Core Issues in Comparative Politics

(PO233)

Module Director: Dr. Renske Doorenspleet

Associate Professor in Comparative Politics
director Centre for Studies in Democratization
Department of Politics and International Studies
University of Warwick, UK
www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/staff/doorenspleet/
www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/research/csd/
e-mail: renske.doorenspleet@warwick.ac.uk
 Basic Information
Email: renske.doorenspleet@warwick.ac.uk
Office: B0.14
Tel.: Ext. 22169
Office Hours: Tuesdays 3-4 PM and Wednesdays 2-3 PM
 Content Lecture week 1
A. Module Outline PO233

B. What is Comparative Politics?

C. Approaches in Comparative Politics

D. Contents of seminar week 2

E. Information lecture/seminar week 2

 Ad A. Module Outline PO233

MODULE DESCRIPTION

MODULE AIMS

TEACHING AND LEARNING METHODS

SEMINAR MEETINGS and PREPARATORY READING

 Ad A. Module Outline PO233
MODULE OUTLINE
Term 1
What is comparative politics? How to compare countries? What is regime
change? How to explain regime change? Waves of democratization
Reading week
Ethnic identity and nationalism/ Civil war/ Political and civic culture/
Revolutions
Term 2
Building institutions in divided societies/ Political institutions (parties and
party systems/ electoral systems/ legislatures and executives)/ Political
participation in comparative perspective
Reading week
Public opinion and survey studies/ Good governance in comparative
perspective/ New directions/ Comparative politics in practice
Term 3
Revision Lectures
 Ad A. Module Outline PO233

- FORMATIVE ESSAYS
- LECTURE AND SEMINAR ATTENDANCE
- MODULE ASSESSMENT DETAILS (distribute note on
assessment!)

There are two methods of assessment for this module:

1. 100% examination (4 questions over 3 hours)
OR
2. 50% examination (2 questions over 1.5 hours) and 50% for
assessment essay (5,000 words)
 Ad A. Module Outline PO233

REQUIRED BOOKS

• Caramani, Daniele (2008). Introduction to Comparative

Politics, Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Hague, R. and M. Harrop (2007). Comparative Government
and Politics, An Introduction, London: Palgrave
• Landman, T. (2008). Issues and Methods in Comparative
Politics, (3rd ed), London: Routledge
• Cd-rom with articles and book chapters
• See module outline for full list with required and
recommended literature per week
 Ad A. Module Outline PO233

OTHER MATERIAL

Journal articles in:

Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social
Science [Available electronically as The Annals], American
Political Science Review, British Journal of Political
Science, British Journal of Politics and International
Relations, Comparative Politics, Comparative Political
Studies, Democratization, Electoral Studies, Foreign
Affairs, International Political Science Review, Journal of
Democracy, Political Studies, World Politics
 Ad A. Module Outline PO233
So…
WEEK 1:
Tuesday:
- Lecture week 1 (introduction & overview/ discussion required literature week 1)
- No seminar
Rest of week:
- Read the required literature (see module outline week 1)
- Prepare seminar for week 2 (see module outline week 1 & homework during
lecture week 1)

WEEK 2:
- Lecture week 2 (introduction & overview/ discussion required literature week
2)
- Seminar week 2 (see module outline week 1 & homework during lecture week
1)
Rest of week:
- Read required literature (see module outline of week 2)
- Prepare seminar for week 3 (see module outline week 2 & homework during
lecture week 2)
ETC. ETC. ETC. ETC. ETC. ETC. …
Ad B. What is Comparative Politics?
Ad b. See Caramani (2008)

What is politics?
- Father = breadwinner = capitalism
- Mother = administrator = government
- You (little boy) = people
- Nanny = working class
-Baby brother = future

Politics is..
.. the human activity of making public and authoritative decisions.
.. the activity of acquiring the power of making such decisions.
.. the conflict or competition for power and its use.
Ad B. What is Comparative Politics?
But there is little consensus on scope and boundaries.

Definition Harold Laswell (1936):

Politics is Who Gets What, When, How

Definition Miller (1991):

Politics is the activity by which groups reach binding collective
decisions through attempting to reconcile differences among their
members
Ad B. What is Comparative Politics?

Political science deals with the following questions:

Who makes political decisions?

Which decisions are made?
How are decisions made?
Ad B. What is Comparative Politics?

The three subfields of political science:

Political Science

International
Political Theory Comparative Politics
Relations

• deals with normative • deals with empirical • deals with

and theoretical questions questions and interactions between
political systems
interactions within
political systems
Ad B. What is Comparative Politics?
three different traditions (see van Biezen and Caramani 2006):

(1) Study of single countries

(2) Methodological tradition

(3) Analytical tradition

Ad B. What is Comparative Politics?
What does CP do in practice?

1) Description
2) Explanation
3) Prediction
Ad B. What is Comparative Politics?
What is compared?

-National political systems

-Sub-national regional political systems
-Supra-national units
-Single elements or components of the political system
Ad B. What is Comparative Politics?

What is compared?

-Political systems
-Regimes
-institutions
-Actors
-Processes
-Policies
Ad B. What is Comparative Politics?
Traditional CP versus “behavioural revolution“

What triggered this revolution?

The emergence of new cases:

-Breakdown of democracies and rise of new types of
regimes
-Stable democracies which were not of the Anglo-Saxon
type
Ad B. What is Comparative Politics?
consequences of the behavioural revolution for CP:

- Increase in the variety of political systems

- Study of non formal institutions
-New methodology
-new "language“
Ad C. Approaches in Comparative Politics

The five "I"s = the five main approaches in CP (see Peters 2008)

(1) Institutions

(2) Interests

(3) Ideas

(4) Individuals

(5) International environment

Ad C. Approaches in Comparative Politics

But weaknesses of five "I"s (see Peters 2008):

- The sixth "I": Interaction

- Too static approach
Ad D. Contents of seminar week 1
Analysis of journals in comparative politics
What are the most important journals in comparative
politics? See also module document! Analyze the most
recent number of a journal in comparative politics, and
answer the following questions:
What are the topics of the articles?
Are the articles mainly empirical or normative in nature?
Which countries are central in the articles?
(read for more details: handout ‘seminar homework week 2’)
Ad E. Information lecture/seminar week 2

Rest of week:

Read the required literature (see module outline week 1)

Prepare seminar for week 2 (analysis of journals, see

previous slide)