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Dr William Kissane CBG 3.39

This course is available on the BSc in Government, BSc in Government and Economics, BSc in Government and History, BSc in International Relations, BSc in International Social and Public Policy with Politics, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, BSc in Politics, BSc in Politics and Economics, BSc in Politics and History, BSc in Politics and International Relations, BSc in Politics and Philosophy and BSc in Social Policy with Government. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.

Students must have completed Introduction to Political Science (GV101).

The course is concerned with theories of democratisation and case studies of democratic transformations during the so-called “third wave” of democratisation from the 1970s to the present. It analyses processes of transition and consolidation of  democracy and of democratic reversal in the context of globalisation. The first five weeks study the concept of democracy, theories of transition to democracy, democratic consolidation and hybrid regimes and  the crisis of liberal democracy. The remainder of the course uses the conceptual tools of the first five weeks to study the condition of democracy in different regions of the world, including Eastern and Southern Europe, Latin America, South East Asia, Africa, India, the Middle East and Russia.

This course is delivered through a combination of classes and lectures totalling a minimum of 51 and a half hours across the Michaelmas, Lent and Summer Terms. This year, some or all of this teaching will be delivered through a combination of online and on-campus lectures and classes. There will be a reading week in Week 6 of both the MT and LT terms.

Students will be expected to produce 2 essays in the MT and LT.

The most useful introductory readings are: J. Grugel and M. L. Bishop (2016) Democratization: A Critical Introduction; L. Whitehead (2002) Democratization and  the articles in Journal of Democracy, January 2015. 

Other useful texts are: S. Levitsky and D. Ziblatt (2018) How Democracies Die; Y. Mounk (2018) The People Vs Democracy; A Przeworski, Democracy and the Market (1991); D. A. Rostow (1970) Transitions to Democracy: Towards a Dynamic Model; T. Carothers (2002) The End of the Transition Paradigm?; Donatella Della Porta (2013) Can Democracy be Saved?

Online assessment (60%, duration: 7 days) in the ST.
Essay (40%, 2500 words) in the LT.

GENERAL COURSE STUDENTS ONLY:

The Class Summary Grade for General Course students will be calculated as follows: 70% formative coursework, 20% class presentation, 10% class participation (including attendance and contribution).

Some departments have produced short videos to introduce their courses. Please refer to the course selection videos index page for further information.