Instructor: Heather Sullivan Email: [email protected] Phone: 315.859.4239 Office: KJ 118

Course Description

Comparative politics is one of the major areas of the political science discipline. In this course, we will think like comparativists, systematically comparing politics in multiple countries, looking for patterns, and asking why political phenomena are the way they are. To structure the course, we will focus primarily on power and obedience. We will define the state, explore different ways of gaining control of the state apparatus, and consider how political leaders generate both elite support and mass obedience. In doing so, we will explore similarities and differences between wealthy and poor countries as well as between democratic and nondemocratic ones. Throughout the semester, we will read rich descriptions of political life as well as dense theoretical texts. By the end of the course, you won’t be able to read the news without thinking of the ways in which contemporary politics is influenced by the capacities a state possesses.

This course contributes to several of the educational goals of Hamilton College. I highlight three in particular:

  1. Intellectual curiosity and flexibility: Over the course of the semester, we will examine how political life is structured in various countries across the world. The course will push you to engage with current events in a spirit of intellectual curiosity and to rethink concepts that you may have taken for granted.
  2. Disciplinary practice: During the semester, as we think like comparativists. You will learn to approach world politics as a political scientist does, asking why politics looks the way it does in a given place and making systematic comparisons to answer questions about the political world.
  3. Analytic discernment: Throughout the course, you will identify patterns in the political world, make connections between past and present as well as across countries, and evaluate how theories and concepts help us understand contemporary political events.

Norms and Policies

Requirements