Comparative Politics
V53.0500
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 9:30-11:30 AM
Goddard A
SELECTED CLASS NOTES
What is Comparative Politics
Does Wealth Cause Democracy?
A Variant of Modernization Theory
Does Democracy Encourage EconomicErowth?
Executive-Legislative Relations
Electoral Systems, Social Heterogeneity, and the Number of Political Parties
Consequences of the Varieties of Democracy
Prof. William Clark
726 Broadway, Room 718
Office Hours: M,W 1-2PM
William.clark@nyu.edu
Teaching Assistant:
Nicole Simonelli: nms234@yahoo.com
Office Hours: Tuesday 9:30-11:30 (Room 700)
This class is an introduction to the study of Comparative Politics. As such
it aims to introduce the student to both the central findings of comparative
politics and the basic method of comparative politics - cross-national comparison.
We will attempt to accomplish both of these tasks by examining a set of questions
crucial to the study of comparative politics. First we will examine the question
of why some countries are democracies, while some are not. Second, we will examine
whether democracy produces systematically different outcomes than non-democracies.
Does democracy increase economic growth? Does it encourage better health and
education outcomes? Third, we will examine the range of variation within the
set of democratic countries and ask whether the type of democracy matters. Are
some sets of institutional arrangements better at holding politicians accountable
to voters? Are some forms of representative government more representative?
Are some democratic institutions associated with better economic performance?
Finally, do some sets of institutional arrangements encourage the survival of
democracies?
Requirements: Every student in the class is required to enroll in, attend, and
participate in a weekly discussion section. Attendance at lectures is both recommended
and required. In the past, attendance at lecture has been a very good predictor
of performance on exams. There will be three exams - two-mid-terms and a final.
Finally, there will be periodic homework assignments.
First mid-term: 25%
Second midterm: 25%
Final exam: 30%
Participation: 20%
Note: Your participation grade will be based on a) lecture attendance, b) participation,
and c) performance on homework assignments.
Required Texts:
Bates, Robert H. 2001. Prosperity and Violence: The Political Economy of Development.
(New York: Norton University Press).
Lijphart, Arend. 1999. Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance
in Thirty-Six Countries. (New Haven: Yale University Press).
Course Packet - New University Copy - Waverly Place (near Mercer Street).
Suggested Text
Powell, G. Bingham. 2000. Elections as Instruments of Democracy: Majoritarian
and Proportional Visions (New Haven: Yale University Press).
A. Preliminaries
1. What is Science? (Monday)
Read: Bryan Magee Philosophy of the Real World. (Open Court Press). Chapters 2 & 3. (Course Packet)
2. What is the state? (Wednesday)
a. Living with it…
Read: Bates, Robert H. 2001. Prosperity and Violence: The Political Economy of Development. (New York: Norton University Press). (Here after "Bates") Chapters 1&2
b. Living without it….
Read: Bates Chapters 3-6
B. Why are some countries democracies and some countries not?
3. The Effect of Wealth on Emergence and Survival of Democracy (Thursday)
Read: Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi "Modernization: Theories and
Facts" World Politics 49(2):155-183. (Course Packet)]
4. No Class - Memorial Day (Monday)
5 Other Determinants of the Emergence and Survival of Democracy (Wednesday)
a. Production Profile
Read: Robert H. Bates (1991) "The Economics of Transitions to Democracy,"
PS: Political Science & Politics 24:1 (March):24-27. (Course Packet)
D. Michael Shafer (1994) Winners and Losers: How Sectors Shape the Development
Prospects of States (Cornell University Press): 1-48 (Course Packet)
b. Production Profile
Read: Adam Przeworski, "Culture and Democracy" (Course Packet) Does
Democracy Make a Difference?
6. Does Democracy Make a Difference? (Thursday)
a. Economic Performance
Read: Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi 1993 "Political Regimes and Economic Growth" Journal of Economic Perspectives 7:3 (Course Packet)
b. Health and Education Outcomes
Read: Lake and Baum, 2001, "The invisible hand of democracy- Political control and the provision of public service," Comparative Political Studies 34(6): 587-621. (Course Packet)
7 Mid-term Exam (Wednesday)
C. Varieties of Democracy
8. Overview: Westminister v. Consensus Models of Democracy (Wednesday)
Read: Lijphart, Arend. 1999. Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries. (New Haven: Yale University Press). (Here after "Lijphart") Chapters 1-4
9. Executive-Legislative Relations (Thursday)
Read: Lijphart Chapter 7
10. Single Member Plurality rule vs. Proportional Representation (Monday)
Read: Lijphart Chapter 8
Homegenous vs. Heterogenous Societies (Wednesday)
Read: Lijphart Chapter 5 (pp.78-89)
12. Single party v multiparty systems (Thursday)
Read: Lijphart Chapter 5 (pp.62-78)
Powell, pp20-30.
Octavio Amorin Neto and Gary W. Cox, 1997."Electoral Institutions, Cleavage Structures, and the Number of Parties," American Journal of Political Science 41:1 (January) :149-174.
Majority v. coalition cabinets (Monday)
Read: Lijphart Chapter 6
Powell, pp.31-36.
14. Lijphart's "2nd Dimension" (Wednesday)
a. Federal v. unitary
Read: Lijphart Chapter 10
b.Unicameral v. Bicameral
Read Lijphart, Chapter 11
c Constitutional Rigidity
Read: Lijphart Chapters 12
Independent v. dependent central banks, representation
Read: Lijphart 13
e. Pluralist v. Corporatist interest
Read Lijphart Chapter 9
2nd Mid-term exam (Thursday)
D. The effect of the varieties of democracy on
16. Macroeconomic Performance and Political Violence (Monday)
Read: Lijphart Chapter 15
Democratic Consolidation (Wednesday)
Read:
Mainwaring, Scott and Matthew Soberg Shugart. 1997. Presidential Democracy in
Latin America (Cambridge University Press) Chapters 1 and 11 (Course Packet).
Final Exam Monday, May 12, 2-3:50PM. (Thursday)