The
surprising persistence of authoritarian regimes since the end of the Cold War
has inspired a major new literature in comparative politics on how
non-democracy works. This graduate seminar considers some conceptual and
theoretical issues and debates in this new wave of research, such as: How
should authoritarian regimes, including so-called Òhybrid regimes,Ó best be
classified? What kind of institutions makes authoritarianism more or less
stable and durable? How do these regimes try to generate compliance and
support? Why do so many of them hold elections and convene parliaments? And
what economic factors tend to bolster or undermine dictatorship?
Comparative Historical Analysis
This
graduate seminar critically considers the theoretical impact and methodological
rigor of Comparative Historical Analysis in political science and sociology.
Studies in this tradition employ a variety of research methods and address a
wide array of political and sociological questions. Yet its practitioners are
Òunited by a commitment to offering historically grounded explanations of
large-scale and substantively important outcomes.Ó In the seminarÕs opening
week, we situate CHA in wider methodological and disciplinary contexts, and
consider whether and how historically specific arguments might advance the
quest for causal generalization in the social sciences. In each subsequent
week, we pair up readings on specific methodological themes and dilemmas with
substantive CHA works on what we might broadly term Òpolitical development.Ó
Students will be strongly encouraged throughout the quarter to draw lessons for
their own dissertation research designs.
State, Society and Democratization in Southeast Asia
This
course provides a broad overview of the evolution of Southeast AsiaÕs highly
diverse political systems, with a focus on historical factors that have helped
shape prospects for democratic transition in recent years. The first segment
sketches how the region as a whole was influenced by global
processes of colonization, state formation, the rise of nationalism,
Cold War rivalry, and the intensification of capitalist modes of production and
exchange. After making a brief foray into democratization theory, we consider
the value of competing theoretical approaches in apprehending the collapse of
authoritarianism in two specific cases (Indonesia and the Philippines), as well
as the long-term survival of authoritarianism in two others (Burma and
Malaysia).
Democratic and Nationalist Revolutions
Nationalism
and democratization are defining features of the modern political age. This
graduate seminar considers the interaction of these two global trends by
comparing and contrasting some of the major mass movements for popular
self-rule that have erupted around the world from the 17th century to the 21st.
We will pay particular attention to the social foundations of these political
revolutions, exploring the possibility that we might uncover some common causal
processes across this extraordinarily diverse set of events.
Power, Identity, and Resistance III