SemesterFall Semester, 2020
DepartmentInternational Doctor Program in Asia-Pacific Studies, First Year International Doctor Program in Asia-Pacific Studies, Second Year
Course NameLatin American Governments & Politics
InstructorSU YEN-PIN
Credit3.0
Course TypeElective
Prerequisite
Course Objective
Course Description
Course Schedule

Class Schedule



教學活動與作業詳見評量工具與策略;每週學習投入時數:3小時



Week 1 (9/15): Introduction



 



Organization of the Course Schedule; Some Lessons from Latin America for the Research on Comparative Politics; Formalities for Academic Writing; Registering for a Turnitin account



 



Week 2 (9/22): Basics for Understanding Quantitative Research



 



Format editing assignment due in class!



How to Write a Critical Literature Review Assignment; Research Topics; Explanatory vs. Descriptive Research Questions; Literature Review and Research Problematique; Variables; Measurements; Hypotheses; Statistical Results; Do the first critical review assignment (see below)




  1. Escobar-Lemmon, Maria, and Michelle M. Taylor-Robinson. 2005. “Women Ministers in Latin American Government: When, Where, and Why?” American Journal of Political Science 49 (4): 829-844.



 



Week 3 (9/29): Basics for Developing a Research Design for Studies of Comparative Politics



 



First critical review assignment due 5 p.m. on 9/28



Elements of a Well-Structured Research Design; Research Puzzle (causes vs. consequences); Hypothesis Building; Research Strategies (theory, data, method); Case Selection; Instruction for Dataset Building Assignment



 



Week 4 (10/6): Regime Change (I): Historical Legacies; Economic Effects; International Forces



 



Dataset building assignment due in class!




  1. Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal and Scott Mainwaring. 2013. “Regime Legacies and Levels of Democracy: Evidence from Latin America.” Comparative Politics 45(4): 379-397.

  2. Landman, Todd. 1999. “Economic Development and Democracy: The View from Latin America.” Political Studies 47(4): 607-626.

  3. Schenoni, Luis L., and Scott Mainwaring. 2019. “US Hegemony and Regime Change in Latin America.” Democratization 26(2): 269-287.



 



Week 5 (10/13): Regime Change (II): Elites; Church; Social Movements



 



Map quiz in class!




  1. Madrid, Raúl. 2019. “Opposition Parties and the Origins of Democracy in Latin America.” Comparative Politics 51(2): 151-178.

  2. Gill, Anthony J. 1994. “Rendering unto Caesar? Religious Competition and Catholic Political Strategy in Latin America, 1962-79.” American Journal of Political Science 38(2): 403-425.

  3. Wood, Elizabeth Jean. 2001. “An Insurgent Path to Democracy: Popular Mobilization, Economic Interests, and Regime Transition in South Africa and El Salvador.” Comparative Political Studies 34(8): 862-888.



 



Week 6 (10/20): Challenges for Democracies (I): Populism, Coups, Impeachments



 




  1. Doyle, David. 2011. “The Legitimacy of Political Institutions: Explaining Contemporary Populism in Latin America.” Comparative Political Studies 44(11): 1447-1473.

  2. Houle, Christian and Paul D. Kenny. 2018. “The Political and Economic Consequences of Populist Rule in Latin America.” Government and Opposition 53(2): 256-287.

  3. Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal and John Polga-Hecimovich. 2017. “Explaining Military Coups and Impeachments in Latin America.” Democratization 24(5): 839-858..



 



Week 7 (10/27): Challenges for Democracies (II): Transitional Justice; Inequality; Corruption



 




  1. Albertus, Michael. 2019. “The Fate of Former Authoritarian Elites Under Democracy.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 63(3): 727-759.

  2. Pribble, Jennifer, Evelyne Huber, and John D. Stephens. 2009. “Politics, Policies, and Poverty in Latin America.” Comparative Politics 41(4): 387-407.

  3. Tyburski, Michael D. 2012. “The Resource Curse Reversed? Remittances and Corruption in Mexico.” International Studies Quarterly 56(2): 339-350.



 



Week 8 (11/3): Political Institutions (I): Executives, Legislatures, and Judiciary



 




  1. Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal, Nicolás Schmidt, and Daniela Vairo. 2019. “Presidential Hegemony and Democratic Backsliding in Latin America, 1925–2016.” Democratization 26(4): 606-625.

  2. Shair-Rosenfield, Sarah and Alissandra T. Stoyan. 2017. “Constraining Executive Action: The Role of Legislator Professionalization in Latin America.” Governance 30(2): 301-319.

  3. Llanos, Mariana, Cordula Tibi Weber, Charlotte Heyl, and Alexander Stroh. 2016. “Informal Interference in the Judiciary in New democracies: a Comparison of Six African and Latin American Cases.” Democratization 23(7): 1236-1253.



 



Week 9 (11/10): Political Institutions (II): Decentralization and Subnational Politics



 




  1. Gervasoni, Carlos. 2010. “A Rentier Theory of Subnational Regimes: Fiscal Federalism, Democracy, and Authoritarianism in the Argentine Provinces.” World Politics 62(2): 302-340.

  2. Eaton, Kent. 2014. “Recentralization and the Left Turn in Latin America Diverging Outcomes in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.” Comparative Political Studies 47(8): 1130-1157.

  3. Goldfrank, Benjamin. 2007. “The Politics of Deepening Local Democracy: Decentralization, Party Institutionalization, and Participation.” Comparative Politics 39(2): 147-168.



 



Week 10 (11/17): Political Institution (III): Political Parties and Party Systems



 




  1. Burgess, Katrina and Steven Levitsky. 2003. “Explaining Populist Party Adaptation in Latin America: Environmental and Organizational Determinants of Party Change in Argentina, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.” Comparative Political Studies 36(8): 881-911.

  2. Su, Yen-Pin. 2015. “Party Registration Rules and Party Systems in Latin America.” Party Politics 21(2): 295-308.

  3. Su, Yen-Pin. 2018. “Personal Vote, Spatial Registration Rules, and Party System Nationalization in Latin America.” International Political Science Review 39(2): 192-208.



 



Week 11 (11/24): Political Institutions (IV): Institutional Choice and Change



 




  1. Negretto, Gabriel L. 2012. “Replacing and Amending Constitutions: The Logic of Constitutional Change in Latin America.” Law & Society Review 46(4): 749-779.

  2. González, Yanilda. 2019. “The Social Origins of Institutional Weakness and Change: Preferences, Power, and Police Reform in Latin America.” World Politics 71(1): 44-87.

  3. Wills-Otero, Laura. 2009. “Electoral Systems in Latin America: Explaining the Adoption of Proportional Representation Systems during the Twentieth Century.” Latin American Politics and Society 51(3): 33-58.



 



Week 12 (12/1): Political Behavior (I): Electoral Participation



 




  1. Murillo, María Victoria, Virginia Oliveros, and Milan Vaishnav. 2010. “Electoral Revolution or Democratic Alternation?” Latin American Research Review 45 (3): 87-114.

  2. Carreras, Miguel, and Yasemin Irepoglu. 2013. “Trust in Elections, Vote Buying, and Turnout in Latin America.” Electoral Studies 32(4): 609-619.

  3. Valdini, Melody E., and  Michael S. Lewis?Beck. 2018. “Economic Voting in Latin America: Rules and Responsibility.” American Journal of Political Science 62(2): 410-423.



 



Week 13 (12/8): Political Behavior (II): Public Opinion and Political Culture



 




  1. Singer, Matthew. 2018. “Delegating Away Democracy: How Good Representation and Policy Successes Can Undermine Democratic Legitimacy.” Comparative Political Studies 51(3): 1754-1788.

  2. Wood, Charles H., Chris L. Gibson, Ludmila Ribeiro, and Paula Hamsho?Diaz. 2010. “Crime Victimization in Latin America and Intentions to Migrate to the United States.” International Migration Review 44(1): 3-24.

  3. Baker, Andy, and David Cupery. 2013. “Anti-Americanism in Latin America: Economic Exchange, Foreign Policy Legacies, and Mass Attitudes toward the Colossus of the North.” Latin American Research Review 48(2): 106-130.



 



Week 14 (12/15): Gender; Religiosity; Ethnicity



 




  1. Funk, Kendall D., Magda Hinojosa, and Jennifer M. Piscopo. Forthcoming. “Women to the Rescue: The Gendered Effects of Public Discontent on Legislative Nominations in Latin America.” Party Politics (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1354068819856614).

  2. Dion, Michelle L., and Jordi Díez. 2017. “Democratic Values, Religiosity, and Support for Same-Sex Marriage in Latin America.” Latin American Politics and Society 59(4): 75-98.

  3. Vogt, Manuel. 2016. “A New Dawn? Indigenous Movements and Ethnic Inclusion in Latin America.” International Studies Quarterly 60(4): 790–801.



 



Week 15 (12/22): Political Economy (I): Economic Development; Market Reforms



 




  1. Kay, Cristóbal. 2002. “Why East Asia Overtook Latin America: Agrarian Reform, Industrialisation and Development.” Third World Quarterly 23 (6): 1073-1102.

  2. Biglaiser, Glen. 2016. “Mandate and the Market: Policy Outcomes under the Left in Latin America.” Comparative Politics 48(2): 185-204.

  3. Bellinger, Paul T., and Moises Arce. 2011. “Protest and Democracy in Latin America’s Market Era.” Political Research Quarterly 64 (3):688-704.



 



Week 16 (12/29): Political Economy (II): Latin America and China



 




  1. Su, Yen-Pin and Oscar René Vargas Delgado. 2017. “Is China Becoming a Hegemonic Challenge in Latin America and the Caribbean? A Political Economy Analysis of the Nicaragua Interoceanic Canal Project.” Issues & Studies 53(1): 1740002-1–1740002-32.

  2. Urdinez, Francisco, Fernando Mouron, Luis L. Schenoni, and Amâncio J. de Oliveira. 2016. “Chinese Economic Statecraft and U.S. Hegemony in Latin America: An Empirical Analysis, 2003–2014. Latin American Politics and Society 58(4): 3-30.

  3. Bersch, Katherine, and Riitta-Ilona Koivumaeki. 2019. “Making Inroads: Infrastructure, State Capacity, and Chinese Dominance in Latin American Development.” Studies in Comparative International Development 54, 323–345.



 



Week 17 (1/5): Guest Lecture



 



Week 18 (1/12): Brief Research Design Presentations


Teaching Methods
Teaching Assistant
Requirement/Grading

Evaluation and Requirements































Weekly critical review assignments



50%



Format editing assignment (due in class on 9/22)



5%



Dataset building and empirical analyses assignment (due in class on 10/6)



10%



Map quiz with country information (due in class on 10/13)



5%



Final paper (due in class on 1/12)



20%



Class participation (including current event reports)



10%




 




  1. Weekly Critical Review Assignments. Every student must upload the first critical review assignment to Moodle before 5 p.m. on 9/28. From Week 4 to Week 16, students must upload one or more assignments for each week to Moodle. This means that you have to upload assignments for every week. If you complete 25 excellent assignments in total, you are likely to get 50 full points. The more assignments that you upload, the more likely that you will get 50 full points. However, your total points for this component will be reduced 2 points for each “missed” week. For example, if you write 30 excellent assignments but miss uploading assignments for two weeks, the highest score you can get will be 46 points.





Each assignment MUST be done following the template below:



 



(a) The general research question



(b) The more specific research question(s)



(c) Unit of analysis



(d) Research scope (specific observations and time span)



(e) Testable hypotheses and the theoretical mechanisms behind these hypotheses



(f) Measurements of dependent variable(s) and major independent variables



(g) Data sources for dependent variable(s) and major independent variables



(h) Methodology



(i) Research design strategy



(j) Critical analysis (see below for details)



 



Students must provide answers section-by-section. For section (a), it must be in a form of question (with a question mark), NOT a summary statement. The difference between a general research question (section (a)) and a specific question (section (b)) is that the former focuses on the variation in the dependent variable in a general way, while the latter mentions specific research scope (cases and time span), major explanatory variables, and the dependent variable.



 



In the first part of the critical analysis, students should briefly summarize the finding. Then, praise for the reviewed article (e.g., what contribution that this work can make). Next, students should provide critical comments and questions. Thoughts for critiques include, but is not limited to: Is the work theoretically or empirically interesting for other cases? Is the transfer of theory to empirics reasonable? How well are the concepts measured? Is the causal relation between variables reasonable? Are there other alternative explanations that are not considered? Is the theory applicable for comparative work? How reliable are the data? What are the pros and cons of the methodology used by the author(s)? Are the results surprising? Is there any direction suggested by the study for future researchers?



 



In your assignment, please include your name and the reference for the article for your critical review on the top, and insert page numbers at the bottom. The format of an assignment must be: 1) in Word format; 3) 12-point font; 4) single-spaced; and 5) with moderate margins. The length of the assignment should be about 1000 words in total, in which at least 300 words of the content being the critical analysis. The assignments for a particular weekly class meeting must be posted one day before the class (by 5 p.m. on Monday). Your points will be lowered for each late post or incomplete post. Also, you will get a low grade if you fail to follow the abovementioned requirements for doing your assignments.



 



In-Class Presentation: In each week, a number of students will be responsible for in-class presentations based on their critical review assignments for the assigned readings (the presentation schedule will be announced after the class of Week 3). The presenters can use PowerPoint or simply use their assignments for presentations. Each presentation must be no longer than 20 minutes. The presenters must lead the discussions. Note: If you use PowerPoint presentation, you still need to upload your regular assignment (in Word format). Do not upload your PowerPoint file to replace your assignment.



 




  1. Format Editing Assignment (due in class on 9/22). You will edit a file (see Moodle) to ensure the format style for the citations and references strictly complied with the APSA Style Manual (https://www.apsanet.org/Portals/54/APSA%20Files/publications/APSAStyleManual2006.pdf). If the editing is totally accurate, you will get 5 points. Your score will be deducted by 1 point for each error until you lose all the 5 points.

  2. Dataset building and bivariate analyses assignment (due in class on 10/6). You will build two datasets for this assignment: one dataset based on Pippa Norris’ Democracy Time-Series Data Release 3.0, and the other based on LAPOP surveys. Visit Moodle for more details.

  3. Map quiz with country information (in class on 10/13). In this map quiz, you will answer questions about country names, national capitals, current presidents and their affiliated parties, in each of the 20 Latin American countries.

  4. Final paper (due in class on 1/12). In the final paper, you will build your own research plan based on a particular publication (you can select one article from this syllabus or select a publication by yourself under my permission). Your task is to use a research strategy that is different from the original research design of the selected publication. Please organize your assignment in four sections (see below):



 



I. Introduction. First, specify what publication that you refer for writing this final paper. Next, specify your research question and discuss the importance of addressing this research question.



 



II. Literature Review and Hypotheses.  First, do a short review of the existing literature. Second, choose an existing theory or construct a new theory that addresses your research question, and discuss the theoretical mechanisms. Third, propose testable hypotheses for your research plan.



 



III. Research Design. First, specify the unit of analysis, dependent variable, independent variables, and control variables for the empirical analysis. Second, discuss the research scope (cases, time span, etc.) that you will focus on. Third, discuss the measurement and data sources for the variables. Finally, discuss the methodology that you will use for the empirical analysis.



 



IV. Research Strategy. First, write a short summary about your research strategy in terms of theory, data, and method. Second, discuss how your research strategy differs from the publication that you choose here. Third, discuss how your research strategy could make contribution to the existing literature.



 



In the final paper, please write your name, insert page numbers for the paper, and make sure that you provide citations and bibliography/references that follow the APSA format style. The format of this paper must be: 1) in Word format; 3) 12-point font; 4) single-spaced; and 5) with moderate margins. The length of the paper should be 3000-4000 words in total. Every student has to make a in-class presentation for the final papers on January 8.



 




  1. Class participation. For each weekly class meeting from Week 4 to Week 16, one student will be assigned for giving a three-minute current event reports about Latin American countries in the beginning of the class (the instructor will make the schedule after the class of Week 3).



 



In every class meeting, I will make sure that EVERY student talks to provide comments and ask questions based on the critical review assignments. To facilitate the class discussion, please have your assignments at hand. Being unable to recall what you have written in your assignment will seriously affect your grade because it is not only unprofessional, but also a sign of cheating. Students who fail to participate actively will get a low score on this component.



 


Textbook & Reference
Urls about Course
Attachment