Comparative Politics of Developing Countries

Catalog description

This course investigates variation in the quality of governance and development in developing areas. Rather than providing a survey, the objective of this course is to discuss select open research areas at the intersection of politics and development and the tools necessary to contribute to them. Topics will include institutions and economic growth, colonial legacies, origins of the state, state capacity, social identity, and conflict. Students will complete a final research paper that develops an analytically rigorous argument about governance or development using the tools discussed in class. (GOVT-CP)