Assignment:
Research Paper
Technical Instructions (applicable to both options):
Your assignment is compare two of our case countries (Japan, India, and China). Your paper should be 15-20 pages long and no longer than 20 pages. A good answer must include materials from class readings and lectures, as well as six solid references from outside sources which are peer reviewed and that analyze the concepts you are using and the connections between them
Your paper should be double spaced in Times New Roman font 12 point; with page numbers and a title on the first page (a separate title page is not necessary). Margins should be no larger than 1" on the sides and 1.25" top and bottom.
Legitimacy and Political Movements
Each of our cases has had to deal with legitimacy issues and nation-states have a multitude of options for handling internal conflict and ethnic strife that impacts the ability of states to govern themselves. Begin by explaining clearly the concepts of legitimacy and internal conflict; then choose a facet of legitimacy or political movements in two of our case countries and compare them. Give a detailed and clearly presented explanation of the legitimacy issue or the political movements you are examining. How have the two countries you have chosen to compare dealt with such issues? How have these problems influenced issues of governance and how do the political systems in the states you have chosen reflect values systems particular to that country or Asia in general? Be mindful about the cases which you use to compare and develop that comparison in a separate section of your essay.
Comparison should include the rationale for choosing these countries and cases - what have you learned from this comparison, what did you expect to find? How do these similarities or differences speak to the major themes of the course? Why is this comparison useful and/or illuminating?
Democracy and Development Indicators
Begin by explaining the concepts of democracy and development, then familiarize yourself with two or more websites that include indicators claiming to measure democracy and development. Examples include the UN Development Program on human development indicators and the World Bank Institute website on governance indicators as well as the International Parliamentary Union. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the definitions and choice of indicators that these sites use. This should be a solid critique of what is included, implied and omitted in the indicators.
Your next step is to analyze one set of indicators by comparing two or three of our case countries. You will need to explain the logic of your choice of countries in terms of the broader value to comparative politics. The central question to address is: what does the database tell you about the links between development and democracy in the countries you are comparing? Construct and discuss at least one formal, comparative table using the database. Do not cut and paste from the website, construct your own using Excel or another program which creates tables. The final section of your essay will present an analysis of the date for your countries in terms of your understanding of development and democracy. Where and why are there similarities? Do some secondary research to determine why there might be similarities or differences. What do the data NOT tell you that would help answer your questions?