EPOKA UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE INFORMATIONCourse Title: DEMOCRACY AND DEMOCRATIZATION |
| Code | Course Type | Regular Semester | Theory | Practice | Lab | Credits | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIR 311 | A | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) | NA |
| Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours: | Reina Shehi , Tuesday 10:00-11:30; Friday 10:00-11:30 |
| Second Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours: | NA |
| Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours: | NA |
| Language: | English |
| Compulsory/Elective: | Compulsory |
| Classroom and Meeting Time: | Monday: 09:30-11:15_ Computer Lab III; Wednesday: 11:30-13:15_E 212 |
| Course Description: | The main objective of this course is to get students acquainted with the concepts of democracy and especially the process of democratization. It aims to teach the historical origins and development of democracy as well as introduce them to the voluminous literature on democracy and democratization. The main focus is to develop a critical analysis on why countries have different democratic regimes and how do democratic institutions function? Additionally, it examines the political, economic and social factors that help in embracing democratic reforms. Finally, it aims to give an overview of the different ways democracy is practiced around the world. |
| Course Objectives: | The main objective of this course is to get students acquainted with the concepts of democracy and especially the process of democratization. It aims to teach the historical origins and development of democracy as well as introduce them to the voluminous literature on democracy and democratization. The main focus is to develop a critical analysis on why countries have different democratic regimes and how do democratic institutions function? Additionally, it examines the political, economic and social factors that help in embracing democratic reforms. Finally, it aims to give an overview of the different ways democracy is practiced around the world. |
|
COURSE OUTLINE
|
| Week | Topics |
| 1 | Introduction: Defining and Conceptualizing Democracy |
| 2 | Democracy and the State |
| 3 | Non- Democratic Systems and the transition to Democracy: Case of Albania |
| 4 | Democracy Promotion |
| 5 | Democracy Accountability and Representation |
| 6 | Political Corruption and Democracy |
| 7 | Democracy, Government and Development |
| 8 | Citizen security, rule of law and democratization |
| 9 | Midterm Week |
| 10 | Sustainability of Democracy |
| 11 | Democracy and Conflict Management |
| 12 | Comparing Democratization Processes in the Western Balkans |
| 13 | Discussing the Future of Democracy |
| 14 | Concluding Remarks |
| Prerequisite(s): | N/A |
| Textbook: | Potter D., Goldblatt D., Kiloh M., Lewis P., eds. (1997) Democratization, Polity Press in association with Open University, UK. Lijphart, A., (1999) Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty Six Countries, Yale University Press, New Haven Kaltsounis, T., (2010) the Democratization of Albania Democracy from Within, Palgrave Macmillan, Palgrave Macmillan US Zakaria, F.(2007), The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad, W.W. Norton & Company, New York; London Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/ Democracy Index https://infographics.economist.com/2017/DemocracyIndex/ World Justice Project, https://worldjusticeproject.org/our-work/wjp-rule-law-index/wjp-rule-law-index-2016 Corruption Perception Index, https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2016 Global Peace Index http://visionofhumanity.org/ Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (2017) The Crisis of Democracy in the Western Balkans: Authoritarianism and EU Stabilitocracy. Freyburg, T., & Richter, S. (2010). National identity matters: the limited impact of EU political conditionality in the Western Balkans. Journal of European Public Policy, 17(2), 263-281. Keil, S. (2013). Europeanization, state-building and democratization in the Western Balkans. Nationalities Papers, 41(3), 343-353. |
| Other References: | |
| Laboratory Work: | NA |
| Computer Usage: | N.A |
| Others: | No |
|
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
|
| 1 | A description of the process of democratization and main theories of democracy |
| 2 | An analysis of the main steps of democratization: from transition to consolidation |
| 3 | A capacity to apply theories to understand worldwide case studies |
| 4 | Effective written and discussion skills by integrating and comparing different democracy related concepts and processes |
| 5 | An ability to think of future models of democracy and democratization |
|
COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES
(Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution) |
| No | Program Competencies | Cont. |
| Bachelor in Political Science and International Relations (3 years) (Old) Program | ||
| 1 | Having and using advanced knowledge and comprehension supported by textbooks including actual knowledge in political sciences and international relations literature, materials and the other scientific resources | 5 |
| 2 | Analyzing data, ideas and concepts of current political issues and international relations, determining complex events and topics, making discussions and developing new suggestions in accordance with researches | 5 |
| 3 | Having knowledge and thought about actual topics and problems together with their historical, social and cultural aspects. | 5 |
| 4 | Introducing those who are interested in politics and international events with the topics of Political Science and IR and teaching clearly the problems and the types of solutions | 5 |
| 5 | Improving skills of working together with the main social science disciplines and other disciplines which are related to Political Science and International Relations | 3 |
| 6 | Improving critical thinking and skills in making research independently | 5 |
| 7 | Developing solutions about the problems and conflicts which are common in national and international arena. | 3 |
| 8 | Improving skills for leadership and research and analyze capacity of those who is responsible with national and international ones | 4 |
| 9 | Knowing any foreign language enough to communicate with colleagues and understand actual researches and articles | 2 |
| 10 | Gaining IT skills to use computer and technology) in order to reach actual knowledge | 2 |
| 11 | Gaining skills to follow societal, scientific and ethic values during collecting, interpreting, conducting of data related to social and political developments | 3 |
| 12 | Having consciousness about human rights and environment | 4 |
| 13 | Gaining the skills to follow actual developments and pursue long-life learning | 4 |
|
COURSE EVALUATION METHOD
|
| Method | Quantity | Percentage |
| Midterm Exam(s) |
1
|
30
|
| Presentation |
1
|
15
|
| Case Study |
1
|
15
|
| Final Exam |
1
|
40
|
| Total Percent: | 100% |
|
ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)
|
| Activities | Quantity | Duration(Hours) | Total Workload(Hours) |
| Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours) | 16 | 3 | 48 |
| Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice) | 2 | 16 | 32 |
| Mid-terms | 1 | 16 | 16 |
| Assignments | 1 | 12 | 12 |
| Final examination | 1 | 17 | 17 |
| Other | 0 | ||
|
Total Work Load:
|
125 | ||
|
Total Work Load/25(h):
|
5 | ||
|
ECTS Credit of the Course:
|
5 | ||