EUP432 Democratization in Globalized World: A Comparative Perspective

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2016
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Pavel Pšeja, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Petr Suchý, Ph.D.
Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Olga Cídlová, DiS.
Supplier department: Department of International Relations and European Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Mon 15:15–16:45 U42
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course intends to offer a basic overview of the transitions towards democracy as they have occurred in the world in the aftermath of the democratic changes that occurred in the turn of 1980s and 1990s. Furthermore, beyond this fundamental goal the course shall provide the students with the theoretical introduction into the studies in the democratic transition, and shall also present a comparative view on selected transitions – here, our focus will be on some examples of (South)East Asian transitions so that we could see to what extent practices and theories of democratic transition are transferrable across various cultural and religious settings.
Syllabus
  • 1. Notion of Democracy – History, Developments, Understandings 2. Theory of Non-Democratic Regimes 3. Transitions to Democracy: Three Waves and Beyond 4. Czechoslovakia: Collapse 5. Poland: Negotiated Transition I. 6. Hungary: Negotiated Transition II. 7. Serbia: Long and Winding Road – From Denial to Acceptance 8. Ukraine and Georgia: Still at the Crossroads? 9. Cases of Failure: Belarus and the Rest of Caucasus Region 10. Taiwan and Indonesia: Different Roads to the Same Destination 11. Burma: Unfinished Job 12. Democratization in Practice: Pros and Cons of Promoting Democracy
Literature
    required literature
  • The colour revolutions in the former Soviet republics : successes and failures. Edited by Donnacha Ó Beacháin - Abel Polese. London: Routledge, 2010, xvii, 248. ISBN 9780415625470. info
  • GRUGEL, Jean. Democratization : a critical introduction. 1st pub. Houndmills: Palgrave, 2002, xiii, 273. ISBN 0333679695. URL info
Teaching methods
The course includes both lectures and seminars.
Assessment methods
1) Group project – students work in groups (the number of members in each group depends on how many students are enrolled) and each of these groups is supposed to prepare an oral presentation analyzing conditions of democratic transition in a selected country. The presentation is due in session to which it relates in terms of its topic, and consists of the oral presentation itself (lasting for about 20 minutes) and the handout that summarizes the major points of the presentation and will be distributed to other students in the class. The handout must have 2-3 pages (single-and-half spaced, font size 12) and can summarize the presentation content either in essay-like, or in bullet-point format. Overall value 40% of the final grade. 2) Final essay – standard research paper of app. 10 pages (single-and-half-spaced, font size 12) analyzing either a particular case of a democratic transition, or two such cases in a comparative perspective. Deadline to submit the essay is June 15th, 2014. Overall value 60% of the final grade.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2016, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2016/EUP432