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Government and Politics around the World PSCI 3600 Monday and Wednesday, 2 to 3:20 p.m. University of North Texas General Academic Building 310 Spring 2016 Professor Brandon Stewart Office: Wooten 173A Office Hours MW 8:30-10:30 Email: [email protected] Course Objectives This course provides a broad overview of the subfield of comparative politics by focusing on several substantive questions. Comparative politics is concerned with the politics and institutions of countries outside of the United States. The first question is: what is comparative politics? Second, what are the social and political consequences of economic modernization? Third, what are the characteristics of different types of political institutions? Fourth, can political institutions be used to create peace in societies divided along ethnic or religious lines? Fifth, are some types of political institutions more likely to produce democratic and political stability? The study of comparative politics also requires some knowledge of specific cases. We will therefore discuss several real-world cases in this course when discussing the course material as a means of illustrating key issues in the comparative politics literature. The cases we will discuss include Great Britain (specifically Northern Ireland), Egypt, Spain, Nigeria, Armenia, Belarus, and Zimbabwe. Other countries may also come up in the discussion as I see fit. In most instances, the cases we discuss are illustrative-they are a way for us to discuss the course material in a substantive fashion and are meant to help you understand broader concepts in comparative politics. Given this, I will not usually ask you to demonstrate knowledge about specific cases on the exams. However, if knowledge of a specific case is required for an exam, I will let you know prior to discussing the case in class. Assignments and Evaluation Your grade in this class will be based on 3 in-class exams, which will be based on both the assigned readings and the material that I go over in lecture. You must sit for these exams at the scheduled time, unless you are sick and have a note from your doctor. If something else comes up (such as a death in the family) it is your responsibility to email me at least 72 hours prior to the exam to let me know (at [email protected]) that you will be unable to take the exam on the scheduled date. As long as documentation is provided, you will be allowed to reschedule the exam. However, the exam must be taken within one week of the original exam date. Each of these exams will consist of 35 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions and a 10 question map section. For each exam, the map section of the exam will cover a different area of the world and you will have to identify 10 countries that I select for that area. The first exam will cover Europe, the second will cover sub-Saharan Africa, and the third will cover the Middle East/Central Asia. In order to help you prepare for the exams, I will hand out a study guide a week before each exam. Each study guide will include the major concepts that you will need to know about in order to do well on the exam. Each exam will cover the topics we have gone over in that section of the course. The final exam is not cumulative, but will only cover the material that we cover in the last section of the course. Each of these exams will be worth 25 percent of your final grade. In total, all 3 exams combined are worth 75 percent of your final grade. One of the primary goals of this class is to promote the analytical skills of the student. Therefore, in addition to learning about several different countries, students will also have an assignment in which they apply academic learning to solve real-world problems. Students will be asked to formulate a constitutional design that would be most appropriate for a fictional country that I assign you. The “country” that I assign you may have a history of conflict, ethnic divisions, or authoritarianism. The student should base their suggested constitutional design on what they have learned about political institutions in class. This constitutional design will take the form of a written paper which includes the design of executive power, the structure of the legislature, the electoral system, the territorial division of power and the design of the judiciary. While this may sound like an intimidating project, this paper will serve as an excellent way to integrate the material that we discuss in class and apply that knowledge to the real-world. In addition, this paper is ultimately meant to help improve the writing skills of the student. As a result, there will be a rough draft of this paper that is due two weeks prior to the final draft. I will get the rough draft back to you within one week with written comments/suggestions. Your job for the final draft will be to improve the paper using my comments. The rough draft of your paper is due April 18th. I will be as involved as you want me to be in the process, if you have any questions about this paper or anything related to the course material, I strongly encourage you to stop by my office during my office hours. If my office hours do not work for you, send me an email and we can work together to find a time to meet that works for you. The paper should be between 6-7 pages double-spaced (not including the bibliography). I will give you a handout with detailed instructions on February 29th. I will give you two hypothetical “countries” that each have unique characteristics and you will choose one of these “countries” and design a constitution for that country. The final draft will be due the last class session before the final exam, May 2nd. This paper is worth 25 percent of your final grade; 5 percent of your grade will be based on your rough draft, and the other 20 percent will be based on your final draft. ALL STUDENTS MUST TURN IN A ROUGH AND FINAL DRAFT. ANY STUDENT WHO FAILS TO TURN IN EITHER THE ROUGH OR FINAL DRAFT WILL AUTOMATICALLY FAIL THE COURSE. EXTRA CREDIT: When we discuss civil society and social protest, you will be required to watch the film The Square. This film is available on Netflix. As an extra credit assignment, you can write a 500 word essay on the film and how it connects to this class. This essay will be worth up to 5 points on your exam 1 grade. Other extra credit opportunities may come up in class as I see fit, but do not expect to be offered extra credit. Do not ask me if you can do assignments for extra credit, if there is an extra credit opportunity that arises, I will notify you in class and explain the assignment. It is best to come to every class session that way you will not miss out on any extra credit opportunity. Grades are not negotiable. If you wish to inquire about why you received a certain grade, feel free to stop by my office during my office hours or schedule an appointment with me. It is important to stop by my office if you have done poorly on an assignment, that way you will know what you need to do in order to do better the next time. Grades for assignments and for the course as a whole will be assigned on the following scale: A = 90-100% B = 80-89% C = 70-79% D = 60-69% F = Below 60% Required Text John Ishiyama. 2012. Comparative Politics: Principles of Democracy and Democratization. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell. All other readings are available on the course blackboard site at learn.unt.edu. Schedule of Discussion Topics and Assigned Readings Session 1 (1/20): Course Introduction No readings. Sessions 2: (1/25): What is Comparative Politics? Readings: John Ishiyama, Comparative Politics, Chapter 1. Sessions 3 and 4 (1/27 and 2/1): Economic Development, Modernization and Dependency Theory and Statism Readings: John Ishiyama, Comparative Politics, Chapter 3. Sessions 5 and 6 (2/3 and 2/8): Culture and Ethnic Politics Readings: John Ishiyama, Comparative Politics, Chapter 4. Walker Connor. 1972. “Nation-Building or Nation-Destroying?” World Politics 24(3): 319-355. Sessions 7 (2/10): Civil Society Readings: John Ishiyama, Comparative Politics, Chapter 5. Sessions 8 and 9 (2/15 and 2/17): Civil Society and Protest Movements Watch: The Square Exam 1 Study Guide Handed Out 2/15 EXTRA CREDIT ESSAY ON THE SQUARE DUE 2/15 AT BEGINNING OF CLASS Session 10 (2/22): EXAM 1 ON 2/22 Sessions 11 and 12 (2/24 and 2/29): Democratic and Authoritarian Regimes Readings: Philippe Schmitter and Terry Lynn Karl. 1991. “What Democracy is…and is not.” Journal of Democracy 2(3): 75-88. “Belarus: The election that wasn’t.” The Economist, September 27, 2012. “Zimbabwe’s election: A tarnished victory.” The Economist, August 4, 2013. CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN ASSIGNMENT HANDED OUT 2/29 Sessions 13 and 14 (3/2 and 3/7): Democratization Readings: John Ishiyama, Comparative Politics, Chapter 6. Session 15 (3/9): Executive and Legislative Institutions I Readings: Juan Linz. 1990. “The Perils of Presidentialism.” Journal of Democracy 1(1): 51-69. “Thousands rally In Armenia against Plan to Change Constitution.” Radio Free Europe. Link to article: http://www.rferl.org/content/armenia-protestssarkisian/27401008.html In class audio clip. “Spain’s Prime Minister Must Build a Coalition to Stay in Power.” SPRING BREAK MARCH 14-20 Session 16 (3/21): Executive and Legislative Institutions II Readings: Adam Przeworski, Michael Alvearez, Jose Antonio Cheibub, and Fernando Limongi. “What Makes Democracies Endure?” Journal of Democracy 7(1): 39-55. EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE HANDED OUT 3/21 Sessions 17 and 18 (3/23 and 3/28): Federal Systems, Unitary Systems and Judiciaries Readings: John Ishiyama, Comparative Politics, Chapter 9. Session 19 (3/30): EXAM 2 ON 3/30 Session 20 (4/4): Electoral Systems Readings: John Ishiyama, Comparative Politics, Chapter 7. Sessions 21 and 22 and 23 (4/6 and 4/11 and 4/13): Political Institutions and Ethnic Politics Readings: Arend Lijphart. 1969. “Consociational Democracy.” World Politics 21(2): 207 225. Cera Murtagh. 2015. “Reaching across: institutional barriers to cross-ethnic parties in post-conflict societies and the case of Northern Ireland.” Nations and Nationalism 21(3): 544-565. Donald L. Horowitz. 1985. Ethnic Groups in Conflict, pp. 628-652. In-class video. Ethnic Power-Sharing and Democracy: Three Big Problems. Sessions 24 and 25 (4/18 and 4/20): Political Violence I: Social Conflict Readings: Idean Salehyan et al. 2012. “Social Conflict in Africa: A New Database.” International Interactions 38(4): 503-511. ROUGH DRAFT OF CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN PAPERS DUE 4/18 Sessions 26 and 27 (4/25 and 4/27): Political Violence II: Civil War Readings: James C. Davies. 1962. “Toward a Theory of Revolution.” American Sociological Review 27: 5-18. Mark I. Lichbach. 1994. “Rethinking Rationality and Rebellion: Theories of Collective Action and Problems of Collective Dissent.” Rationality and Society 6(1): 8-39. EXAM 3 STUDY GUIDE HANDED OUT 4/25 Session 28 (5/2): Course Wrap-Up FINAL DRAFT OF CONSTITUTIONAL DESIGN PAPERS DUE 5/2 FINAL EXAM WILL BE MONDAY, MAY 9th, from 1:30 to 3:30 PM. University of North Texas-Statement of ADA Compliance: The Political Science Department cooperates with the Office of Disability Accommodation to make reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. Please present your written accommodation request on or before the sixth class day (beginning of the second week of classes). Cheating and Plagiarism: Any student caught cheating or plagiarizing will receive a “0” for that assignment or exam. According to the UNT catalog, the term “cheating” includes, but is not limited to: a. use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, or examinations; b. dependence upon the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments; c. the acquisition, without permission, of tests or other academic material belonging to a faculty or staff member of the university; d. dual submission of a paper or project, or resubmission of a paper or project to a different class without express permission from the instructor(s); or e. any other act designed to give a student an unfair advantage. The term “plagiarism” includes, but is not limited to: a. the knowing or negligent use by paraphrase or direct quotation of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgment; and b. the knowing or negligent unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials. You can find the University of North Texas’ Policy on Cheating and Plagiarism using this link: http://www.unt.edu/policy/UNT_Policy/volume3/18_1_16.pdf) Acceptable Student Behavior: Student behavior that interferes with an instructor’s ability to conduct a class or other students' opportunity to learn is unacceptable and disruptive and will not be tolerated in any instructional forum at UNT. Students engaging in unacceptable behavior will be directed to leave the classroom and the instructor may refer the student to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities to consider whether the student's conduct violated the Code of Student Conduct. The university's expectations for student conduct apply to all instructional forums, including university and electronic classroom, labs, discussion groups, field trips, etc. The Code of Student Conduct can be found at www.unt.edu/csrr