Democratisation and autocratisation

The course democratization and autocratization deals with the processes of change within political regimes and between political regimes in the contemporary age. In recent times, there has been much talk of the crisis of democracy, the rise of authoritarian regimes, the end of the wave of democratization, and the beginning of a possible opposite wave of autocratization. This course aims to give students the analytical and theoretical tools to understand and explain the causes, modalities, and consequences of democratization and autocratization: why do some states democratize and others don't? What are the causes of the decline of democracy? How is democratic or authoritarian influence exercised over other countries? Who are the key players in regime changes? Are there pre-conditions favorable to democracy or autocracy? Key notions and theories will be presented and discussed, aiming to link real-world developments with rigorous academic analysis

This course will enable students to understand and critically assess the current process of transformation of political regimes around the world. Students will be able to use basic concepts and approaches to the study of political regimes, democratization and autocratization and to apply them to the analysis of current political issues, trends, and debates.

The course lasts 24 hours (5 ECTS), organized for 12 weeks. The different sessions are structured as follows:

 First part: In the first six classes, the students will lay the foundations of their collective paper. Each class will have an initial discussion about the reading; then, students will work in groups on the collective work, and finally, each group will present an update of their research to the class

 Second part: guest speakers will be invited in three sessions on specific topics, and students will be invited to prepare the class with mandatory readings. A debate will follow each guest-speaker presentation.

 Third part: In the last three sessions, students will present their collective works to the class.

Support(s) de cours

• Université virtuelle

Contacts

luca.tomini@ulb.be

Campus

Solbosch

Méthode(s) d'évaluation

• Présentation orale
• Travail de groupe
• Rapport écrit

Présentation orale

Travail de groupe

Rapport écrit

Your examination will be focused on three components.

60% a 5000 words collective essay to be focused on one of the themes proposed in the course

40%  two 10 minutes group presentations 

Langue(s) d'évaluation

• anglais