Welcome to Spring 2014 COGOPO!

Welcome to Spring 2014 AP Comparative Government and Politics!  You will be using this blog as a launching point for many in class discussions about democracy, authoritarianism, political legitimacy, authority, political culture and many other topics.  The first assignment we will do is to familiarize you with the countries of study and the main storylines of 2013.  After you pick your country of expertise answer the following questions in your group for a brief presentation at the end of the class.  Sort of a State of the (insert country here).

1.  What are THE three major story lines of 2013 in your country?
2.  Why do you think these three story lines are important?  Why did you pick 'em?
3.  What, if anything, does the nature of these stories have to do with the history of your country?
4.  Do these story lines only have an impact on your country? Or do they have a more regional or international political impact?  Why is that?

Iranian news

Go to this article about potential candidates registering for Iran's upcoming Presidential election.  This is a good one as well.  Read it and post!!

Review for Iran, Nigeria, and Mexico

This Wednesday you will have a test that covers Chapters 9, 10, and 11 in the O'neil book for the multiple choice portion.  For the FRQ portion, the subject matter will be both country specific to Iran, Nigeria and Mexico, but it will also cover concepts such as globalization, ethnicity, political violence as they relate to the countries.

First read these articles (Iran, Nigeria, Mexico) and comment, keeping a thought to the concepts you wil be tested on, then get to work on reviewing.  We will do a practice FRQ towards the end of class.

Freedom House analysis of Nigeria in 2012

Go here to read an extremely detailed and illuminating analysis of the current state of Nigeria's illiberal democracy by Freedom House.  Comments, questions and analysis welcomed below.  Quarter's almost over!  Boost that participation grade!

Iran, Nigeria, Mexico and the Media

These three countries give an opportunity to look at the different roles of the media in underdeveloped countries.  Go to the following sites for Nigeria, Iran and Mexico and answer the following prompts:

1.  Compare and contrast the ways the media affects political culture in each of the countries.
2.  Analyze how the history of each of the countries is reflected in the nature of media coverage.
3.  What do you believe is the "formative event" in shaping the political culture in each of these countries?  Explain your reasoning.

The Chinese Renaissance

Forget da Vinci, Botticelli, and Titian.  The new Chinese President Xi Jinping (replacing Hu Jintao) and premier Li Keqiang (replacing Wen Jibao) vow to end corruption and extravagance with their new leadership.  Read more details here.

Comments, questions and responses below!

Religious influence in Nigeria and Iran

Ahmadinejad has been criticized by many for his actions at the funeral of leftist leader Hugo Chavez.  In Nigeria, the militant extremist group Boko Haram is a constant threat to stability, but the government and President Goodluck Johnathan are not doing a good job of portraying stability and trust either.

What do you think?  In what ways does this illustrate COGOPO concepts about LDCs and NICs?