Professor Karen Ferree
Fall Quarter 2008
Office: 391 Social Sciences
Building
MW
9:00-9:50, plus section
Phone: (858) 822-2309
E-mail: keferree@weber.ucsd.edu
Office Hours: M 11:00 - 12:00,
and by appointment http://weber.ucsd.edu/~keferree/
Political
Science 11: Introduction to Comparative Politics
Objectives and Approach: This course will explore questions and concepts in
contemporary comparative politics.
Themes include democracy and democratization, the persistence of
ethnicity, the causes of civil conflict, the role of the state and political
institutions, and the cultural foundations of politics. We will examine and critically evaluate
several different approaches to politics, including modernization, Marxist, cultural,
institutionalist, and leadership-centered approaches. Cases will be drawn from different regions
and historical periods to ground students in the tools of comparative
analysis. The major objective of the
course is to teach students to think about politics in systematic and
comparative terms.
Course Assignments and Grading: Assignments include an in-class midterm, one 5-7 page paper
on a topic given by the instructor, and a comprehensive final examination. Class and section attendance is required, and
you will be responsible for all lecture materials. You are expected to do the reading for each
week and be prepared to discuss the reading in section. In-class tests will include both objective
and essay questions. For students whose
final exam grades are better than their average for the midterm and paper, the
final will count 50% and each of the other two assignments 25%, before adjustment
for participation. In the opposite case,
each major assignment will count one-third.
Grades will be adjusted, upward or downward, for section participation
and contributions (10% of the final course grade). Students must complete the
midterm, the paper, and the final examination to pass the course. Late papers will be penalized by a half grade
per day. Extensions, incompletes, or
make‑up exams will be given only in exceptionally pressing cases
and in accordance with UCSD policy.
Petitions must be timely, properly documented, and submitted
in writing. All requests for grade changes must be made formally
in writing to your TA. Any such requests
will cause the entire exam or paper to be reevaluated, and may result in either
a higher or lower grade.
Academic Honesty: Fair
and effective education requires academic honesty, and any violation is a very
serious matter. UCSD rules concerning
academic dishonesty are spelled out in the General Catalog. Note especially the strict prohibition
against plagiarism, i.e., submitting as your own or without proper attribution
work done wholly or in part by another person.
Plagiarism includes unauthorized collaboration on course
assignments. Unless otherwise indicated,
all assignments in this course are individual, and no collaboration with
any other person is permitted. In-class
tests are closed-book, with no aids allowed. These rules will be strictly enforced. Any academic dishonesty will without
exception be reported to the student's dean for disciplinary action.
Books: The
following books have been ordered by the UCSD bookstore. In addition, a course reader will be
available for purchase from University Readers (www.universityreaders.com). For students who do not wish to purchase
materials, copies of books will be placed on library reserve and the reader is
available on e-reserves.
Elisabeth Jean Wood, Forging Democracy From Below: Insurgent
Transitions in South Africa and El Salvador, Cambridge University Press,
2000.
Mihailo Crnobrnja, The Yugoslav Drama,
William Sheridan Allen, The Nazi Seizure of Power,
Schedule:
There will usually be two lectures and one section per week. Attendance is required. The paper will be due in class on October 22. The midterm is tentatively scheduled for
November 5.
Disclaimer: This syllabus is
intended to provide an overview over the course. You cannot claim any rights
from it. In particular, scheduling and dates may change. Although the syllabus
should be a reliable guide for the course, official announcements are always
those made in class.
September 29: Introduction and Logistics
October 1: What is Democracy?
Munroe Eagles and Larry Johnston,
Politics: An Introduction to Democratic
Government, Broadview Press, 1999, pp. 24, 32-33, 190-193.
Samuel Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late
Twentieth Century,
Barry
Bearak and Celia W. Dugger, "As
October 6 and 8: Where Does Democracy Come From?
Daniel Lerner, "The
Grocer and the Chief: A Parable," in The
Passing of Traditional Society, Free Press, 1958, pp. 19-42.
Adam
Przeworski, Mike Alvarez, José Antonio Cheibub and Fernando Limongi. Democracy and Development: Political Regimes and
Material Well-Being in the World, 1950-1990,
S.M.
Lipset, “George Washington and the Founding of Democracy,” Journal of Democracy 9, No. 4, 1998, pp. 24-38.
Elisabeth Jean Wood, Forging Democracy From Below: Insurgent
Transitions in South Africa and El
Thomas Friedman, "Get a
Job" and "The Cultural Revolution," The
October 13 and 15: El Salvador and South Africa
Elisabeth Jean Wood, Forging Democracy From Below, pp. 25-144; 150-193.
October 15: Paper prompts handed out
October 20: What Explains the Persistence of
Ethnicity?
Clifford Geertz, “The
Integrative Revolution: Primordial Sentiments and Civil Politics in the New
States,” in Clifford Geertz, The Interpretation of
Cultures, Basic Books, 1973, pp. 255-279 and 306-310.
Robert H.
Bates, “Ethnic Competition and Modernization in Contemporary
October 22:
When Does Grievance Produce War? (Paper due in class).
James Davies, “Toward a
Theory of Revolution,” American
Sociological Review 27, No. 1 (1962), pp. 5-19.
Paul Collier, “Doing Well out
of War: An Economic Perspective.” In Greed & Grievance:
Economic Agendas in Civil Wars, edited by Mats Berdal and David M. Malone.
Theda
Skocpol, Social Revolutions and the
Modern World.
October 27 - 29:
Mihailo Crnobrnja, The Yugoslav Drama, McGill-Queens
University Press 1994, pp. 15-34, 65-114, 141-188.
November 3: Yugoslavia:
Death of a Nation (in class movie).
November 5: IN CLASS MIDTERM
November 10 and 12: Democratic Stability – Does
Culture Matter?
Eagles and
Robert
Putnam, Making Democracy Work,
Princeton University Press 1993, chapters 1 and 4.
Ray Salvatore Jennings, “A
New Iraqi Civic Culture is Emerging.” The Daily
Star,
Christopher Dickey and Owen
Matthews, “The New Face of Islam: A Critique of Radicalism is Building within
the Heart of the Muslim World.” Newsweek,
November 17 and 19: Do Institutions Matter? Presidentialism vs.
Parliamentarism.
Eagles and
Matthew Soberg Shugart and
Scott Mainwaring, “Presidentialism and Democracy in Latin America: Rethinking
the Terms of the Debate,” Presidentialism
and Democracy in Latin America, edited by Scott Mainwaring and Mathew Sober
Shugart, Cambridge University Press 1997, pp. 12-54.
November 24 and December 1: What Determines the Number
of Parties? Does the Number of Parties
Matter?
Eagles and
Arend Lijphart, “Electoral Systems: Majority
and Plurality Methods versus Proportional Representation.” Patterns
of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in 36 Countries.
Arend Lijphart, "Party Systems: Two Party
and Multiparty Patterns," Patterns
of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in 36 Countries.
December
3: Nazi Germany
Sheri
Berman, “Civil Society and the Collapse of the
Matthew
Soberg Shugart and John M. Carey. Presidents and Assemblies: Constitutional
Design and Electoral Dynamics.
William Sheridan Allen, The Nazi Seizure of Power,