Comparative Politics Comprehensive Examination

August 2001

Students taking the comp as a major have six hours to answer one question from Part I, one question from Part II, and two questions from Part III. Students taking the comp as a minor have four and one-half hours to answer one question from Part I and EITHER one question from Part II and one question from Part III OR two questions from Part III.

Part 1. General Theory
A. Are rational choice theories and interpretivist approaches stark alternatives to one another? Why or why not?

B. Recent literatures on economic globalization and democratization both suggest, among other shared features, global convergence. To what extent are these (or other literatures) replicating the major strengths and weaknesses of modernization theory

C. Are the core phenomena studied by political scientists products of distinct and autonomous political forces, or are they more fundamentally shaped by those factors studied by economists, sociologists, psychologists, and other social scientists?

Part II. Methodology
A. "Quantitative crass-national comparisons of many countries have found consistently a positive correlation between development and democracy. They thus come to relatively optimistic conclusions about the chances of democracy in the developing countries of today. By contrast, comparative historical studies that emphasize qualitative examination of complex sequences tend to trace the rise of democracy to a favorable historical constellation of conditions in early capitalism. Their conclusions are therefore far more pessimistic about today's developing countries."
Given contrasting methodologies, is it possible to find corroborating evidence for incompatible theories? If so, how do we resolve this problem? Discuss this matter in the context of one major area of theorizing in comparative politics.

B. Process-tracing is often presented as a methodological solution to the small-n problem. Assess its strengths and weaknesses. Can process-tracing narratives on their own provide the basis for compelling causal explanations?

Part III. Applied Theory
A. The literature on social movements employs the concepts of political opportunity structures, mobilizing structures, and cultural framing. Apply these concepts to the analysis of at least one social movement, and evaluate the usefulness of these concepts in explaining the dynamics of social movements in general. In particular, consider the extent to which they are complementary or contradictory.

B. Into the 1970s, political scientists believed that political development in the non-European world would largely mimic European state formation. What, if anything, do theories of European state formation tell us about the structures and processes of political development in the non-European world?

C. A significant number of authoritarian regimes have resisted the "Third Wave" of democratization since the 1970s. What theoretical approach best allows us to explain divergent regime outcomes in either the Americas, Africa, the former Soviet bloc, the Middle East, or East Asia?

D. How do the roles played by political parties differ across established democracies, fledgling democracies, and non-democratic regimes?

E. What, if any, are the political requisites of late development? Discuss major theoretical approaches and illustrate your answer by way of specific examples.

F. Ethnicity and other politically salient identities are often seen as constructed. Explain the origins of constructed identities (of whatever kind) in at least two cases. What "raw materials," if any, were necessary to the construction of these identities?