CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Political Science 342 Fall 2007

Politics of Developing Areas Dr. Jose M. Vadi

Course Outline

This course examines the governments of the less developed countries and how they manage or fail to manage the critical problems that confront their societies and their political systems. We review various perspectives regarding “development.” In doing this we do not depart from the assumption that political development is simply another term for the American political system and the political systems of Western Europe. Instead we define development based on the challenges that confront these political systems and the degree to which these systems have successfully managed or overcome them. We analyze the impact of colonialism and imperialism on these systems, social and economic conditions, social forces (class, gender, religion) and the nature of what has been labeled the “third world state.” Particular attention is paid to the international economic system and the impact of globalization on poorer countries.

Required Texts: Joseph N. Weatherby, et al, The Other World: Issues and Politics of the Developing World,
Sixth Edition
Howard Handelman, The Challenge of Third World Development (Fourth Edition.)

John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Readings on reserve are indicated by an asterisk*

Course Requirements: Students must keep up with the reading assignments and be ready to discuss what they have read in class. Grades will be based on the following:

Midterm (essay format)…………30 %

Final (essay format)…………… 30%

Paper/Integrative Essay…………30%

Class participation………………10%
You will need bluebooks for the in class midterm and final exams. The final exam will be given on the date listed in the official university final exam schedule.

The term is to be ten pages in length, double-spaced with one-inch margins. You may focus on a problem that is common in underdeveloped countries (e.g., militarism, communal conflict, etc.) or you may review the politics of a specific underdeveloped country. If you select a country, you are to answer the following questions:

a. What are the basic social divisions that generate political conflict in that country?

b. What are the dominant sectors that control the state and politics in that country?

c. What are the most pressing social, political, and economic problems that country confronts?

d. How has the government either addressed or failed to address those problems and with what level of success?

e. What do you think the political situation will be like in that country in ten years based on current trends?

If you select an issue or problem, you must answer the following questions:
a. What are the dimensions of the problem (describe it)?

b. In what ways is this issue or problem significant in underdeveloped countries?

c. How have governments in these countries either addressed the issue or failed to address the issue?

d. What do governmental efforts to address this problem or issue reveal about politics in these countries and about governments in these countries?

e. Present some specific examples (or a case study) illustrating the problem and how governments have addressed the issue with a focus on what those efforts reveal about government in that country.

I need to approve of the country you select before you begin researching and you are to have selected a topic no later than the second week of class. You are required to answer these questions in the order that they are posed above. Plagiarism (copying a paper from a source or “borrowing” very heavily from a source that is not credited) will result in a grade of F in the course (not just in the paper) and a reporting of the incident to university Judicial Affairs division. You are to save all of the drafts, notes, copies of articles and other materials used to write your paper (the inputs that went into your paper), as I might want to see them. Please use scholarly journals for the research and do not rely primarily on websites unless you are using electronic versions of scholarly articles that are also in print. Many of these scholarly journals are referenced in databases such as WilsonWeb that can be accessed through the Cal Poly library website at www.csupomona.edu Should you need help in using library databases, please consult the librarian at the reference desk of the library or see me during an office hour. It goes without saying that the research paper should not be based on class texts and should reflect at least eight or ten outside sources. The paper is due on the last day of class before Final’s Week.

Please consult Turabian, A Manual for Writers on the mechanics of research and writing a term paper. For grammar and writing problems see Strunk and White, The Elements of Style.

Attendance is important and more than two absences will be considered poor attendance and will be deducted from the “class participation” component. Please arrange your personal affairs (e.g., work, child care, etc.) in such a manner that you do not miss class. Attendance is recorded via a signup sheet that is circulated daily in class. Students are expected to remain in the class for the duration of the class (1 hr. and 50 minutes). This means return after the break or be marked absent. Please do not operate cellular telephones, beepers, or other distracting equipment in class. You are expected to do the class readings so that you may participate in class.

Class Decorum: You are not to conduct any other business in class other than PLS 342. Cell phones are to be turned off and lap top computers are to be used to take notes and not to play solitaire, answer you e-mail, and do work for other classes. If you try to sleep in class you will be asked to leave the class and marked absent. Repeated violations of class decorum will result in a letter grade deduction in your class grade for non-participation.

I encourage you to come to see me during office hours if you are having difficulty mastering the class materials/readings. The time to see me is not after you have a D or F but before you get poor grades. I have little sympathy for students who whine about grades but who have never made an effort to see me during office hours. The grade that you get is based on the quality of your work and, therefore, I do not want to hear about what grade you “have to get.” Save all of your written work in the class (including exams) as I respond only to what you have produced in those exams and papers when discussing grades.

Readings

I. Characteristics of underdeveloped nations and the meanings of development

Weatherby, chapters 1 and 2 (colonialism and neocolonialism)

Handleman, chapter 1 (understanding development)
Perkins, “Confessions…,” Preface, Prologue, and Part I (to page 33)
We will watch the video “The Politics of Food” to examine different views of development.

Other videos will be shown to illustrate aspects of politics in underdeveloped nations.

II. The Third World State and Political Conflict

a. Democratization
Handleman, chapter 2

b. Religious conflict

Handleman, chapter 3

c. Cultural pluralism and ethnic conflict

Handleman, chapter 4
*Fred Riggs, “Ethnonationalism, industrialism, and the modern state”

d. Women and development
Handleman, chapter 5
Weatherby, chapter 4

e. Rural and urban politics
Handleman, chapters 6 and 7
f. Revolutionary Change

Handleman, chapter 8
g. The military and politics
Handleman, chapter 9

III. Political Economy of Third World Development: Economic Development and Globalization
Weatherby, chapter 3
Handleman, chapter 10

IV. Development in Regions of the World
a. Latin America
Weatherby, chapter 5
Finish Perkins, “Confessions…” (read entire rest of book)
*J. M. Vadi, “Economic Globalization, Class Struggle, and the Mexican State,” Latin American Perspectives,
July/August 2001.

b. Sub-Saharan Africa
Weatherby, chapter 6
c. Middle East
Weatherby, chapter 8
Review Perkins, “Confessions…” chapters 14, 15, 16, 18, and 31
d. Asia
Weatherby, chapter 7
e. Central Asia
Weatherby, chapter 9

Office Hrs. Location 94-312

Monday and Wednesday……………..3 to 4 pm
Tuesday and Thursday…………. ... 2 to 3 pm

Telephone: 909-869-3881 (I prefer e-mail)

E-mail: jmvadi@csupomona.edu

Website: www.csupomona.edu/~jmvadi