Comparative Institutions

PSCI 6337
Professor Brunell Class meets Thursday 2:00-4:45
Phone: 972-883-6402 Classroom: SOM 1.110
tbrunell@utdallas.edu Webpage: www.utdallas.edu/~tbrunell
Office : GR 3.818 office hours: T/Th 11 am – 12 noon.

This class will introduce you to some of the major topics in Comparative Politics with
particular attention paid to institutions (electoral systems, party systems, structure of the
government, etc.). The class follows a seminar format. It therefore will require your
active participation every week. Doing the assigned readings and being prepared to
contribute to class discussions will be a fundamental part of your grade. You will be
required to read a sizable amount of material, think about what you have read, and
regularly talk and write about your understanding of the readings. You must also learn to
be critical of what you have read. All academic have arguments, which is to say we
aren’t all just dispensing THE TRUTH. You must learn to recognize arguments and be
able to criticize them on all fronts (theoretically, substantively, methodologically, etc.).

Grading
Participation – This is a seminar, which requires substantial weekly involvement on your
part. You are expected to speak up often (preferably every class). You will also make a
presentation of your paper in class either. 25 percent of your grade will be based on your
participation.

Critical summary/discussion leader: Each of you will lead at least one seminar
(depending on the number of students we may need some to be a leader more than once).
During the first class we will assign each week’s readings to someone. During that week
you must write a critical summary of the week’s readings. It is important that this paper
be more of a criticism than it is a summary. Do not just summarize what we read – as we
all will have read it along with you. Take a stab at criticizing some part of what you have
read. 25 percent of your grade will be based on your critical summary and leading of the
discussion.

Half (50 %) of your grade will be determined by a major research paper that you will
write. The paper should do the following: (a) address an empirical puzzle from one of
the theoretical issues emphasized during the course; (b) propose a theoretical alternative
that resolves the puzzle; (c) review the literature (d) set up a research design that would
test your theoretical alternative; (e) explain why your research design is better than
existing analyses; and (f) present a preliminary analysis of some data supporting your
claims. Which is to say, it should look a lot like an article that appears in a major political
science journal. The paper should discuss the kind of evidence ideally needed to prove
your claims (whether it is available or not) and the benefits (and costs) of the particular
research design you have chosen. The research paper should be 20-25 double-spaced
pages. Paper is due Wednesday November 30
Academic honesty
Cheating will not be tolerated in this class. Students who cheat or plagiarize a paper will
fail the course. If you have any questions as to what constitutes plagiarism consult the
Student Bulletin or the instructor. Students agree that by taking this course all required
papers might be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com (or its
equivalent).

Required Texts
There are seven required textbooks for the class, all of which are available at the
bookstore (listed below). We will refer to the books by the first author’s last name in the
rest of the syllabus. There are a number of journal articles as well. All are available
through electronic means (like jstor.org and other online access points all of which can be
accessed through university computers).

1. Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced

Industrial Democracies, 4th Edition by Russell Dalton

2. Jack Knight, Institutions and Social Conflict (Cambridge University

Press, 1992).

3. Gallagher, Laver and Mair. Representative Government in Modern Europe.

McGraw-Hill 2000.

4. Laver and Shepsle. Making and Breaking Governments: Cabinets and

Legislatures in Parliamentary Democracies. Cambridge University Press, 1996.

5. Nugent, Neill. The Government and Politics of the European Union. Duke
University Press, 1999

6. Lijphart, Arend. Electoral Systems and Party Systems: A Study of Twenty-Seven

Democracies, Oxford Univ. press 1997

7. Leduc, Niemi, and Norris (editors) Comparing Democracies: Elections and

Voting in Global Perspective. Sage, 1996.

Week 1 (Aug 18)

Introduction

Week 2 (Aug 25)

Institutions and Politics
• Peter Hall and Rosemary Taylor. 1996. “Political Science and the Three New
Institutionalisms,” Political Studies 44: 936-957.
• Jonas Pontusson. 1995. “From Comparative Public Policy to Political Economy.”
Comparative Political Studies 28: 117-147.
• James G. March and Johan P. Olsen, Institutional Perspectives on Political
Institutions. Governance 9, 3 (July 1996), 247-64 .
Week 3 (Sept 1)
NO CLASS ON September 1st at APSA Conference

Week 4 (Sept 8)
Institutions and Politics
• Jack Knight Institutions and Social Conflict

Week 5 (Sept 15)

Governments
• Representative Government in Modern Europe, chapters 2, 3, 4, and 6.

Week 6 (Sept 22)

Electoral Systems
• Gallagher, Laver and Mair Chapter 11.
• Blais and Massicottee “Electoral Systems” in Ledec, Nieme and Norris.
• Carles Boix. 1999. “Setting the Rules of the Game: The Choice of Electoral
Systems in Advanced Democracies,” American Political Science Review 93: 609-
24.
• Andrews, Josephine and Robert Jackman. 2005. “Strategic Fools: Electoral Rule
Choice Under Extreme Uncertainty.” Electoral Systems 24: 65-85.

Week 7 (Sept 29)

• Lijphart, Arend. Electoral Systems and Party Systems: A Study of Twenty-Seven
Democracies. Chapter 1-6.

Week 8 (Oct 6)
Party Systems
• Gallagher, Laver and Mair Chapters 7-10.
• Peter Mair “Party Systems” in Leduc, Niemi and Norris.

Week 9 (Oct 13)

Voting
• Dalton, Russell Citizen Politics.

Week 10 (Oct 20)

Making and Breaking Governments
• Laver and Shepsle Making and Breaking Governments.

Week 11 (Oct 27)

European Union
• Nugent. The Government and Politics of the European Union. Chapters 2-10, 12-
13, and 18.
Week 12 (Nov 3)
The European Court of Justice & EU Integration
• Alter, Karen Who are the "Masters of the Treaty"?: European Governments and
the European Court of Justice International Organization Vol. 52, No. 1 (Winter,
1998) p. 121-147
• Stone Sweet, Alec and Thomas L. Brunell. 1998. “Constructing a Supra-National
Constitution: Dispute Resolution and Governance in the European Community.”
American Political Science Review 92(March,1): 63-81.
• Mark A. Pollack. 1997. Delegation, Agency, and Agenda Setting in the European
Community International Organization Vol. 51, No. 1 (Winter, 1997), pp. 99-
134
• George Tsebelis; Geoffrey Garrett. 2001. The Institutional Foundations of
Intergovernmentalism and Supranationalism in the European Union
International Organization. > Vol. 55, No. 2 (Spring), pp. 357-390

Week 13 (Nov 10)

Student Presentations

Week 14 (Nov 17)

Student Presentations

Week 15 (Nov 24)

No class Thanksgiving