The University of Hong Kong

Department of Politics and Public Administration

POLI1003 Making Sense of Politics

Semester 1, 2020 - 21
Friday 15:30 – 17:20, Online via Zoom

Dr. XIA Lu, Harold

Visiting Assistant Professor
Office Hours: TBC
Office: Room 9.64 of the Jockey Club Tower
Phone: 3917-4879 | Email: luxiahku@hku.hk

Tutor: Mr. FUNG Cho-kin Sebastien

Office: Room 9.67 of the Jockey Club Tower | Phone: 3917 – 4981 | Email: sckfung@hku.hk
Tutor: Mr. YUEN Ho-yin Rocky
Office: Room 9.67 of the Jockey Club Tower | Phone: 3917 – 5565 | Email:
rockyyhy@connect.hku.hk

Course Description

Official Description: This is an introductory course offered to students with no previous

background in political science. It covers the basic concepts, institutions and processes that
one would encounter in the study of politics. Emphasis will be placed on the application of
concepts to current issues, including (but not restricted to) that of Hong Kong.

Some Notes: When we pause to think about politics, more than often we get lost: not only in
the “terminological jungle” created by political scientists, but also in all sorts of weird
political phenomena, messy institutions, meaningless data and nuanced political logic behind
concrete events. By introducing you to the key concepts and theoretical approaches in
political science, this course seeks to provide you with grounding in the basic tools of
political analysis. During the semester, course materials will be organized into four units: (1)
the political economy of development; (2) democracy, democratization and participatory
politics; (3) political institutions; (4) civil society, social revolution and identity politics. For
each of these topics, we will not only learn what they are about but more importantly how
political scientists past and present have debated over them in various ways. Being a starter
for your study in the social sciences, this course is also designed to help improve your critical
thinking and analytical writing skills. We hope you will become interested in our discipline
and in the future you will use what you have learned in this course as a guide to further
explore the exciting world of politics.

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Appraise the basic analytical approaches in political science and develop the ability to
analyze political events in various contexts.

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2. Acquire basic knowledge on the four primary issue areas in contemporary political
science, namely: political economy, democracy theory, political institution and civil
society (including contentious politics and identity politics).

3. Develop the ability in general critical thinking and basic skills in academic writing.

4. Develop the ability in critically analyzing and commenting on contemporary political

events.

Course Requirements & Assessment Methods

(1) Class and Tutorial Participation (20% IN TOTAL)

• Class attendance and tutorial participation are essential. You are expected to
complete all the required readings each week and to contribute to the collective
tutorial discussion. Your participation grade will be based on your attendance and
performance in the tutorials. (10%)

• You are also required to publish at least one post in the Moodle forum of this
course. This post should have at least 200 words and discuss a topic or news item
that is both interesting and relevant to the contents of this course. You are also
encouraged to respond to posts written by your classmates. Active participants in
the course’s online forum will be awarded extra credit for participation. (10%)

(2) One Short Paper (1500-2000 words) (30%)

• You are expected to submit one short paper. This paper should be 1500-2000
words in length, A4, double spaced, normal margin (1-inch) and #12 type size.
You may turn in this paper anytime during the semester but no later than 1700
(Hong Kong Time) on 30th November (Mon).

• Paper topics must be relevant to one of the lecture themes or tutorial

questions listed on this syllabus. General advice on paper writing and detailed
instructions on reference style can be found at the Department website
http://ppa.hku.hk/ (click ‘Learning Resources’)

• Paper Submission:
o Only soft copy submission to Turnitin via Moodle is required.

• Please be advised that the University’s anti-plagiarism rules and regulations

are strictly enforced. Cases of plagiarism may lead to course failure,
university disciplinary action, or both.

• Late Papers: Barring an extraordinary excuse (with sufficient supporting

documentation), all late papers will be marked down a third of a grade (for
example, A to A-) for each calendar day following the due date.

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 (3) Final Exam (50%)

• A two-hour written exam will be administered at the end of the semester.

Reading Materials

All required readings are put in a course reading pack and the pack can be found on Moodle.

Departmental Academic Misconduct Warning

The Department of Politics & Public Administration expects that all students work will
conform to the highest standards of academic integrity. Student’s work will be scrutinized
for academic misconduct, which includes plagiarism of other’s words and/or ideas,
falsification, fabrication, and misuse of data.

Student’s submitted work will be scrutinized for plagiarism through use of Turnitin
(http://lib.hku.hk/turnitin/turnitin.html; www.turnitin.com). In the event a student submits
work that appears to be plagiarized—whether essays, presentations, or other course
material—they will be asked to explain themselves to the lecturer. The Department does not
tolerate plagiarism, whether direct, indirect, or self plagiarism. Direct plagiarism is
intentionally and completely lifting the words, equations, charts, graphs or artistic material
of another author or authors. Indirect plagiarism is failing to cite completely or accurately,
and/or copying themes, ideas, or sources the student has not read from another author or
authors. Self plagiarism is recycling papers, documents, equations, and so forth from a
document previously submitted by the student without quotation, citation, or attribution of the
previous work. Acts of plagiarism could result in heavy penalties, including disciplinary
action. For more information about the policy on plagiarism at HKU, please visit:
http://www.hku.hk/plagiarism.

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 Lecture Schedule

Introduction

Week 1: Introduction: How Do We Go About Studying Politics?

(4th September)

Unit I The Politics of Economic Development

Week 2: Heading to Modernity? –The Classical Approaches and Their Critics

(11th September)

Week 3: State-Led or Market-Driven: Is There Indeed A “Consensus”?

(18th September)

Unit II Democracy and Democratization

Week 4: We the People: The Virtues and Defects of Democracy

(25th September)

Week 5: No Lecture due to Public Holiday

Week 6: Democratization: The Dynamics and Obstacles of Democratic Transition

(9th October)

Movie: Please Vote for Me! (A PBS/BBC Documentary)

[Group viewing in tutorial, 60 minutes]

Week 7: No Lecture due to Reading Week

Unit III Political Institutions and the State

Week 8: Presidentialism, Parliamentarism and Stable Democracy

(23rd October)

Week 9: Electoral Systems and Political Parties in Divided Societies

(30th October)

Week 10: State Capacity and State Failure: Has Globalization Weakened the State?
(6th November)

Unit IV Civil Society, Social Protest and Identity Politics

Week 11: Civil Society: Making Democracy Work…or Fail?

(13th November)

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Week 12: Understanding Social Revolution: Why People Rebel and So What?
(20th November)

Week 13: Who Are We: The Politics of Identity

(27th November)

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 Tutorials
Sign up for your tutorial at “eLearning” of your HKU Portal.
It begins at 1500 (Hong Kong Time) on 7th September (Mon)!

Session Date/Theme Tutorial Topic

No.
The week of Housekeeping Session
0 14th Sept (Roughly 20 minutes)

The week of 1. What is development? Is development “merely” economic growth?

21st Sept 2. What factors can best explain the economic miracles of the Asian Tigers
1 (Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore)? How are these factors
Development different from case to case?
3. Does authoritarianism help or hinder economic development? (Or does it
depend?)
The week of 1. Please define what you think is democracy.
5th Oct. 2. What are the benefits of having a democracy? What are the dangers a
democratic society has to face?
2 3. After all, do we need democracy?
Democracy a. If you think we do, give your reasons and consider what is the best form
of democracy? (It may not yet exist, but you can imagine freely).
b. If you think we don’t, why? Consider what is the best form of
government other than democracy? Give your reasons.
The week of Film: Please Vote for Me! (A BBC/PBS Documentary)
3 19th Oct.

The Week of
4 2nd Nov. Please refer to Appendix on p.13 of this syllabus for discussion questions.
Film
Discussion
The week of 1. For new democracies in the developing world, which system—
9th Nov. presidentialism or parliamentarism— is more likely to ensure political
stability? Why? And do we have a universal answer for all countries? How
5 Political confident are you that electoral design can help mediate the fragility of
democratic systems in deeply divided societies?
Institutions
2. Why are political parties important for a democratic society? What are the
different political consequences of one party system, two-party system and
multi-party system?

The week of 1. What is government, state and regime, respectively? Explain to your
16th Nov. classmates clearly how are these concepts different from each other.
2. Some argue that the state as a political institution (and authority) will be
fundamentally weakened in the globalization era. Do you agree? Why or
6 State & State why not?
3. The Somali Pirate: What are the consequences of a failed state? How to
Capacity build strong state and effective government in developing countries?
(FYI Reading: Alex Perry, “To Beat Somalia’s Pirates, Fix Their Country”,
Time Magazine Online,
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1866361,00.html )

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 The week of 1. What is the role played by civil society in a modern democracy?
23rd Nov. 2. Think of a country or city you know well (say, Hong Kong). To what extent
is identity politicized in that country or city? In what way had social
Civil Society, identities influenced the politics of that country or region or city?
7 3. Why do people protest? Give as many reasons as you can but make sure you
Identity
are thinking about “reasons” in a general sense (i.e. excluding specific
Politics and reasons for a certain social protest in a certain place). In your view, are
Social social protests constructive or destructive to a nation’s politics and society?
Protest

Readings and Review Questions

Week 1: Introduction: How Do We Go About Studying Politics?

(4th September)

No Reading.

Questions:

1. What is dependent variable? What is independent variable? What is causal

relationship? Why is comparative method important for political analysis?

2. What are the main approaches of political science? Choose any political phenomenon
that interested you and try to explain it. Can you come up with different explanatory
hypotheses using each of the three approaches we have discussed in class (i.e.
economic, institutional and cultural)?

3. Why is political science “at best an imperfect science”? Why should we think of
political science theories always in probabilistic terms?

UNIT I THE POLITICS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Week 2: Heading to Modernity?

—The Classical Approaches and Their Critics
(11th September)

Required Readings:

W. W. Rostow, The Stages of Economic Growth (Cambridge University Press, 1960): pp.1-
12.

Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom (Anchor Books, 1999), pp.3-11.

Optional Readings:

Alex Inkeles, “The Modernization of Man”, in Modernization: The Dynamics of Growth, ed.
Myron Weiner (Basic Books, 1966), pp.138-150.

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Daniel Lerner, The Passing of Traditional Society, (The Free Press, 1958), pp.43-65.

Questions:

1. What are the different approaches scholars had used to explain economic
development? (Note: This question is also for next week.) How are they different
from each other?

2. According to the Modernization School, what is modernity? Do you agree?

3. Do you generally agree with modernization theory’s assumptions and predictions

about economic and political development across the world? If you do agree, give
your reasons. If you do not agree, what is wrong with modernization theory?

Week 3: State-Led or Market-Driven—Is There Indeed A “Consensus”?

(18th September)

Required Reading:

Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (The University of Chicago Press, 2002), pp.1-36.

Optional Reading:

Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom (Anchor Books, 1999), pp.13-34.

Questions:

1. What is development? Is development “merely” economic growth?

2. What factors can best explain the economic miracles of the Asian Tigers (Hong Kong,
Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore)? How are these factors different from case to
case?

3. What are the so-called “Washington Consensus” and “Beijing Consensus”? In the
21st century, do we have a universally applicable developmental model for all
developing countries? Why or why not?

4. Does authoritarianism help or hinder economic development? (Or does it depend?)

UNIT II DEMOCRACY AND DEMOCRATIZATION

Week 4: We the People: The Virtues and Defects of Democracy

(25th September)

Required Reading:

Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom (Anchor Books, 1999), pp.146-159.

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Abraham Lincoln, “The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions”, in Great Speeches (with
historical notes by John Grafton, Dover Publications, 1991), pp.1-8.

Optional Readings:

Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Harvey C. Mansfield & Delma Winthrop eds.
(The University of Chicago Press, 2000), pp.235-249.

Questions:

1. Please define what you think is democracy.

2. What are the benefits of having a democracy? What are the dangers a democratic
society has to face?

3. What was the fundamental political problem Lincoln had perceived when he delivered
the “perpetuation speech”? What was the remedy Lincoln had to prescribe?
According to Lincoln, why is rule of law important? Do you agree? Why or why
not?

Week 5: No Lecture due to Public Holiday

(2nd October)

Week 6: Democratization: The Dynamics and Obstacles of Democratic Transition

(9th October)

Required Reading:

Ashutosh Varshney, “India Defies the Odds: Why Democracy Survives.” Journal of
Democracy (9:3, July 1998), pp.36-50.

Optional Reading:

Eva Bellin, “The Robustness of Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Exceptionalism in

Comparative Perspective.” Comparative Politics (36:2, January 2004), pp.139-157.

Questions:

1. Are rich countries today more likely to be democratic than the poor countries? If so,
why? If not, why not?

2. What are the main factors supporting Indian democracy?

3. What are the main institutional, cultural and leadership factors hindering
democratization in the Middle East?

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 4. What are the challenges a new democracy has to face? And how to best overcome
them? What did the movie Please Vote for Me! tell you?

Week 7: No Lecture due to Reading Week

(16th October)

UNIT III POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS AND THE STATE

Week 8: Presidentialism, Parliamentarism and Stable Democracy

(23rd October)

Required Reading:

Juan Linz, “The Perils of Presidentialism”, Journal of Democracy (1:1, Winter 1990), pp.51-
69.

Optional Reading:

Giovanni Sartori, “Neither Presidentialism nor Parliamentarism”, in Juan Linz and Arturo
Valenzuela, eds. The Failure of Presidential Democracy (Johns Hopkins University Press
1994), pp.106-118.

Questions:

1. What is presidentialism? What is parliamentarism? How are they different?

2. For new democracies in the developing world, which system—presidentialism or

parliamentarism— is more likely to ensure political stability? Why? And do we have
a universal answer for all countries?

3. In what way do political institutions influence politics? To what extent is political

institution a useful variable in explaining political outcomes?

Week 9: Electoral Systems and Political Parties in Divided Societies

(30th October)

Required Reading:

Arend Lijphart, “Constitutional Choices for New Democracies”, in Diamond and Plattner,
eds. The Global Resurgence of Democracy (Johns Hopkins University Press 1996), pp.162-
174.

Optional Reading:

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John Carey, “Institutional Design and Party Systems”, in Larry Diamond et al, eds.,
Consolidating the third Wave Democracies: Themes and Perspectives (Johns Hopkins
University Press 1997), pp.67-92.

Questions:

1. What are the usually used electoral systems? How do different electoral designs
influence political outcomes?

2. How confident are you that electoral design can help mediate the fragility of
democratic systems in deeply divided societies?

3. Why are political parties important for a democratic society? What are the different
political consequences of one party system, two-party system and multi-party system?

4. What kind of electoral system do you think would be the best answer for a highly
unequal, divided society with multiple parties? Give your reasons.

Week 10: State Capacity and State Failure: Has Globalization Weakened the State?
(6th November)

Required Readings:

Gianfranco Poggi, The State: Its Nature, Development and Prospects (Stanford University
Press, 1990), pp.19-33.

Robert H. Bates, When Things Fell Apart (Cambridge University Press, 2008), pp.3-29.

Optional Readings:

Francis Fukuyama, “The Imperatives of State-Building”, Journal of Democracy (15:2, April

2004), pp.17-31.

Peter Evans, “The Eclipse of the State? Reflections on Stateness in an Era of Globalization”,
World Politics (50:1, October 1997), pp.62-87.

Questions:

1. What is government, state and regime, respectively? Explain to your friends clearly
how are these concepts different from each other.

2. To what extent is the state an active political actor? Why should we bring the state
back into political analysis?

3. Some argue that the state as a political institution (and authority) will be
fundamentally weakened in the globalization era. Do you agree? Why or why not?

4. What are the consequences of a failed state? For developing countries, how to build a
strong state?

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 UNIT IV CIVIL SOCIETY, SOCIAL REVOLUTION
AND INDENTITY POLITICS

Week 11: Civil Society: Making Democracy Work…or Fail?

(13th November)

Required Reading:

Robert D. Putnam, Making Democracy Work (Princeton University Press, 1993), pp.3-16 &
163-185.

Optional Reading:

Sheri Berman, “Civil Society and the Collapse of the Weimar Republic”, World Politics (49:
9, April 1997), pp.401-439.

Questions:

1. What’s civil society? What is social capital? According to Putnam, why are they
important for a democratic society to “work”?

2. What are the main arguments made by Sheri Berman? How are they different from
what you have read in Putnam’s arguments? How might contemporary civil societies
be prevented from subverting instead of reinforcing democratic orders?

3. How do you perceive the role of civil society (or civic organizations) in the politics of
Hong Kong?

Week 10: Understanding Social Revolution: Why People Rebel and So What?
(20th November)

Required Readings:

Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, “The Communist Manifesto,” in Robert C. Tucker
eds., The Marx-Engels Reader (Second Edition, W.W.Norton & Company, 1978), pp.
469-500.

Elizabeth J. Perry, “Reclaiming the Chinese Revolution”, Journal of Asian Studies, (67:4,
November 2008), pp.1147-1164.

Questions:

1. What is revolution? In your opinion, what countries in the world will be most
vulnerable to revolutions in the coming years? Why?

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 2. Why people rebel? Give as many reasons as you can but make sure you are thinking
about “reasons” in a general sense (i.e. excluding specific reasons for a certain social
protest in a certain place).

3. Is revolution the tool for state destruction or vehicle for state building? Use examples
to explain.

Week 11: Who Are We: The Politics of Identity

(27th November)

Required Reading:

Susanne H. Rudolph and Lloyd I Rudolph, “Modern Hate”, The New Republic (208:12,
March 22, 1993), pp.24-29.

Optional Readings:

Samuel P. Huntington, “The Hispanic Challenge”, Foreign Policy (141, March/April 2004),
pp.30-45.

“Commentary on ‘The Hispanic Challenge’”, Foreign Policy (142, May/June 2004), pp.4, 6,
8-13, 84-91.

Questions:

1. What is identity? Among the different explanations of the origins of social identity,
which one (primordialism, constructivism and instrumentalism) appears more
persuasive to you? Why? Use examples to explain.

2. Think of a country or city you know well (say, Hong Kong). To what extent is
identity politicized in that country or city? In what way had social identities
influenced the politics of that country or region or city?

3. To what extent do you think of strong ethnic identity (or any other kind of socio-
political identity of your choice) as a “cause” for social conflicts and violence? What
other factors are important? Use examples to explain.

***FINAL EXAM***

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 APPENDIX: Film Discussion Outline
A BBC/PBS Documentary: Please Vote For Me!

1. What was wrong with the democratic experiment in the Evergreen School?
a. How about the selection of candidates? For a real democracy, should the
political powerful be allowed to “select” candidates for the people? Why or
why not? In your opinion, how should candidates be selected?
b. How about the campaign?
i. Are the campaign rules adequate?
ii. If not, what problems emerged during the campaign?
iii. If you were the organizer of this election (the teacher), how would you
remedy these problems?
c. What strategies the candidates used to win the post of Class Monitor?
d. What were the forces at work during the campaign? How did each of these
forces play its role in this democratic experiment?
e. Why was Luo Lei able to buy out most of the votes and win the post despite of
his unsatisfactory performance during the campaign?

2. Was it a successful democratic experiment? Why or why not?

a. Is the election fair?
b. Overall, is this “democratic” experiment really “democratic”?

3. In a general sense, what are the challenges a new democracy has to face? What
did this movie tell you?
a. Historical legacies?
b. Intervention of existing powers?
c. The lack of the rules of game?
d. The inexperienced constituencies (e.g. Candidates can easily buy out votes.)
e. More…

4. How to best overcome these challenges?

a. The right legal framework (rules of game)
b. The enforcement of laws
c. The necessary training of the people (informed citizens)
d. And society-wide belief in democratic values (to fight against historical
legacies).
e. More…

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Grade/ A+, A, A-
Competency
Use of vocabulary and Student accurately and creatively uses
concepts concepts and key course vocabulary
throughout the assignment,
demonstrating a sophisticated
understanding of each.
Deployment of theories Student deploys theoretical arguments
and argumentation well using their own voice and
substantive arguments in a
sophisticated way.
Creativity Students choice of topic, sources,
assignment completion modality,
arguments, and solutions show
sophistication and critical thinking at a
high level.
Persuasiveness Student makes an argument using
appropriate language and rhetorical
style necessary to persuade the reader
to accept or accommodate their
viewpoint.
Use of fact and empirical Student brings factual evidence to
evidence bear upon the arguments and supports
factual claims with adequate support
from reputable sources.
Grammar and spelling Student’s writing is grammatically
correct and there are no spelling
errors.
Mechanics and style Students writing is fluid, fluent, and in
an appropriate style for the task.
Citations Student accurately and completely
cites all sources, whether factual,
argumentative, or theoretical claims
according to the appropriate citation
scheme.
Sources Student’s choice of sources
demonstrate sophisticated use of
research resources. Sources are from
reputable, academic sources.
Appendix: Course Grading Rubric
B+, B, B-
Student accurately uses concepts
and key course vocabulary
throughout the assignment, but
does not demonstrate creativity in
use or fluency.
Student deploys theoretical
arguments well although voice,
style and substantive critiques are
similar to the source..
Students choice of topic, sources,
assignment completion modality,
arguments, and solutions show
critical thinking skills.
Student makes an argument using
appropriate language and rhetorical
style necessary to complete the
assignment.
Student brings factual evidence to
bear upon some arguments and
supports factual claims with
support from limited or
questionable sources.
Students writing is grammatically
correct in most instances and there
are few spelling errors.
Student’s writing is fluent but
stilted and/ or is an odd style for the
task.
Student accurately cites all sources,
whether factual, argumentative, or
theoretical claims but does not
provide complete citations or uses
an inappropriate citation scheme.
Student’s choice of sources indicate
a notable level of use of research
resources. Sources are from
reputable, academic sources.
C+, C, C-
Student uses concepts and key
vocabulary from the course, but in a
manner that does not demonstrate
understanding or proficiency; use of
concepts and vocabulary is
perfunctory.
Student deploys theoretical
vocabulary in a way commensurate
with rules for argumentation, but
does not show creativity or
sophistication in substance or style.
Student’s choice of topic, sources,
assignment completion modality,
arguments, and solutions are average
and “modal”.
Student makes an argument using
either inappropriate language and/or
rhetorical style. Ranting or
editorializing.
Student brings some facts into their
arguments but fails to provide
support consistently for factual
claims and uses trite or prohibited
sources as support (e.g., Wikipedia).
Students writing is grammatically
correct in many instances but
spelling errors are found throughout
the document, consonant with ESL
students.
Student’s writing is halting and
imbalanced and may be
inappropriate for the task.
Student cites most expected sources,
but does not provide accurate or
complete citations.
Student’s choice of sources show
minimal use of research resources.
Sources are from a mix of academic
and non-academic sources, some of
questionable provenance.
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D+, D, D-
Student rehearses concepts or key
course vocabulary but not in a way
suggesting understanding at a
university level.
Student rehearses theories and bits of
argumentation from others and not in a
way suggesting understanding at a
university level.
Student shows no more creativity than
what is required to complete the task.
Student rants or editorializes
considerably, but stays largely on
message..
Student’s factual claims are
questionable or unsupported. Student
rehearses facts from unacceptable
sources (e.g., Yahoo answers).
Grammatical infelicities and spelling
errors appear frequently in the
document, but these are errors common
to ESL students.
Student’s writing is only marginally
acceptable for university level courses.
Student’s citations are incomplete and
inconsistent throughout the paper.
Students include only minimal outside
sources from sophomoric or prohibited
sources (e.g., Encyclopedia Britannica
online).
F
Student fails to use concepts or key
vocabulary correctly or at all.
Student fails to attempt
argumentation or use of theoretical
tools from the course.
Student misunderstands creativity
or fails to complete the assigned
task.
Student rants incoherently.
Factual claims, if any are incorrect,
ill supported, or incoherent within
the argument.
Grammar and spelling are
unacceptable for university level
writing for any student.
Student’s writing needs significant
remediation by outside sources.
Student fails to cite at all.
Student fails to demonstrate
appropriate outside research.