FC015 Comparative Politics
Essay questions and reading lists
Autumn 2015
You should answer one of the following questions:
1. Account for the high incidence of military intervention and military rule in Latin American politics between 1950 and 1980.
2. Should the rule of the Communist Party in the People’s Republic of China now be considered ‘post-revolutionary’? Identify and analyse changes and continuities in the PRC’s ruling party regime between 1948 and 2010.
3. Is ‘regime hybridity’ a useful category of political comparison and analysis? Justify your answer.
The word limit in 1500 words (+/- 20%). Your essay should be handed in by 2pm on 22nd February, 2016.
Reading Lists by Question
1. Account for the high incidence of military intervention and military rule in Latin American politics between 1950 and 1980.
Aguero, F. (1998). ‘Legacies of Transitions: Institutionalization, the Military, and Democracy in South America’. Mershon International Studies Review, Vol. 42, No. 2 (Nov., 1998), pp. 383-404
Desposato, S.W. (2001). ‘Legislative Politics in Authoritarian Brazil’. Legislative Studies Quarterly, Vol. 26, No. 2 (May, 2001), pp. 287-317
Fossum, E. (1967). ‘Factors Influencing the Occurrence of Military Coups d'Etat in Latin America’, Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 4, No. 3 (1967), pp. 228-251
Horowitz, I. L. and Trimberger, E. K. (1976). ‘State Power and Military Nationalism in Latin America’. Comparative Politics, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Jan., 1976), pp. 223-244
Loveman, B. (1994). ‘"Protected Democracies" and Military Guardianship: Political Transitions in Latin America, 1978-1993’. Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs, Vol. 36, No. 2 (Summer, 1994), pp. 105-189
Nunn, F.M. (1975). ‘Notes on the "Junta Phenomenon" and the "Military Regime" in Latin America: With Special Reference to Peru, 1968-1972’. The Americas, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Jan., 1975), pp. 237-251
Nunn, F. M. (1975). ‘New Thoughts on Military Intervention in Latin American Politics: The Chilean Case, 1973’. Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Nov., 1975), pp. 271-304. Article
Philip, G. (1980). ‘The Military Institution Revisited: Some Notes on Corporatism and Military Rule in Latin America’. Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Nov., 1980), pp. 421-436
Putnam, R. D. ‘Toward Explaining Military Intervention in Latin American Politics’, World Politics, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Oct., 1967), pp. 83-110
Remmer, K.L. (1978). ‘Evaluating the Policy Impact of Military Regimes in Latin America’, Latin American Research Review, Vol. 13, No. 2 (1978), pp. 39-54
2. Should the rule of the Communist Party in the People’s Republic of China now be considered ‘post-revolutionary’? Identify and analyse changes and continuities in the PRC’s ruling party regime between 1948 and 2010.
Burton, C. (1987). ‘China's Post-Mao Transition: The Role of the Party and Ideology in the "New Period"’. Pacific Affairs, Vol. 60, No. 3 (Autumn, 1987), pp. 431-446
Chai, T. R. (1979). Communist Party Control over the Bureaucracy: The Case of China, Comparative Politics, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Apr., 1979), pp. 359-370
Johnston, A. I. (1984). ‘Changing Party–Army Relations in China, 1979-1984’. Asian Survey, Vol. 24, No. 10 (Oct., 1984), pp. 1012-1039
Gallagher, M. and Hanson, J. K . (2009). Coalitions, Carrots, and Sticks: Economic Inequality and Authoritarian States’. PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 42, No. 4 (October 2009), pp. 667-672
Levitsky, S. R. and Way, L. A. (2012). ‘Beyond Patronage: Violent Struggle, Ruling Party Cohesion, and Authoritarian Durability’. Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 10, No. 4 (December 2012), pp. 869-889
Malesky, E., Abrami, R. and Zheng, Y. (2011). ‘Institutions and Inequality in Single-Party Regimes: A Comparative Analysis of Vietnam and China’. Comparative Politics, Vol. 43, No. 4 (July 2011), pp. 401-419
Nelson, W.E. (1948). Far Eastern Survey, Vol. 17, No. 10 (May 19, 1948), pp. 118-121
Saich, T. (1983). ‘Party and State Reforms in the People's Republic of China’. Third World Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Jul., 1983), pp. 627-639
Saich, T. (1992). ‘The Fourteenth Party Congress: A Programme for Authoritarian Rule’. The China Quarterly, No. 132 (Dec., 1992), pp. 1136-1160
Shambaugh, D. (2008). ‘Training China's Political Elite: The Party School System’. The China Quarterly
No. 196 (Dec., 2008), pp. 827-844
Yiu-chung, W. (1998). ‘RESTRUCTURING THE PARTY-STATE POLITY: CHINA'S POLITICAL STRUCTURAL REFORM IN THE 1980s’. Asian Perspective, Vol. 22, No. 3 (1998), pp. 133-167
Womack, B. (1987). ‘The Party and the People: Revolutionary and Postrevolutionary Politics in China and Vietnam’, World Politics, Vol. 39, No. 4 (Jul., 1987), pp. 479-507
3. Is ‘regime hybridity’ a useful category of political comparison and analysis? Justify your answer.
Bogaards, M. (2009). ‘How to Classify Hybrid Regimes? Defective democracy and electoral authoritarianism’. Democratization, Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 399-423.
Diamond, L. J. (2002). ‘Thinking about Hybrid Regimes’. Journal of Democracy, Vol. 13, No. 2 (April, 2002), pp. 21-35.
Gould, J. A. & Hetman, Y. (2008). ‘Market Democracy Unleashed? Business Elites and the Crisis of Competitive Authoritarianism in Ukraine’. Business and Politics, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 1-33.
Levitsky, S. & Way, L. (2002). ‘The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism’. Journal of Democracy, Vol. 13, No. 2 (April, 2002), pp. 51-65.
----------------------------. (2001). ‘Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regime Change in Peru and Ukraine in Comparative Perspective’. Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, San Francisco, CA (30 August-2 Sept. 2001). p. 1-36.
Mainwaring, S. (2012). ‘Review Essay: From Representative Democracy to Participatory Authoritarianism: Hugo Chavez and Venezuelan Politics’. Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 955-67.
Way, L. (2005). ‘Kuchma’s Failed Authoritarianism’. Journal of Democracy, Vol. 16, No. 2 (April, 2005), pp. 131-45.
---------. (2006). ‘the Sources and dynamics of competitive authoritarianism in Ukraine’. Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 143-61.
Wigell, M. (2008) ‘Mapping “Hybrid Regimes”: Regime Types and Concepts in Comparative Politics’. Democratization, Vol. 15, No. 2 (2008), pp. 230-50.
