Political Science (POLI) 342

Overview

Political Science 342 studies the political systems of two or more countries, providing the opportunity to examine the features of individual political systems and to investigate the similarities and differences among political systems. Comparative politics attempts to analyse and explain its findings through the method of comparative study.

Political Science 342 includes in-depth studies of nine individual cases: eight countries as indicated in the course outline below plus the European Union (EU). Together, these case studies generate a wealth of information that allows us to construct the key features for each of the individual cases, examine similarities among various political systems, and appreciate the diversity of the political world. The case studies also permit interesting conclusions and allow for the generation of useful questions.

Outline

Unit 1: Introduction

Unit 2: Industrialized Democracies

Unit 3: The Politics of Great Britain

Unit 4: The Politics of France

Unit 5: The Politics of the European Union

Unit 6: The Communist and Post-Communist World

Unit 7: The Politics of the Soviet Union and Russia

Unit 8: The Politics of China

Unit 9: Third World States

Unit 10: The Politics of Nigeria

Unit 11: The Politics of India

Unit 12: The Politics of South Africa

Unit 13: The Politics of Mexico

Unit 14: Conclusion

Course Objectives

When you have completed Political Science 342: Introduction to Comparative Politics, you should be able to achieve the following course objectives.

• Identify the key theoretical approaches and methods used in comparative politics.
• Distinguish between and analyse the politics of three types of political systems: industrialized democracies, former and current Communist regimes, and the Third World.
• Discuss and compare states according to their historical evolution, political culture and political participation, state institutions and form of government, and public policy.
• Discuss, in detail, the politics of the states and political systems addressed in the course.
• Account for these details and explain how these details have affected these countries.
• Discuss the impact of globalization on the states covered in the course.

Evaluation

To receive credit for POLI 342, you must achieve a composite course grade of at least “D” (50 percent) and a grade of 50 percent on the final examination. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

Assignment 1	Assignment 2	Assignment 3	Final Exam	Total
15%	20%	30%	35%	100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.