Major Themes in Comparative Analysis

This course is a graduate seminar in comparative politics. It aims to provide students with the conceptual, theoretical, and analytical tools necessary for comparative research. The course is divided into five parts. The first explores some of the central ideas and philosophies that animate comparative politics. The second introduces the field and explores some basic methodological problems. The third investigates core topics and theoretical approaches; the fourth centers on political regimes; and the fifth focuses on interest representation and state-society relations. This is a reading and discussion seminar. Our class sessions will focus on discussions of course readings. Students are required to do all of the readings for the week in advance of class meetings and to participate actively in class discussions.