| This course is a graduate-level survey of
Comparative Politics (the study of domestic politics around the world). It
focuses on the battle between freedom and equality and the task of balancing
these ideals. How this struggle has unfolded across place and time represents
the core of Comparative Politics. We will examine basic institutions guiding
human action such as culture, constitutions, and property rights and will put
special emphasis on institutions of power: states, markets, societies,
democracies, and nondemocratic regimes. After exploring the fundamental
concepts and questions of Comparative Politics, we will apply them directly
to various political systems: developed democracies, communist and
postcommunist countries, and developing countries. We will conclude with a
discussion of globalization, linking what we have studied at the domestic
level to wider international dynamics. |