sen, “Democracy as a Universal Value.”
* Fukuyama and McFaul, “Should Democracy Be Promoted or Demoted?”
October 5: Democratic institutions
O’Neil, Essentials, chp. 5, “Democratic Regimes,” pp. 118-40.
* Karl and Schmitter “What Democracy Is…and is Not”
* Bermeo, “Does Electoral Democracy Boost Economic Equality?”
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October 7: Authoritarianism
O’Neil, Essentials, chp. 6, “Non-Democratic Regimes,” pp. 141-66.
* Larry Diamond, “Democratic Rollback.”
POLITICAL IDENTITIES
October 12: Religion and Culture.
* Huntington, “Clash of Civilizations.”
* Thomas, “A Globalized God.”
* Bynes, “European Politics Gets Old-Time Religion.”
October 14: Ethnicity and gender.
* Htun, “Is Gender Like Ethnicity?”
* Norris and Inglehart, “Cultural Obstacles to Equal Representation.”
* Encarnacion, “Latin America’s Gay Rights Revolution.”
October 19: Political violence
O’Neil, Essentials, chp. 10, “Political Violence.”
* Juergensmeyer, “Terror in the Name of God.”
HOW DOES DEMOCRACY WORK? THE EXAMPLE OF THE UNITED
KINGDOM
October 21: UK Institutions and Politics in Comparative Perspective
O’Neil, Cases in Comparative Politics, “United Kingdom,” pp. 31-71.
October 26: Current Challenges and Debates in the UK; review for midterm.
* “Hornets’ Nest” Economist.
* “Anarchy in the UK” Economist
October 28: MIDTERM.
COMMUNISM AND POST-COMMUNISM
November 2: What was/is communism?
O’Neil, Essentials, “Communism and Post-Communism,” 197-228.
November 4: Russia: Return to Authoritarianism
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O’Neil, Cases in Comparative Politics, “Russia” pp. 245-84.
* McFaul and Stoner-Weiss, “Myth of the Authoritarian Model.”
* Stoner-Weiss, “It Is Still Putin’s Russia.”
November 9: China: A Booming Economy under Dictatorship
O’Neil, Cases in Comparative Politics, “China,” pp. 286-324.
* Pei, “How China is Ruled.”
* Dickson “Beijing’s Ambivalent Reformers.”
POLITICS AND ECONOMICS IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH
November 11: Nigeria: Oil, Ethnic Conflict, and Corruption
O’Neil, Cases in Comparative Politics, “Nigeria,” pp. 531-65.
* “A Man and a Morass.”
* Smith, “Paradoxes of Popular Participation in Corruption in Nigeria."
November 16: Puzzles of Indian Democracy
O’Neil, Cases in Comparative Politics, “India.” pp. 327-66
* Varshney, “Why Democracy Survives.”
* Vanaik, “The Paradoxes of Indian Politics.”
November 18: Brazil: Economic Reform and Its Consequences
O’Neil, Cases in Comparative Politics, “Brazil,” pp. 451-85.
Weyland, “Neoliberalism and Democracy in Latin America.”
Anderson, “Gangland.”
THE MIDDLE EAST
November 30: Islam and Politics
* Berman, “Islamism, Revolution, and Civil Society.”
* Wickam, “What the Brotherhood Is.”
* Nasr, “Muslim Democracy.”
SECOND WRITING ASSIGNMENT DUE
December 2: The Arab Spring
* Gause, “Why Middle East Studies Missed the Arab Spring”
* Anderson, “Demystifying the Arab Spring”
* Lynch, “After Egypt”
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December 7: Iran
O’Neil, Cases in Comparative Politics, “Iran.”
Ghadar, “Beyond Iran’s Crackdown, An Economic Coup.”
SUMMARY
December 9: Summing it all up; review for the final.
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