Politics 106 - Comparative Politics

This course provides an introduction to comparative political analysis, one of the four subfields of political science. The primary objective is to help students understand how the 'modern' world, one characterized by the rise of industrialized nation-states, took form and what shape it might take in the post-Cold War era. We will examine how the challenges of economic development, social transformation, and nation-building sparked the emergence of alternatives to 'modernity' characterized by diverse configurations of political institutions and social forces. We will also assess how globalization and the re-emergence of local identities may be redefining our understanding of 'modernity.'