Conor O'Dwyer
CPO 4731 (Fall 2009)
MWF 9:35-10:25 / Anderson 101
http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/codwyer/EE_Politics_Fall_2009/EE_Politics_Syllabus.html
(Note: The online syllabus is the full syllabus of record.)
Democratization in Comparative
Perspective
Office Hours in 311 Anderson:
M 3-4; W 1:30-2:30; and by appointment
Description
Why do some
authoritarian
political regimes initiate transitions to democracy? Why do
these
transitions succeed in some cases but not others? Does
democratization mean different things in different geographical and
historical contexts? These are the questions at the
heart of this
course. After laying out a preliminary framework for
analyzing
democratization, we will examine the different "waves" of
democratization in the modern world -- in particular, the "third wave"
of
democratization after World War II and the recent wave of regime change
in
the post-Communist world.
Requirements
•Participation in class activities (10% of grade),
-Over
the course of the semester, I will organize
class activities such as debates on issues from the course, short
writing assignments, and group discussions.
•3 tests (20% of grade each -- Sept. 28, October 30, December
4
-The tests' format will be
described in class.
•Final paper (20% of grade),
-A
paper of 1,500 words maximum (about 5-6 pages) on a topic
relevant
to the issues discussed in the course will be due on December 9th
in class. In addition to submitting a hard copy,
everyone
must also email me a copy of their paper on December 9th. I
will
provide a list of suitable paper topics on October 19th;
however, students
are encouraged to develop their own paper topics provided that they
first submit their topic proposal to me by October 12th. Some
outside research will be expected, but I will also expect you to make
use of the readings and arguments from the class. (I
will go over the precise expectations for the paper in
class.)
To prevent plagiarism, I will check the papers using
Turnitin.com.
-Suggested paper topics are here.
•Attendance (10% of grade).
Student
participation is a very
important component of this course. I
assume full and active engagement with the
readings, lectures, and discussions in the class. In the
interests of fairness and given the size of the course, there will be
no extra credit assignments.
Policy
on Exam Make-Ups
I will only schedule
exam make-ups for students who are physically
unable to take the exam at the normally scheduled time.
Texts
There
are two required books. They are available for purchase at Goering's Book Store (1717 NW 1st Avenue, Tel. 352-377-3703):
• Robert Dahl, Polyarchy: Participation and
Opposition (Yale UP: 1971).
• Samuel Huntington, The Third Wave: Democratization
in the Late Twentieth Century (Oklahoma UP: 1991).
• M. Steven Fish, Democracy
Derailed in Russia (Cambridge UP: 2004)
The rest of the
readings will be
available on-line through E-RESERVES at the university library (http://www.uflib.ufl.edu/
-- click on the link labeled "Course Reserves").
Reading and
Assignment Schedule
Note: I
expect you to have completed the relevant assigned
readings prior to class and to be ready to discuss them. As
you
will notice below, the readings are grouped by week. In each
class period, I will announce which readings I will expect you to have
completed for the next period.
Part
I: What is Democracy?
Week
1 (Aug 24-28): Conceptualizing Democracy
•Course goals and
Expectations
•Defining Democracy
•Procedural vs. Substantive
Definitions
Readings:
•Dahl, Chs. 1-2: pp.
1-32.
•Huntington,
pp. 3-13, 109-121
Week 2 (Aug 31-Sep 4): The Role of Civil Society
•Civil Society
•Illiberal Democracy
Readings:
•Robert Putnam, "Bowling
Alone: America's Declining Social Capital," Journal of Democracy 6:1(1995):
65-78. [E-RESERVES]
•Arend Lijphart, "Majority Rule in Theory and Practice, the Tenacity of
a Flawed Paradigm," International
Social Science Journal 44:129 (1991): 483-493. [E-RESERVES]
•Fareed
Zakaria, "The Rise of Illiberal Democracy," Foreign Affairs
(November/December, 1997): 22-43. [E-RESERVES]
Sep 7 -- Labor Day Holiday
Week 3 (Sep 9-11): Alternatives
to Democracy
•Varieties of Authoritarianism
•Electoral Authoritarianism
Readings:
•Huntington,
pp. 109-121.
•Andreas Schedler, "The Logic of Electoral Authoritarianism" in Electoral Authoritarianism: The
Dynamics of Unfree Competition (Lynne Rienner: 2006), pp.
1-23. [E-RESERVES]
Part II: Democratization: Classical Approaches
Week
4 (Sep 14-18): Socioeconomic Structure
•Economic Development
•Social inequality
•Modernization Theory
Readings:
•Dahl, chs. 4-6, pp. 48-104.
Suggested Readings:
•Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi,
"Modernization: Theories and Facts," World Politics 49:2
(1997), pp. 155-183.
Week
5 (Sep 21-25): Caveat on Socioeconomic Structure: The "Resource Curse"
/ Social
Cleavage Structure
•The Resource Curse
Readings:
•Michael L. Ross, "Does Oil Hinder Democracy?", World Politics 53:3
(2001): 325-361. [E-RESERVES]
Week 6
(Sep 28-Oct 2): Resource / Political
Culture
•TEST -- Monday,
September 28.
•Cross-cutting vs. segmenting cleavages
•Ethnic heterogeneity
•The role of political beliefs
Readings:
•Dahl, ch. 7, pp. 105-123.•Dahl, ch. 8, pp. 124-188.
Part
III: Democratization Without Prerequisites? The Third Wave
Week
7 (Oct 5-9): Theorizing the Third Wave
•Political culture and democracy
•IN-CLASS DEBATE: Political
Culture and Democracy (Friday, October 9th)
Readings:
•Fukuyama, Francis. 1995. "The Primacy of Culture." Journal of Democracy
6(1): 7-14. [E-RESERVES]
•Woodberry, Robert D. and Timothy Shah. 2004. "The Pioneering
Protestants." Journal
of Democracy 15(2): 47-61. [E-RESERVES]
•Philpott,
Daniel. 2004. "The Catholic Wave." Journal
of Democracy 15(2): 32-46. [E-RESERVES]
•Chaibong,
Hahm. 2004. "The Ironies of Confucianism." Journal of Democracy
15(3): 93-107. [E-RESERVES]
•Stepan,
Alfred with Graeme B. Robertson. 2003. "An 'Arab' More than 'Muslim'
Electoral Gap." Journal of Democracy 14(3): 30-44. [E-RESERVES]
•Bernard
Lewis, "Islam and Liberal Democracy: A Historical Overview," Journal of Democracy 7:2
(1996): 52-63. [E-RESERVES]
Week 8
(Oct 12-14): Describing the Third Wave
•October 12: Submit alternate paper topic
proposals by this date
•Chronology of waves of democratization
•Causes
of the Third Wave
•The international dimension of democratization
•Reconsidering the importace
of structural factors
•Typology of transition paths
Readings:
•Huntington, pp. 13-72.
Oct
16 -- Homecoming Holiday
Week 9 (Oct
19-23):
•October 19: Paper topics distributed in class
•Signature traits of Third
Wave democratization
Readings:
•Huntington, pp. 72-163.
Week
10 (Oct 26-30): Consolidating
the Third Wave
Part
IV: (Reverse) Democratization after the Third Wave: The Postcommunist
Cases
Week
11 (Nov 2-6): "The Torturer Problem"
•Film: "Cautiva" (2005)
Week 12
(Nov 9): Problems of Democratic Consolidation
•Democratic consolidation
Readings:
•Huntington, pp. 208-316.
Nov 11 -- Veterans' Day Holiday
Nov 13 -- Final paper work day
Week 13 (Nov 16-20): The Case of
Russia (I)
•Democratic Backsliding in
Russia
•Russia in International
Perspective•Oil and Democracy
Revisited: Russia's Resource Curse?
Readings:
•Fish, chs. 1-2, pp. 1-30.
•Fish, chs. 3-4,
pp. 30-113.•Fish, ch. 5, pp. 114-139.
Recommended Reading:
•Michael McFaul, "The Fourth
Wave of Democracy and Dictatorship: Noncooperative Transitions in the
Postcommunist World," World
Politics 54.2 (2002): 212-244. (E-RESERVES)
Week 14
(Nov 23-25): The Case of Russia (II)
•Economic factors
•Superpresidentialism
Readings:
•Fish, chs. 6-8, pp. 139-258.
Part V: Conclusion: Reflections
on Democratization
Week 15
(Nov 30-Dec. 4):
•Exporting Democracy?
•TEST: Friday, Dec 4th
Readings:
•Steven Levitsky and
Lucan Way, "International Linkage and Democratization," Journal of Democracy
16:3 (2005): 20-34. (E-RESERVES)
•Mark Beissinger. “Structure and
Example in Modular Political Phenomena: The Diffusion of
Bulldozer/Rose/Orange/Tulip Revolutions.” Perspectives on Politics
5:2 (2007): 259-76. (E-RESERVES)
Week 15 (Dec 7-9):
•Democratization and Economic
Development
•Final reflections
•Dec 7 -- Final paper work day
•Dec 9 -- Final
Papers Due, one paper copy in class and one copy emailed to instructor.
Readings:
•Atul Kohli, "Introduction," State-Directed Development:
Political Power and Industrialization in the Global Periphery (Cambridge
UP: 2004), pp. 1-24. (E-RESERVES)