This course is about the emergence of the state in Europe and in the developing world today. It compares the European experience, which dates back to the Middle Ages, with 20thc developments. The course uses historical analysis, often in some detail, to assess major contemporary theoretical statements in social science on state emergence. Most of these theories, implicitly or explicitly, draw on the European experience to legitimate their assumptions. They focus on either war or the economy to explain outcomes. The course encourages a critical approach to the historical foundations of these theories and, as a result, of the main explanatory hypotheses themselves. Accordingly, it aims to show the critical role of courts, legal systems, and the practice of petitioning, which provides a language of grievance that structured social order and conflict in both east and west. The course draws on cases from medieval Europe (England and France), the early United States, Africa, Latin America, and the recent state-building efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Legal origins have become important in scholarship both in economics and political science: the legal tradition in different countries is assumed to explain differential outcomes in political and economic development in the modern world, in areas ranging from shareholder protection to political stability. A prevailing assumption is that common law systems provide a better institutional framework for both political and economic development and are more conducive to a polity founded on liberty. History allows a revision of such assumptions.
To do so, the course examines the medieval origins of the common and civil law systems in Europe and the relevance of such origins for contemporary social science. The course aims to provide a fuller understanding of how these systems emerged historically, going back to the 13th century, so as to allow a critical perspective on modern social scientific work. It reconsiders some fundamental concepts such as precedent, judge-made law, juries and more, by looking at how they emerged historically and what this tells us about their contemporary function. It thus offers a fresh perspective on the contrast between the common and civil law systems, gaining a nuanced understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of both.
The course does not require legal knowledge and engages historical and political scholarship more than technical legal texts. It involves considerable and detailed work on the medieval emergence of legal systems--always, however, referring back to the contemporary world.
To do so, the course examines the medieval origins of the common and civil law systems in Europe and the relevance of such origins for contemporary social science. The course aims to provide a fuller understanding of how these systems emerged historically, going back to the 13th century, so as to allow a critical perspective on modern social scientific work. It reconsiders some fundamental concepts such as precedent, judge-made law, juries and more, by looking at how they emerged historically and what this tells us about their contemporary function. It thus offers a fresh perspective on the contrast between the common and civil law systems, gaining a nuanced understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of both.
The course does not require legal knowledge and engages historical and political scholarship more than technical legal texts. It involves considerable and detailed work on the medieval emergence of legal systems--always, however, referring back to the contemporary world.
The seminar offers foundations for thinking about the relationship of politics to economics. It does so through a critical theoretical and a historical perspective. On the one hand, it covers (briefly) some seminal texts that have defined alternative definitions of the liberal tradition, such as Adam Smith and Milton Friedman. The readings will encourage a more theoretically nuanced understanding of what the liberal tradition aimed to achieve in its origins. They will juxtapose this understanding to the way economic liberalism is commonly perceived today—as an anti-statist, laissez-faire approach to the economy—through a careful reading of Smith.
The course then turns to the historical record, to see what the European experience tells us about how the economy evolved over time, and what the role of the state and of politics was in this process. This historical analysis will be carried out both by looking at classic historical interpretations, such as that of Karl Polanyi, and by examining historical scholarship, such as that of S. R. Epstein. An emerging view is that the role of the state was crucial in allowing a “free” market to emerge on the European continent—the stronger the state, the more efficient the economy (though understanding what this strength entailed is a crucial point). This perspective allows a fresh look at the problem of development in the contemporary world and aligns with scholarship that has defended greater state involvement in the regulation of economic affairs in developing countries.
The course then turns to the historical record, to see what the European experience tells us about how the economy evolved over time, and what the role of the state and of politics was in this process. This historical analysis will be carried out both by looking at classic historical interpretations, such as that of Karl Polanyi, and by examining historical scholarship, such as that of S. R. Epstein. An emerging view is that the role of the state was crucial in allowing a “free” market to emerge on the European continent—the stronger the state, the more efficient the economy (though understanding what this strength entailed is a crucial point). This perspective allows a fresh look at the problem of development in the contemporary world and aligns with scholarship that has defended greater state involvement in the regulation of economic affairs in developing countries.
Property rights have been at the epicenter of the theory and practice of development, both in political science and in economics. Securing property rights has meant mainly the extension of ownership rights, primarily to land, to increasing numbers of the population in developing countries. This has been at the core of the neo-institutionalist paradigm. The World Bank and other international and national organizations have spearheaded mass programs of land titling around the developing world, often with profoundly dislocating effects on local communities. Yet historical scholarship (especially on the critical case of England, where all land, to this day, is legally "owned" by the Crown) raises serious doubts as to whether ownership was the key mechanism that enabled growth in the European case. Thus, it is not clear why it should be expected to do so in other parts of the world. It is not surprising, accordingly, that many of these land titling policies have failed to produce anticipated results. In this class, we examine the historical record that gave rise to this paradigm (that of Europe and the early United States) and its contemporary application in developing regions, through studies in both political science and economics of the effects of land redistribution programs.
The course introduces students to the broad theoretical traditions underpinning the study and promotion of democracy outside the Western world. The aim is to question differing beliefs about the possibility of transplanting a political form developed in the West to societies with different social, cultural and economic conditions. Is democracy tied to particular religions? Are, for instance, Islamic or Confucian religions inimical to democratic principles? Or is our understanding of those principles itself culturally determined? The course will thus also consider if “culture” is an inhibiting or enabling factor. At the same time, other theories posit specific domestic conditions, such as economic development and social change, as necessary for democracy adoption and consolidation. Yet the historical record suggests that international factors have also been important in helping spread democracy abroad. What are the implications of these patterns? At the foundation of all these ideas lie some basic assumptions about how democracy prevailed in Europe. We will therefore also offer a critical approach of the conventional wisdom about the preconditions of European democratization, by looking at key historical junctures like the English Civil War, the French Revolution, and Fascism. The course combines readings from political science, history, political theory, sociology and current affairs.
The course introduces the main themes in comparative politics, through a combination of textbooks and classic readings in comparative politics. The topics examined are the historical origins of democracy and authoritarianism, state building theories, the main elements of democratic regimes, illiberal democracies and authoritarian regimes, the role of different types of identity (political, ethnic, national, gender, racial, religious) in shaping political behavior and political outcomes, collective action, political violence, and the political economy of wealth, redistribution, and development.