POLS260-3 INTRODUCTION TO
COMPARATIVE POLITICS
Department of Political Science
Northern
Spring 2010
Instructor: Professor Kikue Hamayotsu Office: Zulauf Hall 414
Lectures: M/W3:30-4:45 Office Hours: M11:30-13:30/W11-12
Room: DU461 Phone:
815-753-7048 E-mail:
khamayotsu@niu.edu
Teaching Assistant: Mr.Adam Cox
E-mail: acox@niu.edu
Office Hours: T/TH 10:30-12
Course
Outline:
This course will teach you about politics around the world and is designed as an introduction to the basic concepts and themes in Comparative Politics such as democracy, the political roots of development and poverty, and how contentious politics plays out in different forms across countries. If you are interested in political science as a major, this class helps prepare you for more advanced political science courses. If you just want to better understand what is going on in the world, this class will provide you with useful theoretical frameworks, as well as factual background, on a number of important countries and regions in the world.
The course will focus on the three
essential themes of comparative political analysis: (1) The State, Political
Regimes and Institutions; (2) Political Participation and State-Society
Relations; and (3) Political Economy. In the final sections, we will also
review some major contemporary issues. The underlying purpose of the course is
to identify and explain differences/similarities in political systems and political
life across a set of diverse countries and regions of the world. Through the
comparison of politics in different countries, we will shed light on some of
the most fundamental questions about politics: why are some countries
democratic and other not? Why does conflict within a society turn violent in
some cases but not in others? And, how are politics and economics related? To
explore these questions, we will be primarily (but not exclusively) focusing on
six countries—
This is a lecture course. In order to encourage discussion among students, however, class meetings consist of lectures followed by discussion. Students will make brief oral presentation and discuss the section’s readings.
Course
Requirements:
1.
Class attendance:
a.
Students are required to attend all the classes. More
than three unexcused absences will jeopardize your attendance grade and
you will risk failing the course. Please notify your TA in advance if you must
miss class.
2.
a.
Students are expected to come
to class having done the reading beforehand and to actively participate in
discussion. It is helpful to approach the readings with the following questions
in mind: (a) what is the central question/debate? (b) what
is the main argument? (c) what is the evidence for the
argument? (d) what are the problems with the argument?
(e) can you think of counterarguments? Students should also address these
questions in writing assignments.
3.
One class presentation (10%):
a.
On the first day of class,
students will be asked to sign-up for a particular section in which to present.
b.
The presentation should be a
critique of the readings of the session and must address central controversies
to stimulate class discussion. Students may want to choose an article from a
national/international newspaper or other publication (such as The Economist,
the Chicago Tribune, or the New York Times) that relates to the section’s
readings (you can be creative). The presentation should be approximately 10
minutes.
4.
Random quizzes (10%)
a.
A handful of brief quizzes will
be given randomly throughout the semester. They will focus mainly on the
required readings. The purpose of this component of the evaluation is to
encourage the students to do the assigned readings, and to come to class
prepared to discuss the material. If it becomes clear that people are not
coming to class prepared, the instructor reserves the right to take the drastic
action of giving pop quizzes. Otherwise, quizzes will be announced the class
before they are due.
b.
Two in-class exams (20%+40%)
Ø The mid-term exam: consists of a short-answer section and essay questions. The exam will cover the first half of the course. Students will be expected to write clear and coherent essays.
Ø
The final exam: consists of a
short-answer section and essay questions. The exam will primarily cover
materials from the second half of the course, but test your overall
understanding of the materials covered in the course.
c.
One term paper (20%)
Ø Students will be required to write a short term paper (5-6 pp). The paper topic will be given in class. The paper due is April 14. A hard copy must be submitted to the instructor in class.
Ø The paper must be typewritten (12 font), double-spaced, and properly footnoted.
Grade
distribution:
1. Class presentation (10%)
2. Quizzes (10%)
3. Exams (20%+40%)
4. Term paper (20%)
5. Class attendance and participation (additional but crucial for upgrade)
Course
rules (please also see the other important information attached below):
a. Late submission will result in grade reduction for a 1/3 the letter grade per day (e.g., “A” will be lowered to “A-” if submission is a day late). No paper will be accepted that is more than one week late.
b. Plagiarism Policy: According to the NIU Undergraduate Catalogue “Students are guilty of plagiarism, intentional or not, if they copy material from books, magazines, or other sources without identifying and acknowledging them. Students guilty of, or assisting others in, either cheating or plagiarism on an assignment, quiz, or examination may receive a grade of F for the course involved and may be suspended or dismissed from the university.” In short, all ideas that are not your own or well known must be footnoted. A general rule is that if the information cannot be found in three or more commonly available sources it should be footnoted. All direct quotations must be placed in quotation marks. If you are unsure as to what should be footnoted either play it safe and footnote, or ask for assistance. Failure to adhere to the University’s plagiarism policy will result in punishments ranging from a failed course grade to suspension and even expulsion, depending on the egregiousness of the infraction.
c. Basic classroom manners:
Ø Turn off your electronic devices (e.g, I-pod, I-phone, Cell phone)
Ø No crossword/sudoku, or any other game is permitted
Ø Not permitted to leave the classroom without prior permission
Course
readings:
The following textbooks have been ordered at the university bookstore and should be available for purchase. The rest of the readings are uploaded in Blackboard. A number of Internet links have been made to on-line journals. Students may either download the articles or read them on line. The required readings and textbooks will also be kept in library reserve.
Textbooks
to purchase:
Ø
Kopstein, Jeffrey, and Mark Lichback, eds. 2009. Comparative Politics: Interests,
Identities, and Institutions in a Changing Global Order. Third ed.
Ø
O'Neil,
Patrick H. 2010. Essentials of Comparative Politics. Second ed.
Ø
Zakaria, Fareed. 2007 (revised).
The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad.
Class
Schedule:
PART
I: INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE
POLITICS
n
What is Comparative Politics?
Why do we have to care to study?
Required
Kopstein and Lichback, Ch.1-2
PART II:
States, Regimes and Institutions
n
What is the state and why use
it as a unit of analysis?
Required
O’Neil, Ch.2.
n
Why and how have we got state
institutions that we have now?
Case: Europe (
Required
Kopstein and Lichback, Ch.4 (especially pp.87-112).
n Ethnic and national identities
n Where does a “national identity” come from? Who reserves the right to define it?
Case: Europe (Britain/France)/
Required
“Accidental Immigrants”
O’Neil, Ch.3 (especially pp.47-57).
n Who should be included and in what terms?
Case:
Ø Video: TBA
Required
Brubaker. 2001. “The Return of Assimilation?” Ethnic and Racial Studies, 24 (4), pp.531-548.
“Our Town”, NYT Magazine, August 5, 2007.
n What is democracy and what is not?
n What are the requisites for democracy?
Case:
Required
Almond, Gabriel A. 2004. Comparative
Political System. In Essential Readings in
Comparative Politics, edited by P. O'Neil and R. Rogowski.
Zakaria, Introduction.
n Parliamentary democracies
n
How did
Case:
Required
Kopstein and Lichback, Ch.3 (especially pp.54-81).
n
Illiberal Democracy
Case:
Required
Zakaria, Ch3.
Case:
Required
Kopstein and Lichback, Ch.7
(especially pp.219-53).
n What is authoritarianism?
Ø
Video:
Required
O’Neil, Ch.6.
Case:
Required
Kopstein and Lichback, Ch.8 (pp.271-93).
n What explains resilience of some authoritarian regimes?
Case:
Required
Kopstein and
Lichback, Ch.8 (pp.293-301).
Nathan, Andrew J. 2003.
n
Civil Society and Social Capital
Case: US
Required
Fukuyama, Francis. 1995. The Primacy of Culture. Journal
of Democracy 6 (1):7-14.
Putnam, Robert D. 1995. Bowling
Alone:
n Are certain cultural traits required for democracy?
n Is Islam an exception?
Required
Zakaria, Ch.4.
PART III: Political
Participation and State-Society Relations
n
Why do people rebel?
Case:
Required
Tilly, Charles, and Sidney
Tarrow. 2007. Contentious Politics.
Case:
n Video: Tiananmen uprising
Required
Perry, Elizabeth J., and Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom. 1994. Casting Chinese "Democracy"
Movement: The roles of Students, Workers, and Entrepreneurs. In
Popular Protest and Political Culture in Modern China, edited by E. J.
Perry.
Case:
Required
Fuller, Graham E. 2002. The
Future of Political Islam. Foreign Affairs 81 (2):48-60.
Wickham, Carrie Rosefsky. 2004.
Interests, Ideas, and Islamist Outreach in
n What are the causes of ethnic violence?
Case:
Required
O’Neil, Ch.3 (especially
pp.55-58).
Varshney, Ashutosh. 2001. Ethnic
Conflict and Civil Society:
§
Radical Islam
Ø Video: “War Within” (CNN)
Required
Economist Special Report, “Faith and Politics.”
O’Neil, Ch.3 (pp.66-75).
PART IV: Political Economy—State and Market
n What is Political Economy?
Case:
Required
O’Neil, Ch.4.
n Why are some countries resource-poor but rich while others are resource-rich but poor?
n Shall state intervention facilitate development? If so, how?
Case:
Kopstein and Lechback, Ch.6 (
n Does economic growth promote democracy/ Does democracy promote economic growth?
Case:
Required
Zakaria, Ch.2.
Kopstein and Lichbach, chap.10 (especially pp.378-91).
Case:
Required
Varshney, Ashutosh. 1998. Why Democracy Survives. Journal of
Democracy 9 (3):36-50.
Kopstein and Lichbach, chap.10 (especially pp.391-409).
***THE TERM PAPER DUE***
PART V:
Contemporary Challenges
Required
O’Neil, Ch.11.
Wolf, Martin. 2001. “Will the Nation-State
Survive Globalization?” Foreign
Affairs, Jan/Feb. pp.160-77.
n Does globalization facilitate a universal identity or a clash among different cultural identities?
Required
Huntington,
Samuel P. 1993. The clash of civilizations? Foreign
Affairs 72 (3)
May
3 (Monday) Final
Exam
Tips for Doing Well in this Class
1. Do the readings AND come to class. Lectures will refer to the assigned readings but they will not summarize them and they are not an adequate substitute. Likewise, lectures will cover material that is not in the readings, and that may appear on the exams.
2. Read critically. As you read, note questions that you would like to raise in lecture or section, and think critically about the author's evidence and arguments.
3. Think comparatively. Ask yourself how the particular case you are reading about compares with similar developments in other countries, regions, or periods.
4. Participate actively in discussion sections and in lecture. Take notes on lectures, and be engaged in the question and discussion periods that will be held during the final minutes of class.
5. Keep up with current events. If you do not already do so, read the international pages of at least one major national / international paper every day. Examples include The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Think about how contemporary events relate to the themes and cases studied in class.
6. Know the locations of the countries and regions we cover. Geography is critically important for understanding a nation's historical development and importantly influences national security interests and many other areas of political life. If a name of a country is mentioned that you can't pinpoint on a map (a vague sense of where it is located is insufficient!), locate it on a map. Also note what its neighboring countries and regions are. Maps of the countries and regions of the world we will cover can be found in the Essentials of Comparative Politics text.
7. Follow up on topics you find particularly interesting by reading beyond the assigned texts. Look for hints of where to find additional materials by looking at footnotes and references in the readings or by asking your T.A. or me for suggested additional readings.
8. Take advantage of office hours. The T.A.s and I are here to help if you're having trouble understanding concepts or if you are simply interested in further discussing topics covered in class (see #7 above).
Other Important Information
Academic Dishonesty
Regarding plagiarism,
the NIU Undergraduate Catalog states: "Students are guilty of plagiarism,
intentional or not, if they copy material from books, magazines, or other
sources without identifying and acknowledging them. Students guilty of, or assisting others in, either cheating or plagiarism on
an assignment, quiz, or examination may receive a grade of F for the course
involved and may be suspended or dismissed from the university." The above
statement encompasses a paper written in whole or in part by another; a paper
copied word-for-word or with only minor changes from another source; a paper
copied in part from one or more sources without proper identification and
acknowledgment of the sources; a paper that is merely a paraphrase of one or
more sources, using ideas and/or logic without credit even though the actual
words may be changed; and a paper that quotes, summarizes or paraphrases, or
cuts and pastes words, phrases, or images from an Internet source without
identification and the address of the web site.
Students with
Disabilities
Under Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, NIU is committed to making reasonable
accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Those students with
disabilities that may have an impact on their course work must register with
the Center for Access-Ability Resources (CAAR) on the fourth floor of the
Department of
Political Science Web Site
Undergraduates are
strongly encouraged to consult the Department of Political Science web site on
a regular basis. This up-to-date,
central source of information will assist students in contacting faculty and staff,
reviewing course requirements and syllabi, exploring graduate study, research
career options, tracking department events, and accessing important details
related to undergraduate programs and activities. To reach the site, go to http://polisci.niu.edu
Undergraduate
Writing Awards
The Department of
Political Science will recognize, on an annual basis, outstanding undergraduate
papers written in conjunction with 300-400 level political science courses or
directed studies. Authors do not have
to be political science majors or have a particular class standing. Winners are expected to attend the
Department’s spring graduation ceremony, where they will receive a certificate
and $50.00. Papers, which can be
submitted by students or faculty, must be supplied in triplicate to a
department secretary by the end of March.
All copies should have two cover pages – one with the student’s name and
one without the student’s name.
Only papers written in the previous calendar year can be
considered for the award. However,
papers completed in the current spring semester are eligible for the following
year’s competition even if the student has graduated.
Classroom Decorum
Students are to arrive
at class on time. Two tardy
arrivals are equivalent to one class absence. Students are to remain for the entire
session unless excused by the professor beforehand or confronted with a serious
personal emergency. For instance,
it is not acceptable to students to walk in and out of class to answer cell
phones, take casual bathroom and smoking breaks, or attend to other personal
matters. Cell phones, pagers,
or any electronic devices that make noise must be turned off during
class unless the instructor has been notified beforehand of a special
circumstance (e.g., sick family member, pregnant wife, special childcare
situation, etc.). No one should
talk while someone else is talking; this includes comments meant for a
classmate rather than the entire group.
What may seem like a whisper or a harmless remark to one person can be a
distraction to someone else, particularly in a small room. Overall, classroom dialogue and behavior
should always be courteous, respectful of others, and consistent with the
expectations set forth by the university.