POSC 416 - Seminar: Democratic Transitions and Consolidation

What are the chances that the new democracies established around the world in the past century will survive? Most have had relatively free and honest elections; some have even had peaceful transfers of power later on; most are somewhere in the process of changing to market economies. But in many places, the quality of life has deteriorated in important respects, and democratization is stale-mated by economic crises, ethnic and religious conflicts, low levels of political participation, crime, and other problems. This seminar explores democratic transitions - the removal of repressive regimes and the establishment of new democratic institutions - and democratic consolidation - the process of “deepening” democracy and making it sustainable. Major topics include the role of civil society, relationships between wealth and power, ethnic conflicts and national identity, political participation and accountability, building democratic cultures, and models of democracy appropriate for different societies.

Credits: 1.00
Corequisite: None
Prerequisites: None
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: None
Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
Liberal Arts CORE: None

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