ASPO 25A11 - Comparative Politics

What is Comparative Politics? How do we analyse politics comparatively? How can we make sense of the variation in the ways that political institutions and political authority are organised in contemporary societies? What are the effects of these multiple and different ways of organising politics? How do the main actors, institutions and processes that structure politics change across social and cultural settings? Finally, how does a comparative approach help us understand the contemporary world of politics? This course builds on the key concepts, theories and approaches introduced in the first-year course Introduction to Political Science by providing a more in-depth examination of the key elements that structure contemporary politics. It will focus, primarily, on established (mainly western) democracies but will systematically introduce comparative elements with political systems in all regions of the world (Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East) to provide students with a wider and global perspective of politics and of political analysis. The course will allow students to acquire the analytical tools to understand and examine politics comparatively and to reflect about it in a sophisticated manner. It will do so by providing students with an overview of the epistemological and methodological issues that are central to the definition of Comparative Politics, as well as of the various approaches that shape our understanding of this field of study within Political Science. The course will stimulate the development of a sophisticated understanding of politics by focusing on several key overaching themes in the study of Comparative Politics, as well as on a comprehensive overview of contemporary comparative analyses of political institutions, actors and processes. The 48 hours of lectures and seminars that form this core course in the Major in Politics and Government have been designed to offer students a coherent approach in their learning by combining and complementing the lecture materials with the readings and practical cases that will be discussed in the seminar sessions. Both components (lectures and seminars) are an integral part of the course, and experience indicates that only students that attend both the lectures and the seminars are likely to achieve good grades in the course. This entails actively engaging with the lectures and seminars, as well as carefully preparing the readings assigned for both the lectures and the seminars.

Laura MORALES,Paulus WAGNER,Meredith WINN,Luca AUGÉ

Cours magistral et conférences

English

At the end of the course, the student is expected to: 1) Master the key concepts and analytical tools that are common in the study of Comparative Politics; 2) Be well acquainted with the multiple theoretical and analytical approaches that shape Comparative Politics as a field within Political Science; 3) Be able to engage with a set of core readings and references in Comparative Politics; 4) Demostrate a solid knowledge of and familiarity with the political systems of a range of key countries across the globe, and the ability to compare them; 5) Possess the analytical skills to examine political institutions, actors and processes across different contexts in a sophisticated and critical manner, employing scientific approaches to the understanding of politics; and 6) Be able to synthesize arguments and evidence while using a range of sources of data and information; Students will be able to develop these skills and abilities through a multiplicity of learning tools and formats that will include the lecture presentations and discussions, office hours and engagement with the course director, undertaking readings, giving oral presentations, engaging in critical debate around the readings, preparing discussions and assignments around practical cases, and writing a research paper.

It is essential to have successfully completed an introductory course in political science before registering for this course. The professor will assume that everybody has taken such a course.

Autumn 2021-2022

To validate the course, the student is expected to pass the following assignments: 1) Continuous assessment: 67% (2/3) of the mark, which breaks down as follows, • Oral presentations of the compulsory readings during seminars: one presentation per student throughout the 12 weeks of 15 minutes each maximum: 15% of the mark. • Intermediate presentations of the progress with the research paper during the seminars: 15% of the mark. • Active participation in seminars during the discussions of readings and practical cases: 4% of the mark • A written research paper, on a topic of comparative politics selected by each student, of approximately 30,000 characters (approx. 15 pages, double-spaced, TNR 12) and written in English to be delivered before 11 pm on Friday 27th November 2020 through Urkund: 33% of the mark.