Political Science 11                                            Summer Session II, 2020

Lecture T Th 2:00 - 4:50 PST on Zoom                                                                                    R 147

Professor Kaare W. Strøm                                                   Teaching Assistant: Mariana Carvalho

Office Hours: Tue 12:00 – 1:00 and by app't                Office Hours: W 4:00 - 5:00 and by app’t

E-mail: kstrom@ucsd.edu                                                                       Email: macarval@ucsd.edu

4 Academic Units

 

 

INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE: 

COMPARATIVE POLITICS

 

Course Description

Comparative Politics is a field of Political Science that includes the study of politics in other countries as well as cross-national comparisons of political institutions, policies, and behavior. This is an introductory Comparative Politics course and has no prerequisites.  We will examine issues of democracy and political development globally by focusing on three distinctive and important countries: The United Kingdom (Great Britain), Russia, and Nigeria. The readings and lectures will in large part focus on these countries and examine their societies and political history, the behavior of citizens and groups, the impact of political institutions, and public policy challenges.

 

Course Format and Learning Objectives

The course has two major objectives: (1) to help you think about politics in systematic and comparative ways, and (2) to give you knowledge and understanding of contemporary politics in three particular countries. Thus, after completing this class, you should be able to discuss and explain the political challenges that face contemporary societies and the ways they organize politically in view of these challenges.  Also, you should be able not only to understand what characterizes the three countries we will study in depth, but also the similarities and differences between them.  The course will be offered remotely and synchronously. It will be supported by a Canvas electronic course account, where recorded Zoom classes, lecture files, and assignments will be uploaded. The syllabus includes a list of study questions for each of four class modules. These questions are designed to help guide your studies, and we will plan to discuss some of them in class, as time permits. 

 

Course Assignments

Written course assignments include a midterm and a comprehensive (cumulative) final examination. There will also be a self-administered and ungraded quiz given during the second week of teaching.  On tests, you will be responsible for all lecture and reading materials. The midterm and final exam will both give you a 48-hour window in which to complete them. You will also be expected to make two contributions to the course discussion board per week.  One of these should be a comment or question pertaining to the week’s readings, whereas the other should address one of the listed study questions for that week (though of course it need not give a full or definitive answer).  There will be no make-up midterm. Incompletes or special exams will be given only for emergencies or recognized disability in accordance with UC San Diego policy. Petitions for any special accommodation must be timely and properly documented. Students requesting accommodations due to a disability must do so well before any assignment by providing a current Authorization for Accommodation (AFA) letter issued by the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD), which is located in University Center 202 behind Center Hall. Their contact information: Phone: 858.534.4382; E-mail: osd@ucsd.edu; Website: https://disabilities.ucsd.edu/

 

Grading

All assignments will be graded on a 100-point scale, where A = 90-100; B = 80-89.9; C = 70-79.9, D = 60-69.9, and F = 59.9 or below.  Course grades will be based as follows: midterm 40%, final 50%, and participation 10%. You will need to complete and pass both written assignments to pass the course. Participation grades will be based mainly on your discussion board contributions but you are also encouraged to make use of office hours and to contact and engage the teaching team or other students in other ways. Note that in most cases your participation grade can change your course grade by at most one-third of a grade (e.g., from a B+ to an A-, or vice versa). If you do not get a passing participation grade, however, the downward impact on your course grade could be larger.

 

Teaching Team

Kaare W. Strøm will be the principal instructor.  Born and raised in the Norwegian town of Arendal (now familiar to many, in slightly twisted form, thanks to Disney), he attended St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN) as an international student and then earned his MA and PhD from Stanford University. He teaches Comparative and European Politics at UC San Diego and has published a number of books and articles on Parliamentary Democracy, Political Parties, Powersharing, and European Politics. He was Study Center Director for the UC EAP programs in Lund and Copenhagen 2002-04 and taught in the Joint UC–Lund University Joint Summer School on Critical World Issues between 2004 and 2008. He has taught a UC San Diego Global Seminar in Copenhagen in 2012 and one in Dublin in 2016. His email is: kstrom@ucsd.edu. He will hold office hours on Zoom Tuesdays 12–1pm PST and by appointment. 

 

Mariana Carvalho Barbosa will be the course Teaching Assistant.  She is entering her 6th year as a PhD student in the Department of Political Science at UC San Diego.  Mariana was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and her intellectual interests are in Political Economy and Political Violence. She has previously studied at Fundação Getulio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro, where she earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy. Mariana’s email is: macarval@ucsd.edu.  She will hold office hours on Zoom Wednesdays 4-5pm PST and by appointment.       

 

In addition to the office hours posted here, there will also be an online discussion board, regularly monitored by the teaching team, to which you can submit questions at any time.    

 

Class Format and Conduct

Class sessions will take place synchronously every Tuesday and Thursday for the five-week session.  They will begin at 2:00pm PST and last up to 2 hours and 50 minutes.  We will normally take one break of about 20 minutes some time near the middle of the session.  There will be a set of Power Point slides for each class session, and these will normally be posted on Canvas before the beginning of that class.  You are strongly encouraged to remotely attend all the Zoom classes.  We also encourage you to turn your camera on during class (although for privacy reasons you are not required to do so), so that we can see your face, but please mute yourself unless you want to ask or answer a question or participate in a class discussion.  Be courteous to other students and try not to interrupt.  Do not eat, text, access social media, or listen to other devices during class. Use the “raise your hand” function in Zoom to ask questions or participate in discussions (or manually raise your hand so that we can see it). For help with Zoom for video conferencing, virtual office hours, and lectures:

https://blink.ucsd.edu/technology/file-sharing/zoom/

 

Academic Integrity

Fair and effective education requires academic integrity. UCSD rules concerning academic integrity can be found in the General Catalog. Note that plagiarism - submitting as your own work or without proper attribution something done wholly or in part by another person – is strictly prohibited. Plagiarism includes unauthorized collaboration on assignments as well as using unattributed sources (including work you may have done for other courses). Unless otherwise indicated, all assignments in this course will be individual, and no collaboration with any other person permitted. We will report any case of suspected academic dishonesty to the Academic Integrity Office.  If you are in doubt about the rules or have other questions about academic integrity, please contact the UC San Diego Office of Academic Integrity, access its website, or ask a member of the teaching staff.

 

Books and Materials

The following readings are required and have been ordered by the UCSD Bookstore, which is open for online book orders:

1. Bingham Powell, Jr., Kaare W. Strøm, Melanie Manion, and Russell J. Dalton, eds., Comparative Politics Today: A World View. 12^th edition. New York: Pearson, 2018 (hereafter: Powell).

Hans Rosling et al., Factfulness. New York: Flatiron Books, 2018 (hereafter: Rosling).

Roger Bootle, Making a Success of Brexit. London: Brealey, 2017.

Arkady Ostrovsky, The Invention of Russia. New York: Penguin, 2017.

Peter Cunliffe-Jones, My Nigeria: Five Decades of Independence. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.

 

Please avoid old editions (11^th edition or earlier) of Powell, which will be obsolete.  Note that the Powell book is available in electronic form only, provided by the UC San Diego Bookstore through Canvas. The other books have been ordered in print copy by the UCSD Bookstore, though you are of course free to purchase them elsewhere. For the Powell text, your student account will be charged a special reduced price unless you opt out. If you decide to opt out you must complete the process by August 8, 2020 and you will be responsible for sourcing the materials elsewhere. To opt out:
- Click the RedShelf link in Canvas
- Click View Course Materials
- Scroll down to the gray opt-out button and follow the prompts
You will have until August 8, 2020 to complete this process and you will be responsible for getting access to the materials elsewhere. For any questions about billing please contact textbooks@ucsd.edu. For any questions about using your eBook please reference RedShelf Solve.

 

We have also requested that course readings be placed on Library e-reserves whenever possible. Please note, however, that because of copying restrictions and the lack of electronic editions, not all required readings will be available on e-reserves.  For Library help concerning course reserves, connecting from off-campus, and research support: https://library.ucsd.edu/ask-us/triton-ed.html.

 

Calendar

Tentatively, the midterm has been scheduled for August 20.  There will be a self-administered and ungraded quiz on August 11.  The final exam will be given between 3:00 and 5:59pm on Saturday, September 5.  All dates and assignments are subject to change.

 

 

 

COURSE OUTLINE

 

August 4 - 11:                        THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF POLITICS

 

Readings:       Powell, chaps. 1-6; Rosling, Intro and chaps. 1-4.

Study Questions:

1. Should nations ever be prevented from forming states, and if so, when and how?
2. How can we best safeguard democracy?
3. What drives the gap and negativity instincts?
4. Is there a better way to choose rulers?

 

Class Schedule:

August 4:        Comparative Politics: What and Why? States, Nations, and Governments (Powell, chaps. 1-2; Rosling, Intro and chap. 1)

August 6:        Rules of Politics; Public Policy and How It Is Made (Powell, chaps. 5-6)

August 11:      Making a Difference? Citizens, Parties & Interest Groups (Powell, chaps. 3-4; Rosling, chaps. 2-4); Ungraded QUIZ

 

August 13 - 20:                      THE UNITED KINGDOM

Readings:       Powell, chap. 7 (Rose).

Bootle, chaps. 1-3, 7-8.

Study Questions:

5. Why are the British so politically old-fashioned?
6. Does the United Kingdom still have political lessons or practices to export?
7. Why Brexit?
8. Has the politics of class been replaced?

Class Schedule:

August 13:      A United and Disunited Kingdom (Powell, pp. 132-42; Bootle, chap. 1)

August 18:      Westminster’s World: Winner Takes All (Powell, pp. 142-61; Bootle, chap. 2)

August 20:      Class, Nation, and Beyond: Thatcher to Johnson (Powell, pp. 161-72; Bootle, chaps. 3, 7-8); MIDTERM EXAM

 

August 25 - 27:                      RUSSIA

Readings:       Powell, chap. 11 (Remington).

Ostrovsky, pp. 1-119, 141-64, 174-204, 263-80, and 304-31.

Study Questions:

9. Is Lenin’s legacy still with us?
10. Why was Russian privatization so difficult?
11. How has Putin been able to win so many elections?
12. How much of a civil society does Russia have?

Class Schedule:

August 25:      Soviet Communism and Its Demise (Powell, pp. 298-304; Ostrovsky, pp. 1-119)

August 27:      Yeltsin to Putin: A New Russia? (Powell, pp. 304-39; Ostrovsky, pp.141-64, 174-204, 263-80, and 304-31)

 

September 1 - 3:                   NIGERIA

Readings:       Powell, ch. 17 (LeVan and Baba).

Cunliffe-Jones, Prologue and chaps. 1-14.

Review Rosling, chaps. 1 and 3.

Study Questions:

13. How has its colonial history shaped Nigeria?
14. Has oil been Nigeria’s curse, or is ethnic strife the bigger problem?
15. What made the 1990s such a decisive decade for Nigeria?
16. Is there a way to clean up Nigeria’s corruption?

Class Schedule:

September 1:   Nigeria: A Troubled Giant (Powell, pp. 554-73; Cunliffe-Jones, Prologue, chaps. 1, 3-7, 10, 12; Rosling, review chaps. 1 and 3)

September 3:   A Fragile Democracy (Powell, pp. 573-97; Cunliffe-Jones, chaps. 2, 8-9, 11, 13-14)

 

September 5:                                    FINAL EXAMINATION (between 3:00 and 5:59pm)