Project Group Name:

Comparative Politics Simulation

Project Group Description:

Why do most European countries have more political parties than the U.S. does? How was the Soviet Union able to maintain its communist dictatorship for so long, and why is North Korea still communist? Has democracy finally arrived in Mexico, and how has this affected the everyday lives of Mexican citizens?

These are illustrative of the types of questions that are addressed in this course. Our objectives are to 1) master several general themes and theories in comparative politics, 2) understand the differences between democracies and authoritarian systems, and 3) learn about the political systems of a few select countries.

For the duration of this course, students take part in a comparative politics simulation held in a fictitious European country called “West Europa.” Students are assigned to political parties and these parties compete with each other through various political campaign, election, and government formation exercises. Ultimately, their end goal is to have their party leader win a final debate staged in front of an audience of their peers and professional judges.