This course is designed to introduce the graduate students to the comparative study of politics. The objectives of the course are: 1. To enable students to develop skills in analysing political institutions, processes, and structures through comparisons of political systems embedded in different cultural contexts; 3. To introduce the students to the main issues and topics of the field of comparative politics; and 4. To introduce the students to the analysis of how major human concerns with freedom, social justice, equality, democracy etc. take shape and influence the emerge and structure of political institutions, processes, and practices in different polities.
Comparative Politics (POLS 510)
Programs\Type | Required | Core Elective | Area Elective |
Business Analytics - With Thesis | * | ||
Computer Science and Engineering - With Master's Degree | * | ||
Leaders for Industry Biological Sciences and Bioengineering - Non Thesis | * | ||
Leaders for Industry Industrial Engineering - Non Thesis | * | ||
Leaders for Industry Materials Science and Engineering - Non Thesis | * | ||
Leaders for Industry Mechatronics Engineering - Non Thesis | * | ||
Political Science - Non Thesis | * | ||
Political Sciences - With Bachelor's Degree | * | ||
Political Sciences - With Master's Degree | * | ||
Political Science - With Thesis | * | ||
Turkish Studies - Non Thesis | * | ||
Turkish Studies - With Thesis | * |
CONTENT
OBJECTIVE
The objectives of the course are: 1. To introduce students to the ideas of quasi-experimental research and control in political science; 2. To enable students to develop skills in analyzing political institutions, processes, and structures through comparisons of political systems embedded in different cultural contexts; 3. To introduce the students to the main issues and topics of the field of comparative politics; and 4. To introduce the students to the analysis of how major human concerns with freedom, social justice, equality, democracy etc. take shape and influence the emergence and structure of political institutions, processes, and practices in different polities.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
- describe the main objectives and questions of comparative politics
- identify the major concepts, theories, and approaches in comparative politics
- comprehend the key issues and themes in comparative analysis
PROGRAMME OUTCOMES
1. Develop and deepen the current and advanced knowledge in the field with original thought and/or research and come up with innovative definitions based on Master's degree qualifications 4
2. Conceive the interdisciplinary interaction which the field is related with ; come up with original solutions by using knowledge requiring proficiency on analysis, synthesis and assessment of new and complex ideas. 2
3. Evaluate and use new information within the field in a systematic approach. 4
4. Develop an innovative knowledge, method, design and/or practice or adapt an already known knowledge, method, design and/or practice to another field; research, conceive, design, adapt and implement an original subject. 3
5. Critical analysis, synthesis and evaluation of new and complex ideas. 5
6. Gain advanced level skills in the use of research methods in the field of study. 3
7. Contribute the progression in the field by producing an innovative idea, skill, design and/or practice or by adapting an already known idea, skill, design, and/or practice to a different field independently. 2
8. Broaden the borders of the knowledge in the field by producing or interpreting an original work or publishing at least one scientific paper in the field in national and/or international refereed journals. 2
9. Demonstrate leadership in contexts requiring innovative and interdisciplinary problem solving. 3
10. Develop new ideas and methods in the field by using high level mental processes such as creative and critical thinking, problem solving and decision making. 4
11. Investigate and improve social connections and their conducting norms and manage the actions to change them when necessary. 2
12. Defend original views when exchanging ideas in the field with professionals and communicate effectively by showing competence in the field. 5
13. Ability to communicate and discuss orally, in written and visually with peers by using a foreign language at least at a level of European Language Portfolio C1 General Level. 5
14. Contribute to the transition of the community to an information society and its sustainability process by introducing scientific, technological, social or cultural improvements. 2
15. Demonstrate functional interaction by using strategic decision making processes in solving problems encountered in the field. 2
16. Contribute to the solution finding process regarding social, scientific, cultural and ethical problems in the field and support the development of these values. 2
1. Develop the ability to use critical, analytical, and reflective thinking and reasoning 5
2. Reflect on social and ethical responsibilities in his/her professional life. 2
3. Gain experience and confidence in the dissemination of project/research outputs 4
4. Work responsibly and creatively as an individual or as a member or leader of a team and in multidisciplinary environments. 4
5. Communicate effectively by oral, written, graphical and technological means and have competency in English. 5
6. Independently reach and acquire information, and develop appreciation of the need for continuously learning and updating. 5
1. Develop, interpret and use statistical analyses in decision making. 1
1. Begin to grasp historical evolution and contemporary character of world politics. 5
1. Begin to grasp historical evolution and contemporary character of world politics. 5
1. Gain the skills to analyze, understand, evaluate, and make policies in key public areas.
2. Develop a policy area of specialization.
3. Gain work experience in one of the centers or forums affiliated with Sabancı University.
1. Gain the skills to analyze, understand, evaluate, and make policies in key public areas.
2. Develop a policy area of specialization.
3. Gain work experience in one of the centers or forums affiliated with Sabancı University.
Update Date:
ASSESSMENT METHODS and CRITERIA
Percentage (%) | |
Final | 40 |
Assignment | 40 |
Participation | 10 |
Presentation | 10 |
RECOMENDED or REQUIRED READINGS
Readings |
State Charles Tilly, Coercion, Capital and European States. Cambridge, Blackwell, 1992. Chapters 1 and 3 Miguel Angel Centeno, ?Blood and Debt: War and Taxation in Nineteenth?Century Latin America?, American Journal of Sociology, 102, 6, 1565-1605. Karaman, Kivanc and Sevket Pamuk. ?Different Paths to the Modern State in Joel S. Migdal, State in Society: Studying How States and Societies Transform and Constitute One Another, 2001. Chapters 1 and 3 Recommended Reading: Jeffrey Herbst, States and Power in Africa: Comparative Lessons in Authority and Cameron G. Thies, ?The Political Economy of State Building in Sub-Saharan Africa?, Journal of Politics, 69, 3, 716-731. Cameron G. Thies, ?War, Rivalry, and State Building in Latin America?, American Journal of Political Science, 49, 3, 451-465. Schenoni, Luis L. ?Bringing War Back in: Victory and State Formation in Latin America. American Journal of Political Science, 2020. Andreas Wimmer and Yuval Feinstein. ?The rise of the nation-state across the world, 1816 to 2001?, in American Sociological Review 75(5):764-790, 2010. Institutional Approach Barry Weingast, Rational Choice Institutionalism. In Political Science: State of the Discipline, edited by I. Katznelson and H. Milner. New York: Norton, 2002. David, Paul A., ?Clio and the Economics of QWERTY? (in Economic History: A Necessary Though Not Sufficient Condition for an Economist), American Economic Review, Vol. 75, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings of the Ninety-Seventh Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association. (May, 1985), pp. 332-337. Greif, Avner, Institutions and the Path to the Modern Economy: Lessons from Medieval Trade. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Chapter 6 and 7 Political Culture Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba. The Civic Culture, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963, Chapter 1 and 11-13. Robert D. Putnam. 1993. Making Democracy Work. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Chapters 1, 4 and 6. Christian Welzel and Ronald Inglehart. 2007. ?Mass Beliefs and Democratic Institutions.? In Carles Boix and Susan Stokes, eds. Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics. Oxford University Press. Chapter 13. Norris, Pippa and Ronald Inglehart. 2019. Cultural Backlash Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism, Cambridge University Press. Chapters 2 and 8 Recommended reading: Posner, Daniel. 2004. ?The Political Salience of Cultural Differences: Why Chewas and Tumbukas are Allies in Zambia and Adversaries in Malawi.? American Political Science Review. 98:529-46. Section II POLITICAL REGIMES Democratic Regimes Dahl, Robert A, Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. New Haven:
Gerardo L. Munck and Jay Verkuilen, ?Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy: Evaluating Alternative Indices,? Comparative Political Studies 35 (2002): 5-34
Linz, Juan. 2000. Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Rienner. Chapters 2 and 4. Steven Levitsky and Lucian A. Way, ?The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism,? Journal of Democracy (April 2002), 51-65. Magalone, Beatriz. 2006. Voting for Autocracy: Hegemonic Party Survival and its Demise in Mexico. New York: Cambridge University Press. Introduction, Chapters 1 and 9. Barbara Geddes, "What Do We Know About Democratization After Twenty
Seymour M. Lipset. 1959. ?Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy,? American Political Science Review 53: 69 105. Barrington Moore. 1966. Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy : Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World. Boston : Beacon Press. Chapters 7-9 and Epilogue. Dietrich Rueschemeyer, Evelyne Huber Stephens and John D. Stephens. 1992. Capitalist Development and Democracy. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Chapter 3. Przeworski, Adam, Michael Alvarez, Jose Antonio Cheibub, and Fernando Recommended reading: Boix, Carles and Susan Stokes. 2003. Endogenous Democratization. Haber, Stephen and Victor Menaldo. 2011. ?Do Natural Resources Fuel Authoritarianism? A Reappraisal of the Resource Curse,? American Political Science Review 105 (1). Guillermo O'Donnell, Philippe C. Schmitter, and Laurence Whitehead, eds. Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Comparative Perspectives. Volume 4: Tentative Conclusions and Uncertain Democracies. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986. Chapter 1 Acemoglu, Daron and James Robinson. 2006. Economic Origins of Democracy. Cambridge University Press. Introduction and Chapter 6 Haggard Stephan and Robert R. Kaufman. ?Inequality and Regime Change: Democratic Transitions and the Stability of Democratic Rule?. 2012. American Political Science Review. 106, 3, 495-516. Recommended reading: Haggard Stephen and Kaufman Robert R., The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995) Thomas Carothers, ?The end of the transition paradigm? Journal of Democracy Breakdown of Regimes Svolik, Milan. 2015.? Which Democracies Will Last? Coups, Incumbent Schedler, Andreas. ?What is Democratic Consolidation?? 1998. Journal of Democracy. 9, 2, 91-107. Juan J. Linz, The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1978, 50-74. Recommended reading: Skocpol, Theda. 1979. States and Social Revolutions: A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia, and China New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, Chapter 1. Executive Legislature Relations Cheibub, Jose Antonio. Presidentialism, Parliamentarism and Democracy New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Chapters 1 and 6 Cheibub, Jose and Zachary Elkins, and Tom Ginsburg. 2013. ?Beyond Presidentialism and Parliamentarism? British Journal of Political Science. Laver, Michael & Kenneth A. Shepsle. 1996. Making and Breaking Governments: Cabinets and Legislatures in Parliamentary Democracies. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chapters 3, 4 and 7 Recommended reading: Juan J. Linz, ?The Perils of Presidentialism,? in Larry Diamond and Marc Plattner.(eds.), The Global Resurgence of Democracy Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, 124-142. Political Parties and Party Systems John H. Aldrich. 1995. Why Parties? Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Chapter 1 Lupu, Noam. ?Party Brands and Partisanship: Theory with Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Argentina,? American Journal of Political Science 57(1): 49-64 (2013) Recommended reading: Duverger, Maurice. (1959) Political parties, their organization and activity in the modern state. Trans. by Barbara and Robert North. Introduction, pp. 40 ? 60, 90 ? 116, 135 ? 157, 206 ? 255, 391 ? 412 Stokes, Susan. (1999) ?Political Parties and Democracy,? Annual Review of Political Science vol. 2, 1999 Schattschneider, E. E. (1960) The semisovereign people: a realist's view of democracy in America. Chapters 2 and 4. Downs, Anthony (1957) An Economic Theory of Democracy. Chapters 2, 3, 7 and 8. Elections Powell, Bingham. Elections as Instruments of Democracy, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000, Part I Golder, Matt and Gabriella Llyod, ?Re-evaluating the relationship between electoral rules and ideological congruence.? 2014. European Journal of Political Research. 53, 1, 200-212 Recommended reading: Chong, De La O, Karlan, and Wantchekon, 2015, ?Does Corruption Information Inspire the Fight or Quash the Hope? A Field Experiment in Mexico on Voter Turnout, Choice, and Party Identification,? Journal of Politics Federalism and Decentralization Rodden, Jonathan. 2006. Hamilton?s Paradox: The Promise and Peril of Fiscal Federalism. Cambridge UP Chapter 4. Conclusion to institutions discussion: George Tsebelis. 2002. Veto Players. Princeton University Press. Chapter 1 Recommended reading: León, Sandra (2012), ?How Do Citizens Attribute Responsibility in Multilevel States? Learning, Biases, and Asymmetric Federalism. Evidence from Spain,? Electoral Studies 31: 120-30, pp. 120-124, 128-129. Section IV POLITICAL ECONOMY Development Acemoglu, Daron and James A. Robinson. Why Nations Fail The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty. Crown Business 2012. Chapters 2, 3, 13 and 15 Bates, Robert. 1981. Markets and States in Tropical Africa: The Political Basis of Economic Policy Berkeley: University of California Press, Introduction, Chapter 5 and the Conclusion Kasara, Kimuli. 2007. Tax Me If You Can: Ethnic Geography, Democracy, and the Taxation of Agriculture in Africa. American Political Science Review 101 (1). Recommended Reading: Alexander Gerschenkron, Economic Backwardness in Historical Perspective, 1962, Chapters 1 and 2 Bates, Robert. 1981. Markets and States in Tropical Africa: The Political Basis of Economic Policy Berkeley: University of California Press, rest of the book Bates, Robert. 2020. Political Economy of Development. Cambridge University Press. Political Economy of ?Developed? Countries Iversen, Torbin and John Stephens. ?Partisan Politics, The Welfare State, and Three Worlds of Human Capital Formation,? Comparative Political Studies. 20:10 (2008). Mares, Isabella, ?The Sources of Business Interest in Social Insurance?? World Politics, Jan 2003, p. 229 Conclusion to political economy section: Recommended readings: Esping-Andersen, G?sta. 1990. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP. Scheve, Kenneth & David Stasavage (2009) "Institutions, Partisanship, and Inequality in the Long Run." World Politics 61(2): 215-253. Christoph Arndt (2013), The Electoral Consequences of Third Way Welfare State Reforms: Social Democracy`s Transformation and its Political Costs. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. |