A blast from the past! My first political science papers from my second year at the UO. The class was comparative politics. The final project is interesting to read back on now, as my understanding of these issues has grown in ways I didn’t predict then.
The assignment:
You will design a developing country in 8-10 pages. Your country has middle-low income levels, has recently seen the end of a dictatorial regime, and has a chance for democratic institutions. It suffers from a 60%/40% ethnic divide between two groups. Your two-part assignment is 1) Define basic political institutions and the balance of power between them, justifying your choices with reference to real examples from other countries, and 2) Describe broadly how to set up the political economy, with reference to real examples.
I see that I was developing a critique of the US national election system, because I proposed Instant Runoff Voting so that people would not be “penalized” for voting for their ideal minor candidate at top priority instead of a mainstream one. The division of the bicameral legislature is by foreign/domestic affairs. Parallel high courts separated in a similar way as well. I’m posting this because even though I probably wouldn’t come up with this exact structure if I were doing it again, I am still concerned with future-of-democracy issues, and I want to explore normative questions about democracy like this in my graduate studies.
Anyway, check it out if you are interested.
Comparative Politics – Final Paper
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