Comparative Politics 2751-KONJA-CP

This course develops systematic comparison as a core strategy of inference in political science. It introduces major comparative traditions, including institutionalism, political economy, historical sociology, and cultural approaches. Students examine regime types and trajectories of democratisation, autocratization, and hybrid governance. The course analyses electoral systems, party competition, and representation as mechanisms linking society to policy. It studies state capacity, bureaucracy, corruption, and public goods provision as determinants of legitimacy and performance. Attention is given to identity politics, nationalism, and ethnic conflict as sources of mobilisation and violence. Students learn comparative research designs, such as the most-similar and most-different strategies. The course trains students to interpret cross-national indicators critically, including issues of measurement error and concept stretching. Empirical case studies across regions illustrate how contextual conditions theory and causal claims. By the end, students can build and defend comparative explanations using disciplined concepts and evidence.