Why are some countries richer than others? Why are citizens of some countries freer than citizens of other countries? Does more individual freedom mean more individual wealth? Does correlation mean causation? When should we aggregate and when should we disaggregate social facts in our quest for understanding social trends? This course will equip students with the fundamental concepts, basic controversies, and key approaches to thinking about domestic political phenomena such as: state, nation, ethnicity, political violence, political systems, freedom and equality, political transitions, external influences on domestic politics, political ideologies, and the like. Students will also learn how to recognize the three fundamental approaches in assessing the drivers of political life: rational choice of individuals, political structures and political cultures, and how not to be a slave to any one of them. Last, students will be introduced to the fundamentals of comparative politics’ methodology: independent and dependent variables, how to compare cases, and when to use qualitative versus quantitative research techniques. Students will learn by applying each concept against a country they are already familiar with throughout the semester. They will further learn by simulating a political conflict in a country, where a “Status Quo” team will try to defend the existing regime against the “Transition” team promoting change. Team strategies will be based on an in-depth application of concepts and theories learned in class. Students will also write an explanatory paper by the end of the semester. By the end of this class, students will command basic concepts employed in describing domestic political institutions. Students will also become able to recognize implicit theoretical frameworks in contemporary political debates in media or in personal conversations. Lastly, students will learn how to select and compare cases to reach plausible conclusion, thus empowering their arguments in public policy debates. (Lecturers: Michael Rossi, Mladen Mrdalj)
