POLS 215 Fall 2014 - Bogazici University Political Sciences

POLS 215: Comparative Politics
Fall 2014
Tuesday 9:00 am-10:100 am / NH405, Thursday 2:00 pm-4:00 pm / NH405
Instructor: Tolga Sinmazdemir
E-mail: [email protected]
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 2:00-4:00 pm or by appointment
Office Location: IB 411
Teaching Assistant: Goksin Ugur
E-mail: [email protected]
Course Description
This course is an introduction to the comparative study of domestic politics in countries around
the world. As such, it has three primary objectives: (i) to introduce students to the major
questions in comparative politics, (ii) to familiarize them with the field’s best answers, and (iii) to
teach them the tools necessary to think critically about those answers.
After a brief discussion of the method of comparative political science, and how it relates to
actual politics, we will focus on the following set of substantively important questions: What is
the state and where did it come from? What is democracy? Why are some countries democracies
whereas others are dictatorships? How might we explain transitions to democracy? Does the kind
of regime a country has affect the material well-being of its citizens? Why do some countries have
many parties whereas some have only a few? How do governments form, and what determines the
type of governments that take office? What are the material and normative implications
associated with these different types of government? How does the type of democracy in a
country affect the survival of that regime?
Using the latest research in the field of comparative politics, we will examine competing answers
to these questions and evaluate them for their logical consistency and empirical accuracy. In
doing so, students will learn how to make comparisons across different political contexts and to
use such comparisons to test claims made about the political world. For some of these claims, we
will turn to short newspaper and magazine articles, as well as movies and documentaries in which
journalists, columnists and movie-makers engage in comparative political science either knowingly
or unknowingly, (as you will come to appreciate) at varying levels of success. This will also allow
students to learn about the similarities and differences among countries, both democratic and
authoritarian.
Prerequisites
The prerequisite for this course is POLS 101. No math knowledge beyond a high school level
math is assumed. Simple game theory and statistics will be introduced if necessary during the
lectures to help students better understand the reading material. Students are not required to
understand the mathematical aspects of the readings, but they are required to know and
understand the logic of the arguments and to be able to explain and discuss it in words.
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Grading Policy and Requirements
Grades will be based on attendance and participation (10%), five homeworks (15%), midterm
(20%), final exam (30%) and a final paper (25 %).
Attendance and Participation - 10%
Students are required to attend all class meetings and weekly discussion sections, which will start
fourth week of classes. Students are expected to read the required material before coming to class,
and be prepared to discuss it.
Homeworks - 15%
Throughout the semester, there will be five homeworks to make sure that the students keep up
with the material covered in lectures and the readings.
Midterm - 20 %
There will be a midterm exam on November 13 that will cover all the material from the beginning
of the semester through November 13.
Final Exam - 30 %
The final exam will be cumulative and will cover all the material from the beginning of the
semester to the end. The date of the final exam will be announced later.
Final Paper - 25 %
You will write a five-page paper that uses the material we will cover this semester to make the
case that one institutional change will increase accountability, equity or democratic stability in a
country. The final paper will be due December 31, 2014. I will circulate a more detailed
description of the project on November 21st. You must clear your proposed paper topic and
country with me by December 5th.
There will be no make-up exams, unless a student cannot attend the exam on the original date
due to a medical or a family emergency. A doctor’s note covering the original exam period will be
required to schedule a make-up exam.
Cheating and Plagiarism
Cheating and plagiarism during the midterm and the final exam will not be tolerated. Students
should work on their exams independently. The Department of Political Science and International
Relations at Bogazici University has the following rules and regulations regarding academic
honesty.
1. Copying work from others or giving and receiving answers/information during exams either in
written or oral form constitutes cheating.
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2. Submitting take-home exams and papers of others as your own, using sentences or paragraphs
from another author without the proper acknowledgement of the original author, insufficient
acknowledgement of the consulted works in the bibliography, all constitute plagiarism. For further
guidelines, you can consult
http://www.buowl.boun.edu.tr/students/favoidingplagiarism.htm
3. Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses and will result in:
a) an automatic F for the assignment or the exam
b) an oral explanation before the Departmental Ethics Committee
c) losing the opportunity to request and receive any references from the entire faculty
d) losing the opportunity to apply in exchange programs
e) losing the prospects of becoming a student assistant or a graduate assistant in the department
The students may further be sent to the University Ethics committee or be subject to disciplinary
action.
Required Text and Other Course Materials
Clark, William, Matt Golder and Sona Golder. 2013. Principles of Comparative Politics.
Washington, D.C.: CQ Press (henceforth, CGG).
A copy of this book will be available at Gunel Copy. The rest of the required readings and
additional course material will be made available on the course webpage at Course Information
Management System (CIMS).
SCHEDULE
PART I
Week 1: September 23 & 25- Introduction and Course Logistics
What is the science of comparative politics? How does it relate to actual politics? What is
scientific about it?
• CGG, Chapters 1-3.
Recommended:
• Hirschman, Albert. Exit, Voice and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations,
and States. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Chapters 1-3.
• Przeworski, Adam. 2007. “Is The Science of Comparative Politics Possible?” In Carles Boix
and Susan C. Stokes (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics. New York: Oxford
University Press.
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• Mill, John S. 1882 [1843]. A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive: Being a
Connected View of the Principles of Evidence, and the Methods of Scientific Investigation.
8th ed. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers. 478-503.
PART II
Week 2: September 30 & October 2 - States
What is a state? How do they come about? What do they do?
• CGG, Chapter 4.
• Tilly, Charles. 1985. “War Making and State Making as Organized Crime.” In Peter B.
Evans, Dietrich Rueschmeyer, Theda Skocpol (ed.) Bringing the State Back In. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Recommended:
• Hobbes, Thomas. 1651. Leviathan. Chapters 13-15.
• Weber, Max. [1918] 1958. “Politics as a Vocation”. in From Max Weber: Essays in
Sociology, ed. H.H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. New York: Oxford University Press.
Week 3: October 7 & October 9
• No classes (Religious Holiday, Professor will be attending a conference in U.S.)
Week 4: October 14 & 16 - Democracies and Dictatorships
How should we conceptualize democracies and dictatorships? Can we “measure” democracies and
dictatorships? Has democracy always been a desirable political system?
• CGG, Chapter 5.
• Dahl, Robert. Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Chapter 1.
• Przeworski Adam, Michael Alvarez, Jose Antonio Cheibub, Fernando Limongi. 2000.
Democracy and Development: Political Institutions and Well-Being in the World ,
1950-1990. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 1.
• Schumpeter, Joseph. 1942. Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. pp 269-273.
Recommended:
• Cheibub, Jose, Jennifer Gandhi, James Vreeland. 2010. “Democracy and Dictatorship
Revisited”. Public Choice, 143 (1-2): 67-101.
• Dahl, Robert. 1998. On Democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press. Chapters 4 and 8.
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Week 5: October 21 & 23 - The Economic Determinants of Democracy and
Dictatorship
How does economic development affect the chances of democratization in a country? How does it
affect the chances of a country to remain a democracy?
• CGG, Chapter 6.
• Ross, Michael. 2001. “Does Oil Hinder Democracy?” World Politics 53: 325-361.
• Bates, Robert, Da-Hsiang Donald Lien. “A Note on Taxation, Development, and
Representative Government”. Politics & Society, 14: 53-70.
Recommended:
• Lipset, Seymour Martin. 1959. “Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic
Development and Political Legitimacy”. American Political Science Review, 53(1): 69-105.
• Przeworski Adam, Michael Alvarez, Jose Antonio Cheibub, Fernando Limongi. 2000.
Democracy and Development: Political Institutions and Well-Being in the World ,
1950-1990. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 2.
Week 6: October 28 & 30 - The Cultural Determinants of Democracy and
Dictatorship
Does democracy require a “civic” culture? Are some religions incompatible with democracy?
• CGG, Chapter 7.
• Fish, Steven. 2002. “Islam and Authoritarianism”. World Politics, 55 (1): 4-37.
Recommended:
• Almond, Gabriel, and Sidney Verba. 1965. The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and
Democracy in Five Nations
• Samuel Huntington. 1993. “The Clash of Civilizations?” Foreign Affairs 72(3): 22-49.
Week 7: November 4 & 6 - Democratic Transitions
How do countries make a transition from a dictatorship to a democracy? Do people “rise up” and
force these transitions? Do authoritarian leaders “calculate” and decide that a transition is in
their own interests?
• CGG, Chapter 8.
• Kuran, Timur. 1991. “Now out of Never: The Element of Surprise in the East European
Revolution of 1989”. World Politics, 44(1): 7-48.
• Acemoglu, Daron and James Robinson. 2006. Economic Origins of Dictatorship and
Democracy. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chapters 1 and 2.
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Recommended
• King, Gary, Jennifer Pan, Margaret Roberts. 2013. “How Censorship in China Allows
Government Criticism but Silences Collective Expression”. American Political Science
Review, 107 (2): 1-18.
• Przeworski, Adam. 1991. Democracy and the Market: Political and economic reforms in
Eastern Europe and Latin America. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 2.
Week 8: November 11 & 13 - Democracy or Dictatorship: Does It Make a
Difference?
Does regime type have an effect on economic growth and investment? Does it have an effect on
property rights?
• CGG, Chapter 9.
Recommended
• Przeworski Adam, Michael Alvarez, Jose Antonio Cheibub, Fernando Limongi. 2000.
Democracy and Development: Political Institutions and Well-Being in the World ,
1950-1990. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 3.
Week 8b: November 13
• Midterm.
PART III
Week 9: November 18 & 20 - Varieties of Dictatorship
Are all dictatorships the same? How can we classify them? What are the differences between
monarchies, military dictatorships, and civilian dictatorships?
• CGG, Chapter 10.
Recommended
• Bueno de Mesquita, Bruce, Alastair Smith, Randolph Siverson, James Morrow. 2003. The
Logic of Political Survival. MIT Press. Chapters 2-3.
• Gandhi Jennifer, and Adam, Przeworski. 2007. “Authoritarian Institutions and the Survival
of Autocrats”. Comparative Political Studies 40: 1279-1301.
Week 10: November 25 & 27 - Varieties of Democracies
Are all democracies the same? How can we classify them? What are the differences between
parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential democracies?
• CGG, Chapter 12.
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• Lijphart, Arend (ed). 1992. Parliamentary versus Presidential Government. New York:
Oxford University press. Chapter 1.
Recommended:
• Laver, Mik, and Norman Schofield. 1990. Multiparty Government. New York: Oxford
University Press. Chapter 4.
Week 11a: December 2 - Elections and Electoral Systems
What are the differences between majoritarian, proportional, and mixed electoral systems? What
are their advantages and disadvantages?
• CGG, Chapter 13.
Recommended:
• Lijphart, Arend. 1999. Patterns of Democracy. Nev Haven:Yale University Press. Chapter
8.
Week 11b: December 4 - Political Parties and Party Systems
What are political parties? What do they do? How do they come about? Why are there different
numbers of parties in different countries?
• CGG, Chapter 14.
Recommended:
• Daniel Posner. 2004.“The Political Salience of Cultural Difference: Why Chewas and
Tumbukas Are Allies in Zambia and Adversaries in Malawi”. American Political Science
Review 98(4): 529-45.
• Lijphart, Arend. 1999. Patterns of Democracy. Nev Haven:Yale University Press. Chapter
5.
Week 12: December 9 & 11 - Institutional Veto Players
What are the origins and consequences of federalism, bicameralism and constitutionalism? How
do they affect the likelihood of changing the political status quo?
• CGG, Chapter 15.
Recommended:
• Tsebelis, George. 1995. “Decision-Making in Political Systems: Veto Players in
Presidentialism, Parliamentarism, Multicameralism, and Multipartyism.” British Journal of
Political Science, 25: 289-325.
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PART IV
Week 13: December 16 & 18 - Consequences of Democratic Institutions
What are the advantages and disadvantages of majoritarian and consensus democracies? How do
democratic institutions affect fiscal policy? Which democratic institutions are best able to
prevent ethnic conflict?
• CGG, Chapter 16.
• Cheibub, Jose, and Fernando Limongi. 2002. “Democratic Institutions and Regime
Survival: Parliamentary and Presidential Democracies Reconsidered”. Annual Review of
Political Science 5: 151-179.
Recommended:
• Linz, Juan. 1992. “The Perils of Presidentialism”. in Parliamentary versus Presidential
Government ed. Arendt Lijphart. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Dawn Brancati. 2006. “Decentralization: Fueling the Fire or Dampening the Flames of
Ethnic Conflict and Secessionism?”. International Organization 60(3): 651-85.
Week 14: December 23 - Wrap-Up
What did we learn? A quick review of material we covered since the midterm.
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