POS 350

Comparative Politics

Schedule Line # 51125

Spring 2005

Meets: MWF 11:40- 12:30 in SS 226

Professor Kittilson

Email address: Miki.Kittilson@asu.edu

Office: Coor Hall 6776 Phone: 727-8379

Office Hours: Monday 9-11 and by appointment

What are some different ways citizens around the world participate in politics? How do political structures impact economic performance and democratic stability? How is the Internet being utilized in the democratic process around the world?

These are a few of the fundamental questions we will address this session. In this course we will explore different approaches to some of the most important questions facing the study of comparative politics. Specifically, we will focus on the changing nature of citizens and their relationship with the democratic process, and how the structure of contemporary domestic political institutions influences the functions they perform.

Course Requirements:

Both completing the assigned readings and regularly attending class are essential to doing well in this course. Lectures will not cover the readings systematically but serve to add background, an alternative perspective, and to raise further questions.

The required books can be found at the ASU bookstore. Most of the readings are drawn from the following sources:

Dalton, Russell J. 2002. Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies. NY: Chatham House, 3^rd Edition.

Lijphart, Arend. 1999. Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Norris, Pippa. 2001. Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide. Cambridge University Press.

There will be three exams, including the final. Exams may consist of multiple choice and essay. In addition, there will be 5 one-page assignments which require you to browse particular websites in order to answer some questions related to the course concepts. The goal of the assignments is to help you apply the course concepts and theories to real world events. Assignments are due IN CLASS- no email attachments. There are 5 opportunities to complete assignments—You must complete 4. You can skip one assignment. Assignments will be graded on the basis of zero to 100 points, with 90 to 100 points constituting an A, etc. To earn an ‘A’ you must closely follow the directions, and put thought into your response.

The requirements of the course and the weighting of grades follows:

¼ Exam #1

¼ Exam #2

¼ Exam #3

¼ Assignments (average grade for 4 assignments)

Grading is based on: 100-90=A; 89-80=B; 79-70=C; 69-60=D; 59 and below=E.

**Make-up exams and late assignments will be accepted only in the case of an emergency with written documentation. In the interest of fairness, there will be absolutely NO exceptions to this rule. No early final exams will be given. Incompletes (I) will be given ONLY in an emergency with written documentation. Should you encounter a situation that leaves you behind in class, you must see the instructor in a timely fashion.

Please note that after the unrestricted withdrawal deadline, any study dropping the course needs the instructor’s permission. University rules state that if a student is not passing the course at that point, the instructor must assign a grade of “E”.

Students are expected to help maintain a positive learning environment in our classroom. Lets make sure all students have the opportunity to focus on the material. In classroom discussions please remain courteous respectful toward your fellow students. I will always treat your questions and concerns with respect. Feel free to ask questions during office hours, set an appointment, or send a message via email.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. When in doubt, cite your source. All students are expected to adhere to ASU’s policies on academic honesty. The academic honesty policy of the university is available online at: http://www.asu.edu/clas/fhd/fhdacademichonesty.htm.

Proposed Schedule for week of: (note:subject to change)

January 19

Read Citizen Politics, Chapters 1-2

January 24

Read: Citizen Politics, Chapters 3-4

**Assignment #1: DUE Friday January 28 in class.**

Visit the website of Freedom House (www.freedomhouse.org). On the left-hand side of the homepage, click on “Country Ratings”. On this next page, on the right-hand side click on “2003 Methodology”. Read carefully about how the ratings are constructed, and what they mean. Go back to the country ratings page and click on “2003 Tables and Charts”. Next click on “Table of Independent Countries”. From the table, locate the ratings for the US, Mexico, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and China. Compare and contrast the ratings for each country. For example, what does a rating of “5” mean? Finally, analyze the Freedom House system. Does the reasoning behind their rating convince you? If not, what do they need to take into considerations? Turn in a one-page maximum type-written response to these questions. Remember, to earn an A on these assignments, simply follow the directions and put some thought into your response. By checking your grammar and spelling, your thoughts will be communicated more effectively.

January 31

Read: Citizen Politics, Chapters 7-9

**Assignment #2: DUE FRIDAY FEBRUARY 4 in class.**

First, browse the Canadian New Democratic Party (www.ndp.ca) and the Canadian Liberal Party (www.liberal.ca) websites. Next, browse the U.S. Democratic Party (www.democrats.org) and the U.S. Republican Party (www.rnc.org) websites. For each nation, compare these sets of parties in terms of their stands on one particular issue, and on their ideology more generally. Then, compare all three parties based on the presentation of their websites. How are these parties attempting to sell themselves to voters via the web? Which site is most user-friendly? Which is more informative? Which looks more professional? What are the best features of each website? What ways do the websites offer visitors to participate in party activities? Is there any way for a visitor to the website to offer feedback to the party? Turn in a one-page maximum type-written response.

February 7

Read: Citizen Politics, Chapters 5, 6, 10

**Assignment #3: DUE Friday February 11 in class.**

Find two articles that relate to our course concepts from an online news sources. You can go to the New York Times (www.nyt.com), Financial Times (www.ft.com), BBC Online (www.bbc.co.uk), CNN (www.cnn.com). You can access these sources free of charge, but may have to enter your information to do so. Summarize the contents of the articles, and analyze them in terms of relevant course concepts and theories. Be sure to relate the articles to course readings or lecture, and clearly state this connection. For example, perhaps you find an article about protests in France. You might relate it to Citizen Politics by talking about the issue-based nature of the protest, the values of the participants, and the role of ideology. Be creative and analytical in your response. Turn in a one-page maximum type-written response.

February 14

Read: Citizen Politics, Chapter 12

***Exam #1 Monday February 21 ***

February 23

Read: Patterns of Democracy, Chapters 1-2

**Assignment #4: DUE FRIDAY FEB. 25 in class**

Explore the British Parliamentary website. www.parliament.uk At the bottom of the page, click on “House of Commons”. On the right, click on “Membership”. How many members does each party have in the House of Commons? What is the gender composition of the House of Commons? Looking at the description of the Cabinet, name the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Secretary of State for Defense. Under “frequently asked questions” read about how a general election is called. Interpret and contrast the way general elections are held, and the government formed in Britain and the U.S.

February 28

Read:Patterns of Democracy Chapters 3-4

**Assignment#5: DUE Friday March 4 in class**

Visit the website of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance www.int-idea.se. Click on “political participation”, and in the page that opens up, at the right side, click on “voter turnout”. Record the rate of voter turnout for three different nations on three different continents, excluding the continent of Europe. How does this compare to turnout in the U.S.? Speculate on why these nations have low or high turnout rates. Are they recently democratized? Do they have compulsory voting? Turn in type-written one page response.

March 7

Read: Patterns of Democracy Chapters 5, 8

March 14

Spring Break

March 21

Read: Patterns of Democracy Chapters 11, 15

March 28

Read: Patterns of Democracy, Chapters 16-17

***Exam #2 Friday April 1***

April 4

Read: Digital Divide Chapters 1, 2

April 11

Read: Digital Divide Chapters 3,4

April 18

Read: Digital Divide Chapters 9, 10

April 25

Read: Digital Divide, Chapters 11, 12

May 2

Monday May 2 is our last day of class. We will review for our final exam #3.

***Final Exam #3 Wednesday May 11 7:40-9:30 am***