This course provides a foundation for the study of the politics of industrial societies, with a focus on North America and Western Europe. It will not only look at the historical formation of liberal democracy and the nation state, it will also focus very heavily on contemporary issues and developments in these countries which so overwhelmingly influence world affairs and play a dominant role in the global economy.
Since it is impossible to cover all the countries which fall in the category of industrial societies, the emphasis will be on the major countries ( United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain). This of course will not exclude reference to other countries. For purposes of comparative analysis, students should therefore endeavour to acquaint themselves with the domestic politics of most of the countries in the grouping. By the end of the course students should have developed knowledge of the main political issues, trends and structures in North America and Western Europe.
The outline provides a framework, but the content will be determined by interests and needs of the students as well as by emerging issues which have an impact on the societies being studied. Students are therefore encouraged to provide feedback and signal particular areas of interests and identify topics they consider relevant.
Each student must join a tutorial group, which will meet one hour per week beginning the second week in September. The tutorials are an extension of the lectures and are designed to further amplify students knowledge of the discipline. The expectation is that students will come to the tutorials prepared to actively engage in discussion.
There are no text books for the course. The bibliography is not exhaustive. As with most courses in political sciences, there is an extensive range of literature that can be consulted. Feel free to do so. Given the scarcity of resources, several of the reading assignments have been placed on RBC so that they can be as accessible to as many students as possible. You are also encouraged to pay particular attention to current events in the various countries under review through reading of journals, periodicals, news magazines etc. |
Mortimer Chambers, et al.,
The Western Experience, vols.II and III
S.E. Finer, The History of Government, vol.3, Part
II
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