CZS52 Democratization and Democracy in the East-Central Europe

Pan-university studies
Autumn 2019
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Mgr. Vladimir Dordevic, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Eva Taterová, M.A., Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Ing. Violeta Osouchová
Pan-university studies
Supplier department: Pan-university studies
Timetable
Thu 19. 9. to Thu 12. 12. Thu 13:00–14:30 206, except Thu 14. 11. ; and Thu 14. 11. 13:00–14:30 KOM 300
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 20 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/20, only registered: 0/20, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/20
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 11 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course is conceived to give students a complex insight into trends and events related to democratization processes in Central (and Eastern) Europe after 1989. Studying democratization of this region is interesting for at least two reasons: first, theoretically, it gives us better understanding of the process of democratization itself, and second, practically, it helps us understanding the current political, economic, and social reality in the post-Communist countries of given region. Furthermore, as will be shown throughout the course, it is hard to make a line when the democratization process in the region was over and, in fact, we may as well analyse the current dynamics in the region using many of the democratization concepts. Throughout the course we will primarily focus on the four Visegrad countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia) which will be regarded as the core of the Central European region, although we will include in our analysis at the later stage also the cases of Ukraine and Yugoslavia for comparison and to have a broader contextual picture. The course will consist of two parts. The first one will give an introduction into the Central Europe, its historical development, and democratization theory. After the first part of the course, the students will be expected to be familiar with basic regional facts. The second part of the course will look individually at the countries of the region to analyse their political dynamics after 1989.
Syllabus
  • September 20: Introductory lecture: scope of the course, organization of the course, and course requirements (Dordevic) • September 27: History of Central Europe (Taterova) • October 4: Revolutions of 1989 in Central Europe (Taterova) • October 11: Theories of Democratization (Dordevic) • October 18 International organizations and their role in democratization (Taterova) • October 25 Mid term exam; Case study: Poland (Taterova) • November 1. Case study: Slovakia – includes position paper (Taterova) • November 8 Case study: Czech Republic– includes position paper (Taterova) • November 15: Case study: Is Hungarian Democracy Going Backwards? (Dordevic) – includes position paper • November 22: Case study: Ukraine between the East and the West (Dordevic) – includes position paper November 29: Pitfalls of Democratization: Post-Yugoslav Space as “Antipode’ of (East-Central) Europe (Dordevic) – includes position paper December 6: Challenges to Democracy in East Central Europe and Beyond/*Course wrap-up (Dordevic) – includes position paper December 13: Final exam (Dordevic)
Assessment methods
Assessment method:
Mid-term exam: 25 %
· Consists of 5 open questions requiring short answer. Goal is to check whether students acquired basic factual knowledge in the first part of the course. Literature and lecture content will be both included.
Final exam: 40 % · Final exam will consist of four open questions which will require longer answers. Students will be asked to prove that they acquired knowledge about the topics covered throughout the course and can critically discuss the dynamics in the region.
Five position papers 25 % (each position paper is for maximum of five points for the paper and for the active presence in the class). · Students will choose four topics according to their interest from the second part of the course (after the mid-term exam) and write position paper. If a student submits more than four position papers, only four with the best scores will be counted to the final assessment. Each position paper is about four standard pages long and consists of a short summary of the assigned literature, its critical analyses and subsequent discussion of the topic in the Central European context.
Participation and activity in the class: 10 % Students are expected to participate in classes. In case of missing a class due to reasonable reasons, points will not be deducted. Furthermore, active participation is expected. Students are strongly recommended to go through the assigned reading before the lecture and join discussion during the classes.
Final assessment:
A: 100 – 90 % B: 89 – 80 % C: 79 – 70 % D: 69 – 65 % E: 64 – 60 % F: 59 – 0 %
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught only once.
Teacher's information
http://cic.muni.cz/cs/left-incoming-mobility/incoming-student/incoming-student-exchange/incoming-student-exchange-cesp
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2014, Autumn 2015, Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018.
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