AP Comparative Government and Politics
Instructor: William Vogt
Parkway North High School
e-mail: bvogt@pkwy.k12.mo.us
Course Description:
This course is a rigorous course which is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement Comparative Government and Politics. This class is a college level course. As such, students will be expected to read works that are written at that level and be prepared to engage in discussion and debate at a high level. We will investigate the history, institutions and ideas which form the world’s political experience. We will focus on the variety of governmental solutions around the world to deal with economic and social challenges faced by man in a social context. Central to our study will be specific case studies. These international case studies will include People’s Republic of China, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United Mexican States, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Russian Federations, and Iran. These case studies will allow us to analyze and compare how particular approaches to governmental problems are worked out in practice.
Texts:
Hauss, Charles, Comparative Politics: Domestic Responses to Global Challenges, 5th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006.
Soe, Christian, ed. Annual Editions: Comparative Politics, 2006-2007 24th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Dushkin, 2006.
Edwards, George C., Martin Wattenberg, and Robert Lineberry. Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy, 13th ed. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2008.
Additional Course Readings:
Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto - available in the school bookstore
Course Packets and Individual Case Studies
There will also be many readings from other supplementary materials – New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Economist, Newsweek, …
Articles from several academic journals
Course Environment:
This class will be a community of people dedicated to learning. I am always learning with you and as such think more of myself as a senior scholar joined by my students in a quest for knowledge and truth. You are expected to approach the class as though this were a collaborative effort on all of our parts to make this class the best that it can be. In order to jointly pursue our goals we must have deep respect for each other. I think that this class can provide all of us with a rare opportunity to create an intellectual haven in which we all feel comfortable and which will enrich all of our lives both personal and academic. I have many things planned for this course. However, none of this will be possible if you do not assist in this project. I take my studies seriously and expect that you will do so as well this year. I promise that each of you will be rewarded for the time and dedication you put forth in this class.
Expectations:
This will be a rigorous college level course. As such we will be moving through material in both great depth and quickly. You must be prepared to keep up. In this class you will read, read, read, and write, write, write. Be prepared to do both! You can expect a reading assignment of 10-15 pages in length every night. There will also be a weekly reflection paper due on a salient topic of my choosing every Friday. We will also have frequent “pop” quizzes on the reading and class discussion to ensure that everyone is keeping up with us. There is also a web site dedicated to this course. You are expected to use and refer to it frequently. It will keep you updated on assignments, readings, and on central questions asked. Additionally, there is a forum set up to discuss essential questions outside of the class. Students are expected to participate in these discussions frequently. You must show evidence of constant intellectual engagement.
Current Events:
Because this is a government class, you are expected to keep up with current events. We will be discussing current events and their impact and reference to the content we are studying. You are expected to be well informed so that you may meaningfully contribute to the discussions. You may do this through nightly watching of a national news program (one which covers international events), reading a newspaper (some sites have news available online – CNN, BBC, New York Times, …), or listening to a quality radio news program like NPR.
Unit Plans:
Weeks 1-3: Intellectual and Conceptual Introduction to Comparative Government and Politics
Reading:
Hauss Ch. 1-2
Excerpts: Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Rawls
Barber, Benjamin “Globalizing Democracy”, “Jihad vs. McWorld”
Dahl, Robert “On Democracy”
Diamond, Larry “The Global State of Democracy”
Huntington, Samuel “The Clash of Civilizations”
Lovell, David “Liberal Democracy and Its Critics”
Zakkaria, Fareed “The Rise of Illiberal Democracy”
Sovereignty, Authority, and Power
Political and Economic Change
Citizens, Society, and the State
Political Institutions
Public Policy
Concept of a State
Democracy
Globalization
Weeks 4-7: Western Democracies: Great Britain and the European Union
Readings:
Hauss, Ch. 4, 7
Magstadt, Thomas “The European Union Today”
C-SPAN “Common Sense: A Viewer’s Guide to the British House of Commons”
Packet articles (Current)
Weeks 8-12: Current and Former Communist Regimes
Readings:
Hauss, Ch. 8,9,10
Marx “The Communist Manifesto”
Barber, Benjamin “An Epitaph for Marxism”
Kennedy, Michael “From Marxism to Postcommunism”
Mayer, Tom “The Collapse of Soviet Communism”
Government and Politics in Russia
Evolution of Russian State
Political Culture and Participation
Public Policy
Readings:
Hauss, Ch. 9
Hunt, Carew “The Theory and Practice of Communism”
Pipes, Richard “The Death of Soviet Communism”
Putin Gambles on Raw Power, Steven Lee Myers, The New York Times, September 19, 2004
What Does Putin Want?, Peter Lavelle, Current History, October 2004
Government and Politics in China
Background
Evolution of Chinese State
Political Culture and Participation
Public Policy
Readings:
Hauss, Ch. 10
Chandler, Clay “Inside the New China”
Guthrie, Douglas “China: The Quiet Revolution”
China’s Leader, Ex-Rival at Side, Solidifies Power, Joseph Kahn, The New York Times, September 25, 2005
Weeks 13-18: Developing and Emerging Countries and Economies
Impact of International Monetary Fund
Impact of Globalization
Impact of Developed Countries on
Comparison of Political Solution to Problems Faced
Readings:
Hauss, Ch. 11,13, 15, 16
Government and Politics in Mexico
Readings:
Hauss, Ch. 16
“Fox’s Mexico: Democracy Paralyzed”, Denise Dresser, Current History, February 2005
“Latin America Looks Leftward Again”, Juan Forero, The New York Times, December 18, 2005
Government and Politics in Nigeria
Readings:
Hauss, Ch. 15
“Nigeria: Chronicle of a Dying State”, Ike Okonta, Current History, May 2005
Government and Politics in Iran
Readings:
Hauss, Ch. 13
“Middle East Democracy”, Marina Ottaway and Thomas Carothers, Foreign Policy, November–December 2004.
Nuclear Issues – Current Articles
“The Iranian Debacle: An Istanbul Dispatch,” Afshin Molavi, Journal of International Affairs, vol. 60, No.2, Spring/Summer 2007.