Fall 2011 -- updated August 2011

Be sure to take the practice quizzes on the text website!!

Ch 8: Communism

1. Discuss the basic tenets of Marxism. Be sure to discuss historical materialism, feudalism, captialsm and proletariat.
2. What happens to economic development in most "graying" communist countries?  Explain Roesler's point about why communist regimes are unable to manage modern (complicated) economies (as opposed to heavy industry)?  Be familiar with the textbook's "thumbs" versus "fingers" analogy.
3. According to Marx, would Russia (and later China) have been the logical first communist countries?
4. What does the picture of Jose Marti illustrate about communism in Cuba?  How does that relate to Roesler's view of communism?

Ch. 9: Russia

1. How did Stalin "force" Russia to industrialize? What does the text mean when it argues that there was a "degree of macabre rationality to some of what he did." 
2. Discuss the economic conditions in Russia by the time Gorbachev took power. Explain his attempts at reform (glasnost and perestroika).  Why didn't they succede?
3. Discuss Yeltsin's privatization of the Russian economy. What went wrong? What did the video mean when it referred to privatization as 'wealth confiscation' rather than 'wealth creation?'
4. Discuss President Clinton's approach to Yeltsin's policies.  Do you agree with his approach?
5. Many argue that Russians tend to value security more than freedom and fear disorder more than tyranny.  Can Russian history and geography help explain this sense of insecurity?
6. Compare the effect of the 1999 bombings in Moscow to the effect of the 9/11 attacks on the US. How did Putin and Bush use the heightened sense of fear after the attacks?
7. Why does Russia claim the Arctic?  http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content/view/print/402117

China: Ch. 10 & Videos: The Dragon Ascends; Not One Less; Path of Chinese Privatization (username: stchasdigital  password: cottleville)

1. Discuss extraterritoriality and the Opium War. 
2. Discuss Mao’s approach to Marxism. Explain what Hauss means when he argues that "the CCP took China even further from orthodox Marxist expectations than the Soviets did" (p272?). 
3. What is the legacy of the ‘Great Leap Forward’ and the ‘Cultural Revolution?’
4. Discuss China's reforms of the last 30years (since Deng):  agricultural, private enterprise and foreign investment.
5. Discuss the problems facing China's State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).  Be sure to give examples from the films. 
6. Based on "Not One Less" and other films, contrast income and poverty in rural and urban China.
7. Explain the 1987 Organic Law of the Village Committees as illustrated in the Democracy in China clip.
8. What does the Koppel clip illustrate about Chinese views of their government, Democracy and Freedom?
9. Rule of Law in China: Wideangle clip. This clip illustrates the sometimes secretive Chinese coursts.  This interview with Alice Young explains the progressChina has made towards the Rule of Law. How does Young explain the distinction between individual rights (as promoted in the West) versus the Chinese emphasis on societal rights (username: stchasdigital  password: cottleville)?

Comparing Communist Reforms 

1. De Tocqueville argues that “a repressive regime is in greatest danger when it begins to reform itself.”  How does your understanding of China and the Soviet Union reflect this?
2. Compare the reforms of Russia and China.  Discuss the successes of each with regard to democratic and economic reform. Which model of reform would you recommend if you were a communist reformer?
3. With regards to domestic investment, what is significant about Russia liberalizing its capital market versus China's state-owned banks restricting capital flows?
4. Discuss Roesler's expectations about Cuba.  What surprised him about Cuba?
5. Discuss the reforms of Raul Castro in Cuba.  According to Roesler, is it more similar to the Russian or Chinese approaches?
6. Read these articles about Cuban reforms: http://www.npr.org/2011/11/10/142212426/in-cuba-door-opens-to-residential-property-market and http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monitor/2011/1111/Is-US-failing-to-respond-to-reform-in-Cuba 

Developing Countries: Ch 11 & readings on reserve; Optional clips: Short interview of J.K. Galbraith on the limits of the Free Market & this Colbert interview of Peter Singer on ending world poverty;  

Here is a minilecture on Development that I use for my International Relations class, but it covers much of the same material & may be helpful if you need to review (just ignore the 60 Minutes clip on Free Trade)

Palast, Greg. The Best Democracy Money Can Buy (pp 311-315; 176-182; 192-204). 

1. What is the "debt crisis?"  According to the "Economic Hit Man" and "Life & Debt" clips, how has the west manipulated 3rd world debt?
2. Discuss the legacy of imperialism and colonialism. Specifically, discuss how it exacerbated the problem of identity.
3. Explain the approach of the IMF and World Bank on development.
4. Listen to this report on the World Bank and oil, gas & mining projects. According to the article, how effective are oil, gas and mining projects at alleviating poverty?
5. Discuss the effecitiveness of microcredit and the Grameen Bank.(for more, watch this Daily Show interview of Muhammad Yunus). Which approach is better at helping raise average people out of poverty?
6. Read this article and explain the effectivenes of the Baharak project:  http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0728/Afghanistan-war-How-USAID-loses-hearts-and-minds.
7. Contrast the previous article with this one: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0728/Afghanistan-war-Successful-foreign-assistance-lets-Afghans-pick-their-project
8. Differentiate between Modernization Theory and Dependency Theory. Which approach does Hauss favor? Contrast that to Palast's views (in general, but also specifically discuss Chile).  For more, watch this Colbert interview of Niall Ferguson on 6 reasons why West dominated world for the past 500 years.
9. What does Chua argue about the push for rapid free-market liberalization and democratization?
10. Discuss the problems of water privatization. What role should a government play in regulating/controlling its water supply?

Reconciliation: Iraq (ch 14) & South Africa;  Long Road To Reconciliation & Invictus clips (time permitting)

1. List some of the laws that underpinned the apartheid system.  Pay specific attention to the ones that were repealed in the early 1990s (p.585).  In what way are South Africa's problems today legacies of apartheid?
2. Discuss South Africa’s approach to reconciliation ( be sure to listen to this NPR article and watch the film on reconciliation). In what way has it been a success?  What are the criticisms of this approach, according to the NPR article?  For more on South Africa, listen to this 2011 article on South African reconciliation & 'soft vengeance.
3. Read this article on Uganda's reconciliation efforts. Compare South Africa's approach to reconciliation to that of Chile and Uganda. Which approach to dealing with past wrongs is the best?
4. Read this BBC article on the 10th anniversary of the end of apartheid (also listen to this article).  List two accomplishments and two problems facing South Africa today.
5. Discuss the religious & ethnic tensions in modern Iraq.

Take Home Final Exam Essay
(25 points; about 2 typed pages)

Write one of the following (due when you come in for the final).
Be sure to give examples!!!!

1. Discuss the problems of development. Differentiate between Modernization Theory and Dependency Theory. Discuss Palast's and Chua's views on economic development. Be sure to discuss cases such as Chile and Bolivia as well as Hauss' structural adjustment argument. Based on what you've learned, what economic advice would you give to less-developed countries?

2. Compare the reforms of Russia (and the USSR) and China. Compare the approaches to reform in both countries. Discuss the successes of each with regard to democratic and economic reform. Which approach is Cuba taking (give specific examples)?  is this how you would reform a communist country?  De Tocqueville argues that “a repressive regime is in greatest danger when it begins to reform itself.” How does your understanding of China and Russia reflect this? 

Below this is old material & is NOT for this Final Exam

2. Read this article on Uganda's reconciliation efforts. Compare South Africa's approach to reconciliation to that of Chile and Uganda. Which approach to dealing with past wrongs is the best?  Be sure to explain each approach and give examples from the films and readings. 

Religion & Politics: Ch.13 & 14; Videos: 60 Minutes: Zion's... & Frontline: Muslims

1. Outline the origins and development of Iraq as an independent nation state.
2. Describe the ethnic and cultural cleavages that separate Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis.
3. Compare the role of Islam in Egypt, Iran, Turkey and Nigeria. Compare the role of Islam in Muslim countries to Christianity in the West.
4. Discuss the rise of Arab, Palestinian and Jewish nationalism, including Israel's Law of Return.  Should states be drawn along ethnic and/or national lines?
5. Compare Christian, Jewish and Muslim fundamentalists.  Do you think a religious state can be democratic?