Introduction to Comparative Politics

Poli 220 (3) Section 951 Term 2

Course Schedule: M-TH, 1-4, Aug 3-19
Location: Buchanan B213
Instructor:
Nathan Allen
Emalil: nallen@interchange.ubc.ca
Office: Buchanan C413
Office Hours: 11:00-1:00, M-TH
Course Description:
This course provides an introduction to comparative politics. We will explore the
core concepts, theories, and methods required to analyse political systems
according to social scientific standards. This course equips students with the
terminology and critical thinking skills that can be used to research and
understand politics in both the developed and developing world, with special
attention given to the analysis of political institutions in democratic countries.
Content hangs loosely around three major themes of comparative politics: order,
democracy, and development. The course starts with big concepts such as the
state, the nation, and regimes. We then transition into a close look at democracy
and the internal functioning of democratic regimes. In the final week we move on
to issues of political economy including the political factors affecting growth and
welfare provision.
Unlike classical comparative courses, lectures are designed around conceptual
themes rather than country case studies. However, historical and contemporary
examples are used to illustrate points and engage class discussions. Students will
be continually challenged to interpret recent political events from around the
globe using the tools they learn in class.
Required Texts:
1. Clark, Golder, and Golder 2009, Principles of Comparative Politics. Washington,
D.C.: CQ Press
2. Scholarly articles, accessible via UBC library or internet.
About the Text:
Clark, Golder, and Golders Principles of Comparative Politics is a superb
comparative politics text. Admittedly it is a bit pricey. The price is worth it.
CGGs text is sophisticated and challenging. As you continue with political

science courses I am sure you will find this volume helpful in clarifying difficult
conceptual problems.
Course Assignments, Due Dates, Grading:
Class Participation
Paper: Approximately 6 pages, Due Aug 16
Final Exam (2 hours, in class Aug 19)

10%
40%
50%

Participation:
A total of 10% of a students mark is made up of their participation grade. I
appreciate student engagement and this piece of the grade rewards those who
contribute to the life of the classroom. Note: this is NOT a grade dedicated to how
much a student participates. I reward quality more than volume. These are
relatively easy marks to get. If a student shows up for classes and avoids
disrupting lectures (e.g. loud eating, distracting whispering) he or she will do fine.
If a student constructively contributes, he or she will do great.
This is a short course. I will try hard to remember names as quickly as possible.
This is facilitated by sitting in the same seat.
Students come to this class with a wide range of experiences. If students have a
strong interest in a particular case please let that be known. I will work hard to
incorporate that into lectures. Just get back from Thailand and eager to discuss the
breakdown of democracy there? We could squeeze that into the regimes section.
Stay up all night watching the British election on BBC? Maybe we can look at
that during the electoral system lecture. I cant promise I can cover everything,
but I am willing to tailor lectures to accommodate student interests.
Paper:
This is a very short course so there is not sufficient time to assign an independent
research paper. The paper assignment will require no outside reading beyond the
assigned texts. I will distribute the question when we begin the section on
Democracy. Students will use material from the second weeks lectures and
readings to answer the assigned question.
An important aspect of writing papers is meeting deadlines. I expect you to
complete your assignments in on time. Late papers will be docked 5% points per
day. Do no not plan to go camping between the 12th and the 16th. You will need
this time to work on paper. Check you printer ink a day before you plan to print
the paper. Back-up your documents frequently. Unfortunate things happen, but a
little foresight can ensure a smooth paper writing process. In cases of illness
extensions may be granted, though a doctors note will be required.

WARNING: DO NOT PLAGARIZE! See below for the schools policies on

academic integrity and turnitin.com.
Exam:
The exam will consist of both short answer and essay questions. Students will be
expected to answer questions covering the entire range of material that was
covered in the lectures and readings.

UBC Marking and Plagiarism Policies:

Grading Criteria
80% to 100% (A- to A+)

Exceptional performance: strong evidence of original thinking; good organization;

capacity to analyze and synthesize; superior grasp of subject matter with sound
critical evaluations; evidence of extensive knowledge base.

68% to 79% (B- to B+)

Competent performance: evidence of grasp of subject matter; some evidence of

critical capacity and analytic ability; reasonable understanding of relevant issues;
evidence of familiarity with the literature.

50% to 67% (D to C+)

Adequate performance: understanding of the subject matter; ability to develop

solutions to simple problems in the material; acceptable but uninspired work, not
seriously faulty but lacking style and vigour.

00% to 49% (F)

Inadequate performance: little or no evidence of understanding of the subject

matter; weakness in critical and analytic skills; limited or irrelevant use of the
literature.

Academic Integrity
Plagiarism, which is intellectual theft, occurs where an individual submits or presents the
oral or written work of another person as his or her own. Scholarship quite properly rests
upon examining and referring to the thoughts and writings of others. However, when
another person's words (i.e. phrases, sentences, or paragraphs), ideas, or entire works are
used, the author must be acknowledged in the text, in footnotes, in endnotes, or in another
accepted form of academic citation. Where direct quotations are made, they must be

clearly delineated (for example, within quotation marks or separately indented). Failure
to provide proper attribution is plagiarism because it represents someone else's work as
one's own.
For more information, visit: http://www.vpacademic.ubc.ca/integrity/policies.htm
Submitting Papers TurnItIn.com:
In this course you will be required to submit your main essay in electronic form. The
electronic material will be submitted to a service to which UBC subscribes, called
TurnItIn. This is a service that checks textual material for originality. It is increasingly
used in North American universities. It is the policy of the Department of Political
Science that written assignments in undergraduate courses will be submitted to TurnItIn.
Log on to www.turnitin.com. You will be asked to create a user profile with ID (use
your email address) and password. Once your profile is created, you will be able to add
courses to it for assignment review. If you have already created a profile for another
course you do not need to create a new one; just add this course to your existing account.
To add this course, you will need the course ID and course password, which will be
provided by the instructor. Now you will be able to submit assignments to Turnitin.com
for review.
For each assignment, you will be asked to provide your name and student number, as
well as some details about your assignment. This information will be used only to
identify your submission to your instructor. Please ensure that there is no identifying
information included in the text of your assignment. In particular, do not leave your name
and student number on each page of your essay (as is common). Just have a simple page
number. When preparing your essay, please create three separate files. The first file is for
your title page with you name, course number and essay title on it. The second file is the
main body of your essay. The third file is your bibliography. Please submit only the
second file, the main body of your essay, to Turnitin.com. When you prepare the paper
copy to hand in to tutorial, you can print the other two files together with the main body
of the essay and combine all three to hand it. Simply confirm the submission, and
TurnItIn will issue a receipt (via e-mail).
Please ensure you have removed you name and student number from everything
you submit to Turnitin.
Create your profile and add this course to your account early in the term so that it can be
efficiently submitted on or before the due date. Difficulties on or after the due date will
not be accepted as a reason for a late paper.

Course Schedule and Readings

Session 1 Tuesday, August 3
Component 1: Introduction
Component 2: The State
CGG: 91-94; 105-123*
Max Weber: Politics as a Vocation**
This essay is widely available on the internet. Here is one translation:
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/ethos/Weber-vocation.pdf

*Reading note: Do not worry too much about following the games in CGG. Just pick up
the basic ideas (contractarian vs. predatory views of the state)
** For our purposes, the most important sections are contained from page 1-13, or from
the beginning to about where Weber begins discussing the demagogue. I encourage you
to read the entire piece. Webers thoughts on parties (15-24) and electoral systems (25)
are relevant to later lectures.
Session 2 Wednesday, August 4
Component 1: The Nation
Component 2: Ethnicity
CGG: 563-571;
CGG: 724-733
Session 3 Thursday, August 5
Component 1: Regime types
Component 2: Regime change and Revolution
CGG: 255-266
Barbara Geddes, 1999, What do know about democratization after twenty years?,
Annual Review of. Political. Science,.. 2:11544
Session 4 Monday, August 9
Component 1: What is democracy?
Component 2: Origins of Democracy?
CGG: Chapter 5 (147-168);
CGG: 169-181

Session 5 Tuesday, August 10

Component 1: Executive-Legislative structure
Component 2: Constitutions, Judiciary, and the Rule of Law
CGG: 395-403; 443-455
CGG: 634-648
Session 6 Wednesday, August 11
Component 1: Elections and Electoral systems
Component 2: Parties and Party Systems
CGG: Ch 12 (463-527)
CGG: 533-563; 572-579;
Session 7 Thursday, August 12
Component 1: Centre-periphery structures
Component 2: Interest Groups and Civil Society
CGG: 604-620;
Session 8 Monday, August 16
Component 1: Democracy and the market
Component 2: Growth of the Welfare State
No reading. Work on your essays!
Session 9 Tuesday, August 17
Component 1: Democracy and social policy
Component 2: Political Economy in the Developing World
Alberto Alesina, Edward Glaeser, and Bruce Sacerdote, 2001,
Why Doesnt the US Have a European-Style Welfare System? NBER Working Paper
Series*
http://www.nber.org/papers/w8524
Sven Steinmo and Jon Watts, 1995, It's the Institutions, Stupid! Why Comprehensive
National Health Insurance Always Fails in America, Journal of Health Politics, Policy
and Law, Vol. 20, No. 2, Summer 1995

*Reading Note: Skim section 3 (Theory and Discussion). Do not worry about
following the authors modelling efforts.

Session 10 Wednesday, August 18

Component 1: Globalization
Component 2: Review
Jon Kvist, 2004, "Does EU enlargement start a race to the bottom? Strategic
interaction among EU member states in social policy," Journal of European Social Policy
14; 301
Session 11 Thursday, August 19
Exam