There are two five-to-seven
page papers for POL 4433: Comparative Government.
· Paper I
· Paper II
Basic Instructions:
· Papers must be typed and double-spaced with a one-inch margin and a font size of 10 or 12.
· Papers should be five to seven pages in length. (For graduate students: 8-10).
·
Papers must be stapled.
· Please, no folders or binders.
· Papers are due the beginning of class
·
If you are late to class turning in your paper,
it will be a one-point deduction per
minute that you are late.
· If you fail to attend class your paper will not be accepted.
· If you have a planned absence (i.e., field trip, etc.) then your paper is due before you leave. If you send a friend to turn it in for you, the above rules and conditions still apply!
PAPER I: Issues in
Comparative Politics
This assignment is to be a “first crack” at applying concepts from comparative
politics to an actual case. The goal is for you to:
1) Demonstrate understanding of
specific concepts.
2) Demonstrate an ability to
apply a concept/set of concepts to a particular case.
3) Demonstrate a rudimentary
ability to find suitable research materials.
Pick a concept (examples listed below) that is applicable to comparative
political inquiry (use the readings as a guide, or feel free to talk to me
about a concept). Take that concept and apply it to a specific case (i.e., a
nation-state). In your paper you should:
1) Provide a working definition
of your concept.
2) Explain how that concept
applies to your case.
3) Demonstrate, though
analytical reasoning, how and why the concept/concepts furthers our
understanding of
the given case.
4) Explain, through analytical
reasoning, how and why the case helps to further our
understanding of
the given concept.
You must use (and cite, in proper bibliographic format) at least five scholarly
sources (not counting any
course readings) for this assignment.
You may use course readings, but they do not count as one of your five.
Do NOT simply write an expository report.
EXAMPLES
political culture
political
parties
democracy
The first assignment is designed for you to select a political science concept that has comparative value (almost all do) and to try and apply it to a specific country, and then engage in some analytical criticism about that concept.
Be sure to do the following in your paper:
· Formulate a clear thesis. See this link for an excellent definition of a “thesis”: http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/beginning.html#thesis. This thesis should be presented in your first paragraph along with a general framing of your topic.
· The first part of the paper will deal with the concept. What is the concept you are using? How is it defined? Remember: go beyond just a dictionary definition. In the literature that you have found do you see agreement over the definition? Do you find any problems in defining the term? Do you have any observations about how the term ought be defined? This component should probably be based on two-to-three of your sources (if not all of them, depending on what you find).
· Introduce your case and then discuss how the concept could be used to help us understand the case a little better. This component should take up two-to-three sources. If you find sources that specifically discuss the case in light of the given concept, so much the better. It may be necessary to find general works on the given case and extrapolate how the concept helps explain the case.
· Consider if you understand the case better after applying the given concept to it. Further, does the concept make more sense after applying it to the case? In what way? Are there problems with the concept once it is applied to the case?
CLARIFICATION ON SOURCES:
Basically you will need two or three sources that discuss
your concept in the abstract. Your remaining sources should be general
political science works on your case and/or political science works that
discuss your case in the context of your concept.
Chiefly you are looking for books and journal articles.
“Scholarly
Sources” means:
· Books written by Ph.D.'s or other "experts" which set forth new ideas
· Political science journals (e.g., APSR, AJPS, PSJ, PSQ)
· Elite opinion/analysis journals (e.g., Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Current History)
PAPER II: Comparing Democracies
In this
assignment you will do a two-case comparative analysis of the
Some possible variables include:
· Type of territorial organization (Federalism, Centralization)
· Number of parties in the party system
· Electoral System (PR v. single-member district, etc.)
· Type of legislature (congressional v. parliamentary)
· Type of executive (president v. prime minister v. mix)
· other as approved by Dr. Taylor
In your analysis 1) provide a definition of the concept in question, 2) details the differences between the two cases, and 3) provide an analysis as to how and why the differences affect the cases in question.
You must use (and cite, in proper bibliographic format) at least five scholarly sources (not counting any course readings) for this assignment.