GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY THEORIES OF THE STATE GOVT 631 (002) SPRING 2016

Transcription

1 Mariely López-Santana Office: Robinson A222 Tel.: (703) Office Hours: W: 3:00-4:00; Th: 5:30-6:30 (and by appointment) After a long period of marginalization, in the 1970s and 1980s social scientists turned their attention to the state (for instance, this line of inquiry is exemplified by the edited volume Bringing the State Back In). To explore and understand different dimensions of the state, this course is organized around four main axes: (1) origins, expansion, and consolidation of the nation-state around the world; (2) state-society relations; (3) state-market relations; and (4) state failure. By exploring these four axes, we will also study key subjects for the field of comparative politics, such as nationalism, state structures, welfare states, and rentier states. By the close of this course, students should: Be able to identify, summarize, and evaluate fundamental questions and discussions on the comparative study of states. Be able to analyze and critique applications of the comparative method to the study of the state. Be able to concisely summarize, connect, and evaluate the research by discussing a variety of topics, writing memos, and being a resident expert. Develop their research, analytical, and writing skills by writing a research paper. COURSE REQUIREMENTS GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY THEORIES OF THE STATE GOVT 631 (002) SPRING ) Class Attendance and Participation (14%): -- Students are required to attend all classes. Absence from more than one class unless a student has a documented emergency will result in the reduction of ten points from the class attendance and participation grade for each missed session. Employer extra-hour demands, vacation, and travel do not constitute documented emergencies. -- Students are expected to have completed the assigned readings prior to class and to be prepared for seminar discussion. Students should arrive to class with extensive notes and prepared questions for the week s readings. In addition, when specified, every student will be responsible for one chapter (10 points for each class). This means that they should be prepared to summarize and discuss the chapter during class discussion. --This is a participant-driven, discussion-based seminar. Therefore, students are expected to actively participate in class discussion. Your final grade will suffer if you do not participate in class. 2) Multi-step Assignment: 2.1) Memos (6% * 4= 24%): --Students are required to write 4 memos (1-3 pages, 12 font, single-space). The memos should present a concise summary of the week s readings.

2 --The final paragraph should be more critical and/or analytical by taking up specific arguments, comparing the positions of different authors, raising questions of evidence or content, or drawing attention to particular strengths and weaknesses in the texts. --Finally, the memo should pose 4-6 questions. These questions should address core concepts, debates, and issues put forward by the week s readings, and in relation to previous readings during the course of the semester. --Your grade will suffer if you do not cover: 1) every reading assigned that week, and 2) every step explained above (i.e., summaries, analytical/critical paragraph and discussion questions). Late memos (i.e., those received after 6 pm) will not be graded. --Memos are due by 12 pm on the Wed prior to class ( me your memo). 2.2) Resident Expert (8% * 3=24%): --Having selected the 4 dates for your memos, then (from those 4 dates) select 3 classes to complete step 2.2 (resident expert). -- As a resident expert you should be actively involved in the discussion. More specifically, you should be prepared to: 1) provide an introduction and/or conclusion to the topic to be covered, 2) identify and summarize the key aspects of each section (i.e., main questions or puzzles motivating the work, hypotheses/theories, research designs, evidence), 3) relate the different works to each other (e.g., comparisons of focus or methodology, relevance to the historical development of the discipline, key definitions and concepts), and 4) present your arguments and questions. --If you do not participate in class discussion, you will receive a score of zero. 3) Mid-term Abstract (5%), Final Presentation (8%), & Final Research Paper (25%) -- Mid-term abstract (March 5th; submit via by 1 pm). You should cover the following points: What is the objective of your paper? What is your research question/puzzle? Thesis? How are you going to answer your question? (data, methods). Length: 1 page single space. --Final presentation (April 28th). Each student has between 15 and 20 minutes to complete their presentation. --Final research paper (May 5, 7:30): length pages (not including the bibliography), doublespaced. COURSE READINGS AND SCHEDULE The reading may prove overwhelming at times. Remember-- skimming is an important professional skill. Obviously, if you are writing on the topic in question, you are well advised to read all of the required readings. If you are unable to keep up, be sure to (at least) identify for each reading: 1) the main question(s) the authors seek to answer, 2) the DV, the IVs, and the causal argument, 3) how the authors go about answering the question (methodology, data, etc.), and 4) conclusion. Useful resources to expand your knowledge are book reviews (published by most academic journals; search JSTOR). Finally, you should take advantage of your peers memos.

3 Books: We will be reading the following books. They will be placed on Reserves at the Johnson Center (2 hours): Scott, James C Seeing like a State (Yale UP). Excerpts from Tilly, Charles Coercion, Capital, and the European States. (Cambridge UP). Wimmer, Andreas Waves of War. Nationalism, State Formation, and Ethnic Exclusion in the Modern World (Cambridge UP). Excerpts from Spruyt, Hendrick The Sovereign State and its Competitors (Princeton UP). Ziblatt, Daniel Structuring the State: The Formation of Italy and Germany and the Puzzle of Federalism (Princeton UP). Migdal, Joel S State in Society: Studying How States and Societies Transform and Constitute One Another (Cambridge UP). Bates, Robert H Markets and States in Tropical Africa (University of California Press Berkeley). Evans, Peter Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation (Princeton UP). Ross, Michael L The Oil Curse. How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations (Princeton UP). Rotberg, Robert When States Fail (Princeton UP). In addition, we will be readings some journal articles, as well as chapters from The Oxford Handbook of the Transformation of the State (edited by Leibfried, Huber, Lange, Levy, Nullmeier, and Stephens). SCHEDULE AND READINGS (subject to change) Jan. 21 Levy, Jonah D., Stephan Leibfried & Frank Nullmeier. Ch. 2: Introduction Changing Perspectives on the State. In The Oxford Handbook. Jan. 28 Theories of the State: The Classics and Others What is the state? What are the functions of the state? This session will focus on these questions. Evans, Peter B., Dietrich Rueschmeyer & Theda Skocpol. Bringing the State. Back In (Cambridge UP). Read preface and Ch. 1. ( ault/files/bibliography%20and%20summaries/skopcol.pdf). 1 Guest Lecturer: Dr. Matt Scherer (Readings: TBD). Michael, Mann. The Autonomous Power of the State: its Origins, Mechanisms and Results 1 You might also refer to these review articles: Cammack, Paul Bringing the State Back In? British Journal of Political Science 19 (2): pp ; Barkey, Karen and Sunita Parikh Comparative Perspectives on the State. Annual Review of Sociology 17:

4 Feb. 4 In the first part of the lecture, Dr. Matthias vom Hau will discuss for analytical traditions of state theory. This week we will also discuss Scott s work on the functions of the state (based on google scholar, this book has been cited 10,484 times!) Feb. 11: War and the State: The Creation, Expansion, and Consolidation of the Nation-State To explain the creation, expansion, and consolidation of the nation-state around the world, many scholars have pointed at war as a key variable. This session explores this topic. Feb. 18: The Creation, Expansion, and Consolidation of the Nation-State: Considering other factors This session expands on the discussion on the creation, expansion, and consolidation of the nation-state by focusing on additional variables, such as trade and culture. Feb. 25: On State Structures This session focuses on the issue of concentration and dispersion of power in states. More specifically, we will explore the following question: why do some states select centralized arrangements, while others implement decentralized approaches? March 3: State-Society Guest Lecturer: Matthias vom Hau (via Skype) (Readings: TBD) Scott, James C. Seeing like a State. *every student is responsible for one chapter of Scott s book. Tilly, Charles. Coercion, Capital, and the European States. Chs. 1, 2, 3, and pp (RESERVED: JC). Wimmer, Andreas. Waves of War. Nationalism, State Formation, and Ethnic Exclusion in the Modern World, 2 Chs.1, 4, and 7 (each student should select one of the following chapters of Wimmer s book: Ch. 2, 3, 5, or 6). Suggestion: Ch. 3 Oxford Handbook. Spruyt, Hendrick. The Sovereign State and its Competitors: pp. 3-11, pp , Ch.8. 3 Meyer, John W., John Boli, George M. Thomas & Francisco O. Ramirez World Society and the Nation State. American Journal of Sociology 103 (1): Suggestions: Chs. 5 and 6 Oxford Handbook. 4 Ziblatt, Daniel. Structuring the State: The Formation of Italy and Germany and the Puzzle of Federalism: Chs. 1, 2, and 7 (each student should select one of the following chapters of Ziblatt s book: Ch. 3, 4, 5, or 6). Ch. 14 Oxford Handbook. Migdal, Joel S. State in Society: Studying How States and Societies Transform and Constitute One Another. This session focuses on Migdal s work on the relationship between states and society. 2 On Nationalism and the State: Breuilly, Johan Nationalism and the State (Chicago UP). 3 Additional resources: Spruyt, Hendrick The Origins, Development, and Possible Decline of the Modern State. Annual Review of Political Science (5): ; Olson, Mancur The criminal metaphor, in Power and Prosperity: 3-24; Gianfranco Poggi The Development of the Modern State: A Sociological Introduction (Stanford UP). 4 On Africa, Bates, Robert The Centralization of African Societies, in Robert Bates, Essays on the Political Economy of Rural Africa (Cambridge UP).

5 March 10 March 17: State, Society, & Markets I In this session, we will start to explore the relationship between states and markets. You will find that an important part of the story is the role of society in promoting (or hindering) processes of development. FYI: Bates book covers Africa March 24: State, Society, & Markets II We will continue our discussion on state, society, markets, and development by discussing one of my favorite books, Embedded Autonomy. In addition, we will cover Import Substitution Industrialization. FYI: this session will mainly focus on East Asia, India, and Latin America. March 31: State, Markets, & Society Relations in Advanced Industrial States This week we will discuss different models of government planning in advanced industrial societies. Moreover, we will learn about typologies to classify different types of welfare states in advanced industrial states. April 1 (see April 21) April 7: Oil and the State Many scholars have pointed at the emergence and consolidation of rentier states in countries with natural resources. To understand a specific type of authoritarian state, this session explores the oil curse. April 14: State Failure I What are failed states? How, why, and when do states fail? This session explores these questions. SPRING BREAK *each student have to select one chapter of Kohli s book (intro or conclusion), or one chapter of Bates book. Kohli, Atul State Direct Development: political power and industrialization in the global periphery: Intro and Conclusion. Bates, Robert H. Markets and States in Tropical Africa. 5 Evans, Peter. Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation. Chs. 1, 2, 3 and 10 (each student should select one of the following chapters of Evans book: Ch. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9). Ch. 23 Oxford Handbook. Chs Oxford Handbook If you are completing the assignment: Schonfield, Andrew Modern Capitalism: The Changing Balance of Public and Private Power (Oxford UP). Chs. 4, 10, part 4; and skim cases. Wilson, Frank L Interest Groups and Politics in Western Europe: The Neo-Corporatist Approach. Comparative Politics 16 (1): Arts, Wil & John Gelissen Three worlds of welfare capitalism or more? A state-of-the-art report, Journal of European Social Policy 12 (2): Beblawi, Haze The Rentier State in the Arab World. Arab Studies Quarterly 9 (4): Ross, Michael L. The Oil Curse. How Petroleum Wealth Shapes the Development of Nations: Chs. 1, 2, 6, and 7 (each student should select one of the following chapters of Ross book: Ch. 3, 4, or 5). Rotberg, Robert. When States Fail. Chs. 1, 6, 7, and 14 (each student should select one chapter, Chs. 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13). 5 Suggestion on the African case: Bayart, JeanFrancois The State in Africa (Polity Press). 6 Suggestions: On the relationship between governments and private actors, see Stigler, George J The Theory of Economic Regulation. The Bell Journal of Economics and Management Science 2 (1): 3-21.

6 April 21 YOUR CHOICE! April 28 Submit the title of an article or a book chapter that interests you. We will vote on three choices. Please submit your choices on April 1 by . 7 Presentations POLICIES 1) Assignment and topics: Paper extensions will be given only if students have proper documentation. 2) Academic Integrity, Plagiarism and Cheating: Just one thought about it: it is unacceptable and I will report all alleged violations to the Honor Committee (and I have done in the past). GMU has an Honor Code with clear guidelines regarding academic integrity. If you fail to follow these principles I will not hesitate to report any alleged violation to the Honor Committee, Cheating and attempted cheating, plagiarism, lying, and stealing academic work and related material constitute Honor Code violation. To maintain an academic community according to these standards, students and faculty must report al alleged violations. Plagiarism includes copying assignments from fellow students (or other persons), buying papers on the Internet, borrowing papers from secret archives, NOT CITING THE SOURCES OF IDEAS, QUOTES, ETC (pay attention to online resources) and copying and pasting from the internet or other sources. Three fundamental and rather simple principles to follow at all times are that: (1) all work submitted be your own; (2) when using the work or ideas of others, including fellow students or websites, give full credit through accurate citations; and (3) if you are uncertain about the ground rules on a particular assignment, ask for clarification. No grade is important enough to justify academic misconduct. For more details, see: When in doubt (of any kind) please ask for guidance and clarification 4) GMU Accounts: Students must activate and use their GMU account to receive important University information, including messages related to this class. In addition, students should keep track of their quota. 5) Religious Holidays: If you anticipate you will have a conflict due to religious holidays, please inform me within the first two weeks of class. This is especially important if you have to turn in an assignment the day you cannot attend the class. 6) Special Needs: Please address any special needs or special accommodations with me at the beginning of the semester or as soon as you become aware of your needs. Those seeking accommodations based on disability, please see me and contact the Office of Disability Services (703) Any student with documented learning disabilities or other conditions that may affect academic performance should: 1) make sure this documentation is on file with the Office of Disability Services (SUB I, Rm. 222; ; to determine the accommodations you might need; and 2) talk with me to discuss reasonable accommodations. 7) Avoid disruptive activities in the classroom: Cellular phones, pagers, and other such electronic devices that could disrupt class must be turned off. Computer use in the classroom must be STRICTLY LIMITED to the course discussion and assignments. The professor reserves the right to take appropriate action to cease disruptive behaviour in order to maintain an environment that is conducive to learning for the rest of the class 7 Suggestion: Jackson, Robert H. Quasi-States: Sovereignty, International Relations, and the Third World. Cambridge University Press.

7 8) Food: If you are hungry, you can eat a snack (small things, preferably odorless). But, you cannot eat a whole meal in class. UNIVERSITY POLICIES ** The University Catalog ( is the central resource for university policies affecting student, faculty, and staff conduct in university affairs. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Writing Center: Counseling and Psychological Services: