Politics around the World

POL SCI 51A: Fall 2015

MWF, 1:00 1:50 pm
Room: DBH 1600
Professor Sara Wallace Goodman
Department of Political Science
Email: s.goodman@uci.edu
Office: SSPB 5257
Office Hours: Mondays & Wednesdays 2 3 pm, or by appointment
Teaching Assistant: Hannah Alarian
Email: halarian@uci.edu
Office: SST 667
Hours: Mondays 11- 12:50 pm

Teaching Assistant: Trevor Allen

Email: trevorja@uci.edu
Office: SST 607
Hours: Wednesdays 11- 12:50 pm

Description
This course is a general introduction to the concepts, theories, and content of comparative politics. How
can we compare politics across a variety of countries? Why do some elected governments perform better
than others? What role does culture or religion play in influencing political systems or outcomes? Is
there a link between economic growth and type of government? Is America politically unique? What are
the prospects for democratization in authoritarian regimes? Whats so good about democracy, anyway?
We may not be able to definitively answer all of these questions, but this course will empower you with
tools and background knowledge to broach these types of inquiries (and even form a few of your own!).

Objectives and Requirements

My objective for this course is really an objective for you: to enable you to become confident political
consumers. What does that mean? First, it means you are able to think critically and comparatively about
political processes in various countries and regions. This translates into understanding how textbook
concepts apply to the real world. Second, it means that I hope you will not just limit your thinking to
what the textbook says, but look to events in the world and start developing your own views. I am more
than confident that you can achieve these goals, and I deliberately and thoughtfully structure this course
so that you are able to do so.
To that, the following requirements are not for me, but for you. You do not need to be a Poli Sci major to
enjoy or do well in this class it is an Intro class after all but you do need to be hardworking and
professional.

As such, you will need to attend lectures. I try to design lectures in a way that makes class attendance a
good use of your time. We cover issues not included in the readings and, it should be said, you are
responsible for all material covered in class. I may post PowerPoint slides from the lectures on the class
website the day before class. These slides are not a substitute for attending lectures, however; they are
incomplete and designed to accompany the lecture. Therefore, attendance to the lecture is highly
recommended. Related, you may also notice that there are no sections for this class. We meet three
times a week, and this is your opportunity to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and develop an
understanding of the material. If you do not want to speak up in class, please come and see me or the
TA. We are here to help.
Readings need to be completed before lecture, in order to fully participate.
There will be four different modes of assessment:
An in-class midterm (20%), held on October 30th.
A comprehensive final exam (30%), administered on Wednesday, December 9 at 1:30 pm
A journal (50%), in which you use news sources to identify and apply class concepts in the real
world. You need to complete ten (10) entries. I will provide five (5) prompts for you, and then
you will be responsible for locating five more. You have all quarter to complete this assignment,
and it can be submitted up until the last day of class (December 4th). Each correct entry must
include: (1) a proper citation (APA, Chicago, MLA); (2) a one-paragraph summary of the
news story; and, (3) a one-paragraph essay analyzing how the news story embodies, answers, or
challenges the concept in question. I will further discuss this assignment in class.
On deadlines and exam dates: Exam days and deadlines cannot be changed. Allowance is only made
for cases in which genuine emergencies or conflicts prevent students from sitting an exam. If you
foresee a genuine emergency, please come see me as soon as possible so that the TA and I can make
appropriate accommodation.
On technology: Please be respectful to your professor and fellow students by turning off your cell
phones, iPads, etc. Furthermore, I do not allow laptops for notetaking; please bring a notebook and your
favorite writing implement. Why? Studies overwhelming show students who take notes by hand are better
at retaining and synthesizing information, as it forces the brain to engage in some heavy mental lifting.
Studies also show the deleterious effects of so-called multitasking on cognition and productivity, not only
for the user but for peers. Exemptions are only provided for students with documented need.
On grade appeals: If you wish to appeal a grade, you must first meet with your TA. If further action is
required, you must submit to me a written statement explaining why the grade should be changed. Note
that doing so gives me license to adjust the questioned grade either upward or downward.
On Academic honesty: UCI abides to an honor code for ensuring academic honesty. If you get caught in
an act of academic dishonesty (e.g., cheating, plagiarism) then you will receive a zero for the
assignment in question. More information can be found at: http://honesty.uci.edu/students.html
Please note: Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender, including
violence and harassment based on sexual orientation, are a Civil Rights offense subject to the same kinds
of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories
2

such as race, national origin, etc. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you can
find the appropriate resources online (http://www.oeod.uci.edu) or at UCIs hotline (949-824-7037).

Readings
There is no textbook for this class. All readings can be located on the class website through EEE.
To fulfil the journal assignment, as well as be an informed, global citizen, students should also make a
habit of keeping up with current domestic and international political developments by reading daily or
weekly news sources such as The New York Times, The Financial Times, and The Economist. You can
get student subscriptions, or you can follow on Twitter whatever works best for you. I may
occasionally add a reading to address current events.
**The professor reserves the right to alter the readings, assignments, and schedule as she sees fit.**

Schedule
Date
Subject
Sept 25 Introduction

Oct

Reading Due
--

28 What is comparative
politics?

Alexis de Tocqueville, "What are the Real Advantages That

American Society Gains from the Government of
Democracy?" in Democracy in America. Vol. 2, ed. Eduardo Nolla
(Washington, DC: Liberty Fund, 2012), 37584.

30 What is a state and

why organize the world
this way?

Charles Tilly, War Making and State Making as Organized

Crime, in Bringing the State Back In, eds. Peter Evans et al. (New
York: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 169-91.

Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the

Origin and Spread of Nationalism (London: Verso, 1991), Ch. 3.

Where do states come

from?

Jerry Muller, Us and Them: The Enduring Power of Ethnic

Nationalism, Foreign Affairs (March/April 2008),
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2008-03-02/us-andthem
5

Why are some states

stronger than others?

Stewart M. Patrick, The Brutal Truth: Failed States Are Mainly a

Threat to Their Own Inhabitants; We Should Help Them Anyway,
Foreign Policy (2011): 55-57.
Michael L. Ross, Blood Barrels: Why Oil Wealth Fuels Conflict,
Foreign Affairs (2008): 10.

What kinds of states

are there?

Robert Dahl, Polyarchy (New Haven: Yale University Press,

1971), Ch. 1.

Why do democracies
look different?

Arend Lijphart. Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and

Performance in Thirty-Six Countries (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1999), Chs. 1, 7, 8.

12 How do voters choose?

Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan, Toward Consolidated

Democracies, Journal of Democracy 7 (2) (1996): 14-33.
Constitutional reform in Britain: Yes or No? The Economist,
April 28, 2011. http://www.economist.com/node/18621028

14 Election simulation

--

16 How do states become

democracies?

Sheri Berman, How Democracies Emerge: Lessons from

Europe, Journal of Democracy 18(1) (2007): 28-41.
Samuel P. Huntington, Democracys Third Wave, Journal of
Democracy, 2(1) (1991): 12-34.

19 What are historical

alternatives to
democracy?

Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism (New York:

Harvest 1973), Ch. 10.

21 Why did the Nazis rise

to power?

Sheri Berman, Civil Society and the Collapse of the Weimar

Republic, World Politics 49(3) (1997): 401-429.

23 What are the viable

alternatives to
democracy today?

Larry Diamond, Thinking about Hybrid Regimes, Journal of

Democracy 13(2) (2002): 21-35.
Jennifer Gandhi and Adam Przeworski, Authoritarian Institutions
and the Survival of Autocrats, Comparative Political Studies
40(11) (2007): 1279-1301.

26 Why do dictators hold

elections?

In Elections Across the World, Democracy is a Matter of

Definition, New York Times, June 5, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/05/world/middleeast/inelections-across-the-world-democracy-is-a-matter-ofdefinition.html

28 Review/Catch-Up Day

--

30 Midterm

--

Nov 2

How do democracies

Donald Horowitz, Democracy in Divided Societies, Journal of

4

function in divided
societies?

Democracy 4(4) (1993): 18-38.

Arend Lijphart, Constitutional Choices for New Democracies,
Journal of Democracy 2(1) (1991): 72-84.

What accounts for

regime change?

Fareed Zakaria. Illiberal Democracy, Foreign Affairs 76 (6)

(1997): 22-43.

Civil Wars and

Revolutions

Keith Darden and Harris Mylonas, The Promethean Dilemma:

Third-party State-building in Occupied Territories, Ethnopolitics
11(1) (2012): 85-93.

Devolution and
nonviolent separatism

Charles King, The Scottish Play: Edinburghs Quest for

Independence and the Future of Separatism, Foreign Affairs
(2012)
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-kingdom/2012-0901/scottish-play
Scotland was never a colony. The Economist, January 7, 2014.

11 No Class

--

13 Class cancelled

--

16 Evolution and federal

solutions

Desmond Dinan, Ever Closer Union (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner,

2005), Ch. 1.

18 What went wrong with

the EU?

Ivan Krastev, A Fraying Union, Journal of Democracy, 23(4)

(2012): 23-30.
Philippe Schmitter, A Way Forward, Journal of Democracy,
23(4) (2012): 39-46.

20 continued

Francis Fukuyama, Identity, Immigration, and Liberal

Democracy. Journal of Democracy, 17(2) (2006): 5-20.
R. Daniel Keleman, Europes Hungary Problem, Foreign Affairs.
Sept 20, 2015.
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2015-0920/europes-hungary-problem

23 Political Economy of
Democracies

Torben Iversen and David Soskice, Electoral Institutions and the

Politics of Coalitions: Why Some Democracies Redistribute More
than Others, American Political Science Review 100(2) (2006):
165-181.
5

*Note: This is a hard read. Focus on the argument, not the math

Backwards, comrades! The Economist, Sept. 19, 2015.

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21665024-jeremycorbyn-leading-britains-left-political-timewarp-some-oldideological-battles
25 Will economic
development lead to
democratization in
China?

Andrew J. Nathan, China Since Tiananmen: Authoritarian

Impermanence, Journal of Democracy, 20(3) (2009): 37-40.

27 No class
Thanksgiving!
30 Religion and
Democracy

Stathis Kalyvas, Democracy and Religious Politics: Evidence

From Belgium, Comparative Politics Studies, 31(3) (1998): 292320.
The impressive recalcitrance of Kim Davis. The Economist.
September 3, 2015.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2015/09/ga
y-marriage-and-religion

Can there be an
Islamic Democracy?

Abdou Filali-Ansary, Muslims and Democracy, Journal of

Democracy, 10(3) (1999): 18-32.
Marina Ottaway and Thomas Carothers, Think Again: Middle
East Democracy, Foreign Policy 26(11) (2004): 22-28.
Laith Kubba, Institutions Make the Difference, Journal of
Democracy, 19(3) (2008): 37-42.
Sheri Berman, Promise of the Arab Spring. Foreign Policy 92(1)
(2013): 64-74.

Catch up and review