POLSC221: Introduction to Comparative Politics

The behaviors of different populations influence, and are influenced by, political institutions.  This unit focuses on how other (i.e. non-institutional) factors affect political prospects in different societies. Culture is defined as the sum of the ideas, values, beliefs, and norms that inform the ways in which you behave and lead you to anticipate how you will be judged for your behavior.  We will see that cultural factors influence the political process in many different ways, often leading to different political values, differing degrees of alienation from the local process, and different means of mobilization.  We will also examine how subcultures and recent shifts in political activism have influenced government of late before taking a look at interest groups, pressure groups, lobbying, the press, media campaigns, and nongovernmental and quasi-nongovernmental organizations.  In these discussions, we will emphasize the use of the Internet in policy and administrative processes.  Note that as we progress through this unit, we will discuss each of these topics in terms of their application in comparative politics.  Finally, we will conclude with an introduction to comparative voting processes.

Completing this unit should take you approximately 22 hours.