Final Examination: Study Guide
 

General Information

1. This exam will be closed book and notes. It will consist of a selection of the essay question listed below.
2. You must submit a blank blue book (available at the bookstore) at the start of the exam period.  Please make no marks on the book as I will be collecting them and redistributing them at the start of the exam.

Essay Questions

1. You have agreed to make a presentation to a group of incoming freshmen explaining why, no matter what else they do in college, it is important to study comparative politics. Now, what would you say?

 
2. "Political parties are firmly rooted in political culture." Comment on the assertion and provide evidence from our case countries and your own research.

 
3. One of the most hotly contested issues in comparative politics is the relationship between capitalism and democracy. What are the arguments for the various positions? Based on the country cases we have examined this semester, which position seems stronger?

 
4. Great Britain was very successful in implementing a vigorous program of privatization under Margaret Thatcher.  Russia and Nigeria have attempted to privatize large state-owned enterprises, but have made little headway.  Write an essay that explains Britain's relative success and Russia and Nigeria's relative failure. [Hint: Think in terms of nested political relationships].

 
5. Your preferred candidate wins the 2000 US presidential election.  Knowing of your expertise in comparative politics, he asks you to provide some background on globalization.  He wants to know if the idea has any real meaning, whether the impact on the US will be positive or negative, and what, if anything, the US federal government should do about it.  After writing your commentary for the US president-elect, consider if your views would be any different if you were advising the prime minister of Japan or the president of Nigeria.

 
6. One of the ongoing debates within comparative politics is the relative importance of political culture and political institutions in shaping a country's politics.  Drawing on the material covered in class, write an essay in which you identify which position you find is the most persuasive and why.  Support your argument with evidence from at least two of the six country cases.