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Course Description

Summary

The twentieth century has been described as a century of democratization. This is in recognition of the third wave of democratization that saw the creation or restoration of about eighty democracies in southern Europe, Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa during the last quarter of the century. This introductory course will examine the drivers, patterns, outcomes, and prospects of global democratic political transitions and transformations since the late twentieth century. Readings, lectures, assignments and presentations will explore the following themes: current and emerging academic and policy debates on democratization; commonalities and differences in modes of transitions from non-democratic rule in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and the post-communist world; the roles of specific actors and factors in democratization, including the international community, political and civil society, economic development and reform, state capacity, cultural diversity and conflict, and constitutional design; illustrative country case studies of successful, failed, ambivalent and precluded democratizations; and current challenges and future prospects of democratization in the twenty-first century.