Course Description:

The study of global democracy shapes the two most importance investigations into the study of modern political science: 1) who governs? and 2) what are the consequences of who governs for the governed? Democracies now form the most common regime type around the world, but not without having faced significant problems of transitions to, and performance of, representative forms of government. As a result, the state of democracy in the world is far from healthy or perfect, and many threats remain or continue to arise to threaten the growth and consolidation of democratic regimes in many countries. To understand the opportunities and challenges posed by democratic forms of government, in the first eight weeks this course will cover topics in the comparative study of contemporary politics as it relates to the development of the state, the growth and consolidation of democratic regimes, the persistence of non-democratic and hybrid regimes, economic growth, ethnicity, and political violence and civil wars. In the last three weeks of the course, we will pay particular attention to how these themes relate to contemporary democratic politics in South Africa and Afghanistan.

 Required Readings:

All readings will be provided by Professor Long and available on Canvas.

Course Evaluation:

Quiz Section: 30%

Midterm: 25%

Final Exam: 45%