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May 16, 2024
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College Bulletin 2015-2016 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
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POLS 003. Introduction to Comparative Political Systems
Why did more than a century of democracy in Chile collapse violently into one of the most durable military regimes of the 20th century? What might a comparative examination of the Egyptian Arab Spring and the Indian decolonization movement teach us about the promises and conceptual limitations of revolutionary action? Is the United States “exceptional” in its politics, or is it a pale rival to the “post-national” project of the EU? This course asks students to push against conventional wisdom, the “obvious” and “permanent” truths of political and social life, to seek falsifiable, testable explanations for the anomalies, gaps, and mysteries in the domestic politics of states and countries. Lectures, essays, and classroom debates will return over and over again to the following questions: What constitutes legitimate authority, and how is it reproduced? We will seek out answers by exploring how states, regimes, and governments in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and the Middle East conciliate difference and change, violently and non-violently, in relation to their respective societies.
Social sciences.
1 credit.
Fall 2015. Malekzadeh.
Spring 2016. Malekzadeh.
Spring 2017. White.
Spring 2018. White.
Catalog chapter: Political Science
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/political-science
Access the class schedule to search for sections.
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