GRADUATE SCHOOL

PhD in Political Science and International Relations

PSIR 645 | Course Introduction and Application Information

Course Name
Regional Studies
Code
Semester
Theory
(hour/week)
Application/Lab
(hour/week)
Local Credits
ECTS
PSIR 645
Fall/Spring
3
0
3
7.5

Prerequisites
None
Course Language
English
Course Type
Elective
Course Level
Third Cycle
Mode of Delivery -
Teaching Methods and Techniques of the Course -
Course Coordinator -
Course Lecturer(s)
Assistant(s)
Course Objectives This course is designed to introduce students to the area of area/regional studies within political science. The course will aim to analyze the differences between regions and countries of the same region in terms of history, institutions, economy, societies, democratization, etc. Students will also be given an introduction to three separate regions to aid them in discovering an area of specialization for further research.
Learning Outcomes The students who succeeded in this course;
  • Compare and contrast past and current theoretical debates over political and economic interdependence
  • Compare and contrast past and current theoretical debates over democratization
  • Analyze the distinctive features of one country or region (ex. History, institutions, economy, societies, ethnic groups)
  • Analyze and contextualize cultural and historical materials relevant to the student’s specified country or region
  • Analyze similarities and differences between regions and among the different countries of the same region
  • Compare and contrast the different economic development paths of the different regions
Course Description This course will focus on area studies in the political science discipline. It will begin by addressing the role of theory in comparative politics and will aim to analyze area studies within this context. Issues of uneven economic development, and the reasons behind different development trajectories will be explored. The democratization literature will be briefly discussed to provide a context in which to better compare different regions. The course will end with a focus on three separate regions and the relevant literature that addresses their dynamics.

 



Course Category

Core Courses
Major Area Courses
Supportive Courses
Media and Management Skills Courses
Transferable Skill Courses

 

WEEKLY SUBJECTS AND RELATED PREPARATION STUDIES

Week Subjects Related Preparation
1 Introduction
2 Area Studies and the Discipline of Political Science Robert H. Bates, “Area Studies and the Discipline: A Useful Controversy?” PS: Political Science and Politics, pp. 166-169. Peter A. Hall and Sidney Tarrow, “Globalization and Area Studies: When Is Too Broad Too Narrow?” Chronicle of Higher Education, January 23, 1998, B5. Atul Kohli, et. al., “The Role of Theory in Comparative Politics: A Symposium, World Politics, October 1995, pp. 1-15, 37-49.
3 Uneven Economic Development Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye, “Globalization: What’s new? What’s not? (And so what?)” Foreign Policy. 2000 Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, “So close and yet so different” (Chapter 1). Why nations fail: The origins of power, prosperity and poverty, 2012 Jared Diamond, “What makes countries rich or poor?” The New York Review of Books, 2012
4 The Politics and Economics of Economic Development and Development Traps William Easterly, “Planners versus searchers” (Chapter 1). The white man’s burden: Why the West’s efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill and so little good, 2006 Chris Blattman and Paul Niehaus, “Show them the money: Why giving cash helps alleviate poverty.” Foreign Affairs, 2014 Paul Collier, The bottom billion: Why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it
5 Inequality Nancy Birdsall, “Why inequality matters: Some economic issues.” Ethics and International Affairs, 2001 Thomas Picketty and Emmanuel Saez, “Inequality in the long run.” Science, 2014
6 Democracy and Democratization Thomas Carothers, “The end of the transition paradigm.” Journal of Democracy, 2002 Larry Diamond and Leonardo Molino, “The quality of democracy: An overview.” Journal of Democracy, 2004
7 Intra-state wars, weak states and international intervention Gareth Evans and Mohamed Sahnoun, “The responsibility to protect.” Foreign Affairs, 2002 Charli Carpenter, “Don’t call this a humanitarian intervention.” Foreign Policy, 2013
8 Development of the Sovereign Territorial State and Global Governance as a Challenge Alec Murphy, “The sovereign state system as a political-territorial ideal: Historical and contemporary considerations” (Chapter 4). State sovereignty as social construct, 1996 James Ferguson and Akhil Gupta: “Spatializing states: Toward an ethnography of neoliberal governmentality.” American Ethnologist, 2002
9 Case Analyses: Western Europe Paul Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 Charles Tilly. The Formation of National States in Western Europe Landes, David S. The Unbound Prometheus: Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969 Dinan, Desmond. Every Closer Union: An Introduction to European Integration, Fourth Edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2010. Calleo, David P., and Claudia Morgenstern, eds. Recasting Europe’s Economies: National Strategies in the 1980s. Lanham: University Press of America, 1990. Hall, Peter A., and David Soskice, eds. Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Katzenstein, Peter J. Between Power and Plenty: Foreign Economic Policies of Advanced Industrial States. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1978. Kitschelt, Herbert, Peter Lange, Gary Marks, and John D. Stephens, eds. Continuity and Change in Contemporary Capitalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999
10 Case Analyses: Western Europe Paul Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000 Charles Tilly. The Formation of National States in Western Europe Landes, David S. The Unbound Prometheus: Technological Change and Industrial Development in Western Europe from 1750 to the Present. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969 Dinan, Desmond. Every Closer Union: An Introduction to European Integration, Fourth Edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2010. Calleo, David P., and Claudia Morgenstern, eds. Recasting Europe’s Economies: National Strategies in the 1980s. Lanham: University Press of America, 1990. Hall, Peter A., and David Soskice, eds. Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Katzenstein, Peter J. Between Power and Plenty: Foreign Economic Policies of Advanced Industrial States. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1978. Kitschelt, Herbert, Peter Lange, Gary Marks, and John D. Stephens, eds. Continuity and Change in Contemporary Capitalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999
11 Case Analyses: Middle East and Africa Stepan and Robertson, “An ‘Arab’ More than a ‘Muslim’ Democracy Gap,” Journal of Democracy, 2003 Hisham Sharabi, Neopatriarchy: A Theory of Distorted Change in Arab Society, Oxford University Press, 1988 Jill Crystal, Oil and Politics in the Gulf: Rulers and Merchants in Kuwait and Qatar, Cambridge University Press, 1995, pp. 36-109 Michael L. Ross, “Does Oil Hinder Democracy?” World Politics. April 2001 Ellen Lust-Okar, Structuring Conflict in the Arab World: Incumbents, Opponents, and Institutions, Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp 37-95. Lisa Blaydes, “Elections and Elite Management,” in Elections and Distributive Politics in Mubarak’s Egypt, Cambridge University Press, 201, pp. 48-64 Tarek Masoud, “Chapter 2: Clientelism and Class: The Tragedy of Leftist Opposition in Mubarak’s Egypt” in Counting Islam: Religion, Class, and Elections in Egypt, Cambridge University Press, 2014 Bellin, Eva. “The Robustness of Authoritarianism in the Middle East: A Comparative Perspective,” Comparative Politics, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 139-157. Jan, 2004 Nazih Ayubi, Ayubi, “Conclusion: The Strong, The Hard, and the Fierce,” in Over-stating the Arab state: politics and society in the Middle East. London ; New York: I.B. Tauris. pp. 447-459 William Reno, Warlord Politics and African States, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998
12 Case Studies: Post-Socialist States Ronald G. Suny, Chp. 3: State Building and Nation Making: The Soviet Experience Ken Jowitt, The New World Disorder Claus Offe, Capitalism By Democratic Design Schmitter, Phillippe C. and Terry Lynn Karl. “The Conceptual Travels of Transitologists and Consolidologists: How Far East Should They Attempt to Go?” Slavic Review, Vol. 53, No. 1 (Spring 1994), pp. 173-185 Bunce, Valerie. “Should Transitologists Be Grounded?” Slavic Review, Vol.54, No. 1 (Spring 1995), pp. 111-127 Barbara Geddes, “What Do We Know About Democratization After Twenty Years” Vadim Volkov, Violent Entrepeneurs: The Use of Force in the Making of Russian Capitalism, Cornell University Press, 2002 Mark Beissinger and Crawford Young, Post-Colonial Africa and Post-Soviet Eurasia in Comparative Perspective, Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 2002
13 Presentations
14 Presentations
15 Review of the Semester  
16 Review of the Semester  

 

Course Notes/Textbooks

All course readings are available at the University Library and as open sources.

Suggested Readings/Materials

 

EVALUATION SYSTEM

Semester Activities Number Weigthing
Participation
2
10
Laboratory / Application
Field Work
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
Portfolio
Homework / Assignments
Presentation / Jury
1
25
Project
1
35
Seminar / Workshop
Oral Exams
Midterm
1
30
Final Exam
Total

Weighting of Semester Activities on the Final Grade
Weighting of End-of-Semester Activities on the Final Grade
Total

ECTS / WORKLOAD TABLE

Semester Activities Number Duration (Hours) Workload
Theoretical Course Hours
(Including exam week: 16 x total hours)
16
3
48
Laboratory / Application Hours
(Including exam week: '.16.' x total hours)
16
0
Study Hours Out of Class
14
5
70
Field Work
0
Quizzes / Studio Critiques
0
Portfolio
0
Homework / Assignments
0
Presentation / Jury
1
30
30
Project
1
50
50
Seminar / Workshop
0
Oral Exam
0
Midterms
1
27
27
Final Exam
0
    Total
225

 

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES AND PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS RELATIONSHIP

#
Program Competencies/Outcomes
* Contribution Level
1
2
3
4
5
1

To be able to improve and deepen the theoretical and conceptual proficiencies on Political Science and International Relations.

X
2

To be able to evaluate critically and analytically the relationships between various factors in the discipline of Political Science and International Relations such as structures, actors, institutions and culture at an advanced level.

X
3

To be able to determine the theoretical and empirical gaps in Political Science and International Relations literature and gain the ability of questioning at an advanced level.

X
4

To be able to gain the ability to develop innovative, leading and original arguments in order to fill the gaps in Political Science and International Relations literature.

5

To be able to gather, analyze, and interpret the data by using advanced qualitative or quantitative research methods in Political Science and International Relations.

X
6

To be able to develop original academic works and publish scientific articles in refereed national or international indexed journals in the field of Political Science and International Relations.

7

To be able to describe individual research and contemporary developments in Political Science and International Relations in written, oral, and visual forms.

8

To be able to take responsibility in an individual capacity and/or as part of a team in generating innovative and analytical solutions to the problems that arise in relation to the politics in daily life.

9

To be able to develop projects in determining the institutional and political instruments for conflict resolution in national and international politics.

X
10

To be able to prepare an original thesis in Political Science and International Relations based on scientific criteria.

11

To be able to follow new research and developments, publish scientific articles and participate the debates in academic meetings in Political Science and International Relations through a foreign language.

12

To be able to have ethical, social and scientific values in the stages throughout the processes of gathering, interpreting, disseminating and implementing data relevant to Political Science and International Relations.

*1 Lowest, 2 Low, 3 Average, 4 High, 5 Highest

 


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