Admission requirements
NA
Description
For an economist, what separates developed and developing countries is their wealth. But for a political scientist it is the strength of their political institutions. While all governments write constitutions and pass laws, an institution is only strong where it is enforced, respected and complied with in practice. For example, many developing countries have strict housing regulations on paper, but many people continue to live in dangerous informal slums. Is this ‘weak’ institution due to a lack of police capacity, to corruption, to rebellious citizens, or to electoral incentives?
Explaining when and how institutions are strong reveals important constraints and opportunities for development: Public goods are vital to progress, but require citizens to pay taxes – is tax compliance more likely to strengthen when fines for tax evasion are large, or when citizens are told how much their neighbours pay in tax? Vaccination is a fast route to saving lives, but many parents are distrustful and stricter enforcement risks scaring them more – how can states make vaccination ‘the norm’?
Through comparative case studies, statistical evidence and competing theories, this course teaches students to examine politics through the lens of institutional strength, learning how to codify institutions, measure their strength, diagnose sources of institutional weakness, and identify actors, mechanisms and opportunities that strengthen institutions.
Course objectives
Goal 1: Students can understand, articulate, measure and apply the concepts of institutional strength and weakness to analyze real-world scenarios.
Goal 2: Students can apply, explain and critique theories and evidence for why institutions are strong/weak and strengthen/weaken.
Mode of instruction
The principal mode of instruction is two weekly seminars throughout the block in which we will critically discuss the readings and their implications. There will be no ‘lecture’ and very limited use of presentations by the instructor, so advance reading and preparation is essential. All assigned readings will be in English.
Assessment method
Assessment is composed of three elements:
1. In-class presentation and contribution to improving the presentations of others - 25% of final grade.
2. Take-home Essay on a specific question provided by the instructor (2000-3000 words) - 35% of final grade.
3. In-class closed-book Exam (90 minutes on 18th December) - 40% of final grade: You will be provided with a question on the topic of the course and should write a clear, analytical, professional and convincing academic essay in response. There is no resit option.
Reading list
The readings draw from the literature (book chapters and articles) on institutions in comparative politics and political economy, and will be made available through Brightspace.
Registration
See 'Practical Information'
Timetable
See ‘MyTimetable’
Contact
Jonathan Phillips, j.p.phillips@fsw.leidenuniv.nl