This course will examine literature and practice regarding community-owned enterprise as an …
This course will examine literature and practice regarding community-owned enterprise as an alternative means of increasing community participation and development. The use of cooperatives, credit unions, land trusts, and limited stock ownership enterprises for increasing community participation and empowerment will be examined.
This reader is an Open Educational Resource, meant to accompany a graduate …
This reader is an Open Educational Resource, meant to accompany a graduate or higher-level undergraduate university course in climate change resilience, adaptation, and/or planning. While the material is geared toward students in urban and regional planning, it may also be of interest to students of urban studies, public health, geography, political science, sociology, risk management, and others.
This course will conduct a comparative study of the grand strategies of …
This course will conduct a comparative study of the grand strategies of the great powers (Britain, France, Germany and Russia) competing for mastery of Europe from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Grand strategy is the collection of political and military means and ends with which a state attempts to achieve security. We will examine strategic developments in the years preceding World Wars I and II, and how those developments played themselves out in these wars. The following questions will guide the inquiry: What is grand strategy and what are its critical aspects? What recurring factors have exerted the greatest influence on the strategies of the states selected for study? How may the quality of a grand strategy be judged? What consequences seem to follow from grand strategies of different types? A second theme of the course is methodological. We will pay close attention to how comparative historical case studies are conducted.
Comparative Politics: A Practical Guide for a Globalizing World is perhaps the …
Comparative Politics: A Practical Guide for a Globalizing World is perhaps the first introductory textbook in comparative politics to be written with an emphasis on case studies from the Global South and other alternative perspectives. It was inspired by my own experience as a student and professor who had the privilege to live, learn, and work in places as diverse as Bangladesh, Egypt, and Germany. My experience in each country provided an important contribution to my own understanding of political science, perhaps in more important ways than my formal political science education. It was written with the belief that political science has focused too heavily on developing theories and models based primarily on the “Western” world to the detriment of both the discipline as well as students. 21st century students are learning and living in an increasingly globalized world in which traditional notions of statehood, development, elections, and more are rapidly changing and facing deep contestation. Following the calls to “decolonize” its sister discipline, International Relations, it is both timely and imperative that comparative politics follows suit. While traditional approaches offer important lessons about the nature of government and political processes, this text believes that the Global South has much to offer in the way of what politics looks like in the face of social unrest, increasing inequality, disputed legitimacy, climate change and other 21st century challenges that the Global North can no longer ignore. Another unique aspect of this textbook is that it contains contributions from students from Colorado Mesa University, a rural institution in Western Colorado primarily focused on undergraduate and first-generation education, with edits and additions from myself. Therefore, this book is written both by and for students of first-generation and minority-serving institutions.
POLS 261 Course Description: In this course, we will explore contemporary comparative politics. Comparative politics is the study of different political systems outside of the United States, with the goal of comparing these different systems in order to better understand the advantages and disadvantages of how various political systems are designed. We will focus on several questions that have been central to this sub-field of political science including democratization and democratic stability, how states vary in their political institutions on a constitutional, electoral, administrative, and party level, and what explains the persistence of ethnicity and causes of civil conflict. Students will use cases from various global regions and employ comparative research methods.
This course surveys both classic and cutting-edge work on the politics of …
This course surveys both classic and cutting-edge work on the politics of the Middle East, broadly defined. Topics include the causes and consequences of political and economic development, authoritarianism and democratization, the influence of social movements, the role of women in Middle Eastern politics, regional inter-state relations, Islamism, terrorism, colonialism and foreign occupation, state-building, resistance and rebellion, and the Arab uprisings.
This course focuses on the complexities associated with security and sustainability of …
This course focuses on the complexities associated with security and sustainability of states in international relations. Covering aspects of theory, methods and empirical analysis, the course is in three parts, and each consists of seminar sessions focusing on specific topics.
How does Washington’s state constitution compare and contrast with the U.S. Constitution? …
How does Washington’s state constitution compare and contrast with the U.S. Constitution? In this lesson, students will find out! Guide your class through some basic similarities and differences as well as side-by-side text analysis with this lesson’s integrated reading/activity format.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES Determine how the Washington State Constitution complements the federal structure of government in the United States Compare the state government established by the Washington Constitution with the federal government defined in the U.S. Constitution Compare and contrast rights protected by the Washington and U.S. Constitutions Compare and contrast methods for amending the Washington and U.S. Constitutions
View this activity online or register with iCivics (free) to download materials. Materials may be copied or transmitted for noncommercial purposes with proper attribution.
This lesson focuses on comparing and contrasting national governments in North America …
This lesson focuses on comparing and contrasting national governments in North America and/or Central America. It is the second in a sequence, the first being "Comparing Governments - Local, State, and National" by Tami Weaver and Wendy Pineda.
What does it mean to belong to a country? Can events change …
What does it mean to belong to a country? Can events change what that means? This interactive compares two paintings by John Lewis Krimmel. Both show people in Philadelphia’s Centre Square celebrating the Fourth of July, but one was painted in 1812, just after the United States had declared war on Great Britain, and the other was painted in 1819, four years after the war had ended. The two look very different, reflecting changing ideas. This "Genial.ly" presentation includes interactive annotations and a juxtapose slider--the final slide includes suggestions on how to help students use the art as historical evidence. If you evaluate or use this resource, please respond to this short (4 question) survey here bit.ly/3ofUImf
Do you think that a majority vote is always the fairest way …
Do you think that a majority vote is always the fairest way to reach a consensus? Think again! In this video, Professor Diana Thomas of Creighton University explains that it is very easy for a savvy politician to dictate the winner of a vote using Condorcet’s Paradox.
Module on conflict in international relations. Intended for community college students and …
Module on conflict in international relations. Intended for community college students and aligned with the requirements for POLS 140: Introduction to International Relations within the California Community College system. Includes lesson plan, required readings, and ancillary materials (lecture slides and worksheet).
This book is primarily intended for second year and upwards undergraduate students …
This book is primarily intended for second year and upwards undergraduate students in general political theory and international theory, and advanced international relations students. Each chapter is also downloadable on its own for use in courses considering only some of the ten theorists covered.
Written in an accessible way Conflict, War and Revolution will also interest advanced general readers with interests in the historical thought underpinnings of political ideas and today’s international politics.
The Middle East’s geographical and strategic uniqueness has made every great power …
The Middle East’s geographical and strategic uniqueness has made every great power in history to seek to advance its interests in the region. Yet, the region constitutes the greatest single reserve of oil in the world, which has made it a regular source of foreign interference in the post-World War II era. In addition to its geographical and strategic uniqueness, the Middle East is the birthplace and spiritual center of the world’s three most important monotheistic religions. Due to its geopolitical importance, any inter- and intra-state conflict in the Middle East has the potential not only for destabilizing the region as a whole or upsetting the regional balance of power but also affecting global stability. After employing the Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) in order to define and delimit the region of the Middle East, the chapters of this book address the question of regional order, examine how regionalism and globalism feature in Middle Eastern integration processes, explore regional bids for hegemony, and investigate the approaches and policies of major international actors.
Students apply economics, politics and sociology to better understand why cap and …
Students apply economics, politics and sociology to better understand why cap and trade is the preferred political approach, but also why it's potentially problematic.
The United States Congress is the most open of the national branches …
The United States Congress is the most open of the national branches of government, and therefore the most closely studied. This course aims to find ways to deal with the vast array of information we have about Congress by asking two basic questions: What does Congress do (and why), and what are the various ways of studying congressional behavior? This course focuses on both the internal processes of the House and Senate, and on the place of Congress in the American political system.
This course analyzes the development of the US Congress by focusing on …
This course analyzes the development of the US Congress by focusing on the competing theoretical lenses through which legislatures have been studied. In particular, it compares sociological and economic models of legislative behavior, applying those models to floor decision-making, committee behavior, political parties, relations with other branches of the Federal government, and elections.
This course analyzes the development of the United States Congress by focusing …
This course analyzes the development of the United States Congress by focusing on the competing theoretical lenses through which legislatures have been studied. In particular, it compares sociological and economic models of legislative behavior, applying those models to floor decision-making, committee behavior, political parties, relations with other branches of the Federal government, and elections. Graduate students are expected to pursue the subject in greater depth through reading and individual research.
This week Craig Benzine clears up the role of committees in Congress. …
This week Craig Benzine clears up the role of committees in Congress. We’ll talk about standing committees, joint committees, conference committees, and caucuses (and not the candidate-choosing kinds) as well as the staff agencies that help advise these committees and congresspeople. As most bills never even make it to the house and senate floors for a vote, the role of committees, and their respective chairpersons as gatekeepers is pretty important. There’s a lot to demystify here as the legislative process can seem pretty arcane at times, but the model, at least in theory, helps Congress run more efficiently.
This week Craig breaks out the crystal ball to try and figure …
This week Craig breaks out the crystal ball to try and figure out why our congresspeople do the things that they do. We’ll talk about the three motivating factors of congressional decisions - constituency, interest groups, and political parties - and we’ll break down how each of these factors motivates certain actions like casework, public opinion polls, and logrolling. Craig will even weigh in on which of these factors probably contributes most significantly to the actions and decisions of our congresspersons and he'll do it without even a touch of cynicism!
Chapters: Introduction How constituents & public opinion influence lawmakers How interest groups influence lawmakers How political parties influence lawmakers Presidential power & political parties Other influences on congressional decisions Credits
No restrictions on your remixing, redistributing, or making derivative works. Give credit to the author, as required.
Your remixing, redistributing, or making derivatives works comes with some restrictions, including how it is shared.
Your redistributing comes with some restrictions. Do not remix or make derivative works.
Most restrictive license type. Prohibits most uses, sharing, and any changes.
Copyrighted materials, available under Fair Use and the TEACH Act for US-based educators, or other custom arrangements. Go to the resource provider to see their individual restrictions.
