Political Science

This class looks at politics outside the United States, in order to better understand differences in how governments are organized, how they relate to their citizens, how they change, and what they do. In the process, the course will expose students to some of the variation in countries throughout the world.  In particular, we will look at examples of: (1) advanced industrial democracies (Great Britain), (2) revolutionary regimes (Islamic Republic of Iran), and (3) developing countries with shifting regime types (Bolivia and Nigeria). This selection seeks to introduce students to classic models of democracy, revolution and authoritarianism, as well as serving as an introduction to several regions of the world (Europe, Mideast, Latin America, and Africa).  In the process, we will explore some of the major concepts within comparative politics, such as legitimate political authority, political representation (i.e. elections and political parties), political control, the role of the government in development, and regime change, with particular attention to democracy and democratization.