Pol S 340 Final Exam Question Set

Twelve of these eighteen questions will be on the final exam. Each question presumes that lecture is a source. Authors are mentioned by name to aid students in identifying which readings are relevant to answering the question.

Sample Question: "How does rule under a neo-patrimonial regime differ from rule under a democratic regime? How does the capacity and autonomy of the state differ under each regime-type?"

Sample Answer: Under a democratic regime, citizens in society vote a government into power, and that government commands the state apparatus. While the government is accountable to the people via elections, the state apparatus is should be autonomous from societal interference. Otherwise, unelected people would be determining what the state does, not the government that people elected. Under neo-patrimonial rule, the government is highly autonomous from society because patrons control citizens' access to the government and state apparatus. Citizens depend on patronage rather than see the states provide them with services. The state apparatus usually lacks capacity. 

Questions Since Test #3

1. Discuss China's role in economic development in Africa. What is the magnitude of Chinese trade or investment in Africa? Why has Chinese economic aid and investment in Africa generated such controversy? What types of states receive Chinese funding?

2. What are two key elements of the dispute over agriculture between developed and developing countries in the Doha round of WTO talks?

3. According to Clapp how successful have the "countries of the Global South" been at the Doha Round? Explain whether this success/or lack of success is likely to continue.

4. How does IMF conditionality affect democratic governance, according to Kapur & Naím? What are two ways that the IMF can be updated to make it more democratic?

5. Explain the problem surrounding illegal logging in Indonesia. What does The Economist lay out as possible solutions to the problem?

6. Does eco-tourism in South Africa, Kenya, and India make ecological conservation more important than economic development or local communities' welfare? In which areas are local communities more or less empowered?

Cumulative Questions

7. If more countries in the developing world experienced inter-state warfare rather than civil warfare, would they be more likely to have greater state capacity? Why or why not?

8. Is the "Third Wave" of democratization coming to a close in Muslim-majority states like Afghanistan and Iraq? Is this because Islam is not compatible with democracy?

9. In Thailand "business populism" led to a coup while in China a communist dictatorship oversees extensive economic growth under market capitalist policies. In Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Brazil, leftist populists were elected or re-elected to office recently. Do these events show that authoritarian rule produces better economic policies than democratic rule?

10. Would economic development be easier if strong states were created under authoritarian rather than democratic rule? (Discuss the experiences of two countries in answering the question). 

11. If Thailand or Afghanistan had oil or another valuable natural resource, would they be more likely to be a democratic state today? Why or why not?

12. Why did India become a democratic and  majority-Hindu state while Pakistan became an authoritarian and majority-Muslim state?

13. If  civil society and 'stakeholders' are strengthened in India, will economic development and conservation be easier to achieve or will economic development and conservation be blocked,? Why or why not?

14.  What are two ways that Chirot's account of the civil war in Ivory Coast/Cote d'Ivoire supports or undermine other theories of the causes of civil wars?

15. Was civil war in Iraqi inevitable because the Iraqi economy is so dependent on oil and the county is ethnically divided? What theories or authors support such a conclusion? What theories or authors contradict such a conclusion?

16. If Afghanistan or Iraq had "winner-take-all" or "first-past-the-post" electoral systems like the United States and Great Britain, rather than SNTV or PR systems, would the post-election governments be more stable?

17. Does the fact that India lags behind China in most measures of economic development show that democracy harms economic development? Give two reasons why or why not?

18. Are India's water problems more the result of weak state capacity, too much democracy, or the demands of economic development?