THE
SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF
CONTENTIOUS
POLITICS
Professor
Christian Davenport
Contact
Information:
Phone:
301-314-9473
Email: cdavenport@cidcm.umd.edu
Webpage:
www.cdavenport.com
Office:
0145b Tydings Hall
Office
Hours: M 3:30-5:00; W 3:30-5:00
INTRO:
The structure of the class is designed around 3 simple
themes, each of which is broken down into several paradoxes within the existing
literature: 1) definitions/measurement, 2) theories and 3) approaches to the
study of. The course is designed to
introduce students to the issues that are currently being addressed within the
area of empirically-oriented “contentious politics” (i.e., research concerned
protest, social movements, repression, revolution, civil war, etc. that pays
close attention to issues of data collection and analysis). Although we will draw upon literature that is
more theoretically and/or less-rigorously oriented, the primary focus will be
on individuals who attempt to systematically analyze the subject. The topic areas selected are intended to be
informative about what is taking place within the subfield and generally
flexible enough to accommodate diverse interests (e.g., human rights,
democratization, globalization, protest policing, terrorism).
The last part of the class is directed toward the
development of individual student research projects, which are going to
be publishable manuscripts by the end of the semester. The final assignment will be mailed to three
individuals that have been identified as relevant to the student’s particular
area of research. This is normally the
preliminary stage in submitting articles to academic journals.
Immediate
assignment: connect to http://www.sociology.columbia.edu/conpol/
and join the contentious politics listserv.
In your spare time, glance over some of the older newspapers and look at
the upcoming workshops. Familiarize
yourself with JSTOR and memorize the locations for International
Interactions, Social Forces, Mobilization, The Journal of Peace Research, The
Journal of Conflict Resolution, The American Journal of Political Science, The
Journal of Political and Military Sociology, The American Sociological Review,
The American Journal of Sociology as well as the various links on my
webpage: www.cdavenport.com.
______________________________________________________________
REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:
Active
Participation in Class 20%
April 4th – 5 page
paper outlining project 10%
Identify:
research question, why relevant theoretically as well as practically, and how
you will seek to answer the question.
April 18th – Chart
with Literature Review 10%
Identify:
along columns – how the dependent variable is measured, how relevant
independent variables are measured, how investigation was conducted, what units
of analysis are employed, general conclusions as this relates to your study,
and weaknesses with the research effort reviewed; along rows – the author and
the citation.
April 25th – Evidence
and Investigation 10-15 page outline
(text only) 10%
Begin to develop argument
initially provided on April 4th.
Basic framework:
Introduction -
puzzle, possible hint, how the hint misses the boat, what you will do.
First Section –
theoretical background and previous empirical efforts.
Second Section – Your
theory.
Third Section – Your
data and method of investigation.
Fourth Section –
Actual investigation and presentation of analysis.
Fifth Section –
Conclusion (were you right, how were you wrong, what should be done next?)
Hint: Basic
article structure exemplified by James Gibson in anything that he has ever
written in APSR, AJPS, and JOP or anything by Charles Tilly. They are clear, they are thorough and they
are published.
May 2nd – 20-25 page
Outline of Paper (text only) 10%
May 9th – Final Draft
Paper (everything) 30%
Maximum 40-45 pages including
text, endnotes, diagrams/figures, and
tables, and references
May 18th – Final
Papers Mailed to 3 Reviewers 10%
______________________________________________________________
CLASS SCHEDULE:
January 31st -
Introduction
February 7th –
Collective and Overt Behavior Vs. Covert Repression and Unobtrusive
Resistance [what are we studying?]
The Traditional Focus:
-
John Davies – “Global Events Data System” Codebook
(http://geds.umd.edu/geds/)
-
Susan Olzak and Elizabeth West – “Dynamics of
Collective Protest in the U.S., 1960-1980” Codebook
-
Craig Jenkins – “Mass Conflict and Civil Society in
East Europe: A Codebook”
-
Ted G urr – “Comparative Studies of Political
Conflict and Change: Cross National Datasets”
-
Nancy Horn
and Charles Tilly – “Contentious Gatherings in Britain” Codebook
The Unconventional Focus:
-
James Scott.
1985. Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance.
-
Clark McPhail and R. Wohlstein. 1983.
“Individual and Collective Behaviors within Gatherings, Demonstrations
and Riots.” American Review of
Sociology 9: 579-609. [JSTOR]
-
Ruud Koopmans and Paul Statham. 1999.
“Political Claims Analysis: Integrating Protest Events and Political
Discourse Approaches.” Mobilization
4(1): 40-51.
-
Charles Tilly 1998.
"Contentious Conversation," Social Research 65:
491-510.
-
Polletta, Francesca. 1998. "'It Was Like A Fever . . . '
Narrative and Identity in Social Protest," Social Problems 45: 137-159.
February 14th –
Rashomonization of Contention Vs. Uni-dimensional reality/event sequence [what
can evidence tell us and what kind should we look for?]
The
Conventional Focus:
-
Taylor, Charles L. and David A. Jodice. 1983. World
Handbook of Political and Social Indicators, Volume III.
-
Deborah Gerner and Philip Schrodt. 1996.
“The Kansas Event Data System: A Beginner’s Guide with an Application to
the Study of Media Fatigue in the Palestinian Intifada.” Manuscript
[http://falcon.cc.ukans.edu/~schrodt/papers.index.html].
-
Jackman, Robert W. and William A. Boyd. 1979. "Multiple Sources in the Collection of
Data on Political Conflict." American Journal of Political Science 23:
434-45. [JSTOR]
The Unconventional Focus
-
Christian Davenport. 2000. The Rashomon Effect in the Social
Sciences: The News Media, Contentious Events and the Importance of Perspective;
introduction as well as chapters 1 and 2.
Manuscript.
-
Christian Davenport and Marika Litras. 2000.
“Rashomon and Repression: A Multi-Source Analysis of Contentious Events”
Manuscript.
-
Christian Davenport and Patrick Ball. 2000.
“Views to a Kill: Exploring the Implications of Source Selection in the
Case of Guatemalan State Terror, 1977-1995”.
Manuscript.
-
James Goodman.
1994. Stories of Scottsboro.
-
Gavan Duffy.
1994. “Events and Versions:
Reconstructing Event Data Analysis.” International
Interactions 20(1-2): 147-167.
February 21st –
Continue Discussion of Data and Measurement
Problem
- International Studies Association Meeting; Reschedule
-
In Rucht, Dieter, Ruud Koopmans, and Friedhelm
Neidhardt, eds. 1998. Acts of
Dissent: New Developments in the Study of Protest. Berlin, Germany: WZB. Sections I and II.
THEORIES:
February 28th – Is it the Micro, Meso or the Macro that
Carries the Explanatory Weight?
Micro:
-
Ronald Wintrobe.
1998. The Political Economy of
Dictatorship.
-
Alexander Dallin and George Breslauer. 1970. Political Terror in Communist Systems.
-
Raymond Duvall and Michael Stohl. 1988.
“Governance by Terror”. In
Michael Stohl, ed., The Politics of Terrorism.
Macro:
-
Doug McAdam, John McCarthy, and Mayer Zald,
eds. Comparative
Perspectives on Social Movements: Political Opportunities, Mobilizing
Structures, and Cultural Framings.
Selected parts of Manuscript.
-
Ted Gurr.
2000. Peoples Vs. States. Selected parts of Manuscript.
Meso:
-
David Kowalewski and Dean Hoover. 1995. Dynamic
Models of Conflict and Pacification: Dissenters, Officials and Peacemakers. Selected parts of Manuscript.
-
Charles Tilly.
2000. “Large-Scale Violence as
Contentious Politics.” Manuscript.
March 7th –
Democratic Pacification Vs. Statebuilding [are moves to freedom juxtaposed
against moves to order?]
Problem
- Rwanda; Reschedule
Affirmation (democracy works, it
Does I tell You!!!):
-
Christian Davenport - 1999. “Human Rights and the Democratic
Proposition.” Journal of Conflict Resolution, 43(1): 92-116.
-
Rudolph Rummel.
1997. Power Kills
-
Robert Goldstein.
1983. Political Repression in 19th Century Europe. Totowa: Barnes and Noble Books.
Doubt (Beware for what you wish
for):
-
Bertrand De
Jouvenal. 1948. On Power. Ted Gurr.
2000. Peoples Vs. States. Selected parts of Manuscript.
-
Claudia Dahlerus.
2001. Contentious
Consolidations: The Coercive Foundation of Democracy in East Central Europe,
1980-1995. Manuscript; chapters
1-3.
March 14th
–Transcending the Traditional Units of Analysis, The Nation-Year
Problem
- Rwanda; Reschedule
Transcending Space (Nations are
not Independent):
- David Reilly. 2001.
"Shatterbelts and Conflict: The Effect of
Globalization on High Risk
States." Manuscript.
-
Michael Ward and Kristian Gleditsch. 2000.
“Location, Location, Location: An MCMC Approach to Modeling Spatial
Context with Categorical Variables”.
Manuscript.
-
Byron Miller and Deborah Martin. 1998.
“Missing Geography: Social Movements on the Head of a Pin?” Manuscript.
-
Christian Davenport and David Reilly. 2000.
“The Logic of Covert Repressive Action: Hotspots, Dragnets and the
Forces of Habit in the Detroit ‘Red Squad’, 1968-1973. Manuscript.
Transcending Time (Time is not
independent):
-
Doug McAdam and William Sewell. 1998.
“Temporality in the Study of Social Movements and Revolutions.” Manuscript.
-
Davenport, Christian. 1996b.
“The Weight of the Past: Exploring Lagged Determinants of Political
Repression.” Political Research Quarterly 49(2): 377-403.
March 28th –
Quantitative vs. Qualitative [how can each inform our understanding of
contention?]
-
Quantitative:
o
Will Moore.
1998. “Repression and Dissent:
Substitution, Context and Timing.” American Journal of Political Science
42(3): 851-873.
o
Ron Francisco.
1996. "Coercion and Protest:
An Empirical Test in Two Democratic States." American
Journal of Political Science 40(4): 1179-1204.
-
Qualitative light:
o
Sidney Tarrow.
1989. Democracy and Disorder:
Protest and Politics in Italy, 1965-1975.
o
Charles Tilly, Louise Tilly, and R. Tilly. 1975. The
Rebellious Century.
-
Qualitative Heavy:
o
James Scott – Weapons
of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance.
o
Padraic Kenney.
Carnival: Revolution in Central Europe 1989. Manuscript; selected chapters.
-
Combinations:
o
Davenport, Christian, ed. 2000a.
Paths to State Repression: Human
Rights Violations and Contentious Politics.
Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield. 2000.
o
Franzosi, Roberto.
1995. The Puzzle of Strikes:
Class and State Strategies in Postwar Italy. New York: Cambridge University Press.
o
Stewart Tolnay and E.M. Beck. 1992. A Festival of Violence: An Analysis of
Southern Lynchings, 1882-1930.
April 4th –
Continuation of Previous Week;
– 5 page paper outlining
project
April 11th –
Research Questions and Theoretical Orientation
April 18th – Chart
with Literature Review
April 25th –
Evidence and Investigation 10-15 page
outline (text only)
May 2nd – 20-25
page Outline of Paper (text only)
May 9th – Final
Draft Paper (everything); Discuss cover letter to reviewers and journal
designation
May 18th – Final
Papers Mailed to 3 Reviewers