Comparative Political Systems

This course is a comparative study of national political systems found across the globe. Its primary focus is describing and explaining the conditions necessary and sufficient for a democracy. A three part classification scheme--Developed Democracies, Developing Democracies and Non-Democracies--is used to analyze the similarities and differences found both within and across the different political systems. A select group of countries from different regions in the world are studied to illustrate political, economic and social development as it relates to regime type.