Dr. Jeffrey
Lewis Syllabus
Introduction to Comparative Politics
“Without
comparisons to make, the mind does not know how to proceed”
-- Alexis
de Tocqueville
This
course is designed to provide you with an introduction to the main concepts and
theories of Comparative Politics. By comparing across a range of developed and
developing countries we will examine a number of recurring patterns and
differences between the organization of modern states and economies. Questions
we will consider include:
Readings:
Required Text:
Gabriel Almond, et al. (2008) Comparative Politics Today: A World View.
9th Edition (New York: Pearson Longman) ISBN: 0205529313
Recommended:
Read a daily newspaper that has good
international coverage, such as the New
York Times or Financial Times.
The weekly Economist is excellent as
well.
Contact Information and
Office Hours:
1738 Rhodes Tower
Email: j.lewis07@csuohio.edu
Office phone: 216.687.4678
Monday, Wednesday 11:00-12:00
Or by appointment
Course Requirements:
You
are responsible for all readings listed on the syllabus. Attendance is
mandatory. It is important to keep up with the weekly reading assignments since
lectures and class discussion will assume familiarity with them. As an
incentive, there will be periodic short quizzes which cover the reading
assignments (usually 1 or 2 per week). This is not intended as a “trick” quiz;
those who regularly attend class and keep up with the assigned reading should
have few difficulties in doing well on the quizzes. You may drop your lowest 2
quiz scores. There will also be two in-class exams and a cumulative final exam.
Exams will consist of essays and short answer questions. Finally, there are a
running series of “case study reports” by members of the class; everyone will
be responsible for completing three presentations/written reports. The basic
idea: find a current news article related to the themes of our course, write a
one page (typed, double-spaced) review and make a brief presentation in class
(about 5 minutes). In the review and presentation you should succinctly
describe and explain the significance of the story and link it to the themes of
Comparative Politics. Grades for the case study reports will be based on the
short synopsis presented to the class and the one page written report turned in
to me. The purpose of the case study reports are to sharpen your analytical skills
and create a basis for some interesting class discussions about the real world.
More information on the case studies and how we will schedule the presentations
will be provided in class.
In-class
exams (2@20% each) 40%
·
Exam
1, Feb. 25
·
Exam
2, Apr. 9
Final
exam 30%
·
Wed,
May 7, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.
Please check these dates
carefully. If you cannot
make any of these exam dates or deadlines, I recommend you do not take this
course. No “early” exams will be given under any circumstances. Make-up exams
will only be given in exceptional circumstances; in all cases, students must
have a valid excuse and written documentation (doctor’s note, etc.) AND I
should be notified PRIOR to the exam. Make-up exams will be given at my
convenience and any missed exam must be taken within ONE WEEK of the original
exam or a zero for that exam will be recorded. An essay format will be used for
all make-up exams. There is no substitute for case study reports.
Please
note, I do not provide information about grades by e-mail or phone.
Finally, my policy on academic dishonesty is simple: zero
tolerance. Cheating on exams or plagiarizing material (regardless of source --
this means internet sources too!) will result in a zero for that assignment.
The University’s policy on academic dishonesty can be found in the student code
of conduct; a particularly relevant passage you should be familiar with reads
as follows:
Academic honesty is essential to maintain the
integrity of the University as an institution and to foster an environment
conducive to the pursuit of knowledge. The Cleveland State University Academic
Community values honesty and integrity and holds its members to high standards
of ethical conduct. Academic dishonesty is, therefore, unacceptable, and
students must be prepared to accept the appropriate sanctions for any dishonest
academic behavior…Academic misconduct refers to any fraudulent actions or
behaviors that affect the evaluation of a student's academic performance or
record of academic progress. It includes:
Cheating
-- Fraudulent acquisition and/or submission of another's intellectual property.
This includes but is not limited to the unauthorized giving or receiving of a
copy of examination questions, the use of unauthorized or fabricated sources in
carrying out assignments, and copying the examination answers of others.
Plagiarism
-- Stealing and/or using the ideas or writings of another in a paper or report
and claiming them as your own. This includes but is not limited to the use, by
paraphrase or direct quotation, of the work of another person without full and
clear acknowledgment.
Please
read the definition of plagiarism carefully. “I didn’t know how to cite things”
is not a valid defense for failing to give full
and clear acknowledgment of the ideas or writings of someone else.
Note: For each section of our course, I provide summary points and/or guiding questions to give you some background for what we will cover. They are not meant to be exhaustive, nor in all cases are there clear answers to the questions; instead, think of them as indicative of the topics we will touch upon and think about during each portion of the course.
1. How Do We Study
Comparative Politics? The
idea of a “comparative method.” What to look for: material versus nonmaterial
comparisions. CP’s three “I’s”: interests, identities, institutions. The logic
of development “pathways” and what this means for later developers.
Almond, ch’s.
1-2
Almond, ch’s 3-7
read for understanding of the following key terms: culture and why it matters
(pp. 49-51), socialization (51-52), civil society and interest groups (67-70),
democracy (103), federal systems (107), types of public policies (128-46).
2. The United Kingdom. “Early industrializer” and pioneer of
parliamentary democracy. Why doesn’t the UK have a constitution and what
difference does that make? From a world-wide empire to a “middle tier” power –
the notorious “British disease.”
Almond, ch. 8
3. France.
The “stalemate society” and a revolutionary institutional trajectory. The
dirigisme tradition. The innovations of the Fifth Republic. Who are the true
inheritors of Gaullism? Why are the French so adverse to “globalization”?
Almond, ch. 9
4. Germany. The invention of the “social market
economy” and the creation of the German state – two sides of the same coin.
Rapid industrialization and the proto-type of “catch-up” modernization. How
Germany reinvented their national identity after 1945. The new East-West
divide.
Almond, ch. 10
5. Japan. The development of “managed capitalism”
and the postwar economic miracle. Japan as the modern exemplar of a “strong
state.” The end of Japan, Inc.? Japan as a regional leader?
Almond, ch. 11
6. Russia. Legacies of the USSR and “Crony
Capitalism.” Yeltsin’s “shock therapy” experiment. The Putin era and the
unhappy oligarchs: state-society relations in Russia today. More than any of
our cases – a country undergoing identity change.
7. China. The long trajectory of development. An
anomaly for Comparativists: Capitalism without democracy? Comparisons with
other “late developers.” Legacy of the Maoist era. The new(er) neoconservatism.
Almond, ch. 13
8. Mexico. A new “Newly Industrializing Country.”
Formal and informal political institutions. One-party rule. The lost decade of
the 1980s and the debt crisis. The Fox era and life after Fox? Is Mexico a
“success story” for the developing world?
Almond, ch. 14
9. Iran. A modern theocracy. Democratic practices
in a nondemocracy: what are the implications? How does this “case” differ from
our others in state-societal relations?
Almond, ch. 16
10.
The European Union. Is the EU a confederation of nation-states, a quasi-federal
polity or an UPO (“Unidentified Political Object”)? How does the EU restructure
“normal” national politics and policy making? Is this a generalizable story or
a unique experiment (the N=1 problem)?
FINAL EXAM, Wed, MAY 7, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.