COURSE OUTLINE AND READING LIST: POLI 112/102 (POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS)

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON

POLI 102/112: POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

SECOND SEMESTER, 2013 / 2014 ACADEMIC YEAR

LECTURERS:

• DR. RANSFORD GYAMPO
• DR. SEIDU ALIDU
• MR. KWAME ASAH-ASANTE

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

The Course, Political Institutions is designed to introduce First Year Political Science Students to the nature, scope and role of African Traditional Political Institutions and Modern Political Institutions including the Executive, Legislature, Judiciary, Bureaucracy, Forms of Representation and Electoral Process, Pressure Groups, Political Parties, etc. In the conduct of lectures and tutorials, examples will be drawn from the global setting with emphasis on Ghana. At the end of the Course, students should be able to:

1. Define Political Institutions
2. Outline the Role of Political Institutions in Democratic Dispensations
3. Identify Traditional Political Institutions
4. Outline the functions of key Traditional Political Institutions such as Chieftaincy
5. Identify key Modern Political Institutions such as the legislature, executive, judiciary, bureaucracy etc
6. Outline the role and functions of Modern Political Institutions
7. Suggest how Weak Political Institutions can be made effective

COURSE OUTLINE

WEEK	DATE	LECTURE COURSE/ TOPIC	TUTORIALS	VENUE	ASSESSMENT
1-2	28th January-8th Feb 2013	Political Institutions: Definition, Nature and Scope	Defining Institutions, types, functions etc	Lectures: JQB 9 ( GROUP A ON MONDAYS) JQB 24 (GROUP B ON WEDNESDAYS) JQB 14 (GROUP C ON THURSDAYS) Tutorials:
3-4	11th-22nd February	Traditional Political Institutions: Chieftaincy in Ghana	The mode of selection, role, and relevance of chieftaincy	Lectures: Same venue Tutorials:
5-7	25th February-8th March	Modern Political Institutions: The Three arms of Government	The role, powers, functions and challenges of the arms of government	Lectures: Same venue Tutorials:
8-9	11th-22nd March	The Civil Bureaucracy	The Weberian Ideal-Type Bureaucracy, Importance and Criticisms	Lectures: Same venue Tutorials:
10-11	25th March-5th April	Political Parties and Interest Groups	Distinguishing between Political Parties and Interest Groups. The Role and Challenges of Political Opposition, Functions and Problems of Interest Groups, etc	Lectures: Same venue Tutorials:
12-13	8th-19th April	Representation, Elections and Voting	Theories of Representation, Models of Voting. Electoral Systems, Making elections Free and Fair, etc	Lectures: Same venue Tutorials:
14		Revision

 SUGGESTED READINGS

Rhodes, R.AW. et al., The Oxford Handbook of Political Institutions (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008).

Diamond Larry, Promoting Democracy in the 1990s: Actors and Institutions, Issues and Imperatives. Report to the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict. New York: Carnegie Corporation, 1995.

North, Douglas, Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance, (Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 1990).

Gyampo, R.E.V. The State of Political Institutions in Ghana (Saarbrucken, Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing Limited, 2013).

Gyampo, R.E.V. The Concept of Politics and Power (Accra: GSGL, 2011).

Gyampo, R.E.V. “The Youth and Political Ideology in Ghanaian Politics: The Case of the Fourth Republic”, African Development (CODESRIA), Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 (2012), pp 135-163.

Republic of Ghana, Report of the Constitutional Review Commission (Accra: GPC, 2012). Also available @ www.crc.gov.gh

Republic of Ghana, White Paper on the Report of the Constitutional Review Commission (Accra: GPC, 2012).

Republic of Ghana, Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992 (Accra: GPC, 1993).

The Institute of Economic Affairs, Democracy Consolidation Strategy Paper (Accra: IEA-Ghana, 2008).

Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security, Deepening Democracy: A Strategy for Improving the Integrity of Elections Worldwide (Stockholm: International IDEA, 2012).

Gyimah-Boadi E. ‘Representative Institutions’ in Democratic Consolidation in Africa: Progress and Pitfalls, Conference Report. Johannesburg: Centre for Policy Studies, (1998:10)

Ellen Grigsby, Analyzing Politics: An Introduction to Political Science, Third Edition (Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005)

Ball, Alan and Peters, Guy, Modern Politics and Government, (New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2005).

Rathbone, Richard, Nkrumah and the Chiefs: The Politics of Chieftaincy in Ghana 1951-60, (Oxford: Ohio University Press, 2000).

Boafo-Arthur, Kwame, “Chieftaincy in Ghana: Challenges and Prospects in the 21^st Century” African and Asian Studies, Vol. 2 No. 2 (January 2003).

Dyck, Rand “Studying Politics” in Rand Dyck (ed.) Studying Politics: An Introduction to Political Science, (Toronto: Thomson Canada Ltd, 2006).

Finer, S.E. Pressure Groups. Accessed on 16^th June 2009 from Web site: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/pir/notes05/Level2/PI2501/PGroupsOHPs.DOC.

Hague Rod and Harrop Martin, Political Science: A Comparative Introduction, (New York: Palgrave, 2001).

Jackson, R. and Jackson, D., A Comparative Introduction to Political Science (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2003)

Jacobsohn, John, An Introduction to Political Science, (New York: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1998).

Kettl, Donald “Public Bureaucracies” in R.A.W. Rhodes, Sarah Binder and Bert Rockman (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Political Institutions, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008).

March, James and Olsen, Johan “Elaborating the New Institutionalism” in R.A.W. Rhodes, Sarah Binder and Bert Rockman (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Political Institutions, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008)

McLean, Iain and McMillan, Alistair, Oxford Concise Dictionary of Politics, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).

McIvor, Heather, “Political Parties: Imperfect but Essential” in Rand Dyck (ed.) Studying Politics: An Introduction to Political Science, (Toronto: Thomson Canada Ltd, 2006).

Heywood, Andrew, Politics, (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002).

O’Neill, Brenda, “Democracy in Action, Political Participation and Citizens’ Power” in Rand Dyck (ed.) Studying Politics: An Introduction to Political Science, (Toronto: Thomson Canada Ltd, 2006).

Appadorai, A. (1974) The Substance of Politics (New York: Oxford University Press).

Philips, Stephen “The Political Executive and Bureaucracy: On Top and on Tap” in Rand Dyck (ed.) Studying Politics: An Introduction to Political Science, (Toronto: Thomson Canada Ltd, 2006).

Sartori, Giovanni, Parties and Party Systems: A Framework for Analysis (Colchester: ECPR Press, 2005) pp 1-29

Shively, W.P., Power and Choice: An Introduction to Political Science, Fifth Edition, (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1991).

REQUIREMENTS

1. Students of Political Institutions are required to consult at least 70% of the relevant reading materials on the suggested reading list above. Extensive Reading is a MUST  for the course

2. Students are also required to regularly attend Tutorials and make meaningful contributions to discussions as this would count towards their grading in the end of semester examination.

3. There would be 13 weeks of Lectures and students must endeavor to attend lectures regularly. The course is not done by correspondence.