Mar 28, 2024  
College Catalog 2017-2018 
    
College Catalog 2017-2018 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

RUSS 246 - Comparative Democratization

Cross-Listed as LATI 246  and POLI 246 
This course focuses on theories of democratic breakdown, regime transitions, and democratization in Southern Europe, Latin America, and Post-Communist Europe. Some of the cases we will study include Pinochet’s coup and Chile’s return to elections, the end of the South African apartheid regime, and Russia’s post-Cold War shift toward both democratic elections and new strands of authoritarianism. Building on the literatures on transitions, consolidation, civil society, and constitutional design, the course culminates in an examination of democratic impulses in Iran and the Middle East. Themes are explored through diverse teaching methods including discussion, debates, simulations, partisan narratives, lecture, film, and poetry. Offered every year. (4 Credits)