GOVT 133 Spring 2014
GOVT 133 INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS
GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
SPRING 2014
Professor: Dr. Jo-Marie Burt
jmburt@gmu.edu
Office: Robinson A213
Office Hours:
Wednesdays 11:30-12:30 PM
& by appointment
Mailbox: Robinson A201 (PIA)
Brazilian cartoon: “The people” – “The
government”
Teaching Assistant: Doug Penhallegon
dpenhall@masonlive.gmu.edu
Office: Robinson A 252
Office Hours: Mon/Wed 11:00-12:00
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and analytical skills necessary to
study, understand and compare distinct political systems, processes, and significant
contemporary political issues. We will examine a range of concepts and approaches to the study
of politics using examples from around the world. In particular, we will examine the ways in which
political scientists define democracy and explore debates about the ways in which societies
become democratic, as well as non-democracies throughout the world; and attempt to explain
their emergence, ideological underpinnings, and political practices. We will also explore the
complex relationship between politics and economics by focusing on debates around
development, poverty and inequality in the advanced industrial countries and in particular in the
developing world in the context of globalization. We will also examine state-society relations and
citizenship by exploring social movements, revolutions, and human rights.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
A) Objectives: This course introduces students to the central concepts, themes and questions of
comparative politics and institutions. By the close of this course, students should be able to:
(1) Discern the similarities and differences among different types of political systems;
(2) Distinguish among and evaluate the real life consequences of differing types of political
regimes and institutions;
(3) Develop understanding of various types of domestic institutions and processes and their
interaction with society;
(4) Devise analytical, practical, or creative analyses to global problems and issues.
B) The Classroom: Students are expected to have completed assigned readings prior to class
meetings. Class lectures are based on the assumption that you have already read the material;
thus, I will be explaining, illustrating, and expanding the material covered by the assigned
reading. Should you need any special accommodations, please let me know ASAP. 1
C) Texts and Other Resources:
(1) Textbook (required reading): Hague, Rod & Harrop, Martin. Political Science: A
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GOVT 133 Spring 2014
Comparative Introduction (7th edition; Palgrave)
(2) Blackboard: I will assign additional (required) readings, which will be posted on
Blackboard. (For more details, see section D). I will post short supplementary readings to
Blackboard or the course Twitter account (@GOVT133) using the hashtag
#GOVT133required.
(3) Students should read a major newspaper or weekly magazine on a daily basis (The New
York Times, Washington Post and/or The Economist): Students must read at least one of
these sources on a daily basis as we will discuss current events and developments.
(Reading more than one is preferable so you have access to a variety of perspectives and
sources.) These can be easily accessed through the course Twitter account @GOVT133
(https://twitter.com/GOVT133/lists/key-resources-govt133) - See (4) below.
(4) Twitter: The exclusive Twitter account for this class is @GOVT133
(https://twitter.com/GOVT133).
a. I will regularly post articles of interest to the class on the course Twitter timeline
(TL). These should be considered required readings and will have the hashtag
#GOVT133required.
b. The course TL includes leading news sources, so you can easily go there to read
major news outlets listed in (3) as well as other useful sources.
c. In addition, you will be asked to post articles and we will also use Twitter for
course assignments. For details see Course Requirements (2) below.
d. Refrain from asking administrative or logistical questions about the course here.
e. How to access the GOVT133 Twitter account: If you already use Twitter, please
start following @GOVT133.** If you do not use Twitter, you create an account
here: https://twitter.com/signup and add @GOVT133 to your “Following” list.
**You must use your full name on the Twitter account so I am able to identify
you and give you appropriate credit. If you have an objection to using your
real name please discuss with me during office hours and we will make
accommodations.
D) Course Announcements:
All course-related announcements will be posted on Blackboard so
please check it several times a week.
E) Course Requirements:: Each of the following requirements constitute a percentage of your
final grade, which is calculated based on adding up your total points earned during the semester
and dividing by the total number of points possible, 500.
1) Attendance, participation. 50 points (10%)
a. Class attendance is required. Attendance will be taken at every session either at
the start, middle, or end of the session. Attendance at each session will count
for two points for a maximum of 50 points. (There are 28 class sessions so you
can earn 56 points total; anything over 50 will count as extra credit points.)
b. Because of the large class size, participation in class discussion is not a formal
part of your final grade. However, participation in the course will be measured
using other mechanisms; see (2 and 3) below.
2) Assignments. 50 Points (10%)
a. Assignments: I will occasionally ask you to complete an assignment. There will
be 3 assignments at 10 points each, total 30 points.
b. @GOVT133 (participation on Twitter): Students will be assigned two different
weeks to post to the Twitter account one short newspaper or magazine article
relevant to that week’s session. Your tweets must be posted before 9:00 AM on
the Monday of the week your topic is being discussed in class. You must review
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GOVT 133 Spring 2014
any previous posts with your hashtag to avoid duplicate posts. In case of
duplicate posts the person who posted first gets credit. Duplicate posts will not
receive credit. (You may post a new article if your first choice was posted by
another student.)
i. To post to the Twitter account: Start your message with “@GOVT133”
then add the hashtag (#) for the week’s topic, then title of your article,
and finally the URL link to the article. Remember you only have 140
characters so you may shorten the title if necessary but be sure to give a
good sense of the article’s content. I’ve already posted some articles on
the account for you to get a sense of how this will work. Here is an
example: @GOVT133 #PolEconDevelopingGOVT133 World's Richest 1
Percent Control Half Of Global Wealth http://n.pr/1e7O970
ii. To review the articles for the week, in the search engine, type either the
weekly hashtag, or @GOVT133, and the relevant tweets will appear in
chronological order, with the most recent posts at the top. (Make sure
you are searching
iii. Weekly hashtags are listed in the reading assignments section of this
syllabus
iv. You will earn 10 points for each unique article you post up to 20 points. If
I favorite your tweet (which you can review here
https://twitter.com/favorites), you will earn 2 extra credit points. (This will
be based on my evaluation of the timeliness and relevance of the posted
articles to class discussion.)
3) 6 Pop Quizzes: 20 points each for a total of 100 points (20%)
a. There will be six pop quizzes during the semester. Your lowest-scoring quiz
score will be dropped. Each pop quiz is worth 20 points (total 100 points).
b. Quizzes will be based on assignments, class readings, and/or the material
covered in class. Credit extends only to students who stay for the full duration of
the lecture. You are responsible for bringing your own scantron and/or paper to
answer the quizzes.
4) 3 Exams: 50 points each for a total of 150 points (30%)
a. Dates: Feb 12, Mar 5, April 7.
b. Exams will be based on assignments, class readings, and/or the material
covered in class. You are responsible for bringing your own scantron.
5) Comprehensive Final Exam (cumulative): 150 points (30%)
a. Date: May 7, 1:30-4:15 PM.
b. Final Exam will be based on assignments, class readings, and/or the material
covered in class. You are responsible for bringing your own scantron.
Grading
Class participation
@GOVT133 assignments
Other assignments
Pop Quizzes
Exams
Final Exam
Total
50
10 each
10 each
20 each
50 each
150
50
20
30
100
150
150
500 points
Grading Scale:
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GOVT 133 Spring 2014
A+: 490-500
B+: 440-449
C+: 390-399
D+: 340-349
F:
299 and below
A: 460-489
B: 410-439
C: 360-389
D: 310-339
A-: 450-459
B-: 400-409
C-: 350-359
D-: 300-309
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GOVT 133 Spring 2014
COURSE OUTLINE
All assignments are required readings
Assignments subject to change.
SECTION
1
Jan. 22
Jan. 27,
29
INTRODUCTION TO
COURSE
Introduction to course.
Review syllabus & course
requirements
What is Science? What is
the Comparative
Approach? What is
Politics?
SECTION
II
Feb. 3, 5
POWER & AUTHORITY
Feb. 10
Supranational Institutions:
Case Study: The EU
#EUGOVT133
The State: Legitimacy,
Authority & Power
#StateGOVT133
-87 (on collective action and public goods)
Ch. 2; pp. 255-263; 264-266
BB: Max Weber, “Politics as a Vocation”
BB: Martin Luther King, JR, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,”
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
Ch. 14
Feb. 12
Exam 1
SECTION
III
Feb. 17,
19
IDEAS, IDEOLOGY, AND
REGIME TYPES
Power & Ideology
#IdeologyGOVT133
Feb. 24,
26
Democracy
#DemocracyGOVT133
-102
BB: Terry Lynn Karl & Phillippe Schmitter, “What Democracy is
and What it is Not” Journal of Democracy 2(3), 1991, pp. 75-88
BB: Diamond. Larry. 2002. “Elections Without Democracy.
Thinking About Hybrid Regimes.” Journal of Democracy 13 (2):
21-34. (from Demo)
Feb. 26,
Mar. 3
Authoritarianism
#AuthoritarianismGOVT133
-109, pp. 126-128; 143-148; 357-359.
BB: David Collier, “Overview of the Bureaucratic-Authoritarian
Model,” The New Authoritarianism in Latin America, pp. 19-32.
Special Report on the Arab Spring, The Economist,
http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21580624-springproved-fickle-arabs-are-still-yearning-it-says-max-rodenbeck
Mar. 5
Exam 2
Mar. 10,
12
**SPRING BREAK
BB: Ball, Terence and Richard Dagger, “Fascism,” Political
Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal. Longman: New York, 1999,
pp. 187-215.
- Karl Marx & Frederick Engels, “The Communist Manifesto,”
http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/classics/manifesto.html
NO CLASSES
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GOVT 133 Spring 2014
SECTION
IV
Mar. 17,
19
DEVELOPMENT & POLITICS
Mar. 24,
26
Political Economy & the
Developing World
#PolEconDevelopingGOVT133
Mar. 31,
Apr. 2
Globalization & Development
#GlobalizationGOVT133
Apr. 7
Exam 3
SECTION
V
STATE & SOCIETY
BETWEEN VIOLENCE AND
CITIZENSHIP
State-Sponsored Violence
#StateViolenceGOVT133
April 9
Political Economy-Advanced
Industrial Democracies
#PolEconIAdvDemoGOVT133
Apr 14,
16
Revolutions
#RevolutionsGOVT133
Apr. 21,
23
Social Movements
#SocialMovementsGOVT133
Apr. 28,
30
Human Rights
#HumanRIghtsGOVT133
May 5
LAST DAY OF CLASSES
May 7
Final Exam, 1:30-4:15 PM
Online chapter:
www.palgrave.com/politics/hague/resources/chapter.html
BB: Amartya Sen, “The Ends and Means of Development,”
Development as Freedom
BB: Globalization 101: “Development & Globalization” pp. 211, 13-18.
Vincent Ferraro, "Dependency Theory: An Introduction," in
The Development Economics Reader, ed. Giorgio Secondi
(London: Routledge, 2008), pp. 58-64
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/depend.htm
BB: Amartya Sen, “How to Judge Globalism,” The American
Prospect
Joseph Stiglitz, “Globalism’s Discontents,” The American
Prospect, January 14, 2002 Available on the web at
http://www.globalpolicy.org/globaliz/econ/2002/0114stiglitz.htm
Readings TBA
BB: Jeffrey Goodwin, No Other Way Out: States and
Revolutionary Movements (Cambridge, 2001), pp. 3-32.
Other Readings TBA
BB: Elizabeth Jelin “The Politics of Memory: The Human
Rights Movements and the Construction of Democracy in
Argentina,” Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 21, No. 2
(Spring, 1994), pp. 38-58
Other readings TBA
BB: Globalization 101 Human Rights: pp. 3-6, 13-20, 21-24,
26-46
Additional readings TBA
Review
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GOVT 133 Spring 2014
Classroom Expectations:
1) Debate and discussion imply tolerance and respect for opinions other than one’s own. All
students must demonstrate courtesy toward the professor, the teaching assistant, and fellow
students at all times.
2) Cellular phones and other such electronic devices that could disrupt class must be turned off
during class time. Texting or use of technology unrelated to course material is not allowed in
class. Computer use in the classroom is strictly limited to course discussion and assignments.
The professor reserves the right to ban computers from the classroom if this proves to be a
disruptive element.
3) Texting and any use of laptops/ICT that proves distracting to classmates or the professor will
lead to the student’s dismissal from the lecture hall and the student’s forfeiture of one quiz grade
(25 points).
Other Requirements:
1) Attendance: Students must attend class. If you anticipate having a conflict due to
medical/health care, religious holidays, or travel, please inform me within the first two weeks of
class. I strictly adhere to the University’s Attendance and Absence policies.2 If you cannot attend
a class, be sure to ask a fellow student for notes. It is not possible for me to provide an individual
lecture (or notes) for you if you miss a class. In addition, be sure to refer to our Blackboard space.
2) All assignments must be handed in on time. No late assignments will be accepted except in
cases of documented emergencies. There will be no incompletes, make-up exams or extensions
except in cases of documented emergencies.
3) Quizzes and Exams: Any student that misses a quiz or an exam will receive a score of zero
(the same rule applies to students who do not have a scantron, as applicable). Make-up exams
will be given only if students have proper documentation of an emergency situation that can be
verified. In place of an email, please see me during office hours to discuss missed work.
4) Pop Quiz credit extends only to students who stay for the full duration of the lecture. You are
responsible for bringing your own scantron to answer the quizzes.
Academic Integrity:
Plagiarism —in the broadest sense of the term— is strictly forbidden. The George Mason
University Honor Code states: “Cheating and attempted cheating, plagiarism, lying, and stealing
of academic work and related materials constitute Honor Code violations. To maintain an
academic community according to these standards, students and faculty must report all alleged
violations to the Honor Committee.” Students are encouraged to read the full Honor Code in the
University Catalog (http://catalog.gmu.edu) and to remain vigilant against any violation of the
Code in their own work. Any cases of academic dishonesty in this course will be pursued
according to the guidelines detailed in the University Catalog. Please see me if you have any
questions regarding the honor code.
Special Needs:
Please address any special needs or special accommodations with me within the first two weeks
of the semester or as soon as you become aware of your needs. Those seeking accommodations
based on disabilities should contact the Disability Resource Center (703) 993-2474.
Enrollment:
Students are responsible for verifying their enrollment in this class. Schedule adjustments should
be made by the deadlines published in the Schedule of Classes. After the last day to drop,
withdrawing from this class requires the approval of the dean and is only allowed for
nonacademic reasons.
Mason Email Accounts
Students must use their MasonLIVE email account to receive important University information,
including messages related to this class. See http://masonlive.gmu.edu for more information.
Other Useful Campus Resources:
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GOVT 133 Spring 2014
Writing Center: A114 Robinson Hall; (703) 993-1200; http://writingcenter.gmu.edu
University Libraries: “Ask a Librarian”; http://library.gmu.edu/mudge/IM/IMRef.html
Counseling And Psychological Services (CAPS): (703) 993-2380; http://caps.gmu.edu
University Policies
The University Catalog, http://catalog.gmu.edu, is the central resource for university policies
affecting student, faculty, and staff conduct in university academic affairs. Other policies are
available at http://universitypolicy.gmu.edu/. All members of the university community are
responsible for knowing and following established policies.
Important Dates and Information
Registration and Tuition Last day to add and drop classes with no tuition penalty: Jan 29 (extra
day b/c of the Polar Freeze!)
Last day to drop with no academic liability and some refund: Feb 11
Final drop deadline (with 67% tuition penalty): Feb 21
Grades and Exams
Selective Withdrawal Period: Feb 27-Mar 28 (Undergraduate, degree-seeking students only)
Students may view grades via Patriot Web https://patriotweb.gmu.edu
1
The official policy: “George Mason University promotes a living and learning environment for
outstanding growth and productivity among its students, faculty and staff. Through its curriculum,
programs, policies, procedures, services and resources, Mason strives to maintain a quality
environment for work, study and personal growth. An emphasis upon diversity and inclusion
throughout the campus community is essential to achieve these goals. Diversity is broadly
defined to include such characteristics as, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age,
disability, and sexual orientation. Diversity also entails different viewpoints, philosophies, and
perspectives. Attention to these aspects of diversity will help promote a culture of inclusion and
belonging, and an environment where diverse opinions, backgrounds and practices have the
opportunity to be voiced, heard and respected.”
(http://cte.gmu.edu/Teaching_at_Mason/DiversityStatement.html).
2
The official policy: “It is Mason’s policy to encourage its faculty to make a reasonable effort to
allow students to observe their religious holidays or to participate in university-sponsored
activities (e.g., intercollegiate athletics, forensics team, dance company, etc.) without academic
penalty. Absence from classes or exams for these reasons does not relieve students from
responsibility for any part of the course work required during the absence. Students who miss
classes, exams, or other assignments as a consequence of their religious observance or for
participation in a university activity will be provided a reasonable alternative opportunity,
consistent with class attendance policies stated in the syllabus, to make up the missed work. It is
the obligation of students to provide faculty, within the first two weeks of the semester, with the
dates of major religious holidays on which they will be absent, and the dates for which they are
requesting an excused absence for participation in any university-sponsored activity scheduled
prior to the start of the semester, and as soon as possible otherwise. Students requesting an
excused absence for participation in a university- sponsored activity must provide their instructor
with a letter from a university official stating the dates and times that participation in the activity
would result in the student missing class.” For more information about university policies, see:
http://universitypolicy.gmu.edu/.
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