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GRADUATE COURSESStates, Nations, Democracies (Spring 2009)
This course surveys major topics and theoretical contributions in the construction of political order, the choice of constitutional regimes and the sources of citizens’ compliance. The courses examines: the formation and development of the modern state; democracy; authoritarianism; revolution and political stability; legitimacy and compliance; nationalism; and macro theories of political change. With the explicit goal of exploring how research in comparative politics should be pursued in the future, each session assigns readings from both traditional macrohistorical and qualitative research and more recent analytical models.
Comparative Political Economy (Spring 2008)
This course is designed to survey and discuss the political and institutional factors underlying cross-national variation in economic performance. The course is structured around the following issues or questions: (1) why do countries differ so much in their level of economic development?; and (2) what determines different levels of income distribution? The scope of the course is analytical in its theoretical perspective and comparative from a methodological point of view.
Introduction to Comparative Politics (Graduate Course) (Fall 2007)
This course surveys major topics and theoretical contributions in the field of comparative politics. The courses examines: the formation and development of the modern state; democracy; authoritarianism; revolution and political stability; nationalism; voters and parties, constitutional arrangements and their effects and macro theories of political change. With the explicit goal of exploring how research in comparative politics should be pursued in the future, each session assigns readings from both traditional macrohistorical and qualitative research and more recent analytical models.
European Political Development (Graduate Course) (Winter 2003)
This course surveys some of the existing major empirical debates and theoretical contributions on the formation and evolution of European political institutions. It addresses the following issues: the rise of the modern state; the formation of nations and contemporary nationalism; the emergence of democracies; the crisis of the interwar period; the creation of mass parties and union movements at the turn of the 20th century and their evolution in the postwar decades; and the origins and constitutional development of the European Union. The course has the goal of reading central historical research to formulate broad comparative theoretical insights about the topics at hand. Enrolment is limited to 15 students. Doctoral students will be
given priority.UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
Democracy (Spring 2008)
This course introduces students to the following topics, among others: theoretical conceptions of democracy, the formation of the state, democratic transitions and democratic consolidation, electoral representation and political accountability, the relationship between democracy and redistribution, welfare and democracy, and colonialism/globalism and democracy. Here is a sample of the questions we will examine in the course: Why are there states? Under what conditions do countries become democratic? What is the role of civil society in democratic performance? What are the politics of democratic governance? What is the relation of liberalism to democracy?
In the first part of the course we will study the development of early modern theories of the state. We will begin with Hobbes, the first of the modern theorists, and move on to Locke, the primary liberal theorist. We will then examine the radically skeptical views of Jean Jacques Rousseau, who challenged what had become Lockeian orthodoxy, before taking a look at the conservative approach of Edmund Burke and the radical challenge of Karl Marx. This will set the stage for the study of contemporary problems of democracy.
In the second part of the course we turn our attention to explore the twin problems of economic development and political liberalization. Why do countries differ in their level of economic development? Why is democracy absent in a broad sway of the world? Does democracy matter? Can democratic governments shape the economy according to their political preferences or electoral commitments? Or are they constrained by any 'exogenous' forces?
Comparative Political Economy (Undergraduate Course) (Spring 2004)
What part does the state play in the economy? Why do different countries choose different economic strategies? Do these different economic policies affect the economy successfully? Can governments shape the economy according to their political preferences? Or are they constrained by any 'exogenous' forces? Finally, can they pursue economic policies which, satisfactory enough to their electorates, ensure their reelection?
This course attempts to address these questions. The first part of the course explores why economic development has been elusive in most of the globe. After showing the limitations of purely economic models of growth, it considers how political institutions, political regimes, societal interests, the distribution of assets and the inheritance of colonialism shape growth rates. The second part of the courses examines why and how the share of the state in the economy has risen steadily in the developed world. This parts pays special attention to differences in the internal structure of public spending between the United States and Europe and considers the consequences of the growth of the welfare state. The third part looks at the role which political parties and the structure of labor markets may have on economic policy-making and on the cyclical evolution of unemployment and inflation. The course closes with an overview of the impact of globalization on the domestic economy.
Government and Politics of Western Europe (Undergraduate Course) (Last time taught: Winter 1999)
An introduction to the comparative politics of Western European democracies. Its goal is to explore the structure of Western European party systems, the factors that explain voting patterns among European electorates, and the institutional framework (the electoral system, the role of parliament and
executives, the formation of governments) of European democracies and the possible role of ‘civic culture’ in explaining successful democratic governance.Although the course pays special attention to the particular traits of several countries (Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and the Scandinavian countries), it is explicitly designed to determine the set of systematic relationships that may exist between certain political and socioeconomic variables. Examples of these
relationship are the following: Do electoral systems affect the number of parties in parliament? Do working- class voters vote for socialists parties? Does the number of parties in Parliament determine the stability of governments and the economic performance of European countries? The whole sample of European nations is then used to answer these questions and to check the plausibility of the theoretical relationships developed in the literature (some pointed references to the US system will be made).