Course Syllabus

Survey the governments and politics of several contemporary societies in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East by exploring political leadership, representative mechanisms, legal processes, and the extra-institutional behaviors of voting culture, ethnic conflict, and corruption.

This course includes the following units:

• Unit 1: Social Sciences and Comparative Politics
• Unit 2: The Nation-State
• Unit 3: Democratic States and Democratization
• Unit 4: Comparing Political Structures and Institutions
• Unit 5: Political Behavior
• Unit 6: Comparing Ideology, Policy, and Decision-Making
• Unit 7: Comparative Case Studies

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Identify and differentiate between various theoretical research paradigms employed in the social sciences; apply comparative methodology to the study of political systems;
• Identify and differentiate between various methodologies used to compare political systems;
• Understand how past events in state’s developmental path lead to differences in long-term outcomes;
• Identify key factors in the economic competitiveness among states;
• Compare and contrast development outcomes among resource-rich and non resource-rich states;
• Explain key views on the evolution of the international system;
• Understand how states approach the issue of development;
• Understand the policymaking process and some of the forces that impact that process;
• Compare and contrast the various political systems in the world;
• Understand how party identification impacts voting; explain the latest trends in voter turnout;
• Explain the impact of media on the public and the state;
• Compare and contrast the key democratic institutions in various countries;
• Understand the reasons for bureaucracy;
• Describe and explain the political economy and development in selected countries;
• Identify and explain political challenges and changing agendas in selected countries;
• Compare and contrast the effectiveness of public and private sectors;
• Identify the various approaches for studying democracy; and
• Understand the development of various systems of government.

Throughout this course, you will also see learning outcomes in each unit. You can use those learning outcomes to help organize your studies and gauge your progress.

This course's primary learning materials are articles, lectures, and videos.

All course materials are free to access and can be found in each unit of the course. Pay close attention to the notes that accompany these course materials, as they will tell you what to focus on in each resource and will help you understand how the learning materials fit into the course as a whole. You can also see a list of all the learning materials in this course by clicking on Resources in the navigation bar.

Only the final examination is considered when awarding you a grade for this course. To pass this course, you will need to earn 70% or higher on the final exam.

Your score on the exam will be calculated as soon as you complete it. There is a 14-day waiting period between each attempt. You may only attempt the final exam a maximum of three times. Be sure to study in between each attempt! If you do not pass the exam after three attempts, you will not complete this course.

There is also a practice exam that you may take as many times as you want to help you prepare for the final exam. The course also contains end-of-unit assessments in this course. The end-of-unit assessments are designed to help you study and do not factor into your final course grade. You can take these as many times as you want to until you understand the concepts and material covered. You can see all of these assessments by clicking on Quizzes in the course's navigation bar.

The certificate earned by passing this self-paced course displays not only the program hours you completed, but also continuing education credits (CEUs) for documenting successful completion of courses that are designed to improve the knowledge and skills of working adults. Many industries value CEUs, and now your certificate reflects them clearly, and they may be used to support career advancement or to meet professional licensing standards. This course contains 7.5 CEUs.

POLSC221: Introduction to Comparative Politics is a self-paced course, meaning you can decide when to start and complete the course. We estimate the "average" student will take hours to complete. We recommend studying at a comfortable pace and scheduling your study time in advance.

Learning new material can be challenging, so here are a few study strategies to help you succeed:

• Take notes on terms, practices, and theories. This helps you understand each concept in context and provides a refresher for later study.
• Test yourself on what you remember and how well you understand the concepts. Reflecting on what you've learned improves long-term memory retention.

This course is delivered entirely online. You will need access to a computer or web-capable mobile device and consistent internet access to view or download resources and complete auto-graded assessments and the final exam.

To access the full course, including assessments and the final exam, log into your Saylor Academy account and enroll in the course. If you don’t have an account, you can create one for free here. Note that tracking progress and taking assessments require login.

For more details and guidance, please review our complete Technical Requirements and our student Help Center.

Optional Saylor Academy Mobile App

You can access all course features directly from your mobile browser, but if you have limited internet connectivity, the Saylor Academy mobile app provides an option to download course content for offline use. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.

This course is entirely free to enroll in and access. All course materials, including textbooks, videos, webpages, and activities, are available at no charge. This course also contains a free final exam and course completion certificate.