Checking date: 10/05/2018

Versión en español

Course: 2018/2019

Comparative Politics
(16614)
Study: Bachelor in International Studies (305)


Coordinating teacher: HIDALGO TRENADO, MANUEL

Department assigned to the subject: Department of Social Sciences

Type: Basic Core
ECTS Credits: 6.0 ECTS

Course: 1º
Semester: 1º

Branch of knowledge: Social Sciences and Law


Competences and skills that will be acquired and learning results. Further information on this link
Skills related to the development of analytical and critical thinking. Communication skills and writing skills in carrying out work, case studies and exams. Public speaking and presentation skills. Interpersonal skills such as the ability to work in teams or use of the technique of role play. Knowledge of the methods, theories and some substantive issues in the comparison of political systems. Ability to link theoretical issues of comparative politics to evidence
Description of contents: programme
1. Introduction - What is comparative politics? - The substance of comparative politics - The method of comparative politics - Evolution of comparative politics 2.Economic development and political regimes - Introduction - The Problem - The seminal study of Lipset: criticisms and new approaches - Quantitative and qualitative comparisons - Final remarks 3. Democratization - Democracies and non-democracies - Transitions to democracy - Democratic Consolidation? - The conditions for democracy - Revisiting theories of democratization 4. Institutional design and democratic performance - Introduction - Debates on institutional design: government systems, party systems and electoral systems - The quality of democracy 5. Comparative Welfare state - Introduction - Types of welfare regimes - Transformations, crisis and reforms - Challenges
Learning activities and methodology
Lectures given by the teacher and activities done by students who will apply the knowledge acquired and develop their skills. The training activities aim to involve students in the learning process. To this end, the teacher will provide basic knowledge and tools needed to strengthen their analytical ability and encourage their critical spirit. In this regard, the reading of selected materials and essays written by students will be fundamental. Likewise, the professor will encourage discussions on current topics, presentations and role play so that students expand their communication and interpersonal skills. This will be complemented by screenings of documentaries / films relating to any matter relevant to the subject. This latter is intended to capture students' interest on issues that sometimes may seem too abstract, without a clear empirical referent. 6 ECTS credits, 150 hours approximately. Lectures and other activities in class: 42 hours Study of the subject by students: 56 hours Preparation of presentations and essays by students: 42 hours Make-up classes, office hours, hand-in of papers, etc.: 8 hours Exam: 2 hours
Assessment System
  • % end-of-term-examination 40
  • % of continuous assessment (assigments, laboratory, practicals...) 60
Basic Bibliography
  • Boix, C. and S. Stokes (eds).,. The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics. Oxford University Press. 2007.
  • Boix, C.,. Democracy and redistribution. Cambridge University Press. 2003.
  • Caramani, D. (ed.), . Comparative Politics, 4ª ed.. Oxford University Press. 2017.
  • Castles, Francis G.,. The future of the welfare state. Oxford University Press. 2004.
  • Clark, R., M. Golder and S. Golder,. Principles of Comparative Politics, 3rd. edition. CQ Press. 2018.
  • Collier, D. and J. Gerring (eds.), . Concepts and Method in Social Sciences. The Tradition of Giovanni Sartori. Routledge. 2009.
  • Dahl, R., . Poliarchy: Participation and Opposition. Yale University Press. 1972.
  • Della Porta, D. and M. Keating (eds.),. Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences. A Pluralistic Perspective. Cambridge University Press. 2008.
  • Esping-Andersen, G. and B. Palier, . Trois leçons sur l'Etat-providence. Éditions du Seuil. 2008.
  • Esping-Andersen, G.,. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton University Press. 1990.
  • Haerpfer, C., P. Bernhagen, R. F. Inglehart and C. Welzel, . Democratization, . Oxford University Press, . 2009.
  • Haggard, S. and R. R. Kaufman,. Development, Democracy, and Welfare States. Princeton University Press. 2008.
  • Kesselman, M.. Readings in Comparative Politics, 2nd edition. Cengage Learning. 2009.
  • Landman, T. y Carvalho, E. . Issues and Methods in Comparative Politics, Fourth Edition. Routledge. 2017.
  • Lijphart, A.,. Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries, 2nd edition. Yale University Press. 2012.
  • Linz, J. J. and A. Valenzuela (eds.), . The Failure of Presidential Democracy: Comparative Perspectives. Johns Hopkins University Press. 1994.
  • Lipset, S. M., . The Social Requisites of Democracy Revisited. American Sociological Review, 59: 1-22. 1994.
  • Mainwaring, S. and M. S. Shugart (eds.), . Presidentialism and Democracy in Latin America. Cambridge University Press. 1997.
  • Marsh, D. and D. Stoker (eds.), . Theory and Methods in Political Science, 3ª ed.. Palgrave Macmillan. 2010.
  • Morlino, L. . Comparison. A Methodological Introduction for the Social Sciences. Barbara Budrich Publishers. 2018.
  • Munck, G. (ed.),. Measuring Democracy: A Bridge between Scholarship and Politics. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 2009.
  • Newton, K. and J. W. Van Deth,. Foundations of Comparative Politics, 3rd. ed.. Cambridge University Press. 2016.
  • O'Neil, P., . Essentials of Comparative Politics, 6th ed.. W. W. Norton & Company. 2017.
  • Pierson, P.,. "The new politics of the welfare state". World Politics 48, pp. 143-79. 1996.
  • Rueschemeyer, D., E. H. Stephens, E. H. and J. D. Stephens, . Capitalist Development and Democracy. University of Chicago Press. 1992.
  • Sartori, G., . Comparative Constitutional Engineering: An Inquiry into Structures, Incentives and Outcomes, 2nd edition. Palgrave. 1996.
  • Sodaro, M.J. . Comparative politics. A global introduction, 3rd ed.. McGrawHill. 2008.
  • Teorell, J.,. Determinants of Democratization. Explaining Regime Change in the World, 1972-2006. Cambridge University Press. 2010.
  • Wiarda, H.J.. New directions in comparative politics, 3rd ed.. Westview Press. 2002.
  • Zakaria, F., . "The rise of illiberal democracy" . Foreign Affairs, nov./dic. pp. 22-43. 1997.
Additional Bibliography
  • Acemoglu, Daaron y J. Robinson, . Why Nations Fail. Crown Publishing Group. 2012.
  • Acemoglu, Daron y J. Robinson,. Economic origins of dictatorship and democracy. Cambridge University Press. 2009.
  • Almond, G.A. y G.B. Powell (h),. Comparative Politics, revised edition. Little Brown and Co. 1979.
  • Blondel, J. (ed.),. Introduction to Comparative Government. Littlehampton Book Services Ltd. 1969.
  • Boix, C.,. "The roots of democracy". Policy Review 135: 3-21.. 2006.
  • Huntington, S.P., . The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century . University of Oklahoma Press. 1993.
  • Levistky, S. y Way, L. A., . Competitive Authoritarianism. Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War.. Cambridge University Press.. 2010.
  • Lijphart, A. (ed.), . Parliamentary versus presidential government. Oxford University Press. 1992.
  • Lijphart, A., . Electoral Systems and Party Systems: A Study of Twenty-Seven Democracies, 1945-1990. Oxford University Press. 1995.
  • Maravall, J.M.,. Regimes, Politics, and Markets: Democratization and Economic Change in Southern and Eastern Europe. Oxford University Press. 1997.
  • Morlino, L., . Changes for Democracy: Actors, Structures and Processes. Oxford University Press. 2012.
  • O'Donnell, G., P. Schmitter and L. Whitehead (eds.), . Transitions from Authoritarian Rule. Johns Hopkins University Press. 1986.
  • Przeworski, A. and F. Limongi, . "Modernization: theories and facts". World Politics 49: 155-183.. 1997.
  • Przeworski, A., M. E. Alvarez, J. A. Cheibub and F. Limongi,. Democracy and development: political institutions and well-being in the world, 1950-1990. Cambridge University Press. 2000.
  • Schedler, A.,. The politics of uncertainty. Oxford University Press. 2013.

The course syllabus and the academic weekly planning may change due academic events or other reasons.