IPE 383: Globalization and the Politics of Development

Professor Patrick Van Inwegen

e-mail: [email protected]

Spring 2005 Tuesdays & Thursdays 2:00 to 3:20

Jones Hall Room 211

Office: McIntyre Hall 213Q                                                                                                                                         Office Hours: T/TH 1 – 2 & W 2 – 3

Office Phone: 879-3490                                                                                                                                                                             or by appointment

 

“Why is it you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?” Yali

 

Course Description

This course addresses some of the biggest questions in IPE today: Why are some nations rich while others are so poor?  Why was it Europeans and not Incas or Chinese who colonized much of the world?  Why do colonial links remain?  What – if anything – can be done to help those who struggle for existence to become economically independent?  Recent discussions about globalization and whether it hurts or helps the poor, whether it is a force of exploitation or liberation all continue in this trend of thinking about the divergence between rich and poor.  These questions are not new, nor are some of the answers that we will investigate, but their relevancy today is profoundly important.  Whether it is because we seek to drain the swamps of poverty that give rise to terrorists (and thus ensure our own security), because we are exposed to the jarring images of poverty brought to nightly newscasts, or because we have a sense that justice demands helping those in need, the divergence between rich and poor, Economically Developed Countries and Lesser Developed Countries, the First World and the Third World shapes our foreign policies, economic policies, and much of our interaction with the outside world.  Most of the topics of interest to the study of IPE – security, trade, the environment, human rights, conflict and technology – are skewed by the fact of this divergence.  Understanding this gap between rich and poor countries – often referred to as the North-South divide – allows us to understand much about IPE.  This course is a step toward this important goal.  By the end of the course students should be able to:

 

1.) Demonstrate a firm grasp of the trends in development policies as well as the forces that influence and shape them. 

 

2.) Demonstrate familiarity with the basic terms and concepts of development.

           

            3.) Have an increased awareness of the international world and some of the events and structures that shape our world.

           

            4.) Critically assess development policies and their impacts.

 

            5.) Develop the ability to critically think about complex issues, events, and trends and articulate your thinking in a public way to engage the critical

                        thinking of others.

 

Required Books

Seligson, Mitchell A. and John T Passé-Smith, editors. 2003. Development and Underdevelopment: The Political Economy of Global Inequality, 3rd Edition.

            Boulder: Lynn Reinner Publishers. (S&PS)

 

Diamond, Jared. 1999. Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.

 

Huntington, Samuel. 1968. Political Order in Changing Societies. New Haven: Yale University   Press.

 

Desoto, Hernando. 2003. The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else. Basic Books

 

Legrain, Philippe. 2004. Open World: The Truth about Globalization. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee Publisher.

 

In addition, several materials will be distributed in class or available on-line.

 

Course Obligations and Requirements – more detailed instructions for each will be given

Class Participation – attendance and participation in class will be required.  Students should come to class prepared to ask questions for clarification and respond to the assigned readings as well as participate in class.  Half of the class participation grade will be based on attendance with the other half coming from active participation.  Attendance alone will result in less than a C grade for this portion of the course.  Students will treat all others with respect.

Papers – Students will have an opportunity to apply the theoretical lessons from the readings in two 1,000 to 1,300 word papers.  Each paper will focus specifically on elements from the readings asking for analysis, comparison or criticism of the main themes.  Outside research will not be necessary.  The first is due February 25, by 1 pm.  The second is due April 8, by 1 pm.  Please note that these due dates are Fridays.  Papers must be received as an e-mail attachment in Microsoft Word by 1pm.  If you are concerned about computer issues, send it earlier.  I will send a confirmation reply that I have received your attached paper and can open it Friday afternoon.  Late papers will be penalized half a grade per day it is late (e.g., from 92 to 87). 

Book Review – Each student will choose a book to review from a list of supplemental readings (or students may choose another book with instructor approval).  The 1,000 to 1,300 word review will summarize the main points, compare and contrast the work with ideas from the required readings, and offer a critical analysis of the argument.  Please submit your review via e-mail at the end of the section that most relates to your book (modernization, dependency, state or globalization).  In addition to the written review, you will give a ten minute presentation of your book review in class sometime during that section. 

In Class Quizzes – There will be six short in class quizzes given throughout the semester.  The quizzes will be open book, quick, held at the beginning of the day’s class, and cover only the material from the reading for that day.  Only five of the quizzes will count toward this portion of your grade (I will drop your lowest quiz score).

Final Exam – There will be a take-home final exam intended to stimulate creative thought about solutions to issues addressed in the course.  Students will be given the exam question the last day of class and will submit their written response via e-mail by 1 pm, Friday May 13 (the time of the scheduled final exam).  Papers must be received as an e-mail attachment in Microsoft Word by 1pm.  If you are concerned about computer issues, send it earlier.  I will send a confirmation reply that I have received your attached paper and can open it Friday afternoon.  Late papers will not be accepted.    

 

Grading Percentages                                                             Grading Scale

Class Participation:       15%                                         93-100 A                     73-76   C

Paper #1:                     10%                                         90-92   A-                    70-72   C-

Quizzes:                        20%                                         87-89   B+                   67-69   D+

Paper #2:                     15%                                         83-86   B                      63-66   D

Presentation:                 15%                                         80-82   B-                    60-62   D-

Final Exam:                   25%                                         77-79   C+                   0-59     F

 

Academic Honesty at University of Puget Sound – excerpted from The Logger

The University is a community of faculty, students, and staff engaged in the exchange of ideas contributing to individual growth and development. Essential to the successful functioning of the academic community is a shared sense of enthusiasm for learning and respect for other persons. The successful functioning of the academic community also demands honesty, which is the basis of respect for both ideas and persons. The suspicion of dishonesty in the academic community is a serious matter because it threatens the atmosphere of respect essential to learning. Academic dishonesty can take many forms, including but not limited to the following: plagiarism, which is the misrepresentation of someone else's words, ideas, research, etc. as one's own; submitting the same paper for credit in more than one course without prior permission; collaborating with other students on papers and submitting them without instructor permission; cheating on examinations; and mistreatment of library materials.

Any act of plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the course.  Additional rules concerning academic integrity and examples of acceptable and unacceptable conduct can be found in the undergraduate catalogue.

 

Course Outline and Calendar

Have assigned readings completed by class time for the dates below.

I. The Gap Between Rich & Poor and Why It Matters

18 January        Introduction

20 January        The Persistence of the Gap Between Rich and Poor Countries, 1960-1998 Passé-Smith. S&PS Chapter 3

            The Rising Inquality of World Income Distribution —Wade. S&PS Chapter 4

 

25 January        Could It Be That the Whole World Is Already Rich?: A Comparison of RGDP/pc and GNP/pc Measures —Passé-Smith. S&PS Chapter 5

                        Economic Growth and Income Inequality Kuznets. S&PS Chapter 6

27 January        Inequality and Insurgency —Muller and Seligson. S&PS Chapter 8

            Some New Evidence on Correlates of Political Violence Weede. S&PS Chapter 9

 

II. Foundations for the Gap: Culture & History

1 February       Diamond: Prologue and Chapters 1 & 3

            The Achievement Motive in Economic Growth—McClelland. S&PS Chapter 16

3 February       Diamond: The Rise and Spread of Food Production (Chapters 4, 5 & 7)

            The Culture of Poverty—Lewis. S&PS Chapter 18

 

8 February       Diamond: From Food to Guns, Germs and Steel (Chapters 9 – 11)

            The Effect of Cultural Values on Economic Development: Theory, Hypotheses, and Some Empirical Tests—Granato, Inglehart, and Leblang.

                        S&PS Chapter 19

10 February     Diamond: Around the World in Five Chapters

            The Confucian Ethic and Economic Growth—Kahn. S&PS Chapter 17

 

II. Modernization: The Transition from Traditional to Modern

15 February     Huntington: Political Order and Political Decay

17 February     Huntington: Modernization: America vs. Europe

            The Five Stages of Growth—Rostow. S&PS Chapter 10

 

22 February     Huntington: Change in Traditional Polities

            Catching Up, Forging Ahead, and Falling Behind—Abramovitz. S&PS Chapter 11

24 February     Huntington: Revolution, Reform and Change

            Spend $150 Billion Per Year to Cure World Poverty” (online)

25 February     Friday: First short paper due in my e-mail inbox by 1:00 p.m.

 

III. Dependency: The Hand that Holds You Down

1 March           The Structure of Dependence—dos Santos. S&PS Chapter 20

            American Penetration and Canadian Development: A Study of Mature Dependency—Hammer and Gartrell. S&PS Chapter 21

 

3 March           The Irish Case of Dependency: An Exception to the Exception?—O'Hern. S&PS Chapter 22

            Growth Effects of Foreign and Domestic Investment—Firebaugh. S&PS Chapter 23

 

8 March           The Long-Term Effects of Foreign Investment Dependence on Economic Growth, 1940-1990—Kentor. S&PS Chapter 24

10 March         Income Inequality, Development, and Dependence: A Reconsideration—Alderson and Nielsen. S&PS Chapter 25

 

15 March         SPRING RECESS – NO CLASSES

17 March         SPRING RECESS – NO CLASSES

 

IV. State Oriented Policies

22 March         DeSoto: The Five Mysteries of Capital and The Mystery of Missing Information

            Big Bills Left on the Sidewalk: Why Some Nations are Rich, and Others Poor—Olson. S&PS Chapter 26

24 March         DeSoto: The Mystery of Capital and the Mystery of Political Awareness

            Mauritius: A Case Study—Subramanian. S&PS Chapter 27

 

29 March         DeSoto: The Missing Lessons of US History

            Why Aren't Countries Rich? Weak States and Bad Neighborhoods—Kenny. S&PS Chapter 28

31 March         DeSoto: The Mystery of Legal Failure

            Urban Bias and Inequality—Lipton. S&PS Chapter 29

 

5 April              DeSoto: By Way of Conclusion

            Political Regimes and Economic Growth—Przeworski and Limongi. S&PS Chapter 30

7 April              Inequality as a Constraint on Growth in Latin America—Birdsall and Sabot. S&PS Chapter 31

8 April              Friday: Second short paper due in my e-mail inbox by 1:00 p.m.

 

V. Globalization: Trade Not Aid

12 April            Legrain: Introduction to Globalization (Introduction and Chapter 3)

14 April            Legrain: The Benefits of Globalization (Chapters 1 & 2)

19 April            Legrain: The State Still Matters (Chapters 5 & 6)

21 April            Legrain: Globalization and the Environment (Chapters 8 & 9)

 

26 April            Legrain: Global Laws and Money (Chapters 10 & 11)

28 April            Legrain: A Different World (Chapter 13)

 

3 May              Conclusions on Globalization and Development

 

13 May            Friday: Take home final due in my e-mail inbox by 1 p.m.

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