Themes in Comparative Government

---A World of States---Governing the Economy

---The Democratic Idea---Politics of Collective Identity

Institutions

Democratization

GOVERNING THE ECONOMY

How do you measure

economic performance? Is GDP

accurate?

Does a state’s government affectsuccess of economy? Or vice versa?

What is the best way a government

can protect its economy?

Key Questions…

The Democratic Idea

• What explains the recent trend towards democracy?

• What are some of the problems with democracy?

• Is democracy the best choice for all countries?

• What are the conditions that promote democracy?

Struggle for power

Issues: inclusion, political recognition, representation, priorityDistributional politics – material vs. nonmaterial