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Field Seminar in Comparative Politics
Provides an introduction to the comparative politics subfield. Readings lean toward the classics, but also include some more contemporary research. Covers topics such as the state, institutions, the political economy of development, regimes and regime change, elections and distributive politics, ethnicity and intergroup relations, and contentious politics. Primarily intended for PhD students in political science.
Spring 2024 · Field Seminar in Comparative Politics
This course provides an introduction to the field of comparative politics. Readings include both classic and recent materials. Discussions include research design and research methods, in addition to topics such as political culture, social cleavages, the state, and democratic institutions. Emphasis on each issue depends in part on the interests of the students.
Readings
- Thomas Hobbes. 1651. Leviathan: Or, the Matter, Forme, and Power of a Commonwealth, Ecclesiasticall and Civil (New York: Touchstone, 2008) , chapters 13 and 17. ISBN: 9781416573609.
- Ibn Khaldun. c. 1377. Selection from Muqaddimah ( Introduction to a Universal History ), Chappell Lawson, ed..
- Charles Tilly. 1990. Coercion, Capital, and European States, AD 990-1990, pp. 96–114. Basil Blackwell. ISBN: 9781557863683.
- Stephen Skowronek. 1982. Building a New American State: The Expansion of National Administrative Capacities, pp. 3–16. Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 9780521288651.
- Max Weber. 1958 [1920]. “Class, Status, and Party,” from Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft , part III, chapter 4, in H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, pp. 181–90 (Sections 2–8). Routledge. ISBN: 9780415060561.
- Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. 1978. Manifesto of the Communist Party , in Robert C. Tucker, ed., The Marx-Engels Reader, pp. 473–83 (skip preamble). W.W. Norton. ISBN: 9780393090406.
- Dietrich Rueschemeyer, Evelyne Huber Stephens, and John D. Stephens. 1992. Capitalist Development and Democracy, pp. 45–63. University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 9780226731445.
- Alfred Stepan. 1978. “Political Leadership and Regime Breakdown: Brazil,” in Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan, eds., The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Latin America, pp. 111–37. Johns Hopkins Press. ISBN: 9780801820236.
- [REVIEW] Alfred Stepan. 1978. “Political Leadership and Regime Breakdown: Brazil.” In Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan, eds. The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Latin America, pp. 110–37. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN: 9780801820236.
- Gautam Mukunda. 2012. Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter , pp. 1–35, 243–49. Harvard Business School Publishing. ISBN: 9781422186718.
- Chappell Lawson. [manuscript, no date]. Rulership . Selections from chapters 1–2.
- Samuel Popkin. 1988. “Public Choice and Peasant Organization,” in Robert Bates, ed., Toward a Political Economy of Development, pp. 251–61 (on “Free Riders” and “Political Entrepreneurs.”) University of California Press. ISBN: 9780520314054.
- Maurice Duverger. 1963. Political Parties: Their Organization and Activity in the Modern State, book II: chapter 1, parts 1–2 (pp. 206–54). John Wiley and Sons. ISBN: 9780416683202.
- Seymour Martin Lipset. 1981. “Economic Development and Democracy,” in Political Man: The Social Bases of Politics, pp. 80–82. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN: 9780801825224.
- Peter Gallagher, Michael Laver, and Peter Mair. 2011. “Cleavage Structures and Electoral Change,” in Representative Government in Modern Europe, pp. 278–325*.* McGraw Hill. ISBN: 9780077129675.
- Samuel P. Huntington. 2006. Political Order in Changing Societies , pp. 72–77, 140–91. Yale University Press. ISBN: 9780300116205.
- Seymour Martin Lipset. 1981. “Economic Development and Democracy,” in Political Man: The Social Bases of Politics , p. 28–63. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN: 9780801825224.
- Robert Dahl. 1971. Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition, pp. 62–104. Yale University Press. ISBN: 9780300153576.
- Wayne Cornelius. 1975. Politics and the Migrant Poor in Mexico City , pp. 1–64, 135–65. Stanford University Press. ISBN: 9780804708807.
- Stephen Kosack, Courtney Tolmie, and Charles C. Griffin. 2010. From the Ground Up: Improving Government Performance with Independent Monitoring Organizations , pp. 50–64. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN: 9780815704126.
- Judith Tendler. 1997. Good Government in the Tropics, pp. 1–20. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN: 9780801854521.
Fall 2013
Topics
- The role of culture in democracy and economic growth
- Constitutional choices and governmental performance
- Leadership
- The state and state formation
- Modernization and development
- Political institutions and economic growth
- Nationalism
- Parties, party systems, and electoral behavior
- Clientelism and patronage politics
- Corruption and monitoring government
- Emergence and persistence of popular self-government in Athens
Readings
- Madison, James. “The Utility of the Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection (continued).” Essay 10 in The Federalist Papers . Edited by Isaac Kramnick. Penguin Classics, 1987. ISBN: 9780140444957.
- Dahl, Robert. “Subcultures, Cleavage Patterns, and Governmental Effectiveness.” Chapter 7 in Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition . Yale University Press, 1977. ISBN: 9780300015652.
- Marx, Karl, and Friedrich Engels. “Manifesto of the Communist Party.” In The Marx-Engels Reader . 2nd ed. Edited by Robert C. Tucker. W.W. Norton & Company, 1978. ISBN: 9780393090406. Note: Skip the preamble .
- Rueschemeyer, Dietrich, Evelyne Huber Stephens, and John D. Stephens. In Capitalist Development and Democracy . University of Chicago Press, 1992, pp. 45–63. ISBN: 9780226731445.
- Richerson, Peter J., and Robert Boyd. “Culture is Essential.” Chapter 1 in Not By Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution . University of Chicago Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780226712123.
- Almond, Gabriel A., and Sidney Verba. “The Civic Culture and Democratic Stability.” Chapter XIII in The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations . Sage Publications Inc., 1989, pp. 356–74. ISBN: 9780803935587.
- Lijphart, Arend. “Introduction.” Chapter 1 in Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries . 2nd ed. Yale University Press, 2012. ISBN: 9780300172027.
- ———. “Executive-Legislative Relations: Patterns of Dominance and Balance of Power.” Chapter 7 in Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries . 2nd ed. Yale University Press, 2012. ISBN: 9780300172027.
- ———. “Electoral Systems: Majority and Plurality Methods Versus Proportional Representation.” Chapter 8 in Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries . 2nd ed. Yale University Press, 2012. ISBN: 9780300172027.
- ———. “Division of Power: The Federal-Unitary and Centralized-Decentralized Contrasts.” Chapter 10 in Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries . 2nd ed. Yale University Press, 2012. ISBN: 9780300172027.
- Duverger, Maurice. “The Number of Parties.” Book II, Chapter 1, Parts 1-2 in Political Parties: Their Organization and Activity in the Modern State . 2nd ed. Routledge Kegan & Paul, 1964. ISBN: 9780416683202.
- Stepan, Alfred. “Political Leadership and Regime Breakdown: Brazil.” Chapter 4 in The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes: Latin America . Edited by Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1978. ISBN: 9780801820236.
- Hume, David. “Of the Origin of Government.” Essay 5, Part 1 in Essays: Moral, Political and Literary . Edited by Eugene F. Miller. 2nd ed. Liberty Fund, 1985. ISBN: 9780865970564.
- Tilly, Charles. “States and their Citizens.” Chapter 4 in Coercion, Capital, and European States, AD 990-1992 . Revised ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 1992. ISBN: 9781557863683.
- ———. “Part Three: The Continuing Impact of an Environment of Conflict on State and Society.” In Strong Societies and Weak States: State-Society Relations and State Capabilities in the Third World . Princeton University Press, 1988, pp. 206–37, and 269–77. ISBN: 9780691010731.
- Lipset, Seymour Martin. “Economic Development and Democracy.” Chapter 2 in Political Man: The Social Bases of Politics. Expanded and updated ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981. ISBN: 9780801825224.
- Dahl, Robert A. “Equalities and Inequalities.” Chapter 6 in Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition . Yale University Press, 1972, pp. 81–94. ISBN: 9780300015652.
- Moore, Jr., Barrington. “Preface and Acknowledgements.” In Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World . Beacon Press, 1993. ISBN: 9780807050736.
- ———. “England and the Contributions of Violence to Gradualism.” Chapter 1 in Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World . Beacon Press, 1993. ISBN: 9780807050736.
- ———. “The Democratic Route to Modern Society.” Chapter 7 in Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World . Beacon Press, 1993. ISBN: 9780807050736.
- ———. “Revolution from Above and Fascism.” Chapter 8 in Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World . Beacon Press, 1993. ISBN: 9780807050736.
- ———. “The Peasants and Revolution.” Chapter 9 in Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World . Beacon Press, 1993. ISBN: 9780807050736.
- Evans, Peter. “States and Industrial Transformation.” Chapter 1 in Embedded Autonomy: States & Industrial Transformations . Princeton University Press, 1995, pp. 10–18. ISBN: 9780691037363.
- ———. “States.” Chapter 3 in Embedded Autonomy: States & Industrial Transformations . Princeton University Press, 1995. ISBN: 9780691037363.
- de Soto, Hernando. “The Five Mysteries of Capital.” Chapter 1 in The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else . Basic Books, 2003. ISBN: 9780465016150.
- ———. “The Mystery of Missing Information.” Chapter 2 in The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else . Basic Books, 2003. ISBN: 9780465016150.
- ———. “By Way of Conclusion.” Chapter 7 in The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else . Basic Books, 2003, pp. 208–18. ISBN: 9780465016150.
- Lipset, Seymour Martin, and Stein Rokkan. “Cleavage Structures, Party Systems, and Voter Alignments: An Introduction.” In Party Systems and Voter Alignments: Cross-National Perspectives . Free Press, 1967. ISBN: 9780029191507.
- Gallagher, Michael, Michael Laver, and Peter Mair. “Cleavage Structures and Electoral Change.” Chapter 9 in Representative Government in Modern Europe . 5th ed. Open University Press, 2011. ISBN: 9780077129675.
- Kitschelt, Herbert. “Party Systems.” Chapter 22 in The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics . Edited by Carles Boix and Susan C. Stokes. Oxford University Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780199566020.
- Stokes, Susan C. “Political Clientelism.” Chapter 25 in The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics . Edited by Carles Boix and Susan C. Stokes. Oxford University Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780199566020.
- Kitschelt, Herbert, and Steven I. Wilkinson. “Citizen-politician linkages: an introduction.” Chapter 1 in Patrons, Clients, and Policies: Patterns of Democratic Accountability and Political Competition . Edited by Herbert Kitschelt and Steven I. Wilkinson. Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780521690041.
- Magaloni, Beatriz, Alberto Diaz-Caybros, and Federico Estévez. “Clientelism and portfolio diversification: a model of electoral investment with applications to Mexico.” Chapter 8 in Patrons, Clients, and Policies: Patterns of Democratic Accountability and Political Competition . Edited by Herbert Kitschelt and Steven I. Wilkinson. Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780521690041.
- Tendler, Judith. “Introduction.” Chapter 1 in Good Government in the Tropics . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780801860928.
- Kosack, Stephen, Courtney Tolmie, and Charles C. Griffin. “Examine the spending.” Chapter 4 in From the Ground Up: Improving Government Performance with Independent Monitoring Organizations . Brookings Institution Press, 2010, pp. 50–64. ISBN: 9780815704126.
- Dahl, Robert A. “Why Polyarchy Developed in Some Countries and Not Others.” Chapter 18 in Democracy and Its Critics . Yale University Press, 1991. ISBN: 9780300049381.
- ———. “How to Criticize Democracy in Late Fifth- and Fourth-Century Athens.” Chapter 10 in The Athenian Revolution: Essays on Ancient Greek Democracy and Political Theory . Princeton University Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780691001906.
Prerequisites & course information
Prereq: Permission of instructor G (Spring) 3-0-9 units
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026–2027
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Spring 2024
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OpenCourseWare ↗Fall 2013
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW calendar ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.