Department of Political Science

This course introduces students to World Politics and International Studies through the lens of Comparative Politics. Comparative Politics is a branch of Political Science that examines internal features of political systems for international comparisons. A comparative perspective enables theories that connect certain domestic features with important phenomena like democratization, revolutions, and economic development, among many others. To evaluate their theories, comparatives'' as scholars of comparative politics are known, use a variety of methods and evidence to conduct either single-country or cross-country studies. Broad knowledge of comparative politics offers useful insights about how social scientists engage in theoretical and empirical inquiries to understand the social world. Additionally, this course aims to enhance students' appreciation of how political, social, and historical processes shape societies over time. In turn, this historical understanding coupled with examination of political systems in practice fosters global learning for professional and personal goals, like international travel and business, and other cross-cultural activities. This online course is organized into four bi-weekly modules that gradually build up knowledge of key concepts and theories of comparative politics.