Political Science 2300
Introduction to Comparative Politics
FALL 2007


Political Science 2300
Dr. Steven Wolinetz
Fall, 2007


Topics for Research Papers (due in class Monday, November 26th )

Select one of the countries listed below and prepare a well-written and well argued paper, 1750-2500 words (7-10 double-spaced typewritten pages) in length considering whether this country is a liberal democracy, illiberal democracy, or authoritarian political system, and ways in which it might change in the next five to ten years: If the country is authoritarian, then consider the likelihood that this country will attempt a transition to liberal democracy in the next five to ten years, and then estimate whether such a transition, should it be attempted, is likely to succeed. If the country you have selected is an illiberaldemocracy, or a country in which a transition to liberal democracy is underway, then examine the likelihood that it will succeed. If the country you have selected is a liberal democracy which has relatively recently transited from semi-democracy or authoritarianism, then consider whether it is likely to remain a liberal democracy or slip back to semi-democracy or authoritarianism.

Timetable:

In order to get you started on your paper early enough to ensure that you do good work, the following deadlines will be in effect:
o Preliminary selection of country: First, second, and third choices to be indicated by Friday, September 21st.


o An annotated bibliography and preliminary statement of your topic, including the way in which you plan to define or interpret it is due no later than Friday, October 5th. The annotated bibliography should contain relevant bibliographic data as well as short statement about what the source is and how you expect to use it (e.g. the kinds of information you expect to get from it.) Please include a photocopy of the first page of each book or periodical source which you intend to use and a print of the first or main page of each web source which you intend use. Value: 10% of the paper grade.


o A preliminary outline of your paper is due no later than Friday, November 16th. Value: 10% of the paper grade.


o The final version of your paper is due in class on Monday, November 26th. Late papers will be penalized 5 marks per day.



Sources:

Your paper should draw on a variety of sources. Although you may use your textbooks as points of departure, all topics require library research and should draw on a combination of books, journal articles, and data from websites. The websites for the Hague and Harrop text, http://www.palgrave.com/politics/hague/ and those listed in Annual Editions, Comparative Politics, 07/08 list a number of useful sources. You should supplement these with newspaper, magazine, and other internet sources. Remember that while you are likely to find useful information from web sources, you are unlikely to find sufficient information on the World Wide Web. See Hague and Harrop's "Internet Guide to Comparative Politics" http://www.palgrave.com/politics/hague/site/guide/index.html for useful advice on when and when not to use internet and other sources.

Although there is no specific number of sources required, your paper should use multiple sources and include a minimum of one or two books and journal articles. You should try for a minimum six to eight separate sources. The Hague and Harrop textbook indicates some useful sources at the end of each chapter and in a reference list at the back. In addition, Annual Editions, Comparative Politics contains a list of websites, keyed to articles on pages .. Introductions to each section of the volume contain additional links.


Further Specifications:

 If possible, papers should be typewritten, double-spaced and written according to the standard conventions of the English language. A good paper has an introduction and a conclusion and evidence or arguments to back it up. Papers should be edited carefully. You may find it useful to use sections and subsections to develop parts of your paper. Be sure to edit your paper. Avoid excess verbiage, and write as parsimoniously as possible. Papers which are poorly written or are ungrammatical will receive a maximum grade of 60%. Papers which are improperly documented will fare worse.


Documentation:

Papers should be documented using footnotes, endnotes, or a consistent system of in-text or scientific notation (author, year of publication, page number). Papers must contain a reference list or bibliography. Write in your own words and use direct quotations sparingly, if at all. Use direct quotations only for emphasis or if you are discussing the passage you have presented.


When you use direct quotations these should either be placed inside quotation marks (for short quotations) or indented and single-spaced to set the quotation off from your own writing. It is common practice to introduce direct quotations with phrases such as `According to "X",,,' or `As "X" argues...' This lets the reader know what is happening without immediately having to refer to a footnote or endnote. Do the same when you are summarizing or restating the argument of another author. However, sources must still be documented in footnotes, endnotes, or in-text references Failure to set off direct quotations as indicated is a form of plagiarism. So too is paraphrasing or using the arguments of other authors without attribution in footnotes, endnotes or in-text references. Rules on plagiarism and academic dishonesty (section 4.11.3, 2007-8 Calendar, pp. 63-5) will be applied strictly.


Hints and suggestions:

In doing your research and preparing your paper, bear several things in mind:

Your predictions will not necessarily be correct, but they should be informed and educated - in other words based on the experience of both the country which you have selected, and the experience of other countries which are similar or dissimilar to it. You are being to asked to do is to apply the literature on transitions to democracy, and more generally, comparative politics to the case which you have selected.

You will find the information available on some countries more complete than on others. There may be points at which you may find yourself making educated guesses about what a country and its politics are like. This is not unusual - scholars, journalists, and policymakers do it all the time - but try to make clear in your own mind, and to your reader, what assumptions you are making and why you have made them. If you feel uncertain about educated guess and leaps which you find yourself making, please consult with me about them.

Although your paper should be focussed on a single country or case, it should be cast in comparative context. One way to make the kinds of predictions requested is to consider whether, and in what ways, the case you are considering is different from or similar to other cases. These might include a) the same country at earlier points in time and b) other countries whose background, historical experience, culture, social and economic structures and institutions are in some way similar to the country you are studying. Although you may find information on particular cases thinner and less accessible than you would like, if you look, you should be able to find similar cases and a growing literature which helps place them in context.

Your paper should be written so that it can be understood by an intelligent, but not necessarily expert reader, for example a friend, sibling, or parent. The paper should be written in narrative form, with an introduction and a conclusion, and an argument in between. The paper should not include everything which you have discovered. However, it should present enough information that an intelligent reader, initially unfamiliar with the country, can not only grasp what you are saying, but also ends up with a coherent picture of the country and its politics.

Data bases which may be useful include Factiva, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS) and World Wide Political Science Abstracts. All are available through the QE II Library's Website.

Remember that there are non-governmental organizations (NGO's) which engage in the same kind of activity which you have been asked to do for your papers. You may wish to consult their websites for data and commentary.



Websites which may be useful include:

World Wide Web Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources: http://www.etown.edu/vl/

Library of Congress Country Studies: versions of books previously published in hard copy by the Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program (sponsored by the U.S. Department of Army) . The QEII Library owns most of these in paper, but these are also available on the web. See http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): http://www.odci.gov/

Richard Kimber's Political Science Resources (Keele University, UK). Excellent site with a wide range of useful links for this and other courses. http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/

Constitutions (from Richard Kimber's site): http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/const.htm

Country sites (area studies, from Richard Kimber's site): http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area.htm

Government information, from the QE II website: http://www.library.mun.ca/qeii/govdocs/govdocsoth.php

The Economist Country briefings (statistical and other information, unfortunately some articles available only to subscribers): http://www.economist.com/countries/

Elections around the world - for recent and past election data as well as links http://www.electionworld.org/

Freedom House: NGO which has rated the extent of democracy and freedom in countries since 1972: http://www.freedomhouse.org/

National Democratic Institute:NGO run by the Democratic Party in the United States, promotes transitions by lending practical advice on how to do it. http://www.ndi.org/

Amnesty International: useful for information on human rights and human rights violations http://www.amnesty.org/



Countries
Western Europe
Spain
Portugal
Greece

Central and Eastern Europe:

Bulgaria
Romania
Slovakia
Poland
Hungary
Czech Republic

Albania
Turkey
Serbia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia

Lithuania
Latvia
Estonia

Russia
Ukraine
Belarus
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Georgia
Kazakhstan

Middle East:

Iran
Jordan
Lebanon
Saudi Arabia
Yemen
Syria

Asia

Pakistan
Bangladesh
Sri Lanka
Burma (Myanmar)
Malaysia
Thailand
Singapore
Indonesia Viet Nam
Cambodia
Laos
Philippines
South Korea
People's Republic of China

Africa

Algeria
Morocco
Tunisia
Ethiopia
Eritrea
Libya
Sudan
Cameroon
Senegal
Ivory Coast
Liberia
Ghana
Nigeria
Niger
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Burundi
Rwanda
Zimbabwe
Tanzania
Mozambique
Sierra Leon
Malawi
Angola
Kenya
Uganda
Republic of South Africa
Namibia
Botswana
Mauritania

Latin America:

Argentina
Brazil
Mexico
Guatemala
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Panama
Belize
Honduras
Dominican Republic
Haiti

Venezuela
Colombia
Peru
Ecuador
Bolivia
Paraguay

Printable Version