Democratization

Description

Overview: This course examines the worldwide movement away from authoritarian rule and toward democratic government that took place in the last 25 years of the 20th century, and the problem of democratic backsliding that confronts us in the first quarter of the 21st century. We focus on the following questions: What is democracy and how best can we measure it? By what sequence and process have countries become democracies? How can countries maintain democracy? What are the consequences of democracy? And what is the most likely future of democracy across the globe? Students who take this course will discover a political process that connects with the content of other Honours level classes on globalization and international relations, comparative politics, political parties, and political behaviour. This course should be of specific interest to students who wish to pursue careers in academia as well as national donor agencies and international organizations specializing in development and trade, development consultancies, or national and international civil society organizations. Syllabus: For each week’s seminar, I will prepare and distribute ahead of time an overview of that week’s topic, the key issues and questions, important theoretical approaches, and classic works. I will then present an interactive lecture summarizing these issues in greater detail for the first 30 to 45 minutes of class. The second half of the seminar will be led by two or more student participants. While students are expected to have read the required readings for that topic, and be able to contribute meaningfully, two to three students will take responsible for preparing a short essay that responds to a set question related to that week's topic (which they may do individually or collectively). The question will require discussants to engage, assess and critique the findings of more recent empirical studies, and relate them to the larger questions of that week. Schedule Topic 1 THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: The Growth and Diffusion of Democracy Topic 2 DEFINING AND MEASURING DEMOCRACY How Do We Know Democracy When We See It? Topic 3 TRANSITIONS TO DEMOCRACY How Did Countries Transit From Autocracy? Topic 4 CONSOLIDATING AND DEEPENING DEMOCRACY Modernization Topic 5 Institutional Design Topic 6 Institutionalization Topic 7 Political Culture Topic 8 The International Context Topic 9 CONSEQUENCES OF DEMOCRACY Democracy: So What? Topic 10 THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY Democracy: More or Less? Learning Outcomes: Students will be exposed to various debates and literature in the areas of democratic theory, political institutions, political culture, and political economy. They will also build on skills learnt in other courses to critically evaluate the quality of the research they read, as well as to develop new research questions and appropriate research designs. Learning Outcomes Knowledge and Understanding By the end of this class, you should be able to:  Identify the basic approaches to the measurement of democracy, and their strengths and weaknesses  Understand the historical and geographic dimensions of the process by which countries have become, or cease to be, democracies  Be able to distinguish between theory, arguments, and evidence  Be able to distinguish between international, structural, institutional, and cultural explanations of democratization  Understand the distinction between various research designs used in the study of democratization Skills (Intellectual, Transferable) By the end of this class, you should have also acquired the following general skills:  Analytic reading, note taking, selection of relevant arguments, findings  Oral argument and presentation  Analytic writing  Deducing implications of theory and testing against evidence  Assessing competing empirical claims on the quality of data and research design Assessment: The final course mark will be based on:  Regular Class Attendance, Completion of Required Reading, Participation 15%  Seminar Discussion Paper and Discussant 15%  Research Essay 35%  Examination 35%