PSC 760R Proseminar in Comparative Politics Fall 2016

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Course Description and Learning Outcomes

Comparative politics is perhaps the broadest field of political science. This course will introduce students to the major theoretical approaches employed in comparative politics. The major debates and controversies in the field will be examined. Although some associate comparative politics with “the comparative method,” those conducting research in the area of comparative politics use a multitude of methodologies and pursue diverse topics. In this course, students will analyze and discuss the theoretical approaches and methods used in comparative politics.

Course Requirements

Class participation and attendance. Students must come to class prepared, having completed all of the required reading, and ready to actively discuss the material at hand. Each student must submit comments/questions on the assigned readings for six classes (not including the class you help facilitate). Please e-mail them to me by noon on the day of class.

Students are expected to attend each class. Missing classes will have a deleterious effect on this portion of the grade. Arriving late, leaving early, or interrupting class with a phone or other electronic device will also result in a drop in the student’s grade. Students are not allowed to sleep, read newspapers or anything else, listen to headphones, TEXT, or talk to others during class. You must turn off all electronic devices during class. Any exceptions must be cleared with me in advance. Laptop computers and iPads are allowed for taking notes ONLY. I reserve the right to ban laptops, iPads, and so forth. Students are not allowed to tape record, digitally record, photograph, video tape or otherwise electronically record any of the class. Of course, respect should be shown for all other class members at all times.

Discussion papers. Students are required to write three discussion papers. Discussion papers (approximately 8-10 pages) should analyze and critique, not just summarize, the assigned readings for a particular week. What are the authors’ main arguments or findings? Are these arguments compelling? Why or why not? Are there flaws in the evidence, methodology, or logic used to support these arguments? Is the methodology employed in the study appropriate for testing the hypotheses or answering the research questions? What are the implications of the author’s findings? How does this relate to other research in the field and material covered in the class? What contribution does this work make to the topic being studied? Be sure to use examples when appropriate and explain and justify your points. The discussion paper grade is based on 1) the quality of the ideas and arguments, 2) how well one covers the topics and questions outlined above, 3) writing style and grammar, 4) organization, 5) incorporation of course material and the literature in the field, and 6)

1 presentation. (Please note that a discussion paper is not a response paper.) Late papers will not be accepted. You must provide me with both a hard copy and an electronic copy (not in PDF) of your paper.

All papers must conform to the Style Manual for Political Science. A copy of the Style Manual for Political Science will be made available to you. Beyond the guidelines outlined in the Manual, which primarily detail proper in text citations, organization, and formatting of references, students work should be formatted as follows:

1. 12 point Times New Roman font.

2. Include a proper title page and references.

3. One inch margins, with no additional spacing between paragraphs.

4. Footnotes should be used for clarification or the development of points noted in the text that are of interest, but are not central to the paper’s main thesis. Footnotes are not used for citations.

5. Page numbers located at the bottom center of each page. The title page does not receive a page number.

Facilitating class discussion. Each student will be responsible for helping to facilitate class discussion on the assigned readings for one class. A sign-up sheet will be distributed during the first class to allow students to select the topics of most interest to them. Please have your outlines and written questions to me by noon on the day of the class you are facilitating. A two-page handout should also be distributed to all of the members of the class. Of course, everyone should read all assigned readings and come to class with questions and comments.

Final examination: A take home examination is due during finals week.

Grades

Discussion papers (worth 20% each): 60% Class participation and discussion questions: 15% Facilitating class discussion: 10% Final Exam: 15%

94 and above = A 80-83 = B- 68-69 = D+ 90-93 = A- 78-79 = C+ 64-67 = D 88-89 = B+ 74-77 = C 60-63 = D- 84-87 = B 70-73 = C- 59 and below = F

I reserve the right to modify the course syllabus. Students will be responsible for knowing any changes made to the syllabus during class time whether they were in attendance or not. The instructor’s lecture notes are not available to students; it is the student’s responsibility to obtain class notes from a classmate, should class be missed.

2 Other Policies and Information University

and Department Policies and Resources:

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3 indicated, a grade of F will be recorded and the GPA will be adjusted accordingly. Students who are fulfilling an Incomplete do not register for the course but make individual arrangements with the instructor who assigned the I grade.

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Final Examinations—The University requires that final exams given at the end of a course occur at the time and on the day specified in the final exam schedule. See the schedule at: http://www.unlv.edu/registrar/calendars.

Library statement: Students may consult with a librarian on research needs. For this class, the Subject Librarian is (https://www.library.unlv.edu/contact/librarians_by_subject). UNLV Libraries provides resources to support students’ access to information. Discovery, access, and use of information are vital skills for academic work and for successful post-college life. Access library resources and ask questions at https://www.library.unlv.edu/.

Date Course Calendar Week 1 Wednesday, August 31 Class Introduction Select Topic to Facilitate Week 2

4 Wednesday, September 7 Overview of the Field of Comparative Politics: Debates, Approaches and Methods Robert H. Bates, “Area Studies and the Discipline: A Useful Controversy?” PS: Political Science and Politics 30, 2 (June 1997): 166-169 Gerardo L. Munck and Richard Snyder, “Debating the Direction of Comparative Politics: An Analysis of the Leading Journals,” Comparative Political Studies 40, 1 (January 2007): 5-31 James Mahoney, “Debating the State of Comparative Politics: Views from Qualitative Research,” Comparative Political Studies 40, 1 (January 2007): 32-38; Erik Wibbels, “No Method to the Comparative Politics Madness,” Comparative Political Studies 40, 1 (January 2007): 39-44; Gerardo L. Munck and Richard Snyder, “Visions of Comparative Politics: A Reply to Mahoney and Wibbels,” Comparative Political Studies 40, 1 (January 2007): 45-47.

Lieberson, Stanley. 1991. “Small N’s and Big Conclusions: An Examination of the Reasoning in Comparative Studies Based on a Small Number of Cases.” Social Forces 70: 307-320.

Arend Lijphart, "Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method," American Political Science Review 65, 3 (September 1971): 682-693.

Gary King, Robert Keohane, and Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry. Princeton: Princeton UP, Chapters 1-3.

5 Week 3 Wednesday, September 14 Methods in Comparative Politics: Case Selection, Process Tracing and Case Studies Gary King, Robert Keohane and Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994, chs. 4-6, pp. 115-230.

Geddes, Barbara. 1990. “How the Cases You Choose Affect the Answers You Get: Selection Bias in Comparative Politics” Political Analysis 2.1, (pp. 131-150).

Gerring, John. 2004. “What is a case study and what is it good for?” American Political Science Review 98: 341-354.

Dion, Douglas. 1998. “Evidence and Inference in the Comparative Case Study,” Comparative Politics 30.2. 127-145.

David Collier, "Understanding Process Tracing." 2011 PS: Political Science and Politics 44, No. 4 (Oct): 823-30. Week 4 Wednesday, September 21 Civil Society and Social Capital Putnam, Robert. Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy, Princeton, 1993.

Paxton, Pamela. "Social capital and democracy: An interdependent relationship." American sociological review (2002): 254-277. Week 5 Wednesday, September 28 Political Culture Inglehart, Ronald. 1988. “The Renaissance of Political Culture." American Political Science Review 82: 1203-30.

Granato, Jim, Ronald Inglehart, and David Leblang. "The effect of cultural values on economic development: theory, hypotheses, and some empirical tests." American journal of political science (1996): 607-631.

Jackman, Robert W., and Ross A. Miller. "A renaissance of political culture?." American Journal of Political Science (1996): 632-659.

Granato, Jim, Ronald Inglehart, and David Leblang. "Cultural values, stable democracy, and economic development: a reply." American Journal of Political Science 40.3 (1996): 680-696.

Feldman, Stanley. "Structure and consistency in public opinion: The role of core beliefs and values." American Journal of political science (1988): 416-440.

Richard, Wilson, “The Many Voices of Political Culture: Assessing Different Approaches,” World Politics, 52, 2 (January 2000), 246-273. Discussion Paper 1 Due. Week 6 Wednesday, October 5 The State R: Charles Tilly, “War Making and State Making as Organized Crime,” Chapter 5 in

6 Bringing the State Back In Peters Evans, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, and Theda Skocpol eds., (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985).

R: Theda Skocpol, “Bringing the State Back In: Strategies of Analysis in Current Research,” Chapter 1 in Bringing the State Back In Peters Evans, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, and Theda Skocpol eds., (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985).

Herbst, Jeffrey. 1990. “War and the State in Africa,” International Security 14, 4 (Spring): 117-39.

Bates, Robert H. 2014. Markets and States in Tropical Africa. University of California Press. (earlier version is fine) Week 7 Wednesday, October 12 Political Development and Modernization Seymour Martin Lipset, “Some Social Requisites of Democracy: Economic Development and Political Legitimacy,” American Political Science Review, vol. 53, no. 1 (March 1959), pp. 69-105.

Samuel Huntington, “Political Development and Political Decay,” World Politics, Vol. 17, No. 3. (Apr., 1965), pp. 386-430.

Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi, “Modernization: Theories and Facts,” World Politics, vol. 49, no. 2 (January 1997), pp. 155-83.

Epstein, David L., Robert Bates, Jack Goldstone, Ida Kristensen, and Sharyn O’Halloran. 2006. “Democratic Transitions.” American Journal of Political Science 50(3): 551-569.

J. Samuel Valenzuela and Arturo Valenzuela, “Modernization and Dependency: Alternative Perspectives in the Study of Latin American Underdevelopment,” Comparative Politics, vol. 10, no. 4 (July 1978), pp. 543-557.

Acemoglu, Daron, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson. 2001. “The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation" The American Economic Review 91(5): 1369-1401. Week 8 Wednesday, October 19 Alternative learning experience TBA Week 9 Wednesday, October 26 Institutionalism Peter Hall and Rosemary Taylor, “Political Science and the Three New Institutionalisms” Political Studies 44, 4 (December 1996): 936-57.

Kenneth A. Shepsle, “Studying Institutions: Some Lessons from the Rational Choice Approach,” Journal of Theoretical Politics 1, 2 (April 1989), pp. 131-147.

Kathleen Thelen, “Historical Institutionalism in Comparative Politics,” Annual Review of Political Science, 2 (1999): 369-404.

Diermeier, Daniel, and Keith Krehbiel. "Institutionalism as a Methodology." Journal

7 of theoretical politics 15.2 (2003): 123-144.

Moe, Terry. 2005. “Power and Political Institutions,” Perspectives on Politics 3:2, pp.215-233. Week 10 Wednesday, November 2 Electoral Systems Cox, Gary. 1997. Making Votes Count. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chapters 1-8, 11, 15.

Ordeshook and Shvetsova, "Ethnic Heterogeneity, District Magnitude, and the Number of Parties" American Journal of Political Science Vol. 38, No. 1. (Feb., 1994), pp. 100-123. Discussion Paper 2 Due. Week 11 Wednesday, November 9 Political Parties and Party Systems Chibber, Pradeep and Kollman, Ken (1998). “Party Aggregation and the Number of Parties in India and the United States.” American Political Science Review 9 (2): 329- 342.

R: Seymour Martin Lipset and Stein Rokkan, “Cleavage Structure, Party Systems, and Voter Alignments,” in Peter Mair, ed., The West European Party System (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), pp. 91-138.

R: Giovanni Sartori, “A Typology of Party Systems,” in Peter Mair, ed., The West European Party System (New York: Oxford University Press, 1990), pp. 316-347.

Mainwaring, Scott. "Party systems in the third wave." Journal of Democracy 9.3 (1998): 67-81.

Kitschelt, Herbert, and Daniel M. Kselman. "Economic development, democratic experience, and political parties’ linkage strategies." Comparative political studies 46.11 (2013): 1453-1484.

Katz, Richard S., and Peter Mair. "Changing models of party organization and party democracy the emergence of the cartel party." Party politics 1.1 (1995): 5-28. Week 12 Wednesday, November 16 Institutions: Executive Forms Linz, Juan J. "The perils of presidentialism." Journal of democracy 1.1 (1990): 51-69.

Stepan, Alfred & Cindy Skach. 1993. “Constitutional Frameworks and Democratic Consolidation: Parliamentarism versus Presidentialism.” World Politics 46: 1-22.

Mainwaring, Scott ,and Shugart, Matthew. 1997. “Juan Linz, Presidentialism, and Democracy: A Critical Appraisal.” Comparative Politics, Vol. 29(4): 449-471.

Cheibub, José Antonio, and Fernando Limongi. 2002. “Democratic Institutions and Regime Survival: Parliamentary and Presidential Democracies Reconsidered.” Annual Review of Political Science, Vol. 5: 151-179.

Tsebelis, George. 1995. ‘Decision Making in Political Systems: Veto Players in

8 Presidentialism, Parliamentarism, Multcameralism, and Multipartyism.’ British Journal of Political Science 25:289-326. Week 13 Wednesday, November 23 Work Independently on Discussion Paper 3 Week 14 Wednesday, November 30 Political Economy Robert Bates. Prosperity and Violence: The Political Economy of Development. Second edition. W. W. Norton & Company, 2010.

Iversen, Torben & David Soskice. 2006. “Electoral Institutions and the Politics of Coalitions: Why Some Democracies Redistribute More than Others.” American Political Science Review 100: 165-181. Week 15 Wednesday, December 7 Ethnicity, Ethnic Politics, and Contentious Politics Cederman, Lars-Erik, Nils B. Weidmann, and Kristian Skrede Gleditsch. 2011. “Horizontal Inequalities and Ethnonationalist Civil War: A Global Comparison” American Political Science Review 105(3): 478-495.

Chandra, Kanchan. (2006). “What Is Ethnicity and Does It Matter?” Annual Review of Political Science No, 9: 397-424.

Fearon, James and David Laitin “Ethnicity, Insurgency and Civil War.” American Political Science Review 97:1 (February 2003), 75-90.

Habyarimana, James, Macartan Humphreys, Daniel Posner and Jeremy Weinstein (2007). “Why Does Ethnic Diversity Undermine Public Goods Provision.” American Political Science Review 101 (4): 709-725.

Posner, Daniel N. "The political salience of cultural difference: Why Chewas and Tumbukas are allies in Zambia and adversaries in Malawi." American Political Science Review 98.04 (2004): 529-545.

Harkness, Kristen. 2016. "The Ethnic Army and the State: Explaining Coup Traps and the Difficulties of Democratization in Africa." Journal of Conflict Resolution 60(4):587-616.

Discussion Paper 3 Due. Week 16 Wednesday, December 14 Final Exam Due by 6 p.m.

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