Thus, many of the lessons we will draw from these cases can be directly applied to other cases not covered in class. Additionally, these six countries have special importance for the United States and student should be familiar with their governments. The readings and our discussions will highlight specific features of each country. However, we will also develop conceptual tools to compare these countries and generalize to other cases. Comparative politics is not simply the description of other countries.
Description is the first step in the process of forming general comparisons and causal connections.
My goal is that you leave this course not only with some knowledge of other parts of the world, but that you also have the skills to analyze and interpret events in other countries in the future. Required Text Shively, W. Phillips. Comparative Governance . I expect students to come to class on a regular. I expect that you will come to class prepared to comment on the readings or answer questions about them.