Summer Session I, 2006
pyork@weber.ucsd.edu
Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00 - 4:50
Center Hall #222
Office: Social Sciences Building (SSB), #446
Office Hours: Friday, 3-5 PM, and by appointment
http://dss.ucsd.edu/~pyork
POLITICAL SCIENCE 11:
INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS
Objectives and
Approach: This course
will explore questions and concepts in contemporary
comparative politics. Because comparative politics covers
such a wide range of topics – authoritarianism,
revolutions, social movements, state-building, ethnicity
and ethnic conflict, nationalism, civil conflict, the
political economy of development, the cultural foundations
of politics, parliamentary politics, presidential politics,
parties, electoral systems, democratic emergence,
democratic consolidation, democratic breakdown, area
studies, etc. – across such a large swath of human
history (roughly from the Ancient/Classical world to the
present), we simply cannot examine all aspects of the
field. Rather, I have designed the course to cover two
things:
Tools.
In the first half of the course, we will examine some
analytic tools utilized in comparative political analysis.
Following a general introduction to the field of
comparative politics, we will specifically explore the
three theoretical approaches – structural, institutional, and cultural – that are most commonly applied
to all
aspects of comparative
politics. In other words, knowing these three approaches
will help you explore almost any topic in comparative
politics. We will examine these approaches using the theme,
broadly defined, of democracy. In other words, we will
examine how structural, institutional and cultural theories
help explain the emergence and survival/breakdown of
democracy in the world.
Cases.
Once we have a basic toolkit, we will then examine the
cases (countries) of Italy, Nigeria and Iraq. Again, I have
chosen the theme of democratic emergence and survival. In
other words, we will explore how structural, institutional
and cultural factors help us explain each of these three
countries’ experience with democracy.
Course Assignments and
Grading: Assignments
include an in-class midterm and a final essay. The midterm
will count for 40% of your grade, and will cover the first
half of the course (tools). It will take place at the
beginning of lecture on July 25th.
The final essay will be approximately 8 double-spaced
pages, and will count for 60% of your grade. It is due by
5:00 PM on Friday, August 4th.
You will use the tools and cases of the course to answer
the following question: Will (minimal) democracy survive in
Iraq? Additional details for the final essay will be
provided after the midterm on July 25th.
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 at A.S. Soft Reserves,
located in Student Center A, near A.S. Lecture Notes and
the Grove Café. Other readings are available online and
links to them will be posted on the course website
(http://dss.ucsd.edu/~pyork).
Robert Putnam, Making Democracy
Work, Princeton
University Press, 1993.
A copy of Putnam will be placed on library reserve.
Unfortunately, I am unable to place a copy of the reader on
reserve. If you are financially unable to purchase the
reader, please see me.
July 6: Introduction; Logistics; What is Comparative
Politics?
No Readings
July 11: Structural
Theories I: Economic Development and Democracy;
Structural Theories II:
Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflict
Adam Przeworski, Mike
Alvarez, José Antonio Cheibub and Fernando Limongi.
Democracy and
Development: Political Regimes and Material Well-Being in
the World, 1950-1999. Cambridge University Press, 2000, pp.
78-117.
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 Africa,”
Comparative Political
Studies, January
1974, 6(4), pp. 457- 477.
Posner, Daniel N. Institutions and Ethnic Politics in
Africa. Cambridge
University Press, 2005, pp. 130-158.
July 13: Structural
Theories II Continued;
Cultural Theories I: Social Capital;
Cultural Theories II: Islam and Democracy;
Robert Putnam, Making Democracy
Work, Princeton
University Press, 1993, chapters 1, 4, 6 and pp. 152-157.
Zakaria, Fareed. 2004. “Islam, Democracy, and
Constitutional Liberalism,” Political Science
Quarterly, Vol.
119, #1, pp. 1-20.
Hofmann, Steven Ryan. 2004. “Islam
and Democracy: Micro-Level Indications of
Compatibility.” Comparative Political
Studies, Vol. 37,
#6, pp. 652-676.
July 18: Cultural
Theories II Continued;
Institutional Theories
I: Electoral Systems;
Institutional Theories II: Presidential Versus
Parliamentary Democracy
Munroe Eagles and
Larry Johnston. Politics: An Introduction to
Democratic Government. Broadview Press, 1999, pp. 299-333.
Gary W. Cox. Making Votes Count: Strategic
Coordination in the World’s Electoral
Systems.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, pp. 13-33.
Arend Lijphart. "Party Systems: Two Party and Multiparty
Patterns," Democracies, Yale University Press, 1984, pp. 106-126.
Munroe Eagles and Larry Johnston, Politics: An Introduction to
Democratic Government, Broadview Press, 1999, pp. 211-214,
222-228, 230-240, 241-276.
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.
July 20: Institutional
Theories Continued;
Midterm Details
Be sure to have read
all previously mentioned readings by this point
July 25: Midterm; Final
Essay Prompt; Italy
“The Real Sick
Man of Europe,” Economist. May 21, 2005.
Spotts, F. and T. Wieser. “Parliament, Prime Minister
and President,” Italy, A Difficult Democracy: A
Survey of Italian Politics. Cambridge University Press, 1986, pp.
103-126.
David Hine and Renato Finocchi,
“The Italian Prime Minister,”
West European
Politics, 1991,
Vol. 14, #2, pp. 79-96
James L. Newell and Martin Bull. “Party Organization
and Alliances in Italy in the 1990s: A Revolution of
Sorts,” West
European Politics, 1997, Vol. 20, #1, pp. 81-109
July 27: Italy
Continued; Nigeria
Mundt, Robert J. and Oladimeji Aborisade.
“Politics in Nigeria,” in Gabriel Almond,
Russell Dalton, G. Bingham Powell Jr., and Kaare Strøm
(eds.), Comparative Politics Today: A World
View. Eighth
Edition. Pearson Longman, 2006, pp. 686-737.
Uche, Chibuike U. and Ogbonnaya C. Uche. 2004. “Oil
and the Politics of Revenue Allocation in Nigeria.”
Leiden, the Netherlands: ASC Working Paper #54. Available
online at http://www.ascleiden.nl/pdf/workingpaper54.pdf
Adigun Agbaje “Nigeria: Prospects for the Fourth
Republic,” in E. Gyimah-Boadi (ed.),
Democratic Reform in
Africa. Lynne
Rienner Publishers, 2004, pp. 201-233
August 1: Nigeria
Continued; Iraq
Abdullah. Thabit. 2003. “The
Dictatorship of Saddam Husayn, 1979-2003,”
A Short History of Iraq:
From 636 to the Present. Pearson Education Limited. pp. 181-209.
Feldman, Noah and Vali Nasr. 02/26/2006. “Power
Struggle, Tribal Conflict or Religious War?,”
Time
Magazine. Excerpt
available online at
http://www.cfr.org/publication/10012/power_struggle_tribal_conflict_or_religious_war.html
Note:
The links below are in
chronological order, and you should read them as such to
get a sense of how the Iraqi situation has developed from
2003 to the present. However, the material will be taught
thematically to cover ethnicity/sectarianism, oil politics,
and electoral systems/parliamentary democracy. All readings
should be completed by August 3.
09/02/2003.
“Iraq: Shiites,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at: http://www.cfr.org/publication/7683/iraq.html
11/14/2003.
“Iraq: The Role of Tribes,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at: http://www.cfr.org/publication.html?id=7681
12/31/2004.
“Iraq: Election Politics,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at: http://www.cfr.org/publication/7826/iraq.html
Pan, Esther.
04/07/2005. “Iraq: The Transitional
Government,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at: http://www.cfr.org/publication/8078/iraq.html
Beehner, Lionel and
Sharon Otterman. 08/23/2005. “Iraq: Drafting the
Constitution,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at: http://www.cfr.org/publication/8044/iraq.html
Beehner, Lionel.
11/30/2005. “Shiite Militias and Iraq’s
Security Forces,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at:
http://www.cfr.org/publication/9316/shiite_militias_and_iraqs_security_forces.html
Beehner, Lionel.
12/07/2005. “Iraq’s Parliamentary Elections: An
Explainer,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at:
http://www.cfr.org/publication/9356/iraqs_parliamentary_elections.html
Beehner, Lionel.
12/12/2005. “Iraqi Political Coalitions in the
Parliamentary Elections,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at:
http://www.cfr.org/publication/9391/iraqi_political_coalitions_in_the_parliamentary_elections.html
Pan, Esther.
12/20/2005. “Iraq: Sunnis, the Elections, and the
Insurgency,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at: http://www.cfr.org/publication/9447/iraq.html
Beehner, Lionel.
12/20/2005. “Forming a New Iraqi
Government,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at:
http://www.cfr.org/publication/9749/forming_a_new_iraqi_government.html
Beehner, Lionel.
12/29/2005. “Iraq and Oil: Revenue-Sharing Among
Regions,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at: http://www.cfr.org/publication/9482/iraq_and_oil.html
Beehner, Lionel.
01/19/2006. “The Role of Kurds in Iraqi
Politics,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at:
http://www.cfr.org/publication/9615/role_of_kurds_in_iraqi_politics.html
Beehner, Lionel.
02/13/2006. “A Preview of Iraq’s New
Government.” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at:
http://www.cfr.org/publication/9716/preview_of_iraqs_new_government.html
Beehner, Lionel.
05/22/2006. “Snags Remain in Forming Iraqi
Government,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at:
http://www.cfr.org/publication/10702/snags_remain_in_forming_iraqi_government.html
Beehner, Lionel.
06/28/2006. “The Challenge in Iraq’s Other
Cities: Basra,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at: http://www.cfr.org/publication/11001/
Beehner, Lionel.
6/30/2006. “The Challenge in Iraq’s Other
Cities: Kirkuk,” Council on Foreign Relations
Backgrounder.
Available online at:
http://www.cfr.org/publication/11036/challenge_in_iraqs_other_cities.html
August 3: Iraq
Continued
August 4: Final Essay
Due by 5 PM at My Office, SSB #446.