Saturday, March 29, 2014

Mexico

We're moving a lot closer to home for Monday's class. Did you know that Mexico is officially Estados Unidos Mexicanos? That means we don't have the monopoly on "united states." How many states does Mexico have?

Please be sure that you are familiar with the key terms and can answer CORRECTLY the review questions at the end of the chapter. Your next blog post is due before class on Monday, and your comment on an India post should already be up.

Your country reports are due on turnitin.com on Monday by 11:59 p.m. Reminder: TurnItIn.com class id is 7804367 and the password is icg14.
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Thursday, March 20, 2014

India

Exceptional India is what you need to know about for Monday's class. Please be sure that you are familiar with the key terms and can answer CORRECTLY the review questions at the end of the chapter. Keep using the methods I outlined in class for taking notes on those questions because it seems to have helped with Monday's quiz and should make your life easier when it comes to studying for the final exam. I will continue to quiz you every Monday on one of the questions. Your next blog post is due before class on Monday, and your comment on a China post is due by midnight tomorrow (Friday). 

Friday, March 14, 2014

China

Now that you've finally put the midterm exam behind you, it's time to get smart on China for Monday's class. Please be sure that you are familiar with the key terms and can answer CORRECTLY the review questions at the end of the chapter. Use the methods I outlined in class for taking notes on those questions, and your life will be a dream of ease when it comes to studying for the final exam. I will continue to quiz you every Monday on one of the questions. Your next blog post is due before class on Monday, and your comment on a Russian post is due by midnight tonight (Friday). Lack of comments adversely impacted a few peoples grades. You can check out your own details on the campus portal.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Midterm Revisited

You may revise the essay section of your midterm as an open-book take-home exam. Submit your exam by Friday, 3/14, at noon, at turnitin.com (class id 7804367, password icg14). Please cite textbook page numbers in your answers. Ignore the original rubric, and answer the questions as completely and clearly as possible. You may not work with others on this.
1.     Do revolutions against tyranny always lead to democracy? Always? Give a recent example.

2.     Does stable democracy need a certain level of economic development? Specifically, what degree of economic development is required to sustain democracy? Are there any exceptions to this?

3.     How has geography influenced British development? Cite specific examples in your answer.

4.     What are two differences between Presidential and Parliamentary systems? Use the United States and Britain for tangible examples.

5.     Describe the French semi-presidential system. Specifically, address the roles of the executive and legislative branches in this system.

6.     Why is European unemployment so high?

7.     How does the German electoral system work?  If you were designing a country’s electoral system, would you adopt this system? Why or why not?

8.     Is German democracy as solid as any? How can you tell?

9.     How does Japan’s long and deep feudalism influence its current politics? Specifically, how has it helped shape its current institutions and distribution of power?


10.  What explains Japan’s economic success? And its current stagnation?

Friday, March 7, 2014

Russia

I hope you had a great spring break and are ready to move from democracies to post-communist systems for Monday's class. Please be sure that you are familiar with the key terms and can answer the review questions at the end of the chapter. Your next blog post is due before class on Monday. If you can't find something in the news about Russia this week, well, there's really no hope for you.