Schedule

Week Date Topic
1 9/1/25 Introduction to Comparative Politics
1 9/3/25 Discussion: Introduction to Comparative Politics
2 9/8/25 State Formation and State Building
2 9/10/25 Discussion: State Formation and State Building
3 9/15/25 Colonial Legacies
3 9/17/25 Discussion: Colonial Legacies
4 9/22/25 Conceptualizing Democracy
4 9/24/25 Discussion: Conceptualizing Democracy
5 9/29/25 Democratization
5 10/1/25 Discussion: Democratization
6 10/6/25 Democratic Backsliding
6 10/8/25 Discussion: Democratic Backsliding
7 10/13/25 Autocracies
7 10/15/25 Discussion: Autocracies
8 10/20/25 Revision and Midterm
8 10/22/25 Midterm Exam
9 10/27/25 Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Political Identity
9 10/29/25 Discussion: Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Political Identity
10 11/3/25 Electoral Systems
10 11/5/25 Discussion: Electoral Systems
11 11/10/25 Political Parties and Party Systems
11 11/12/25 Discussion: Political Parties and Party Systems
12 11/17/25 Federal Arrangements
12 11/19/25 Discussion: Federal Arrangements
13 11/24/25 Corruption, Clientelism, and Accountability
13 11/26/25 Discussion: Corruption, Clientelism, and Accountability
14 12/1/25 Competition, Populism, and Democratic Erosion
14 12/3/25 Discussion: Competition, Populism, and Democratic Erosion
15 12/8/25 Revision for Final Exam