EPOKA UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE INFORMATIONCourse Title: DEMOCRACY: THEORY AND PRACTICE |
| Code | Course Type | Regular Semester | Theory | Practice | Lab | Credits | ECTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIR 515 | B | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7.5 |
| 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: | Salih Özcan , Monday 13:30- 16:30 hours |
| 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: | Elective |
| Classroom and Meeting Time: | E 210 |
| Course Description: | The purpose of this master level course is to provide students with knowledge of and insights into the development of democracies. The students will acquire an understanding of the relationship between democracy and general theories of government and they will get an insight into the different definitions of democracy. They will obtain a broad knowledge of the historical development of democratic institutions and will be able to critically discuss issues related to democracy in the modern world. |
| Course Objectives: | The student shall: - identify the principal meanings of, and criteria for, democracy; - distinguish democratic from non-democratic institutions and practices; - distinguish democracy from related concepts, such as freedom, equality, majority rule, republicanism, constitutionalism, and citizenship; - identify the leading models of democracy in terms of their central ideas and historical conditions; - critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of democratic theories and practices. |
|
COURSE OUTLINE
|
| Week | Topics |
| 1 | Introduction – General information about the module |
| 2 | Classical Democracy: Athens |
| 3 | Republicanism: Liberty, Self-Government and Active Citizen |
| 4 | The Development of Liberal Democracy: For and Against the State. Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu |
| 5 | The Development of Liberal Democracy: Madison, Bentham, J. Mill and John. Stuart Mill |
| 6 | Direct Democracy and the End of Politics/ Marxists Democracy |
| 7 | Competitive Elitism and the Technocratic Vision (Weber, Schumpeter, and other Elitists) |
| 8 | Midterm exam |
| 9 | Pluralism and Democracy |
| 10 | Social Democracy |
| 11 | Participatory Democracy |
| 12 | Deliberative Democracy |
| 13 | Digital Democracy, Nation-State and the Global System |
| 14 | Democracy & Democratization in the Arab World: Historical Approach & Present Status |
| Prerequisite(s): | N/A |
| Textbook: | David Held, Models of Democracy, 3rd Edition, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 2006 F. Cunningham, Theories of Democracy: A Critical Introduction, Routledge, London, 2002 Anthony H. Birch, Concepts&Theories_of_Modern_Democracy_3rd.Ed. Routledge, 2007 Zotaj, e. (2014). Tranzicioni politik dhe roli i tij në marrëdhëniet e Shqipërisë me Bashkimin Evropian (Political transition and its role in Albania's relations with the European Union). Universiteti i Tiranës, Instituti i Studimeve Evropiane, Tirane. Krasniqi, A., & Hackaj, A. (N.D.). Shqiptarët dhe Modeli Social Evropian (Albanians and the European Social Model). Fes. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Kajsiu, B. (2006). Politicizing Democratization in Albania: A Local Perspective. Centro Studi Politica Internazionale. Roma: CSPI. |
| Other References: | F. Hendrick, Vital Democracy: A Theory of Democracy in Action, 2010, OUP R. A. Dahl, On Democracy, Yale University Press, 1998; R. A. Dahl, Democracy and its Critics, Yale University Press, 1989; A. Arblaster, Democracy, Third Edition, Open University Press, 2002; Arend Lijphart, Patterns of Democracy, Yale University Press, 1999; Helena Catt, Democracy in Practice, Routledge, London, 1999; Roland Axtmann (Ed.) Understanding Democratic Politics: An Introduction, 2003 (Chapters 6,7,21 and 31); L. Whitehead, Democratization, OUP, 2002. |
| Laboratory Work: | N/A |
| Computer Usage: | N/A |
| Others: | No |
|
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
|
| 1 | At the end of the course, students should be able to learn about the different types of democracies during the times including Classical, Social, Participatory, Deliberative, Digital Democracy etc. |
| 2 | To develop an understanding of different theories in regard with the democratic system and its forms. |
| 3 | To understand how various cultural perspectives and country orientations shape the nature of the government’s form. |
|
COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES
(Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution) |
| No | Program Competencies | Cont. |
| Master of Science in Political Science and International Relations 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. | 4 |
| 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. | 4 |
| 5 | Improving skills of working together with the main social science disciplines and other disciplines which are related to Political Science and International Relations. | 5 |
| 6 | Improving critical thinking and skills in making research independently. | 4 |
| 7 | Developing solutions about the problems and conflicts which are common in national and international arena. | 4 |
| 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. | 4 |
| 10 | Gaining IT skills to use computer and technology) in order to reach actual knowledge. | 4 |
| 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
|
20
|
| Project |
1
|
30
|
| Final Exam |
1
|
50
|
| 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) | 16 | 2 | 32 |
| Mid-terms | 1 | 20 | 20 |
| Assignments | 1 | 30 | 30 |
| Final examination | 1 | 45 | 45 |
| Other | 1 | 12.5 | 12.5 |
|
Total Work Load:
|
187.5 | ||
|
Total Work Load/25(h):
|
7.5 | ||
|
ECTS Credit of the Course:
|
7.5 | ||