Browse Hierarchy POL284A: Comparative Politics

Why some countries are democracies and others are dictatorships? Why are ethnic groups politicized in some countries but not in others? Why some countries have many political parties and others just a few? How governments form and what determines the type of government that take office? How can we explain patterns of representation? This module analyses some of the most relevant contemporary questions by looking at political structures, individuals and collective actors and processes through the lens of Comparative Politics. In this module we are set not just to find out about other countries, but to broaden and deepen our understanding of important and general political processes within these countries. The course first analyses the main concepts, theoretical and methodological approaches in comparative political science then applies their insights to the analysis of institutions, economic development, regime stability and change, social movements, representation, national identify, religion, ideology and more.