This is an archived course. A more recent version may be available at ocw.mit.edu.

Lecture Notes

SES # TOPICS LECTURE NOTES
Week I: Introduction
1 Introduction and Review of Syllabus, Discuss Final Exam, Pick Recitation Time  
Week II: The State and Regime Type
2

What is Social Science?

Social Science Research?

Name Game

Notes (PDF)

Slides (PDF)
3

What is a State and Why have One?

What is a Democracy and Why have One?

Notes (PDF)

Slides (PDF)
Week III: Social Structure
4 Lens 1: The Construction of Political Cleavages (Class)

Notes (PDF)

Slides (PDF)
5 Lens 1 (cont.): The Construction of Political Cleavages (Race, Religion, and Ethnicity) Notes (PDF)
Week IV: Culture and Institutions
6

Lens 2: Culture and Beliefs

Discussion of Measurements of Culture in Articles

 Notes (PDF)
7

Lens 3: Institutions

Wrap up on Lenses

Notes (PDF)

Slides (PDF)
Week V: Democratization
8 Why do Countries Become Democratic?

Notes (PDF)

Slides (PDF)
9

Does Economic Development Lead to Democracy?

Review of Lenses

Notes (PDF)

Slides (PDF)
Week VI: Case Study on the Breakdown of Democracy: Inter-war Germany
10 Why did Democracy Break Down in Inter-war Germany?

Notes (PDF)

Slides (PDF)
11 Class Debate: Why did the Weimar Republic Collapse? Notes (PDF)
12 Wrap up on Weimar and Discussion of Federal Republic  
Week VII: Research Papers
13-14 Interim Presentations on Research Papers  
Week VIII: Political Institutions and Economic Growth
15-16 How do Political Institutions Affect Economic Growth?

Notes (PDF)

Slides (PDF - 1.7 MB)
Week IX: Why is Mexico so Corrupt?
17-18

Corruption in Mexico

General Causes of Corruption and Proposed Solutions

Notes (PDF)

Slides (PDF)
Week X: Culture and Effective Governance
19 Lecture: Culture and Democracy

Notes (PDF)

Slides (PDF)
20

Why is Northern Italy so Much, Well, Better? (Except for the Food)

Breakout Group Presentations on Putnam's Argument

 Slides (PDF)
Week XI: Class Presentations on Research Papers
21 Class Presentations on Research Papers  
Week XII: The U.S. in Comparative Perspective
22-23

What's Right and What's Wrong with the U.S. System?

Breakout Groups on Redesigning the U.S. Constitution

  
Week XIII: State-building, Ethnic Conflict, and "Democracy" in Iraq
24 Attempts to Impose Democracy by Foreign Powers  
25 Show and Tell on Iraq

Slides (PDF - 1.3 MB)

2005 World Map of Political Stability and No Violence by Country
Week XIV: State-building, Ethnic Conflict, and "Democracy" in Iraq (cont.)
26 Discussion of the Final Exam, Wrap-up of Semester, and Class Evaluations