Politics in Developing Countries

Catalog description

This course provides an introduction to the processes of political development and change in developing (or "Third world") countries. These countries account for most of the world's population. Some are desperately poor while others are rapidly developing industrial powers. Some are stable democracies, while others suffer under harsh dictatorships or remain mired in civil or ethnic strife. Indeed the countries considered part of the "developing" category are diverse socially, politically, and economically, but share common historical, political, and socioeconomic development patterns. It is these patterns-their nature and their implication for future development-that are focus of the course. Case studies will be drawn from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. No prerequisite. (Offered every even fall term.)