COURSE UNIT TITLE

: STATE IN COMPARATIVE POLITICS

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
ELECTIVE

Offered By

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (UOLP-SUNY ALBANY)

Level of Course Unit

First Cycle Programmes (Bachelor's Degree)

Course Coordinator

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR MÜGE AKNUR

Offered to

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (UOLP-SUNY ALBANY)

Course Objective

The aim of the course is to introduce the students to nature and practice of 'the state' from different perspectives by examining the historical development of state, theoretical approaches to state, its role in the economy, its relations with the society and finally its power and the legitimacy (strong, weak, failed and collapsed) by looking at social, economic and political indicators.

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   Be able to identify historical development of state in order to understand the current functions of the state.
2   Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the theoretical approaches (classical, modern liberalism and Marxism) to state in order to understand its evolution.
3   Be able to evaluate the strength of states (whether they are strong, weak, failed or collapsed) by looking at social, political and economic indicators.
4   Be able to design a research study concerning the strength of the state in order to analyze the domestic politics and international relations of a state.
5   Work effectively as a part of a team by participating in the paper and interacting with other members.
6   Demonstrate high communication skills in writing and presenting a report.
7   Acquire the skills to use library and internet resources independently.

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 Introduction: State and Its Institutions
2 Historical Development of State
3 Theoretical Approaches to State: Classical and Modern Liberalism, Keynesian and Marxism
4 The Role of State in Economy: Embedded Autonomy-I
5 The Role of State in Economy: Embedded Autonomy-II
6 State and Society Relations-I
7 State and Society Relations-II
8 State and Society Relations-III
9 Power and Legitimacy of the State: Weak vs Strong-I
10 Power and Legitimacy of the State: Weak vs Strong-II
11 Presentations
12 Presentations
13 Presentations
14 Presentations

Recomended or Required Reading



1. Theda Skocpol, Bringing the State Back In: Strategies of Analysis in Current Research, in Bringing the State Back In, ed. P. Evans, D. Rueschmeyer and T. Skocpol (Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 1985).
2. Other materials TBA.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

1. Lecture
2. Group Work (Writing a report as groups)
3. Presentation
4. Attendance/Participation

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1 MTE MIDTERM EXAM
2 PAR PARTICIPATION
3 CAS CASE STUDY
4 FIN FINAL EXAM
5 FCG FINAL COURSE GRADE MTE* 0.30 + PAR* 0.10 +CAS* 0.30 +FIN* 0.30
6 RST RESIT
7 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE (RESIT) MTE* 0.30 + PAR* 0.10 +CAS* 0.30 +RST*0.30


Further Notes About Assessment Methods

None

Assessment Criteria


1. The learner will demonstrate an understanding of the historical development of state, theoretical approaches of state in order to understand its evolution throughout the history.
2. The learner will evaluate the strength of a state by loooking at the social, political and economic indicators.
3. The learner will participate in a group work in analyzing the strength of a state to learn how to work collectively.
4. The learner will demonstrate high communication skills in writing and presenting a report.
5. The learner will acquire the skills to use library and internet resources independently to be able to do a scholarly work.
The Rubric used for the Evaluation of the Term Paper and its Presentations.
a) Poor (0%) b) Fair (40%) c) Good (60%) d) Very good (80%) e) Excellent (100%)
Term Paper Evaluation Criteria (Total Points 100):
1) Introduction Justification of the subject choice- 10 Points a) An introduction is not provided b) An introduction is insufficiently provided c) An introduction is offered although the order is unclear d) An introduction is sufficiently provided e) The subject under examination is thoroughly presented, and the sequence in which it will be examined throughout the paper is well described.
2) Theoretical Framework - 10 Points a) Theoretical framework is not explained b) Theoretical framework is explained weakly and inadequately c) Theoretical framework is offered, but its relevance to the issue is not properly proved d) Theoretical framework is superficially examined and its relevance to the issue is properly explained e) Theoretical framework is thoroughly analyzed, and its relevance to the topic under examination is clarified.
3) Historical Background - 10 Points a) Historical background is not examined b) Historical background is examined insufficiently c) Historical background is examined either briefly or in too much details d) Historical background is examined sufficiently e) Historical background is adequately and accurately examined.
4) Case Study - 25 points a) Case study is analyzed superficially b) Case study is not sufficiently examined c) Analysis of the case study has some weaknesses d) Case study is analyzed sufficiently e) Case study is properly and adequately analyzed with the help of the theoretical framework.
5) Conclusion -15 points a) No conclusion provided b) Conclusion provided is insufficient and inconsistent c) Conclusion is adequate but composed in a disorganized way d) An explanatory and systematic conclusion is written e) Conclusion is developed coherently and analytically, within the scheme of theoretical framework.
6) Citation in the text and references (APA style) -15 points a) No citation in the text and no bibliography provided b) APA citation and reference style is not used c) APA style is written with major mistakes d) APA style is written with minor mistakes e) Both citations in the text and in the references are written correctly according to APA style.
7) Types of references 15 points a) Only internet sources are shown as references b) Internet sources and translation of Turkish books are shown as references c) Journal articles and books from the internet are shown as references d) Journal articles and books from less known publishers are shown as references e) Journal articles from electronic data bases and books published in prestigious publishers are shown as references.

Language of Instruction

English

Course Policies and Rules

1. Attending at least 70 % of lectures is mandatory.
2. Plagiarism of any type will result in disciplinary action.
3. Participation in class and group work is required.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

gul.kurtoglu@deu.edu.tr

Office Hours

TBA

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 14 3 42
Preparing assignments 1 25 25
Preparations before/after weekly lectures 12 5 60
Preparation for midterm exam 1 10 10
Preparation for final exam 1 15 15
Midterm 1 1,5 2
Final 1 1,5 2
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 156

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

PO/LOPO.1PO.2PO.3PO.4PO.5PO.6PO.7PO.8PO.9PO.10PO.11PO.12PO.13
LO.15
LO.25
LO.35
LO.45
LO.55
LO.6
LO.74