Courses
Course Archive
Comparative Politics Courses
Please find below a list of graduate courses in Comparative Politics offered by the department since the Autumn 2000 quarter.
32800. Capitalism in Modern Europe (=HIST 23300/33300). This course investigates the emergence of capitalism in Europe and the world as a whole between the early sixteenth and the late eighteenth centuries. We discuss the political and cultural as well as the economic sources of capitalism and explore Marxist, neoclassical, and cultural approaches. W. Sewell. Spring 2002. Winter 2005.
34100. Passions of Ethnic Conflict. Social scientists and historians have been reluctant to deal with the difficult topic of emotions, how they operate politically, and how they can be included in explanations. While much good work has been done on nationalism and ethnic conflict, very few scholars have dealt with the emotional underpinnings of these phenomena. This course will include readings in the current psychological literature on emotions, some of the principal texts on ethnicity, nationalism, and ethnic conflict. The course is taught as a colloquium, with common readings, discussion, and a synthetic paper on the readings at the end of the quarter. Among the readings will be: Antonio Damasio, Descartes' Error; William Reddy, The Navigation of Feeling; Jon Elster, Strong Feelings. R. Suny. Spring 2004.
34400. Authoritarianism and Political Change in the Middle East (=PolSci 344). Recent scholarship on domestic politics in the Middle East centers on "democratization," or on "transitions" to democracy away from authoritarian rule. This seminar investigates the causes and persistence of authoritarian forms of rule in the Middle East while also interrogating our theoretical understandings of "democratization" and democracy. Popular conceptions of Middle Eastern politics suggest that authoritarian rule derives from deep, sedimented essences inhering in Arabs or Muslims. The literature we will explore suggests that the roots of authoritarian political practices reside not in a primordial Arab culture, but instead in a complex dynamic involving the history of state formation, nation-building, and economic development. Some of the themes we will examine are: the relationship between authoritarianism and colonial rule, the importance of class coalitions in determining the levels of state violence, the role of institutions of repression in sustaining violence, the everyday practices of authoritarian rule, and the nature and purposes of ideology. We will also discuss recent changes in the Middle East and evaluate the ways in which they might be interpreted as moves towards "democracy." The course will ask: what do scholars mean by democracy? In what ways do elections, independent judicial courts, and popular forms of expression indicate fundamental changes in the nature of rule in the Middle East? L.Wedeen. Winter 2001.
34700. Political Economy of China. This course offers a set of tools for analyzing Chinese economic development and reforms. Our focus will be on how economic and political institutions have changed and how those changes affect the behavior of citizens, consumers, and businesses. We seek to understand the patterns of institutional transformation by examining legacies of the past, political and economic campaigns, leadership transitions, as well as China's integration with the world economy. Topics covered include reforms in industrial governance, financial supervision, market regulation, and state-business relations; variations across regions and industrial sectors; the integration of Hong Kong into China; Taiwan and China; and China's international trade strategy. All major topics are examined with a view to their international implications. D. Yang. Winter 2001. Spring 2004. Spring 2005.
34725. Globalization and Nationalism in China. This graduate course considers the dynamics and implications of China s interactions with the international system. How has China s growing participation in the international economy and society affected developments in China? What is the role of nationalism in Chinese politics and foreign policy? What implications does China s rise have for the global system? These are but some of the questions to be considered. D. Yang. Spring 2006.
35100. Comparative Politics of Latin America (=PolSci 351). This course introduces major theories of Latin American political and social change, and the political systems of three countries. We focus on the determinants and dynamics of regime change in Latin America. We first read general studies of modernization and political change and then focus on these issues as they worked themselves out in Chile, Mexico, and Nicaragua. S. Stokes. Spring 2005.
37800. Political Parties and Democracy. Political parties are endogenous to democracy. This is true despite great misgivings of political theorists about the effects of parties, and despite the fact that parties are rarely the product of formal arrangements. Constitutions, for example, are generally silent on the topic of political parties. Parties also form the basis of dominance of many authoritarian regimes. Because of their pervasiveness and influence, political parties are among the most widely studied phenomena in politics. Theorists have reflected on them, and analysts studied them, since their origins in the 17th century. Given the long history of writings on parties, it is surprising that, four centuries later, many controversies remain unsettled. Why do parties arise? Why do some political systems have many parties and others just two, and what difference does this make for the quality of governance and representation? What factors shape the ideological character of parties? What is the relative weight of social cleavages versus strategic action in shaping party systems? Are parties good for citizens in democracy? Are they good for the populations of authoritarian states? Why do some parties appeal to voters by promising particular programs, whereas others use clientelist methods to mobilize electoral support? These are the kinds of questions we will address. There are two basic course requirements. One is to report to the class on a book or set of readings, and to provide to Stokes a written version of this report. Regarding the second requirement, students have a choice. They may write a traditional term paper (e.g., a critical analysis of literature, an application and extension of a theoretical approach to a case drawing from secondary literature, etc.). Or they may develop a proposal for original research, which they then carry out after the quarter ends. Students who take the second option may use the proposal to develop research towards a master's or qualifying paper. S. Stokes. Autumn 2000. Autumn 2001.Autumn 2002. Spring 2005.
35600. Japanese Politics (=PolSci 356). This course is a survey of the major aspects of Japanese politics: party politics, bureaucracy, the diet, and political behavior in post-World War II Japan. B. Silberman. Autumn 2000. Autumn 2002. Autumn 2004.
35700. Identity-Formation in Comparative Perspective. This seminar is designed to be both theoretical and empirical, clarifying concepts such as "identity" and "subjectivity," and exploring various approaches to questions of political identification and self-understanding. We shall look at authors who use psychoanalysis, rational choice theory, versions of constructivism, and analytic philosophy in their studies. Although some of the readings will be explicitly devoted to conceptual conundrums and theories of the self, many will be comparative case studies--various contexts in which scholars identify political identification and subject formation as central political phenomena. Among the authors we shall read are Brubaker, Williams, Taylor, Butler, Hall, Erikson, Calhoun, and Laitin. Students will attend class regularly and write one 10-15 page paper. L. Wedeen. Winter 2001. Winter 2004.
35800. Formal Approaches to Comparative Politics. This course presents some of the applications of the rational choice paradigm to comparative politics. It consists on three parts of uneven length: civil and ethnic conflict, transitions to democracy and democratic regimes, being the latter the longest one. Within that last chapter, the course will cover the analysis of elections, legislatures, political parties and politico-economic environments (e.g. distributive taxation and public goods). Students with some background in mathematics (especially, algebra and calculus) will benefit the most although other students unfamiliar with, but willing to engage in, formal analysis are also welcome. L. Medina. Spring 2001. Winter 2002. Winter 2003.
36100. Civil Wars. The substantive focus of this seminar is on civil wars. Although we will look at issues related to their causes and termination, the main theoretical focus will be on civil wars as political processes. Topics include the institutions of civil wars, the impact of cleavages (especially ethnic ones), and the patterns of violence. Methodologically, we will rethink the ways in which we design research in comparative politics, especially with phenomena that are hard to place within existing analytical frameworks. Topics include the identification of theoretical and empirical puzzles, the selection of methodological tools and their adaptation to the question at hand, the development of research designs tailored to available empirical resources, the combination of fieldwork with models, the identification of relevant (and diverse) bodies of literature, and the production of data in data-scarce environments. We will pay particular attention to the tension between aggregation and disaggregation, macro and micro levels of analysis, agency and structure, area expertise and abstract generalization. Finally, we will ask whether it is possible to transcend context in a way that fully respects it. S. Kalyvas. Spring 2001. Spring 2003.
36500. Reform to Revolution: U.S.S.R./Russia, 1982 to 2004. (=HIST 23700/33700) This course, based on a weekly lecture and discussion of common readings, looks at the ways in which the Soviet state is constructed and maintained, and how its leaders attempted to reform the system. The lectures cover the period 1945 to 1991 with emphasis on the Gorbachev years (1985 to 1991) and the variety of theories on the fall of Soviet "socialism." R. Suny. Spring 2004.
36510. State, Society, and Democratization in Southeast Asia. This course provides a broad overview of the evolution of Southeast Asia s highly diverse political systems, with a focus on historical factors that have helped shape prospects for democratic transition in recent years. The first segment sketches how the region as a whole was influenced by global processes of colonization, state formation, the rise of nationalism, Cold War rivalry, and the intensification of capitalist modes of production and exchange. After making a brief foray into democratization theory, we consider the value of competing theoretical approaches in apprehending the collapse of authoritarianism in two specific cases (Indonesia and the Philippines), as well as the long-term survival of authoritarianism in two others (Burma and Malaysia). D. Slater. Spring 2006.
37100. Comparative Political Economy. Enrollment will be limited to 10-12. This course surveys the contemporary theories of political economy, with particular emphasis on the interaction between economic policies, political preferences, domestic institutions, the international economy, and their consequences on the economy. It considers: political business cycles, partisan models, the internal structure of labor markets and its consequences for economic governance, the effects of varying constitutional frameworks for policy-making, the underlying causes of public spending growth and debates over the welfare state, the impact of the international economy on domestic politics, the political and institutional underpinnings of growth and development. The course draws heavily on the comparative politics literature focused on OECD nations, but it also examines key work on the developing world. C. Boix. Winter 2001. Winter 2004. Winter 2006.
37800. Political Parties and Democracy. More countries in the world today are democracies than ever before, and political parties are at the center of the political life of every electoral democracy. They mobilize voters, recruit candidates, organize legislative processes, and forge political identities. Yet huge debates swirl around political parties. Are governments more responsive to citizens when parties are strong or when they are weak? Why do parties persist if voters in most regions are less and less attached to them? And how are we to conceptualize political parties? Are they teams which attempt to elect members, alliances of office-seeking leaders and ideologically driven militants, cabals of incumbent office-holders who would rather retain office than extend their parties' hold in the legislature? This course covers a large body of literature on political parties and democracy. It is not confined by region, drawing on studies from new and old democracies alike. We will study classics as well as recent theoretical advances on the nature of parties and their effect on democracy, as well as a large range of case studies. The course is designed to meet the needs of students in comparative politics, American politics, and those interested in political economy. S. Stokes. Autumn 2000. Autumn 2001. Winter 2003.
37900. European Political Development. A graduate-level course that explores, in a comparative manner, the political development of Europe from modern times. The course examines the formation of European states; the rise of nationalism; the distribution and evolution of democratic, fascist and communist regimes in Europe in the 20th century; the emergence of parties and party systems at the turn of the 20th century and their transformation today; the creation and evolution of welfare states; the process of European integration. Although rooted on historical analysis, the course will put a particular emphasis on the construction of explanatory theories and their applicability to other continents and periods. C. Boix. Winter 2003.
38000. Organization, Ideology, and Political Change. This course centers on the comparative analysis of the emergence and institutionalization of public bureaucracies in the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and the former Soviet Union. The aim is to see whether there are distinctly different patterns of organizational rationality or whether bureaucracies are all culturally unique. B. Silberman. Autumn 2001. Autumn 2003. Autumn 2005.
38300. Political Economy for Postmoderns. This course discusses how to represent political economy and forms of argument. Doctrines from classical through Marxian to modern capitalist and beyond. The relationship between "liberalization" and democracy including sequencing and problems of "transition" with special reference to Eastern Europe, India and China. Readings include McCloskey, Polanyi, Hirschman, and Sen. L. Rudolph. Autumn 2000. Autumn 2001.
38400. Introduction to Chinese Politics (=PolSci 384). This course offers a historical and thematic survey of Chinese politics in the twentieth century. Particular attention is given to the formation of the party-state, the imposition of central planning, the Great Leap forward, the Cultural Revolution, reform and liberalization, and prospects for democracy. The discussion is framed in terms that allow comparison with other countries. D. Yang. Winter 2001. Winter 2002. Winter 2004.
38415. Politics and Public Policy in China. This course offers a historical and thematic survey to Chinese politics in the twentieth century. Particular attention is given to the formation of the party-state, the imposition of central planning, the Great Leap forward, the Cultural Revolution, reform and liberalization, and China's role in the world in the post-Cold War era. The discussion is framed in terms that allow comparison with other countries. D. Yang. Autumn 2004.
38900. Political and Legal Development in China. This is a research-oriented seminar for graduate students interested in learning about current research on China and in conducting their own research. No attempt is made to provide complete coverage of all aspects of China's political economy. Topics covered include state building, constitutionalism, rights, state-society relations, corruption, and the prospects for democratization. Grading is based on class participation, presentations, and a research paper. It is essential that students come to class having read the required readings. Students are required to present a draft of the research paper in the final session. D. Yang. Spring 2002.
39300. Comparative Politics of the Middle East and North Africa. This course examines major theoretical concerns in comparative politics using cases from the Middle East. It investigates the relationships between political and economic change in the processes of state-building, economic development, and national integration. The course begins by comparing the experience of early and late developing countries, which will provide students with a broad historical overview of market formation and state-building in Europe and will cover the legacies of the Ottoman empire, European colonialism, and the Mandate period in the Middle East. The course then explores topics such as: the failure of constitutional regimes and the role of the military, class formation and inequality, the conflict between Pan-Arabism and state-centered nationalisms, the role of political parties, revolutionary and Islamicist movements, labor migration and remittances, and political and economic liberalization in the 1990s. L. Wedeen. Spring 2002. Spring 2006.
40300. Macrohistories. This course is taught as a colloquium. Readings and discussions will focus on grand narratives by historians, political scientists and sociologiss of the rise of the state, "emergence" of the nation, and the formation of capitalism. Among those to be read will be Michael Mann, Charles Tilly, Benedict Anderson, and Karl Polyani. R. Suny. Winter 2001.
40500. Sovietology and Its Discontents . (=HIST 61200) Taught as a colloquium, with common readings and a final review paper, this course explores the ways in which political scientists and historians tried to understand the Soviet Union. Among the approaches to be discussed will be: Kremlinology, the totalitarian model, interest group and pluralist analyses, comparative Communist approaches, social history, and the varieties of modernization and congruence models. The course will look at both the limits of past research, its insights and failures, as well as suggest alternative ways to investigate non-democratic and transitional regimes. R. Suny. Spring 2003.
41900. Rationality and Collective Action. In this course, we will study critically theories of collective action with an added focus on those proposed by the Rational Choice paradigm. First, we will discuss what demands we ought to place on a theory of collective action if it is to do justice to the ontology of the phenomenon it purports to study. To that end, we will engage some literature on social theory and epistemology of the social sciences. Then we will look at the substantive contents of the rational choice approaches (especially those deriving from Olson and Schelling) together with some criticisms levelled against them from alternative approaches and will inquire about their alleged empirical relevance. Finally, we will study some new tools of game theory that hold the promise of placing the rationalist theory of collective action on a firmer footing and of making it more operational and testable. Some familiarity with rational choice approaches and game theory is desirable but not required. L. Medina. Winter 2005.
45000. Comparative Capitalisms I. This course is a general introduction to theories of capitalist organization and development. Foundational works by Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim and Karl Polanyi will be reviewed in addition to more contemporary theoretical writings in neoclassical economics, economic geography, political economy and economic sociology. G. Herrigel. Winter 2001. Winter 2002. Winter 2003. Winter 2005.
45010. Social Theory and the Economy. This course surveys social theoretic writing on the boundaries and character of economic process. Topics include theories of reflexivity and agency, recombinant organizational forms, and alternative forms of governance. G. Herrigel. Winter 2006.
45100. Comparative Capitalisms II. PQ: Completion of PolSci 450 is encouraged but not required. This course will address key empirical and theoretical controversies involving matters of economic and industrial adjustment in advanced industrial economies. Literature on the welfare state, regions, corporate governance, industrial relations and industrial organization will be examined in comparative context. G. Herrigel. Spring 2001. Spring 2002. Spring 2003. Spring 2005.
45110. Issues in Comparative Capitalism. PQ: Completion of PLSC 45010 is encouraged but not required. This course will address key empirical and theoretical controversies involving matters of economic and industrial adjustment in advanced industrial economies. Literature on the multinationals, regions, corporate governance, industrial relations, welfare states, new patterns of administrative governance and democracy will be examined in comparative context. G. Herrigel. Spring 2006.
46700. From Reform to Revolution: Why Did the Soviet Union Collapse (=PolSci 476). This course, based on a weekly lecture and discussion of common readings, will look at the ways in which the Soviet state is constructed and maintained, and how its leaders attempted to reform the system. The lectures will cover the period 1945 to 1991 with emphasis on the Gorbachev years (1985-1991) and the variety of theories on the fall of Soviet "socialism." R. Suny. Autumn 2000.
47000. Political Development. D. Yang. Spring 2004.
47700. Coll: French Revolution (=HIST 54800). In this course we will discuss recent trends in the historiography of the French old regime and the Revolution. W. Sewell. Winter 2002. Autumn 2004.
47800. Rethinking Democratic Practice. This course explores some of the vast literature in comparative politics and political theory on "democracy" and "democratization." Among the issues we shall investigate are the meanings of these terms, the relationships between economic development and political change, and the conditions of possibility under which democratic transformations take place. We shall examine the roles particular institutions play, such as legislatures and political parties. We shall ask questions such as how important for contemporary democracy are sufficient economic resources or mobile capital? How critical is the existence of elections? What about the presence of a large middle class, politicized workers, civic associations, committed democrats, and/or a shared understanding of what democracy means? What are the relationships among nation-building, state sovereignty, and democratic practice? How do specific historical pasts affect the neo-liberal present? Students will take a final exam or write a research paper. L. Wedeen. Spring 2002.
48000. Seminar in Comparative Politics I. This two-quarter course sequence gives graduate students exposure to the major debates, topics, and methods of comparative politics. Topics include: political development and modernization; democracy, dictatorship and regime change; revolution; ethnic mobilization and conflict; political culture and political attitudes; preference formation, social alignments, political parties, and institutions; interest intermediation; states and markets; and the comparative method. S. Kalyvas. Autumn 2001.
48100. Seminar in Comparative Politics II. This two-quarter course sequence gives graduate students exposure to the major debates, topics, and methods of comparative politics. Topics include: political development and modernization; democracy, dictatorship and regime change; revolution; ethnic mobilization and conflict; political culture and political attitudes; preference formation, social alignments, political parties, and institutions; interest intermediation; states and markets; and the comparative method. S. Kalyvas, S. Stokes. Winter 2002. Winter 2003.
48700. Culture, Practice and Social Change (=Hist 665). Most theories of culture are better suited for explaining social stasis than social change; indeed, they often see social change as somehow originating outside the cultural realm--for example, from social breakdowns, economic changes, or contact with other societies. The goal of this class will be to build change into the theory of culture--in part by insisting that culture be conceptualized as practical activity. The readings will include both theoretical works and concrete investigations of social change. W. Sewell. Autumn 2000.
49000. History and Politics of the Soviet Union. (=HIST 23900/33900) This course, based on a weekly lecture and discussion of common readings, will look at the ways in which the tsarist and Soviet empires were constructed and maintained, the ideologies and discourses of empire employed, and the processes by which national communities were formed. The collapse of the tsarist empire and Soviet Union will be discussed, as well as specific case studies of nationalities within the empires. Readings will include empirical studies as well as theoretical works on nation formation, nationalism, and imperialism. R. Suny. Spring 2003.
49400. Nations and Nationalism (=HIST 61100). This course explores the recent literature on the formation of nations and the development of nationalism, with attention to other forms of subnational and supranational organization and identity (e.g., class, diaspora, empire). The shift from more structuralist and social determinations of nationhood to discursive and constructivist approaches will be investigated, as well as the intersection of nationality and "race" with gender and class. Some readings will focus on ethnic conflict, its causes, consequences, and possible resolution. R. Suny. Winter 2001. Winter 2003. Autumn 2003. L. Wedeen. Winter 2005.
50600. Literature of Japanese Political Institutions. B. Silberman. Autumn 2001.
50600. Japanese Political Institutions. B. Silberman. Autumn 2003. Autumn 2005.
50800. National Models of Capitalism (=GERM XXXXX). V. Wittke. Winter 2003.
51700. State Formation I: Historical Comparisons. This course examines forms of stateness, their varieties and determinants. We look at practice, language and ideas in Europe and Asia using historical and anthropological perspectives. Two competing metaphors have guided the state formation story, the monopoly sovereignty of the nation state and the shared sovereignty of the multi-cultural empire. In Europe, this means re-examining the parcellated and layered sovereignty of the medieval era. It also means examining those post-renaissance states which managed to save and sustain the municipal, regional and corporate autonomies characteristic of medieval polities, that is, to sustain shared sovereignty in face of the absolutist state's drive to concentrate and centralize power. Beyond Europe, it means turning to the multi-cultural empires which provided the dominant form of Asia polity from the 12th to the 19th century-Ottomans, Chinese, Safavids, Mughals, British India, with a comparative eye on the last of the European empires, the Hapsburgs, and Eurasian Russia. The course will also attend to the phenomenon of failing and fading states, as the global and local gain at the expense of the national. Readings will include Nettl, Rice, Bloch, Perry Anderson, Spruiyt, Schama, Downing (Europe); Tambiah, Geertz (South East Asia); Hanson (Central Asia); Inalcik (Ottomans); Stein, Eaton, Streusand (Southern and Mughal India); Kaviraj, Winichakal (Theory). L. Rudolph, S. Rudolph. Autumn 2000. Autumn 2001.
55400. Introduction to Comparative Politics. The purpose of this seminar is to acquaint students with the leading debates having to do with the social and economic bases for political outcomes. Topics include: political development and modernization; democracy, dictatorship and regime change; revolution; political culture and political attitudes; preference formation, social alignments and political parties; interest intermediation; states and markets; and the comparative method. C. Boix. Winter 2001. Autumn 2005.
57200. Social Networks. This seminar explores the sociological utility of the network" as a unit of analysis. How do the patterns of social ties in which individuals are embedded differentially affect their ability to cope with crises, their decisions to move or change jobs, their eagerness to adopt new attitudes and behaviors? The seminar group will consider (a) how the network differs from other units of analysis, (b) structural properties of networks, consequences of flows (or content) in network ties, and (d) dynamics of those ties. J. Padgett. Autumn 2003. (E)
65200. Comparative Bureaucracy. An examination and analysis of the theoretical and empirical literature on national-level public and private bureaucratic organizations in Japan, Great Britain and the U.S. B. Silberman. Autumn 2000. Autumn 2002. Autumn 2004.
