Dear Students,
Please respond to one of the following discussion questions. IN ADDITION, everyone must respond to Question 5 below:
1) How would you go about setting up a study to test either the Modernization Theory of Democracy or the Dependency Theory? Be sure to explain each choice with a sufficient level of specificity (i.e. don't just say that you would choose a country with low levels of growth and another with high - you need to explain why you would make this choice).
2) What is a rentier state, and how do they differ from other states (such as democracies or communist states)?
3) What argument(s) support the proposition that democracy leads to economic growth? (Be sure to also address counter arguments).
4) What argument(s) support the proposition that economic growth leads to democracy?
5) What is the resource curse? How might this be related to Dependency Theory?
6) Why does Lipset say that education is the most important modernization factor supporting democracy?
7) Explain the evolution of Britain's democratic and economic systems.
8) Does Britain's history support the arguments that Przworski and Limongi pose against the proposition that democracy leads to economic growth? Explain why or why not.
9) What are the key hypotheses of Dependency Theory?
10) Explain the logic of Dependency Theory.
Happy Weekend and Happy Blogging,
Kris
Friday, July 24, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Dear Students,
Please respond to one of the following discussion questions, or to a topic of your choosing.
1. Why does the process of legislature creation matter? (In your response, you may want to draw on the specific examples we used in class, or examples that you are familiar with. Think about the consequences of the process and context of the creation of the legislature and government).
2. What has been the impact of mixed electoral rules on law making in the Russia Duma? Have mixed electoral rules given more or less power to the President?
3. Describe the system of "Checks and Balances" in the U.S. (Remember that this extends beyond the three branches of government.) Why did the framers want this system?
4. Describe the two models of partisanship formation. (Hint: one model involves cleavages, the other involves psychological attachments.)
5. What is the incumbency advantage? Why do incumbents have this advantage? What are the implications for quality challengers in elections?
6. What is the difference between the role of political parties and the role of interest groups in the policy process?
7. How much power do interest groups really have in the policy making process? (Be sure to draw on as much course material in your response as possible. E.g. you can discuss the four spheres of influence, etc.)
8. What are the two models of policy output? (These need to be explained in detail - describe how each works and why they work. Hint: in the distributive model, you will want to explain pork and logrolling.) Which model better explains "regular" policy output? Which model better explains major changes in policy output? Why?
9. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Unicameral legislatures? How about Bicameral legislatures? (Hint: you will want to consult your textbook.)
10. Discuss the different types of parties (as discussed in the book). Can you think of historical and/or contemporary examples of each type of party? Explain.
Happy weekend (and happy blogging),
Kris
Please respond to one of the following discussion questions, or to a topic of your choosing.
1. Why does the process of legislature creation matter? (In your response, you may want to draw on the specific examples we used in class, or examples that you are familiar with. Think about the consequences of the process and context of the creation of the legislature and government).
2. What has been the impact of mixed electoral rules on law making in the Russia Duma? Have mixed electoral rules given more or less power to the President?
3. Describe the system of "Checks and Balances" in the U.S. (Remember that this extends beyond the three branches of government.) Why did the framers want this system?
4. Describe the two models of partisanship formation. (Hint: one model involves cleavages, the other involves psychological attachments.)
5. What is the incumbency advantage? Why do incumbents have this advantage? What are the implications for quality challengers in elections?
6. What is the difference between the role of political parties and the role of interest groups in the policy process?
7. How much power do interest groups really have in the policy making process? (Be sure to draw on as much course material in your response as possible. E.g. you can discuss the four spheres of influence, etc.)
8. What are the two models of policy output? (These need to be explained in detail - describe how each works and why they work. Hint: in the distributive model, you will want to explain pork and logrolling.) Which model better explains "regular" policy output? Which model better explains major changes in policy output? Why?
9. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Unicameral legislatures? How about Bicameral legislatures? (Hint: you will want to consult your textbook.)
10. Discuss the different types of parties (as discussed in the book). Can you think of historical and/or contemporary examples of each type of party? Explain.
Happy weekend (and happy blogging),
Kris
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Dear Students,
Because we just had the midterm, we have no new material to discuss. Thus, this week's blog discussion is somewhat unusual. Here it is:
What criteria would you use if you were going to grade the papers in this class? What specific things would you look for? What would make an A paper, as opposed to a B, a C, a D, or a F paper? Think about both the substance, style, and mechanics (e.g. grammar, sentence structure, etc) in your response.
Have fun with this and be creative - I may adopt some of your ideas if they are well-developed and fair for the class.
Kris
Because we just had the midterm, we have no new material to discuss. Thus, this week's blog discussion is somewhat unusual. Here it is:
What criteria would you use if you were going to grade the papers in this class? What specific things would you look for? What would make an A paper, as opposed to a B, a C, a D, or a F paper? Think about both the substance, style, and mechanics (e.g. grammar, sentence structure, etc) in your response.
Have fun with this and be creative - I may adopt some of your ideas if they are well-developed and fair for the class.
Kris
Friday, July 3, 2009
Dear Students,
Here are the discussion questions for this week:
1. Explain Duverger's Law. Then, choose either SMDP, SMDM, or PR and explain the mechanics of the electoral rule and the psychological effects of the rule.
2. Why would a country ever choose a mixed electoral system? Use what you know about the advantages and disadvantages of each rule in your response.
3. Which system of government, if any, is better for democracy (use Linz and Horowitz in your response).
Best,
Kris
Here are the discussion questions for this week:
1. Explain Duverger's Law. Then, choose either SMDP, SMDM, or PR and explain the mechanics of the electoral rule and the psychological effects of the rule.
2. Why would a country ever choose a mixed electoral system? Use what you know about the advantages and disadvantages of each rule in your response.
3. Which system of government, if any, is better for democracy (use Linz and Horowitz in your response).
Best,
Kris
Friday, June 26, 2009
Week 1 Discussion Topics
Students,
Please respond to one of the following prompts (or a topic of your choosing):
1. Explain when you would use either the Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD) or the Most Different Systems Design (MDSD). When would you use both, and why? How would you go about selecting cases in order to use these techniques?
2. Provide an example of a hypothesis. How would you go about testing it? Explain what it means to have variation on both the dependent and independent variables and why you MUST have this variation in order to test your hypothesis. What would happen if you did not have variation?
3. How would you classify Mexico's regime type? (You may only respond to this question if you attended lecture on Thursday, because you will need to use the examples from the videos to support your response. You may also draw on the excerpt in the book that addresses this topic).
Please let me know of any problems with posting comments. As a reminder, I will be away from email all day tomorrow, so don't panic if you don't hear from me right away.
Best, Kris
Please respond to one of the following prompts (or a topic of your choosing):
1. Explain when you would use either the Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD) or the Most Different Systems Design (MDSD). When would you use both, and why? How would you go about selecting cases in order to use these techniques?
2. Provide an example of a hypothesis. How would you go about testing it? Explain what it means to have variation on both the dependent and independent variables and why you MUST have this variation in order to test your hypothesis. What would happen if you did not have variation?
3. How would you classify Mexico's regime type? (You may only respond to this question if you attended lecture on Thursday, because you will need to use the examples from the videos to support your response. You may also draw on the excerpt in the book that addresses this topic).
Please let me know of any problems with posting comments. As a reminder, I will be away from email all day tomorrow, so don't panic if you don't hear from me right away.
Best, Kris
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