Course Description
Democracy and democratization focused on the political, cultural, and socioeconomic bases of democratization, its practice in the United States, Europe, Russia, Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and/or Latin America and the prospects for democracy spreading in presently non-democratic countries. Emphasis on the distinct meanings of democracy, its variety of forms, and the distinct priorities that different societies give to democracy.
Athena Title
COMP DEMOCRACY
Prerequisite
INTL 3200 or INTL 3300 or permission of department
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course is designed to familiarize students with, and to teach rigorous thinking about, democracy; to provide a sense of its many and varied forms; and to assess practically whether it is possible to impose democracy from abroad. Students are expected to gain a thorough understanding of how democracy is defined, its variety of forms, and the distinct priorities that different societies give to democracy.
Topical Outline
1) Definitions of democracy and civil society 2) The connections between democracy and economic development 3) Variations of democracies 4) Globalization and its impact on democracy 5) Democracy, ungovernability and the future of democratization
Syllabus