1. Comparative Politics A summary
Jennifer Bailey
POL 1000
Fall 2013

2. Pensum – KP/CP
Sodaro, Michael J. (2008), Comparative Politics: A Global Introduction, 3rd edition. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Kap: 1-12;
Jørgen Møller (2012), Statsdannelse, regimeforandring og økonomisk udvikling (hele boka)
Heywood, Andrew (2007), Political Ideologies: An Introduction, 5th edition. Palgrave/ Macmillian. Paperback. Kap. 1-5, 7, 10, 12.
4 articles and chapters

3. Key Themes Covered Ideas and Ideologies – Method – The State Democracy
what is the good society? (values)
Method –
Emprical knowledge
how do we know what we know?
The State
the building block of comparative and international politics
Democracy
Our good society
Where does it come from?
What does it take?
How do we make it work?
Individual countries

4. Ideas and Ideologies What is an ideology? Which? How to study:
Package of beliefs: How the world works, how it should work, and plan of action
Which?
Liberalism, conservatism, socialism, fascism, nationalism, some on fundamentalism, anarchism
How to study:
Focus on package of beliefs
Pure types vs «spin offs»
Understand basic assumptions
«Tensions between» boxes useful
«isms» boxes ,

5. Method Boring! Hard to understand! BUT fundamental & essential
Making and evaulating arguments about causality
Sodero:
Hypothesis making and testing
Møller
the comparative method with a few cases
Example: how academic debate develops
Bailey, Møller and Sodero: the logic of comparison and evidence
The language of method (including but not limited to):
Theory, cases, causes, causal mechanisms, variables, operationalization, methods of difference & agreement, MSSD & MDSD, path dependency, hypothesis/hypothesis testing

6. What is the state?
Weber, Møller, Sodero (Knutsen, Jellinek and international law)
The building block of comparative and international politics
The setting for the evoltuion of democracy
Møller – various theories about development of the state in Western-central Europe
The importance of a state SYSTEM
The importance of war-making
Feudalism & free cities and the secular state
Tilly, Downing, Ertman, Hui
Critical to international politics and development of democracy

7. Democracy What is Democracy? Sodero, lectures
Definitions of democracy, ancient and modern
Democracies vs republics
Do we have a democracy today?

8. Democracy: Where does it come from?
Møller – theories of development of democracy and captialism in Europe
Hintze, Moore, Bloch, Weber, Møller, Anderson, Møller, Skocpol, etc.
Also in Sodero’s “what does it take?” (implicit)
Implict in the country studies

9. Democracy: what does it take?
Sodero & lectures
Sodero’s 10 conditions
Extra focus on culture and civil society
The «coconut theory»:
Can democracy take root just anywhere?
Sodero – Afghanistan and Iraq

10. Translating Democracy from Ideal to practice
Organization & institutions matter
Reflect history
Impact outcomes
Constituions and vertical division of power
Confederations, federations and unitary states
Horizontal division of power
Executives, Legislatures (electoral systems) (and Judicial branch)
Civil Society & Interest groups

11. The readings on individual countries
What is the point?
Empirical knowledge of other countries
Apply concepts to individual countries
Source of examples and questions
Yeah, I see that or
That doesn’t fit!