Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "PL 340"
COURSE NAME: "Politics of Developing Countries"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2015

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Michele Testoni
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 10:00 AM 11:15 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: PL 223
OFFICE HOURS: by appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The course will explore the various patterns of politics in the developing world, examining the history of decolonization and the impact of the Cold War and globalization. Case studies, drawn from different geographic areas, may focus on rogue states, dictatorship and democracy, national sovereignty and human rights, the role of women, corruption and organized crime, environmental challenges, the role of multinational corporations and international financial institutions, and political development in the BRICS.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

1. The roots of underdevelopment: nature, causes and solutions; colonialism and decolonization.
2. Cultural, social and economic issues: plural societies and ethnic conflicts; church-state relations; women, rural and urban world; strategies for economic development.
3. Political issues: state formation; democratic transitions; revolutions; coups and military regimes; failed states.
4. Research projects: Asia (China, India, Indonesia); Greater Middle East (Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran); Africa (Congo, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa); Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, Cuba).

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

1. Comprehension of the political, economic and social features that characterize all processes of development.
2. Knowledge of the causes, forms and consequences of both colonialism and decolonization.
3. Capability to compare and evaluate the different socio-economic policies and institutions adopted by the developing countries.
4. Understanding the link between democracy and socio-economic development.
5. Knowledge of the role played by the clergy, the military, and revolutionary actors in the processes of political and socio-economic development.
6. Awareness of the variety causes originating terrorism.

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments	Format	Local Bookstore	Online Purchase
The Challenge of Third World Development (7th edition; International edition)	Handelman	Pearson	978-0-205-87094-3
The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat	Kapuscinski	Penguin (also in e-book)	978-0-141-18803-4

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number
Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty	Acemoglu and Robinson	Crown Business	978-0-307-71921-8
The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It	Collier	Oxford U.P.	978-0-195-31145-7
Bringing the State Back In	Evans, Rueschemeyer, Skocpol	Cambridge U.P.	978-0-521-31313-1
Economic Backwardness in Historical Perspective: A Book of Essays	Gerschenkron	Harvard U.P.	978-0-674-22600-5
Comparative Politics of the “Third World”: Linking Concepts and Cases (3rd edition)	Green and Luehrmann	Lynne Rienner	978-1-588-26792-4
The African Experience: An Introduction	Khapoya	Pearson	978-0-205-85171-3
An Introduction to African Politics	Thomson	Routledge	0415181984
Latin American Politics and Development	Wiarda and Kline	Westview Press	978-0-813-34327-3
Introduction to Politics of the Developing World	Joseph, Kesselman, Krieger	Houghton Mifflin	978-0-618-21447-1

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Class attendance and participation	The grade reflects how often and well-prepared students come to class. Absences, scarce preparedness, poor contribution to class discussion, and inappropriate conduct will negatively affect the grade.	15%
Mid-term exam	The exam is scheduled for October 14 (week VII). The exam will be in-class and closed-book, and will serve to test the improvement of students’ knowledge of the issues (i.e. readings and class discussions) covered in the first part of the course.	25%
Research project	The grade is a combination of an oral presentation (20 minutes) and a related take-home country report (4,000 words, 10 pages approximately, bibliography and footnotes included) that students must do in couples. All projects will be based on the case studies presented in the second part of the course. The oral presentation will focus on both the role of two leading “personalities” in the country’s process of development and the current challenges the country is dealing with; on the other hand, the take-home report must contain a detailed summary of the issues raised by the presentation and the subsequent class debate as well as a set of policy proposals for a “better” path of development.	30%
Final exam	The exam will be in-class and closed-book, and will be comprehensive of all topics covered in the course. The exam will serve to test students’ knowledge as well as their ability to engage in pro-active and independent critical thinking. The exam’s day cannot be changed; for organize yourself accordingly.	30%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:

1. Attendance is compulsory (make-up classes included). Late arrivals, unexcused absences, scarce preparedness, and inappropriate conduct will negatively affect the grade.
2. Absences can be justified only by providing medical certificates.
3. Readings are mandatory assignments and must be done in advance.
4. BE ALIVE AND RE-ACTIVE!
5. NO FACEBOOK & WHATSAPP IN CLASS: IT IS ONLY 75 MINUTES, YOU CAN MAKE IT!

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

PART ONE: THE ROOTS OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT

Week I

AUGUST 31 Course introduction
Readings: None

SEPTEMBER 2 Underdevelopment: nature, causes, solutions
Readings:
- Collier [Ch. 2]
- Handelman [Ch. 1]
- Sachs, “Why the Sustainable Development Goals Matter” [http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/sustainable-development-goals-shift-by-jeffrey-d-sachs-2015-03]

Week II

SEPTEMBER 7 Colonialism and decolonization
Readings:
- Green and Luehrmann [Ch. 2 and 3]
- Said, Orientalism [Introduction], Pantheon, 1978 [https://is.cuni.cz/studium/predmety/index.php?do=download&did=37402&kod=JMB113]
- * Suri, “The Cold War, Decolonization and Global Social Awakenings: Historical Intersections”, in Cold War History, vol. 6, n. 3, 2006, pp. 353-363

PART TWO: CULTURAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES

SEPTEMBER 9 Plural societies and ethnic conflicts
Readings:
- Gurr, Peoples versus States: Minorities at Risk in the New Century [Preface], US Institute of Peace Press, 2000 [https://bookstore.usip.org/sites/usip/resrcs/chapters/1929223021_otherchap.pdf]
- Handelman [Ch. 4]

Week III

SEPTEMBER 14 Church-state relations
Readings:
- Handelman [Ch. 3]
- * Levine, “Religion, Society, and Politics: Past, Present, and Future”, in The Americas, vol. 69, n. 1, 2012, pp. 123-132

SEPTEMBER 16 Women, the rural world and urban poor
Readings:
- Cabieses, “The ‘miracle of San Martin’ and Symptoms of ‘alternative development’ in Peru”, in Transnational Institute - Drug Policy Briefing, n. 34, 2010 [https://www.tni.org/files/download/brief34-en.pdf]
- Handelman [Ch. 5 and 6]
- Shams, “Why Malala Deserves the Nobel Peace Prize”, in Deutsche Welle, Dec. 10, 2014 [http://www.dw.com/en/why-malala-deserves-the-nobel-peace-prize/a-17986245]

Week IV

SEPTEMBER 21 Strategies for economic development
Readings:
- Acemoglu and Robinson [Ch. 14]
- Gerschenkron [Ch. 1]
- Handelman [Ch. 9]

PART THREE: POLITICAL ISSUES

SEPTEMBER 23 State formation: social classes and war
Readings:
- Tilly, “War Making and State Making as Organized Crime”, in Evans, Rueschemeyer, Skocpol [Ch. 5]
- Hintze, “Military Organization and the Organization of the State”, in Gilbert, The Historical Essays of Otto Hintze, pp. 178-215, 1975 [https://books.google.es/books?hl=it&lr=&id=3-AjeJVw_MQC&oi=fnd&pg=PA181&ots=4hQ8-BXL5b&sig=wncQGAZG7p2n5PC3TfNKSO35Tow#v=onepage&q&f=false]
- Skocpol, “A Critical Review of Barrington Moore’s Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy”, in Politics and Society, vol. 4, 1973, pp. 1-34

Week V

SEPTEMBER 28 Democratic transitions
Readings:
- Handelman [Ch. 2]
- * Inglehart and Welzel, “How Development Leads to Democracy: What We Know About Modernization”, in Foreign Affairs, vol. 88, n. 2, 2009, pp. 33-48
- * Rustow, “Transitions to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model”, in Comparative Politics, vol. 2, n. 3, 1970, pp. 337-363

SEPTEMBER 30 Revolutions
Readings:
- Handelman [Ch. 7]
- * Karl, “Economic Inequality and Democratic Instability”, in Journal of Democracy, vol. 11, n. 1, 2000, pp. 149-156

Week VI

OCTOBER 5 Coups and military regimes
Readings:
- Handelman [Ch. 8]
- * McGowan, “African Military Coups d’État, 1956-2001: Frequency, Trends and Distribution”, in The Journal of Modern African Studies, vol. 41, n. 3, 2003, pp. 339-370
- * Shah, “Praetorianism and Terrorism”, in Journal of Democracy, vol. 19, n. 4, 2008, pp. 16-25

OCTOBER 7 Failed states
Readings:
- Acemoglu and Robinson [Ch. 13]
- Rotberg, When States Fail: Causes and Consequences [Ch. 1], Princeton University Press, 2003 [http://press.princeton.edu/chapters/s7666.pdf]

Week VII

OCTOBER 12 Mid-term review
Readings: all the above

OCTOBER 14 MID-TERM EXAM

PART FOUR: RESEARCH PROJECTS

Week VIII

OCTOBER 19 Asia 1: China
Personalities: Mao Zedong – Deng Xiaoping

OCTOBER 21 Asia 2: India
Personalities: Jawaharlal Nehru – P.V. Narasimha Rao

Week IX

OCTOBER 26 Asia 3: Indonesia
Personalities: Haji Mohammad Suharto – Megawati Sukarnopoutri

OCTOBER 28 Greater Middle East 1: Egypt
Personalities: Gamal Abdel Nasser – Sayyid & Muhammad Qutb

Week X

NOVEMBER 2 Greater Middle East 2: Iran
Personalities: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi – Ruhollah Khomeini

NOVEMBER 4 Greater Middle East 3: Afghanistan
Personalities: Babrak Karmal – Mohammed Omar

Week XI

NOVEMBER 9 Africa 1: Zaire / DR of Congo
Personalities: Mobutu Sese Seko – Laurent-Désiré Kabila

NOVEMBER 11 Africa 2: Nigeria
Personalities: Olusegun Obasanjo – Muhammadu Buhari

Week XII

NOVEMBER 16 Africa 3: Senegal
Personalities: Léopold Senghor – Abdoulaye Wade

NOVEMBER 18 Africa 4: South Africa
Personalities: Hendrik Verwoerd – Nelson Mandela

Week XIII

NOVEMBER 23 Latin America 1: Brazil
Personalities: Getulio Vargas – Fernando Henrique Cardoso

NOVEMBER 25 Latin America 2: Colombia
Personalities: Manuel Marulanda – Andrés Pastrana

Week XIV

NOVEMBER 30 Latin America 3: Cuba
Personalities: Fulgencio Batista – Fidel Castro

DECEMBER 2 Final review
Readings: all the above

FINAL EXAM: TBA

* articles freely downloadable from the JCU library’s online databases