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Semester 1

Comparative Politics in a Globalized World (PLIT08008)

Subject

Politics

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

2

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

**Please see Additional Restrictions below**

Course Summary

Comparison is one of the core tools of the political analyst. By comparing and contrasting different cases, scholars can gain important insights into the causes, dynamics and effects of different aspects of politics and international relations. Comparison can involve examining similarities and differences between political regimes, democratic practices, governments and parliaments, political cultures, levels of government, public policies, political mobilisation, and many more. This course will equip students with the knowledge and skills in when to compare, how to compare, what to compare, and how to use comparison for explaining and understanding political processes, events and outcomes. We will also explore how comparison is challenged by the process and context of globalisation. **In the first part of the course, we introduce the course itself, and the idea behind using comparisons as a method of inquiry. Alongside studies of political theory, international relations, or area studies, comparative politics is at the very core of the discipline of political science. But why? What are the reasons for comparisons being powerful tools to understand political questions? And how can knowledge of the similarities and differences between polities, politics, and policies help us understand how things are happening, but also why. **In the second part of the course, we will take a closer look at one particular type of regime democracies and the commonalities and vast differences within this category of states that has proliferated globally in the past 200 years. **The last part of the course looks at variations in what states actually do their public policies. The range of possible outcomes is even most vast here than in the types of regimes, so comparisons are both unavoidable and at times difficult.

Course Description

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 90%, Practical Exam 10%

Additional Restrictions

Unless you are nominated on a Politics exchange agreement, visiting students are only permitted to enrol in one Politics course each, per semester, before the start of the relevant semester’s welcome period – and spaces on each course are limited so cannot be guaranteed for any student. Enrolment in a second Politics course will depend on whether there are still spaces available in the September Welcome Period, and cannot be guaranteed. It is NOT appropriate for students to contact staff within this subject area to ask for an exception to be made; all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. This is due to the limited number of spaces available in this very popular subject area.

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