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Canyon College



COURSE SYLLABUS: Comparative Politics

Course Title: Department: Instructor:

PS323 - Comparative Politics Political Science Michael A. S. Guth, Ph.D., J.D. E-Mail - Vitae

Please print a copy of this syllabus for future reference.

Required Textbook: - Online Bookstore

* Hauss, Charles, Comparative Politics: Domestic Responses to Global Challenges, 4th Ed., Thomson - Wadsworth Publishing, ISBN #: 0534572804

Course Description

Americans are sometimes characterized as isolated from the rest of the world and thus prone to a kind of ethnocentrism when it comes to thinking about politics. We have the "separation of powers," "judicial review," a "two party system," and all those other wonderful things we learned about in a junior high school civics class; and we often find ourselves telling other countries that they ought to have all of these things too. This course is designed, first, to show you that there are other ways of running politics besides the American way. We will be looking closely at the governments of Great Britain, France, Germany, the European Union, Russia, Japan, China, Iraq, Mexico and the unique challenges facing the Third World developing countries – examining parliamentary systems, multi-party systems, one- party dominant systems, communist party dominated systems, and systems seeking to establish themselves. After examining the way politics is conducted in other countries, students will gain renewed appreciation for our own political institutions and framework. In short, the course will focus on “seeking new lands, and seeing them with new eyes,” as stated in the textbook. At the same time, the course is designed to introduce you to the field of "comparative politics" where we seek to understand why different countries have developed different kinds of governments and whether all of this makes any difference. Nation-building concerns, types and degree of political cleavages, views toward political authority, and different political ideologies will be examined. Finally the workings-both in theory and in practice-of the key institutions of each country will be compared.

Course Objectives

At the conclusion of the course the student will be able to:

• explain the politics, history, culture, and economics of Great Britain, France, Germany, the European Union, Russia, Japan, China, Iraq, Mexico and the unique challenges facing the Third World developing countries;
• analyze politics in various countries, i.e., the practice of comparative politics;
• think critically about how different kinds of government and political institutions affect both domestic and foreign policies for a given country;
• explain how political change can be accomplished given the weight of history and political culture;
• understand how political power is maintained;
• describe the relationship between the political system and the economy;
• define power, state, government, nation, and regime;
• understand the different constitutional, ideological, and social bases of political legitimacy. Students explore the sources of these beliefs, how they are affirmed or changed, and why political values in one country may differ radically from those in another country;
• learn how societal cleavages affect political parties and political behavior in different countries. For example, student could explore how antagonistic classes have influenced party formation in Great Britain, and the more recent effects of the lessening of class antagonisms;
• explain how societies influence their political system, and specifically how diverse social groups relate to the state;
• describe how “globalization” has affected domestic politics; and
• explain the origins, character, and impact of ethnocentric nationalism on each of the countries or regions examined in this course.

Overview

Throughout the course the student will read be reading from the relatively interesting textbook by Hauss. This textbook was chosen over others in Comparative Politics, because of its easy-to-read style and its updated content. By reading this text and doing online research, the student will have an in depth understanding of politics is run in various countries. This course will stress real world conditions and real world solutions, as opposed to academic models or theories of interest primarily to academics.

This course will have weekly assignments accompanied by online research that is relevant to the topic of discussion for the week. Each week, students will complete quizzes on their reading assignments to verify that they have mastered the course material. Please review assignments in advance. Some assignments may take longer than others, depending in part on a student’s interest level in the countries being examined that week, but each assignment has been tailored for completion within a week. Students must keep up with the pace of the weekly assignments, or the volume of reading and examinations will soon pile up on the student and lead to a withdrawal.

Student should also read a major newspaper daily focusing on the international news section. In conjunction with a major newspaper student should also find news from one of the alternative news sources listed below. Links are provided to these news sources.

Course Policies

On-Line Participation

Since this course is offered over the Internet, which allows students to participate at "any time, any where," it is important to plan your time carefully. Students are expected to pace themselves to access assignments, prepare their work and necessary research, and submit assignments to the instructor by the established due dates. Students are expected to make use of local resources as well as required readings. Twenty percent of the student grade comes from weekly discussion board postings on the theme for that week. Students are expected to post an average of three substantive comments to the discussion board each week. Students should take time to type in new subject lines for their messages that describe succinctly the content of the posting, rather than merely hit reply and use the same subject line tag that a previous student or the instructor has written. That way the discussion board will more readily display the content and ideas under discussion.

Course Week and Due Dates

Generally, Monday is the first of the course week, and Sunday is the last day of the course week. The weekly quizzes scheduled for completion during a class week should be taken by the end of the day Sunday, determined by your own time zone.

Communications with the Instructor

Because the instructor is teaching several large classes over the Internet, all students must always identify themselves as enrolled in the Comparative Politics course in all e-mail correspondence and any phone calls to the instructor.

Late Assignment Penalties

I must receive weekly assignments not later than Sunday midnight (your time zone) of the week due according to the syllabus. Students who anticipate that their schedule may cause assignments to be out of compliance are advised to contact instructor at least one week in advance, as an extension may be permitted with prior mutual agreement. Instructor discretion regarding point penalties for any late work will be considered final.

Absentee Policy

While this course is designed to be completed through independent study, "attendance" is recorded through discussion board postings and through the weekly quizzes submitted to the course web page. However, please note that any student who has not participated (completed assignments) for 14 consecutive days without prior discussion with the instructor regarding such absence shall be recommended for administrative withdrawal. The school shall make recommendations to the instructor as to what action will be taken.

Academic Honesty

Canyon College policies are in effect. All work must be your own. Presenting as one's own the words, ideas, or expression of another in any form is cheating through plagiarism, and will not be tolerated.

Grading

You will receive a grade each week for an objective quiz covering that week’s reading assignment. Your final grade will be based 80% on these objective quizzes and 20% on discussion board participation. Each student is expected to post an average of three substantive comments to the discussion board each week.

Reading and Assignments

Week 1 - Introduction to Comparative Politics
Chapter 1: Seeking new lands, seeing with new eyes
Chapter 2: The United States
Students should post three substantive messages to the discussion board and complete the weekly quizzes on the assigned reading.

Week 2 - The Industrialized Democracies
Chapter 3: The Industrialized Democracies
Chapter 4: Great Britain
Students should post three substantive messages to the discussion board and complete the weekly quizzes on the assigned reading.

Week 3 - More on Europe
Chapter 5: France
Chapter 6: Germany
Students should post three substantive messages to the discussion board and complete the weekly quizzes on the assigned reading.

Week 4 - Economic Powerhouses
Chapter 7: The European Union
Chapter 8: Japan
Students should post three substantive messages to the discussion board and complete the weekly quizzes on the assigned reading.

Week 5 - The Crisis of Communism
Chapter 9: Current and Former Communist Regimes
Chapter 10: Russia
Students should post three substantive messages to the discussion board and complete the weekly quizzes on the assigned reading.

Week 6 - China and the Third World
Chapter 11: China
Chapter 12: The Third World
Students should post three substantive messages to the discussion board and complete the weekly quizzes on the assigned reading.

Week 7 - The Third World Continued
Chapter 13: India
Chapter 14: Iraq
Students should post three substantive messages to the discussion board and complete the weekly quizzes on the assigned reading.

Week 8 - Conclusions
Chapter 16: Mexico
Chapter 17: Danger . . . And Opportunity
Students should post three substantive messages to the discussion board and complete the weekly quizzes on the assigned reading.

About the Professor:

Michael A. S. Guth, Ph.D., J.D., is a Managing Director at Risk Management Consulting, based in Oak Ridge, TN. His clients have included Tennessee Valley Authority, PG&E Energy Trading, Oklahoma Gas & Electric Energy Trading, General Electric Power Systems, Progress Energy, and the Petroleum Institute of Research Associates. He received his B.A. (economics) from Rice University, his M.S. (social science) from Caltech, and his Ph.D. (economics) from the Univ. of Tennessee, where he also received his law degree. He currently teaches on-line courses at the MBA level in Managerial Economics (focusing on employee and managerial incentives), Decision Analysis for Managers, and at the undergraduate level in Health Care Economics, Health Care Finance, Strategic Management, Comparative Politics, and the Design and Administration of Public Organizations. A complete list of more than twenty courses he has taught is shown at his web site, http://michaelguth.com/economist.htm. He also practices law with an emphasis on energy law, health care law, and business transactions. See his site http://michaelguth.com/. He is currently researching ways to offer health care services more efficiently and at lower cost to consumers. From 1990 - 1992, Dr. Guth worked as a quantitative financial analyst in London and Frankfurt for Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse First Boston. He lived in Germany during the reunification of East and West Germany. In the fall of 2004, Dr. Guth will continue his legal writings as Editor-in-Chief of a new legal newspaper for Tennessee, Tennessee Law Weekly.

Dr. Guth’s philosophy of life:
“When I was hungry, you gave me to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me to drink.....Now enter into the home of my Father.”

Dr. Guth’s philosophy of on-line education:
"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." -William Butler Yeats

(thanks to Kerry Prendergast, Thomas Edison State College, for showing me this quote).