COMPARATIVE POLITICS

PSIR605

Course Code: PSIR605
Semester: First Term (Fall)
Theory+Practice: 3 + 0
ECTS: 10

Course Type

Compulsory Course

Course Level

Doctorate Of Science

Year of Study

Semester

First Term (Fall)

ECTS

Name of Lecturer(s)

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

Identify and compare theories in the field of comparative politics.
Identify comparative politics methods and systematically apply these to a specific research question.
Think critically by systematically applying different, competing theoretical explanations to the same issue.

Mode of Delivery

Face to face

Prerequisites

Recommended Optional Programme Components

Course Description

This course addresses the key issues and debates dominating the field of comparative politics. For this purpose, in the first part of the course, the logic and reason behind comparing countries and political systems, is discussed. The course focus on comparative methods (qualitative and quantitative methods), the unit of analysis used in the comparison, variables, cases, and levels of analysis. After this methodological introduction to comparative politics, in the second part of the course, the theoretical approaches that dominate the field is identified and examined. The epistemological and ontological foundations of these theoretical approaches (rational choice, structuralism and cultural explanations) are analysed through examples. In the third part of the course, the methods and theories, which dominate comparative politics, are applied on the basis of different themes. These themes include, democracy, economic development, political violence, revolutions, social and ethnic conflicts. Some of the questions that will be attempted to answer are the following: Why, are the politicians of some countries sensitive to the needs of citizens, while some other countries' politicians are not? Why do people in some places vote in relation to ethnic ties, in others they do not? Why, while some states guarantee social protection for their citizens, others leave it to the market? What is the role of private property rights in transition to democracy and a market economy? Why does redistribution of resources vary across countries and policy areas?

Course Contents

WEEK	TOPICS
1^st Week	Introduction: Why compare? How to compare?
2^nd Week	Comparative Method as a research method
3^rd Week	Comparative Method II
4^th Week	Theory and Comparative Politics: Rational Choice
5^th Week	Theory and Comparative Politics: Structuralism
6^th Week	Theory and Comparative Politics: Culture and Identity
7^th Week	Theory and Comparative Politics: New Institutionalism
8^th Week	Mid-term Exam
9^th Week	Democracy, autocracy and regime change
10^th Week	Democratic transition and consolidation
11^th Week	State and state-building
12^th Week	Developmentalist state
13^th Week	Regulatory state
14^th Week	Institutions
15^th Week	Varieties of capitalism

Recommended or Required Reading

Lijphart, A. (ed) Politics in Europe. Comparisons and Interpretations (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall)
Boix, C. and Stokes, S. C. (ed) Comparative Politics (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
Almond, G. A. (1965) `A developmental approach to political systems, World Politics 17(2): 183-214.
Lijphart, A. (1971) `Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method, The American Political Science Review 65(3): 682 693.
Sartori, G. (1991) `Comparing and Miscomparing, Journal of Theoretical Politics 3(3): 243-257.
Mahoney, J. (2007) `Qualitative methodology and comparative politics, Comparative Political Studies 40(2): 122-144.
Braumoeller, B. F. and Goertz, G. (2000) `The methodology of necessary conditions, American Journal of Political Science 44(4): 844-858.
Landman, T. (2006) Issues and Methods in Comparative Politics (Routledge: London and New York)
Norkus, Z. (2005) `Mechanisms as miracle makers The rise and inconsistencies of the mechanismic approach in social science and history, History and Theory 44: 348-372.
Lichbach, M. I. and Zuckerman, A. S. (eds) Comparative Politics: Rationality, Culture, and Structure (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Diamond, L., Plattner, M. F., Yun-Han Chu and Hung-Mao Tien (eds) Consolidating the Third Wave Democracies (Themes and Perspectives) (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University)
O Donnell, G., Schmitter, P. C. and Whitehead, L. (eds) Transitions from authoritarian rule: Comparative perspectives (Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins University Press)
Evans, P. B., Rueschemeyer, D. and Skocpol, T. (eds) Bringing the State Back In (Cambridge University Press)
Evans, P. (1995) Embedded Autonomy. States and Industrial Transformation (Princeton University Press)
Lange, M. and Rueschemeyer, D. (eds) States and Development: Historical Antecedents of Stagnation and Advance (Palgrave)
Hall PA, and Soskice D. (2001) Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage (Oxford University Press)
Hall, P. and Taylor, R. (1996) `Political science and the three new institutionalisms, Political Studies 44: 936-957.
March, J. and Olsen, J. P. (1996) `Institutional perspectives on political institutions, Governance 9: 247-264.
Inglehart, R. (1988) `The Renaissance of political culture, The American Political Science Review 82(4): 1203-1230
Putnam, R. D. (1993) Making Democracy Work. Civic Traditions in Modern Italy (Princeton University Press)

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

Lecture
Discussion
Questions/Answers

Assessment Methods and Criteria

	Quantity	Percentage (%)
Mid-term	1	20
Assignment	10	40
Total(%)		60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%)		60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%)		40
Total(%)		100

ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload

Activities	Quantity	Duration (Hour)	Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam	1	2	2
Preparation for Quiz
Individual or group work	14	3	42
Preparation for Final exam	1	50	50
Course hours	14	3	42
Preparation for Midterm exam	1	45	45
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam	1	2	2
Homework	10	12	120
Total Work Load			303
Total Work Load / 30 (h)			10.1
ECTS Credit of the Course			10

Language of Instruction

Turkish

Work Placement(s)

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

	LO1	LO2	LO3
K1	X	X	X
K2	X	X	X
K3	X	X	X
K4		X	X
K5	X
K6	X
K7
K8	X		X
K9	X		X
K10
K11	X	X	X
K12		X	X