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POLSCI 389: Historical Political Economy (University of British Columbia, Fall 2023; University of Michigan, Summer 2021)
Instructor of Record
How did states emerge throughout history? What is there such a variation in development among states? What are the consequences of colonialism on political and economic development? How do political events shape human behavior in the long run? Historical political economy (HPE) is a thriving field of research in political science that explores these questions, using theories that integrate economics and political science, original quantitative data built from archival resources, qualitative case knowledge, and econometrics. Rather than focusing on short-term causes and outcomes, it allows researchers to understand how the variations in important political and economic outcomes have their roots in history, or to investigate today's important questions by going back to history.
After a brief introduction to HPE, the course will explore three major topics. First, we will discuss the history of early state development, investigating its origins and the reasons why some states are better able to perform better than others in implementing the state activities: such as tax collection and warfare. Second, we will attempt to understand the different state types and their long-run consequences on development, focusing on colonialism and democratization. Finally, the course will focus on the three outcomes that played a prominent role in shaping long-run development around the world, including the United States: the persistent effects of slavery, the rise of mass education, and the impact of political violence and mobilization.
Graduate Seminar in Comparative Politics (University of Yangon, Fall 2021)*
Instructor of Record
Note: This course is developed for undergraduate and graduate students in Myanmar affected by the 2021 Burmese coup d'etat.
This seminar surveys major topics in comparative politics, addressing topics of special importance in the sub-field, although far from exhaustively. Each week, participants discuss a subset of the pertinent scholarly literature, often focusing on a major theoretical controversy. We address key methodological issues in the context of these substantive and theoretical works.
While discussing these topics, we will also refer to the ongoing situation in Myanmar and use what we learned in class to understand Myanmar's political history from various aspects, such as the country's numerous ethnic groups, the legacies of colonial history, the role of the military in politics, and the ongoing resistance movement against the military dictatorship.
Politics and History of Southeast Asia
Instructor of Record
Note: Portions of the course were taught at POLSCI 354: Government and Politics of Southeast Asia course at the University of Michigan (Fall 2023).
How did states in the region we now describe as Southeast Asia come into existence? Why did they follow divergent paths in political and economic development? What lessons can we learn from their histories about the connections between politics and economics? This course tackles these questions by investigating the history and politics of states in Southeast Asia, starting from the rise of early modern states centuries before European colonization to the present day. Following a broad introduction, We will dive deeper into the politics of eight Southeast Asian States. Throughout the course, we will emphasize how political institutions and economic institutions evolved together and what we can learn from each Southeast Asian state about important issues and debates in history and politics. We will also compare cases within and outside the region to build a richer comparative perspective as we explore the course topics.
This course is divided into two sections. We will spend the first six weeks with a broad introduction to the region’s political history, starting with the history of early modern states in mainland and maritime Southeast Asia: the process of European colonization and colonial state development, the rise of national identity and the struggles for independence, and the origins and consequences of the Asian Economic Miracle and the crisis that followed in 1997.
Over the following weeks, we will survey eight Southeast Asian states: Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar. In each country survey, we will look in-depth at their political histories and explore their ability to help us better understand major questions in authoritarian regimes, democratic stability, political violence, and ethnicity and identity, among others.
INTLSTD 301: Political Economy of Development (University of Michigan, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020)
Graduate Student Instructor; Instructor of Record: Mark Dincecco
Why are some nations rich while others remain poor? This course analyzes how history and politics influence the global patterns of economic development that we observe today.We will start with an overview of long-run development trends. The Industrial Revolution first began in England in the 1750s. Since then, some nations in certain parts of the world have been able to take advantage of modern technological and organizational innovations, while others have been less able. The unequal distribution of income across the contemporary world is – at least in part – a reflection of this process.
The course will then turn its attention to nations that are still underdeveloped today. We will study different perspectives about what the main development problems are, and the best way to improve economic outcomes.One common theme is political order and stability. The next part of the course will evaluate the political incentives and institutions that promote good governance. This analysis will span several contexts: state failure in twentieth-century Africa, the fall of the Spanish Empire, and the state formation process in Western Europe.
The course will then analyze the consequences of past institutional and technological innovations in Western Europe for other parts of the world. We will study the historical features that may have made European states more likely to be overseas colonizers than empires in other parts of Eurasia such as China. Furthermore, we will evaluate the relationship between European colonialism and development outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa, and will examine the political and economic legacy of slavery in the US. Another part of this inquiry will explore the roles that cultural and gender norms play in development.
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