Department of Political Science

School of Social Sciences

University of Hyderabad
M.A. I- Semester

Course Title: Comparative Politics

M.A.: Compulsory Course Duration: July-December

Course number: PS- 402
Credits: 4
Prerequisite Course / Knowledge (If any):

Course Objective:

The course aims to enable students to analyse politics in a comparative perspective. It builds
their understanding about why and how politics and political systems vary from country to
country and why one needs to look at these variations and specificities. It equips students to
understand the shaping of political behaviour and outcomes of political processes in their
socio-cultural context.

Course Learning Outcomes (5 to 8)

After completion of this course successfully, the students will be able to

CLO-1: Explain why comparisons in political processes and behaviour are important
(Knowledge Base: Conceptual).

CLO-2: Understand the functioning of varied political systems and why political variations
exist between countries (Knowledge Base: Factual).

CLO-3: Understand the emergence and survival of democracy and authoritarian regimes
(Knowledge Base: Conceptual).

CLO-4: Explain the emergence of rights and social movements (Generic: Analytical/problem
solving skills).

CLO-5: Identify interconnections between society and state (Generic: Analytical/problem

solving skills).

CLO-6: Identify areas of research in comparative politics and frame research questions
(Career and Employability - including research).

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 Mapping of Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) with Program
Learning Outcomes (PLOs) and Program Specific Outcomes (PSOs)

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Each Course Learning Outcome (CLOs) may be mapped with one or more
Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs). Write ‘3’ in the box for ‘High-level’
mapping, 2 for ‘Medium-level’ mapping, 1 for ‘Low-level’ mapping

Teaching
Learning methods comprise of pedagogical methods such as class room lectures and students-
teacher interactions, group discussions, talks by experts, seminars and assignments etc.

Assessment methods
Summative assessment method comprises assignments, student presentations, internal/term
examination and end semester final examination.

Course Outline (Syllabus):

1. Why study Comparative Politics?

Comparative Politics as a Method and an Area of Enquiry; the rationale for studying
Comparative Politics and its role in understanding politics and political behaviour; the
various approaches to study Comparative Politics.

2. Understanding Democracy and Democratisation:

Attributes and institutionalisation of Democracy; Nature and phases of democratisation;
Constitutionalism; Causes of breakdown of democracy and rise of authoritarian regimes.

3. Political Culture and Varieties therein:

The notion of political culture; political culture and democracy; varieties of political culture;
political socialisation; post-material value changes; shortcomings of political culture studies.

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 4. Political Modernisation and Modernity:
What is political modernisation; perspectives on and critique of political modernisation;
notion of modernity and its attributes, its critique.

5. Civil Society:
Nature, modes, perspectives, ‘political society’, relations with the state.

6. Welfare and Welfare Regimes:

Rise of welfare states, notions of redistribution and equal opportunity, types of welfare
regimes.

7. Ethnic Politics and Nationalism:

Ethnicity, rise of ethnic politics, role of the state, perspectives to understand ethnic politics;
Notion of nation and theories of nationalism.

8. Movements and Movement Politics:

Global women’s movements; Ecology and Environmental movements

Essential Readings

● Bara, Judith and Mark Pennington. 2009. Comparative Politics. Los Angeles: Sage

Publications.

● Elliot, Carolyn M. 2006. Civil Society and Democracy: A Reader. Oxford India Paperbacks

(New Delhi).

● Eisenstatdt, Shmuel. 2005. “Modernity and Modernization”. Sociopedia.isa

● Hague, Rod Martin Harrop and John McCormick, 2016. Comparative Government and

Politics: An Introduction.

● Haynes, Jeffrey. 2005. Comparative Politics in a Globalizing World. Cambridge: Polity Press.

 Huntington, Samuel (1993), The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century.

Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, pp. 3-30.

 Kamrava, Mehran. 1996. Understanding Comparative Politics: A Framework for Analysis.

London, New York: Routledge.

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  Kesselman, Mark, Joel Krieger, William A. Joseph. 2007. Introduction to Comparative Politics.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

 Landman, Todd. 2003. Issues and Methods in Comparative Politics: An Introduction

 Osborn, Peter. 1992. “Modernity is a Qualitative, not a Chronological Concept”, New Left
Review, March-April.

 Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics: Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan (2009).

 Stepan, Alfred and Cindy Skach. 1993. “Constitutional Frameworks and Democratic

Consolidation: Parliamentarianism versus Presidentialism”. World Politics 46 (1), 1-22,

October.

 Wiarda, Howard J. ed. 1985. New Directions in Comparative Politics.

 Zuckerman, Alan S. 2008. Comparative Political Science (4 vols.). Sage Publications.

Additional Readings

● Anderson, Benedict. 2016. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of

Nationalism. London: Verso.

● Almond, Gabriel and Sidney Verba. 1989 (edn). The Civic Culture: political attitudes and

democracy in five nations. California: Sage (1st publd. 1963).

● Almond, Gabriel, G. Bingham Powell Jr. et al. 2004. Comparative Politics Today. Delhi:

Pearson Education.

 Chilcote, Ronald H. 1994. Theories of Comparative Politics, Westview Press, Boulder,

● Comparative Politics: Critical Concepts in Political Science. Vols I - VI. Howard J. Wiarda.

 Dahl, Robert. 1971. Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition, (New Haven: Yale University

Press), pp. 1-32;

 Dahl, Robert (1998), On Democracy, (New Haven: Yale University Press), pp. 166-79.

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  Finer, Samuel E. 1962. The Man on Horseback: The Role of the Military in Politics, Pall Mall

Press (published in 2017 by Routledge).

● Kesselman, Mark and Joel Krieger. 2006. Readings in Comparative Politics: Political

Challenges and Changing Agendas. Boston/New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

 Lijphart, Arend. 1971. “Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method,” American

Political Science Review 65 (3), pp. 682-93.

 Linz, Juan J. 1992. “The Virtues of Parliamentarism” in Arend Lijphart, ed., Parliamentary

Versus Presidential Government, (Oxford: Oxford University Press), pp. 212-6.

● Mayer, Lawrence C. and John H. Burnett.1977. Politics in Industrial Societies: A Comparative

Perspective. New York, Santa Barbara et al: John Wiley and Sons.

● McCormick, John. 2009. Comparative Politics in Transition. Boston: Wadsworth.

 Moore, Barrington 1966. Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. Boston: Beacon

Press, pp. 3-39.

 Nathan, Andrew. 2003. “Authoritarian Resilience”, Journal of Democracy 14 (1), pp. 6-17.

 O’Donnell, Guillermo. 2004. “Why the Rule of Law Matters,” Journal of Democracy 15 (4),

● Peters, B. Guy. 1998. Comparative Politics: Theory and Methods. London: Macmillan Press.

 Przeworski, Adam and Fernando Limongi. 1997. “Modernization: Theories and Facts,” World

Politics 49 (2), 155-83.

 Schmitter, Phillipe and Terry Lynn Karl. 1991. “What Democracy Is…and Is Not,” Journal of

Democracy 2 (3).

Note: Additional course readings may be incorporated by the course teacher.