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Readings

SES # TOPICS READINGS
Week I: Introduction
1 Introduction and Review of Syllabus, Discuss Final Exam, Pick Recitation Time Read through syllabus and list of potential paper topics in the assignments section.
Week II: The State and Regime Type
2

What is Social Science?

Social Science Research?

Name Game

  
3

What is a State and Why have One?

What is a Democracy and Why have One?

Buy at Amazon Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. London, UK: Penguin Classics, 1982, pp. 183-188, and 227-228. ISBN: 9780140431957.

Buy at Amazon Hume, David. "Of the Origin of Government." Essay V in Essays Moral, Political, and Literary. Edited by Eugene F. Miller. Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 1985 [1742], pp. 37-41. ISBN: 9780865970564.

Buy at Amazon Aristotle. "The Politics." In Aristotle: The Politics and Constitution of Athens. 2nd ed. Edited by Stephen Everson. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996, Book III: chapters 6-12 and 18, pp. 69-80, and 91. Book IV: chapters 1-2, pp. 91-94. ISBN: 9780521484008.

Karl, Terry, and Philippe C., Schmitter. "What Democracy is...and is Not." Journal of Democracy 2, no. 3 (Summer 1991): 75-86.

Recitation

In recitation: Map test. How to write a research paper. Potential paper topics, including sample article from popular press.
Week III: Social Structure
4 Lens 1: The Construction of Political Cleavages (Class)

Buy at Amazon Madison, James. "Federalist No. 10." In The Federalist Papers. Edited by Isaac Kramnick. London, UK: Penguin Books, 1987 [1788], pp. 122-28. ISBN: 9780140444957.

Buy at Amazon Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. "Manifesto of the Communist Party." Part 1 in The Marx-Engels Reader. 2nd ed. Edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 1978, pp. 473-83. ISBN: 9780393090406.

Buy at Amazon Weber, Max. "Class, Status, and Party." In From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. Edited by H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1958, pp. 180-186. ISBN: 9780195004625.

Buy at Amazon Gallagher, Peter, Michael Laver, and Peter Mair. "Cleavage Structures and Electoral Change." In Representative Government in Modern Europe. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2000. ISBN: 9780072322675.
5 Lens 1 (cont.): The Construction of Political Cleavages (Race, Religion, and Ethnicity)

See readings for Ses #4.

Recitation

In recitation: Discuss paper topics.
Week IV: Culture and Institutions
6

Lens 2: Culture and Beliefs

Discussion of Measurements of Culture in Articles

Inglehart, Ronald, and Marita Carballo. "Does Latin America Exist? (And is There a Confucian Culture?): A Global Analysis of Cross-Cultural Differences." PS: Political Science and Politics 30 (March 1997): 34-46.

Lagos, Marta. "Public Opinion in New Democracies: Latin America's Smiling Mask." Journal of Democracy 8, no. 3 (July 1997): 125-38.
7

Lens 3: Institutions

Wrap up on Lenses

Buy at Amazon Lijphart, Arend, ed. Parliamentary versus Presidential Government. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1992. Introduction and chapters 1, 2, and 14, pp. 29-32. ISBN: 9780198780441.

Stepan, Alfred. "Federalism and Democracy: Beyond the U.S. Model." Journal of Democracy 10, no. 4 (October 1999): 19-33.

Recitation

In recitation this week: Discussion of articles on culture. Review "Hints" for writing papers.
Week V: Democratization
8 Why do Countries Become Democratic?

Diamond, Larry. "Is the Third Wave Over?" Journal of Democracy 7, no. 3 (July 1996): 20-37.

Buy at Amazon Dahl, Robert. Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1971, pp. 1-16. ISBN: 9780300013917.
9

Does Economic Development Lead to Democracy?

Review of Lenses

Buy at Amazon Lipset, Seymour Martin. "Economic Development and Democracy." In Political Man: The Social Bases of Politics. Expanded ed. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981, pp. 27-63. ISBN: 9780801825224.

Przeworski, Adam, and Fernando Limongi. "Modernization: Theories and Facts." World Politics 49 (January 1997): 155-193.

Recitation

In recitation this week: Discussion of first paper and readings for week. Review "Hints" for writing papers.
Week VI: Case Study on the Breakdown of Democracy: Inter-war Germany
10 Why did Democracy Break Down in Inter-war Germany?

Buy at Amazon Hoffmann-Lange, Ursula. "Germany: Twentieth Century Turning Points." In Elites, Crises, and the Origins of Regimes. Edited by Mattei Dogan and John Higley. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1998, pp. 170-74. ISBN: 9780847690220.

Buy at Amazon Overy, Richard. The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Third Reich. New York, NY: Penguin, 1997, pp. 8-21. ISBN: 9780140513301.

Buy at Amazon Lepsius, M. Ranier. "From Fragmented Party Democracy to Government by Emergency Decree and National Socialist Takeover: Germany." In The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Europe. Edited by Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1978, pp. 34-79. ISBN: 9780801820229.

Buy at Amazon Lipset, Seymour Martin. "'Fascism' - Left, Right, and Center." In Political Man: The Social Bases of Politics. Expanded ed. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981, pp. 127-152. ISBN: 9780801825224.

Buy at Amazon Turner, Henry Ashby. Hitler's Thirty Days to Power: January 1933. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books, 1996, pp. 1-2 and 163-183. ISBN: 9780201407143.

Taylor, A. J. P. "History Unfolds, 1918-1933." In The Nazi Revolution: Germany's Guilt or Germany's Fate? Edited by John L. Snell. Boston, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1959, pp. 19-26.
11 Class Debate: Why did the Weimar Republic Collapse?  
12 Wrap up on Weimar and Discussion of Federal Republic

Recitation

In recitation this week: Finish Class Debate
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?

Olson, Mancur. "Big Bills Left on the Sidewalk: Why Some Nations are Rich, and Others Poor." Journal of Economic Perspectives 10, no. 2 (1996): 3-24.

Weingast, Barry. "The Economic Role of Political Institutions: Market-Preserving Federalism and Economic Development." Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 11, no. 1 (1995): 1-31.

Przeworski, Adam, and Fernando Limongi. "Political Regimes and Economic Growth." Journal of Economic Perspectives 7, no. 3 (1993): 51-69.

De Soto, Hernando. The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. London, UK: Bantam Press, 2000, pp. 1-37 and 208-218. ISBN: 0593046641.

Recitation

In recitation this week: Discussion of Weingast article and de Soto's main argument.
Week IX: Why is Mexico so Corrupt?
17-18

Corruption in Mexico

General Causes of Corruption and Proposed Solutions

Davis, Diane E. "Undermining the Rule of Law: Democratization and the Dark Side of Police Reform in Mexico." Latin American Politics and Society 48, no. 1 (2006): 55-86.

Buy at Amazon Oppenheimer, Andres. Bordering on Chaos. Boston, MA: Little Brown and Co., 1996, pp. 289-294. ISBN: 9780316650953.

Buy at Amazon Almond, Gabriel, and Sidney Verba. "Mexico: Alienation and Aspiration." In The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1989, pp. 310-312. ISBN: 9780803935587.

Thompson, Ginger. "In a Lawless Town, the Top Lawman Avoids Trouble." The New York Times, Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 4, Column 3. August 20, 2005.

Treisman, Daniel. "The Causes of Corruption: A Cross-National Study." Journal of Public Economics 76, no. 3 (2000): 399-457.

Recitation

In recitation this week: Discussion of Treisman article. Corruption in Greece.
Week X: Culture and Effective Governance
19 Lecture: Culture and Democracy  
20

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

Breakout Group Presentations on Putnam's Argument

Buy at Amazon Putnam, Robert. Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994, pp. 1-16 and 63-end. ISBN: 9780691037387.

Recitation

In recitation this week: Critique of Putnam's arguments and measurements. Breakout groups on Putnam.
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

Buy at Amazon Dahl, Robert. How Democratic is the American Constitution? 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003. ISBN: 9780300095241.

Buy at Amazon Lijphart, Arend, ed. Chapter 9 in Parliamentary versus Presidential Government. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN: 9780198780434.

Recitation

In recitation this week: 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

Dawisha, Adeed, and Karen Dawisha. "How to Build a Democratic Iraq." Foreign Affairs 82, no. 3 (May/June 2003).

Lawson, Chappell. "How Best to Build Democracy: Laying the Foundation for a New Iraq." Foreign Affairs 82, no. 4 (July/August 2003).

Diamond, Larry. "Building Democracy After Conflict: Lessons from Iraq." Journal of Democracy (January 2005): 9-23.

Filkins, Dexter. "Solution: Divide Iraq. Reality: It's Not So Easy." The New York Times, The Week in Review, Late Edition - Final, Section 4, Page 14, Column 3. June 25, 2005.

Independent research on Iraq. (see e.g., Council on Foreign Relations)
25 Show and Tell on Iraq

Recitation

In recitation this week: Show and tell on Iraq.
Week XIV: State-building, Ethnic Conflict, and "Democracy" in Iraq (cont.)
26 Discussion of the Final Exam, Wrap-up of Semester, and Class Evaluations