Course Description: Comparative Analysis of Government and Politics

Course Description, Prerequisites, and Corequisites: This course offers an introduction to the comparative analysis of government and politics and an overview of several case studies of selected advanced industrialized countries. In the first section of this course students will gain an understanding of the main concepts used to compare the government and politics of states. A discussion of concepts such as power, ideology, democracy, political culture, and citizenship will help us gain an understanding of how politics works at the theoretical level. In the second section of the course we will use concepts from the first section to examine comparative case studies from the developed world.

On the successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

? apply the main concepts used to compare the government and politics of states;
? describe the principal institutions of government found in western liberal democracies;
? identify the particular patterns of politics found in selected western liberal democracies; and
? recognize and explain similarities and differences in the politics of liberal democratic states.

Your task is to write a comparative essay with a view to explaining why two (and only two) of the democratic systems we are studying this term are similar in some way or are different in some way. There is no ideal way of organizing a comparative essay, but it is often easier for you and the reader to deal with the first country or institution, discussing the various aspects of it that are important for the comparison, and then move on to the second. As you proceed through your second case, go through your analysis in roughly the same order as you did the first. Then remind your reader of the similarities or differences along the way. The objective of this assignment is not for you to undertake original research, but rather that you search out what various authorities have to say on the subject and develop your comparative essay based on their research.

There are three main parts to an academic essay: an introduction, the main body, and the conclusion. The goal of the introduction is to set out the topic, state what your particular approach or argumentation will be, and tell your reader how the essay will be structured. You may choose to begin your introduction by providing some brief background information or context, a brief story, or a surprising fact or statistic. Once you have focused the reader’s attention, present your thesis, in one sentence or several, depending on the complexity of your argument. A thesis statement is not the same as your topic. A thesis, in contrast, is an argument, generally reduced down to one or more sentences. You should end your introduction by giving your readers a preview or roadmap of your main points. The body of your paper should develop your thesis by presenting your evidence and examples in a logical and orderly fashion that follows the preview in your introduction. The overall goal of this section is to develop your analysis and defend your argument. The conclusion is designed to bring together your essay’s main points and to reassert the strength of the thesis or argument. A conclusion is more than a summary, in that it is important to indicate why there is merit to your thesis or argument – what has been shown as a result of your exploration of the topic.