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This course studies the emergence of a new "rural-urban divide" in contemporary politics. The idea of an growing gap between ‘cosmopolitan cities’ and the ‘nationalist countryside’ seems to be vindicated by recent elections across the globe, which saw nationalist parties and candidates flourish in rural areas but not in metropolitan areas. It has even been suggested that “urban-rural splits have become the great global divider” (Rachman, 2018). We study this development from a
cleavage perspective asking whether the rural urban divide has the making of a full-fledged cleavage, with its three defining element of a distinct socio-structural basis, a normative element and an organizational expression. The first term is dedicated to getting familiar with the relevant theoretical concepts and arguments as well as the empirical evidence. First, we will seek to understand what parties are, their function in the democratic system, how they form party systems and how
they can be grouped in different families. Second, we will get familiar with the cleavage approach as our the basis of our theoretical framework and the old rural-urban divide in the 19th century. Third, we will study the changing . Forth, we investigate one of the dominant political phenomena of our times: The rise of populism.
The second term is dedicated to the writing of an original term paper (60 000 letters without spaces) on a question pertaining to the core question of the course and the discussion of the paper in several stages. As such, students will write and discuss a research design that outlines their
research question, the main argument and empirical approach and situates the paper within the relevant literature. They will also comment on a fellow student’s research design with constructive remarks. This involves presenting the design and moderating the discussion. It is a comparative course and as such compares political phenomena across countries and over time. The focus is generally on advanced industrial democracies, e.g., democracies in North America and Western Europe with Germany being of special interest. The themes are taught by combining lectures, discussion of readings in groups and class, group assignments, and the writing of a final term paper in the second term. This is a reading intense course (particularly the first term) but note that the intensity does vary from session to session.
Readings might be subject to change.
Proofs of achievement
The seminar’s main proof of achievement represents an empirical term paper (60 000 letters, 6 SP) as Modulabschlussprüfung. During the term, each student will prepare a research design that outlines the research question, the main argument(s), expectations and empirical approach of the term paper. The research design will be presented and subsequently discussed in class.
Syllabus: https://box.hu-berlin.de/d/72aa401790c44dfd9e31/
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