Introductory description

In this module, students will first learn how to develop their own research project, focusing on one of the core issues of comparative politics, namely 'democracy' (term 1). Students will learn the essential elements of the research project, and how to apply them in practice, while investigating democracy. As a next step, students will apply their knowledge by developing and carrying out their own research while investigating one of the other core issues as discussed in the PO233 module (e.g. civil war, nationalism, political parties, electoral systems, populism and public opinion, democracy and political participation, poverty and corruption, political institutions in divided societies etc.). The research project needs to show methodological awareness and a justification of the case selection (e.g. case study or comparative study; countries, or regions, or parties etc). This module combines theoretical knowledge with the actual practice of doing research, thereby comparing countries (exploring the key differences and similarities) in order to find answers to some timely, relevant and urgent political questions. The module covers past and current developments in different political systems around the world. It takes a comparative approach; as a consequence,
the module does not only focus on European countries, BRICS countries, and the USA, but also on Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The module will cover the following topics:

• Week 1: Introduction to the Module
• Week 2: Conceptualising Democracy
• Week 3: Measuring Democracy
• Week 4: How to Compare Countries
• Week 5: How to Explain Democracy
• Week 6: Reading Week
• Week 7: Academic Research Projects in Comparative Politics (i)
• Week 8: Academic Research Projects in Comparative Politics (ii)
• Week 9: Your Research Projects in Comparative Politics
• Week 10: States and Nations, Identity and Nationalism
• Week 11: Civil War
• Week 12: Poverty and Corruption
• Week 13: Political Institutions in Divided Societies
• Week 14: Political Institutions: Executive Power and Legislatures
• Week 15: Political Institutions: Electoral Systems
• Week 16: Reading Week
• Week 17: Political Institutions: Political Parties and Party Systems
• Week 18: Public Opinion and Survey Studies
• Week 19: Dissemination of Findings (part 1)

Political Participation: challenges of socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, gender inequalities (part 2)

New Directions of Comparative Politics & Essay Writing (part 2)

• Week 21: Revision of Material & Exam Preparation

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• At the end of the module a student should be able to:· Understand the core concepts, theories and methodologies in comparative politics
• Describe national political systems and their essential elements
• Make critical evaluations of differences between national political systems
• Critically apply the theoretical literature to practical examples
• Gather, organise and deploy evidence, data and information from a variety of secondary and some primary sources
• Identify, investigate, analyse, formulate and advocate solutions to relevant problems
• Evaluate research material in a critical way
• Develop and present his or her own research projects within the discipline of comparative politics
• Written and oral presentations of knowledge, critique and analyses
• Disseminate the research findings in at least one of the following ways: 1) Present the findings of research project in the setting of an academic conference 2) Make a short film related to ‘democracy’, which is a core concept in the discipline of comparative politics 3) Write a research essay
• Develop and present own final research projects within the discipline of comparative politics

Indicative reading list

• Caramani, Daniele (2020). Introduction to Comparative Politics, Oxford: Oxford University Press

• Chabal, Patrick (2005). “Area Studies and Comparative Politics: Africa in Context.” Africa Spectrum 40, no. 3 : 471–84.
• Croissant, P and A. Lorenz (2018). Comparative Politics of Southeast Asia, Springer
• Doorenspleet, R, (2018), Rethinking the Value of Democracy; a comparative perspective, London: Palgrave MacMillan
• Hague and Harrop and McCormick (2016). Comparative Government and Politics, An Introduction, London: Palgrave
• Haggard, S., & Kaufman, R. (2021). Backsliding: Democratic Regress in the Contemporary World (Elements in Political Economy). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
• Hellinger, DC (2021), Comparative Politics of Latin America Democracy at Last?, Routledge
• Lijphart, Arend (2012). Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in 36 Countries, New Haven: Yale University Press
• Norris, Pippa and Ronald Inglehart (2019). Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism Paperback. Oxford University Press

• Treisman (2000). The causes of corruption: A cross-national study. Journal of Public Economics 76 (3):399-457
• Walliman, N. (2011). Your Research Project. London: Sage

Research element

Assessments (both formative and summative) are done in form of a research project.

Interdisciplinary

No

International

The module covers past and current developments in different political systems around the world. It takes a comparative approach; as a consequence, the module does not only focus on European countries, BRICS countries, and the USA, but also on Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Moreover, the module does not just pay attention to 'Western' scholars, but also includes the work of scholars from other parts of the world.

Subject specific skills

• knowledge and understanding of: the theoretical and conceptual foundations of comparative approaches to political science;
• knowledge and understanding of: empirical material in a number of relevant areas of comparative political research, while describing national political systems and their essential elements;
• analyses of: current political developments in different countries around the world;
• analyses and applications: with the aim to think like comparativists, and –eventually- to get students to DO research in comparative politics, gaining practical, empirical and methodological skills;
• analyses and applications: by combining theory and practice, and integrating big themes and country case studies.
• critique: make critical evaluations of differences between national political systems
• critique: critically apply the theoretical literature to practical examples

Transferable skills

• The ability to conduct independent, comparative research
• Gather, organise and deploy evidence, data and information from a variety of secondary and some primary
  sources
• Identify, investigate, analyse, formulate and advocate solutions to relevant problems
• Evaluate research material in a critical way
• Develop and present his or her own research projects
• The transferable skills necessary for employment related to Politics and International Studies: independent study, research and writing, interpretation of sources, detailed critical analyses, application and problem solving, group work, oral and written presentations, developing of own personal perspectives.
• The transferable skills necessary for own personal development: reflection on own progress and responsibility for own learning, organization of own work, time management and meeting deadlines, independent & group work,
• Written and oral presentations of knowledge, critique and analyses
• Skills in communication of ideas, problems and solutions in different ways to different audiences. Disseminating the findings in at least one of the following ways: 1) Present the findings of research
  project in the setting of an academic conference 2) Make a short film related to ‘democracy’, which is a core
  concept in the discipline of comparative politics 3) Write a research essay