APGOV
AP Comparative Government
and Politics
1 credit year long
Elective
The AP course in Comparative Government and Politics introduces students to fundamental concepts
used by political scientists to study the processes and outcomes of politics in a variety of country
settings. The course aims to illustrate the rich diversity of political life, to show available institutional
alternatives, to explain differences in processes and policy outcomes, and to communicate to students
the importance of global political and economic changes. Comparison assists both in identifying
problems and in analyzing policy making. For example, we only know that a country has a high
population growth rate or serious corruption when we compare it to other countries. Careful
comparison of political systems produces useful knowledge about the institutions and policies
countries have employed to address problems, or, indeed, what they have done to make things worse.
We can compare the effectiveness of policy approaches to poverty or overpopulation by examining
how different countries solve similar problems. Furthermore, by comparing the political institu [??[? ?X?X?\?? ?X[ H[? ????[? ?Y\? ?H?[??Y?[? ? [?\??[? H ?]X?[???\]Y[??\???X???ZX? ?[ X?Z[???[?[ K??\\?\??\??\? ?^ [?][??? H\?H ??YH??[? ?Y\? ?X?B?[[??X?Y\?[????\???? H?X[?H[[??X?Y\?]?H ?[YHZ[?\?\??[??XY? ?\?Y[? ?? ?\?\]Z\?]\??]?X??]H\??[?[\?[?X?[Y[?\??\??Y[???S??[??? B???H?Y]??[X?]?B??\???\??H ?[[? ?? X?H ? Y[? ? ? H[?? ??Z[?[? [?K[?[Y[? ?[?Y]? ????\?\?? [??? H???H[??Y[? [Y\? ? H ?\?[? ??H ?[^[Z[?H H?[?[Y[?[ ??[\? ]?[???\??]?HX[ ?] \? ?[\? H ?\?[?\?\ ??X?\?[?\??[Y[? ? ^H]?H \?Y ??? Y[? ? ?[?X??YH?[Z[X\? ?] H \?Z[????H \?Y[? [???X?[\???\??KX\??X??] B?\??X?[]?[?Y[?? H\??\[?K[?]?[? Z\??? ??[ ??? [???X?[\??[Y[?][??? ?\?\]Z\?]\? ???Y] ??????X[??Y[??H[?]H\??[?[\??P??? ?X????B???H?Y]??[X?]?B??\???\??H ?[[? ?? X?H ? Y[? ?[? HXZ?? ?[??\\?? N][? ? ?[? \?H ?X????X?[??Y? ??\?[?? ?]??]Y[? H]H N 8?&\?[???? Y[?? ?] HZ?\??[?\?[\?[???[X[H?\??\? ? Y[? ? ?[?Z[?H ??Y [?\??[?[??? ?X????H[???]\? \?Y[??\ YY[??\? ?? ?^K?? ?\?\]Z\?]\? ???Y] ??????X[??Y[??H[?]H\??[?[\??
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