This examination is designed to evaluate your basic mastery of the "comparative politics canon." Most of the questions encourage you to use the ideas in classic texts to help you analyze a real-world problem, just as you will do in your own research later. A few ask you to provide guidance to others, based on your understanding of the literature in the field.

In most cases you should show that you are aware of the debates to which the questions allude, sketch alternative views, and discuss pros and cons. That is, stating only one view without indicating familiarity with the relevant controversies does not signify "mastery." When you refer to an argument someone else has developed, you should acknowledge the author of that view by name, but you need not provide a footnote. Solid original thinking generates extra points.

The exam begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. (students with disabilities and students whose main language is not English may submit their exams at 5:30).

Here are the rules:

1. If comparative politics is your major field, you must select one question from each of three lists (for a total of three questions). If comparative politics is your minor field, you may select two questions from the same list and a third from a second list, or you may choose one question from each of three lists, for a total of three questions.
2. Exams should be handwritten on one side of the page only. Please write legibly.
3. You may consult your notes during the exam, but you should not expect to spend much time doing so. You may not speak about the exam with anyone—not with friends, family, or faculty—until Saturday, March 31. This rule ensures that students who have extra time to complete the exam don’t hear about your answers until after they have submitted their work.
4. The time for completion includes travel and breaks you may wish to take. That is, you do not get extra time just because you have decided to write the exam at a remote location.
5. A follow-up oral of one hour’s duration will take place approximately one week after completion of the written exam. Examiners may ask you to amplify your answers to the written questions or to extend your analysis to your own research interests.

1. I certify that I picked up the written exam at 8:30 on March 30.

Signature: _______________________________

2. I would like at least one of the following faculty members present at my oral exam: ______________________________________

______________________________________

3. I can be available for my oral exam at the following times:

Thursday 2:00-3:00 ______

Thursday 3:00-4:00 ______

Friday 9:00-10:00 ______

Friday 10:00-11:00 ______

Friday 11:00-12:00 ______

Friday 3:00-4:00 ______

Friday 4:00-5:00 ______

Monday 9:00-10:00 ______

Monday 10:00-11:00 ______

Monday 11:00-12:00 ______

Monday 3:00-4:00 ______

Other:

 

 

4. I certify that I submitted my written exam at ________ on March 30.

Signature: __________________________________

1. It is 1992. A wave of political change is spreading around the world. There are pressures for competitive, multi-party elections even in countries with low GDP per capita. Discuss at least two explanations for the patterns you observe. In the course of your answer explain why these changes came as a surprise to some scholars and whether these researchers were simply wrong.
2. Offer two possible explanations for the rise of the territorial nation state, say which you find most persuasive and why, and then offer some reasons why or why not the competitive advantage of the territorial state is under challenge.
3. "Modernization theory" comes in several forms. Explain what it is, with due attention to the various forms of the theory. Discuss criticisms. Then offer at least one research design that would provide a compelling test of the theory and explain why the design permits clear causal inference.

1. Duverger’s Law has long enjoyed popularity among political scientists. What is Duverger’s Law? What is its relevance to debates about the relative merits of different types of electoral rules? And what challenges to Duverger’s Law can you offer?
2. Discuss some of the "mischiefs of faction" (the problems associated with interest group pressure). Then address ways to design political institutions to limit the ill effects or harness the good.
3. Spatial models are common in studies of elections and voting. What is a spatial model? Offer some examples from the literature. Then offer some criticisms of these models.

1. One of the most robust findings in political science is that participation increases with socioeconomic status. Yet SES does not provide a very full account of "who votes," "who complains," or "who joins campaigns" in most parts of the world. Offer a theory to account for the correlation between SES and participation, then explain what else helps explain the patterns observed.
2. Offer some guidelines for the study of "political culture." First, choose a definition of political culture and defend it. Second, what kinds of things can culture explain or not explain? And, third, offer some research designs that help demonstrate the causal significance of culture compared to other possible independent variables. Use examples from the reading list in your answer.
3. Why is it difficult to study "revolutions" and "rebellion"? Discuss some of the ways political scientists have tried to solve these problems. Offer at least one original research design that permits clear causal inference.
4. You are asked to provide advice to policy makers about the best way to dampen conflict in a nameless ethnically divided society. The briefing contains few details except that members of different ethnic groups are not geographically concentrated but, instead, live closely intermingled. What recommendations does political science have to offer, and what are the pros and cons associated with each of the options you set forth?

1. Industrial policies vary across countries. Sketch the range of variation and then offer at least two explanations for the differences observed among three or more advanced industrial societies.
2. The term "rent seeking" usually has negative connotations in political science writing. What does "rent seeking" mean? When does it occur? What shapes the kinds of effects it has? Draw on examples from your reading.
3. The study of the "quality of government" poses several serious challenges. Yet as the recent interest in "organizational report cards" suggests, performance matters to policy makers and citizens. Discuss some of the technical problems political scientists face in evaluating and explaining "good government." If you had to devise an "organizational report card" for government, what would you include and why? Would this device help our efforts to develop a better understanding of cause and effect?