Comparative Politics of Developing Nations

1. Comparative Politics of Developing Nations Week 3 (October 16)

2. Roadmap: • Colonialism • Reaction papers • Exams format • Final papers • Readings next week (update) • Current events (Grameen Bank) • Pictures

3. I. Colonialism (Clapham & Isbister readings) • Colonialism: • End: economic • Means: technology • Sequence of colonization: a function of richness & weakness/access • Americas: rich and easy to control • Asia: rich, harder to control • Africa: no obvious wealth, hard access

4. Sequence of colonization & consequences

6. Nationalism: Africa vs. Middle East • Africa: divisions (ethnic, religious) • Middle East: unifying effect of ethnicity (Pan Arabism) and religion (Islam)

7. Colonial government: • Creation of new boundaries • Creation of a new political order and administration → Colonial administration: authoritarian and centralized → Post-colonial administration: * rulers: inherit the sense of superiority of the colonial power * ruled: continue to view the state as an alien imposition

8. Rule: Direct (French) vs. Indirect (British): • What are the consequences for post-colonial governments? • Generally speaking, British ex-colonies are more democratic than non-British ex-colonies (e.g., French)

9. Colonialism: Clapham vs. Isbister • What was the main reason behind colonial expansion? • ……? • The culture/legacy of colonialism: • Language • Religion

10. Exams format: • Concept definition • Human Development Index (HDI):“A composite measure of life expectancy, infant mortality, literacy rate and per capita income used to evaluate living standards.” • Third World:“A category of nations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East that share two primary characteristics: they are politically and/or economically less developed; and they are neither industrialized democracies (the First World) nor former members of the Soviet-Eastern European bloc of communist nations (the second world). The term “Third World” is used interchangeably with “developing nations” and “less developing countries (LDCs).”

11. Short questions • What are the various labels or collective names that scholars use for the approximately 140 countries we are studying in this class? Why do they have such a hard time finding an appropriate label (i.e., one that would be uncontroversial and universally accepted)?

12. Explain why, in most cases, there is a correlation between economic, social and political development. On the other hand, explain in what circumstances they are not correlated, and why. • Is income per capita the best measure of development and the well-being of people living in a society? Why (or why not)? • What is the Human Development Index? What does it do? How?

13. Multiple choice • In his discussion of critiques of modernization theory, Handelman mentions Samuel Huntington as an example of _____________________________: • a) A liberal critique • b) A conservative critique • c) A libertarian critique • d) A post-modern critique

14. V. Next week readings • Out:Collier, Paul, and Jan Willem Gunning. 1999. “Why Has Africa Grown Slowly?” • In: • The Economist. 2006. “The real digital divide.” Annual Editions: Developing World 2006/2007 (pp. 90-91). • Foreign Policy. 2006. “Ranking the Rich 2004.” AE (pp. 73-79). • Marglin, Stephen A. 2006. “Development as Poison: Rethinking the Western Model of Modernity.” AE (pp. 21-25). • Sachs, Jeffrey D. 2006. “The Development Challenge.” AE (pp. 5-10).

15. Current events? • Grameen Bank • Who? Muhammad Yunus • Where? the village of Jobra, Bangladesh (1976) • A loan of $27 to a group of 43 families • Results: • US$ 5.72 billion disbursed • 6.61 million borrowers; 97 percent women • over 250,000 “telephone ladies” • “Beggars As Members” (over 81,000)

16. Final papers guidelines: • Ten to twenty pages long • (3,000 to 6,000 words) • Double-spaced, default margins, Times New Roman 12 fonts • Bibliography + appendices + notes - do not count toward the limit • Most likely, topics will be relativelyopen-ended

17. Topics I: • Prospects for democracy in Pakistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia • How democratic is each of these countries? • What factors account for their (relative) level of democracy? • I.e., if A is more democratic than B, why? • Think of prospects for democracy (20 yrs) • Do you expect any significant changes? • Why? (or why not)?

18. Topics I (cont.): • Democracy in Romania in comparative perspective • Choose four countries: one from L. America, one from Asia/Middle East, one from Africa, and one from EE/fSU (other than Romania) • The “most similar case” to Romania (in terms of the variables that you think are most important for democracy) • Justify your choices. How democratic is each of these countries? Is the outcome the expected one in each case? Why (or why not)?

19. Topics I (cont.): • Modernization theory, dependency theory, and globalization: lessons for Romanian policy-makers and scholars • How well do modernization theory and dependency theory explain Romania’s pre-1989 economic, social and political course? • What about its post-1989 trajectory? • What about its future path?

20. Topics I (cont.): • Institutional design and political consequences: Romania, 1990-2006 • Discuss the impact of political institutions - executive-legislative relations, electoral system (+any other institutional feature) • Positives and negatives; give overall assessment • What institutional changes would you see as beneficial? • How do you see the post-1991 changes? • With the benefit of hindsight, if you were a decision-maker in 1989-91, what, if anything, would you do differently?

21. Topics II: • “Islamic Fundamentalism versus Zionism” • Comparative analysis of post-Soviet development in Central Asia • “National Culture and Economic Performance” • "Aging Policies and Living Arrangements“ • P-S-E Developments in Afghanistan and Iraq • Theories of imperialism and colonialism & impact on developing nations