Democratization studies

The main purpose of the course is to introduce concepts, theoretical perspectives and historical and contemporary trends on democratization. The course begins with discussions about the basic concepts, definitions and theories on democratization. This first part deals with a discussion about the fundamental concepts such as electoral and liberal democracy, dictatorship, transition, consolidation of democracy, democratization as a phenomenon and its different stages. The second part continues with a presentation of identified favorable and unfavorable factors for democratization. The first two parts is structured around the key questions; what, why, how and how long? The third part of the course examines historical and contemporary trends concerning democratization in the world, both in the world regions such Latin America, Africa, Asia, Middle East, the post-communist world and in individual cases, such as Burma, China, Ukraine, South Africa and Venezuela.