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Chapter 1
1. You are asked to do a study comparing the governments of Iran and Egypt, with the request that you consider whether religious differences between the two societies help to account for differences in the kinds of states, regimes, and political cultures they have developed. What conceptual work would you have to do before collecting and analyzing data?
2. If you were to conceptualize authoritarianism as a political system in which (1) not all individual rights are respected, (2) elections are either not held or are unfair, and (3) political transitions are non-transparent and do not allow the public a voice, what would you have to do to operationalize this concept for the purposes of a comparative study?
3. Pick at least three country cases that show major variations in terms of a key outcome in comparative politics (e.g., countries or regions with different levels of economic development, different political institutions, or different political cultures, or differing comparative events like 3 or more revolutions or social movements). Ask a major question provoked by a consideration of those cases and design a preliminary research strategy to answer your question.