This graduate class focuses on issues of democratization (and de-democratization), as studied in the comparative politics literature. The course is structured in four parts. In the first part, we scrutinize conceptualizations and measurements of democracy. In the second part, we study competing political theories about the origins of democracy. The third part of the seminar is devoted to the study of democratic transition and consolidation processes. To finish, we tackle specific issues in democratization such as social capital and civic participation, as well as the resilience of (subnational) authoritarianism.
