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2021/2022

Democracy and Citizenship

Code: 42270 ECTS Credits: 10
Degree Type Year Semester
4313335 Political Science OB 0 1
4317157 Advanced Research in Political Science OB 1 1
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Enrique Hernandez Perez
Email:
Enrique.Hernandez@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
english (eng)

Teachers

John Robert Etherington
Eva Ostergaard-Nielsen
Carolina Galais Gonzalez
Enrique Hernandez Perez
Macarena Ares Abalde

External teachers

Anna Kyriazi

Prerequisites

Students are required to have prior training corresponding to a bachelor in Political Science or other closely related subject.

For students new to Political Science, the following texts provide good background for some of themes that will be dealt with in this module:

  • Macpherson, C.W. (various editions) The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy. Oxford. OUP
  • Held, D. (various editions) Models of Democracy. Cambridge: Polity Press.
  • Crick, B. (various editions) In Defence of Politics.

Objectives and Contextualisation

In many ways, political science can trace its origins back to the attempts by thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle to come to terms with the concepts of democracy and citizenship as they emerged in the Ancient Greek poleis, particularly that of Athens.

While modern liberal democracy functions in quite a different way from its ancient predecessor, the normative, theoretical and empirical preoccupations of the Ancients have continued to inform modern debates on democracy and citizenship, concerned as they are with questions such as regime change, political participation, citizen rights, and institutional arrangements. In addition, other questions, such as the increasing democratic demands of citizens, have become central to debates surrounding the functioning of liberal democratic systems.

The purpose of this module, then, is to present some of the main debates and approaches to understanding liberal democracy and citizenship as these have developed over time in the West, and to this end the module is divided into six parts. The first analyses the historical social, economic and institutional conditions that have allowed liberal democracy to develop and flourish in some places and not in others. The second part deals with the quality of democracy at the aggregate level. In the third, fourth, fifth and sixth parts, we explore some the challenges faced by contemporary democratic political systems such as corruption, economic performance, external migration, the rise of populism, increasing democratic discontent, and the effects of digital media on citizen engagement.

At the end of the module, students are expected to be able to demonstrate a thorough understanding of a wide range of theoretical, methodological and empirical approaches to the study of themes related to the concepts democracy and citizenship.

Competences

    Political Science
  • Analyse the behaviour and political attitudes of the public and the political communication processes in which they are immersed.
  • Analyse the main economic, social and political challenges facing contemporary democracies.
  • Applied theoretical knowledge acquired from the analysis of real situation and using political analysis generate useful orientations for decision-making.
  • Demonstration reading comprehension for specialist texts in English.
  • Design and write projects and technical and academic reports autonomously using the appropriate terminology, arguments and analytical tools in each case.
  • Possess and understand knowledge that provides a basis or opportunity for originality in the development and/or application of ideas, often in a research context.
  • Recognise the complexity of politics today, its diversity and the tensions to which it is exposed, with special emphasis on the Spanish and European contexts.
  • Student should possess the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that is largely student led or independent.
  • Students should be able to integrate knowledge and face the complexity of making judgements based on information that may be incomplete or limited and includes reflections on the social and ethical responsibilities associated with the application of their knowledge and judgements.
  • Understand the design, operation and consequences of the political institutions and their relation to processes of governance.
    Advanced Research in Political Science
  • Analyse the behaviour and political attitudes of citizens and the political communication processes in which they are immersed.
  • Analyse the design, functioning and consequences of political institutions and their relations with processes of governance.
  • Analyse the main economic, social and political challenges in contemporary democracies.
  • Apply knowledge and techniques to analyse political situations to be able to generate proposals and points of view which are useful for decision-making.
  • Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
  • Design and write projects and technical and academic reports autonomously using the appropriate terminology, arguments and analytical tools in each case.
  • Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
  • Recognise the complexity of political situations, diversity and the tensions to which they are subjected, with special emphasis on the Spanish and European contexts.
  • Understand and produce advanced specialised research texts in political science.
  • Use acquired knowledge as a basis for originality in the application of ideas, often in a research context.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse the level of democratic quality in a political system.
  2. Analyse the way in which advanced democracies change over time.
  3. Analyse the way in which advanced democracies changeover time.
  4. Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
  5. Demonstration reading comprehension for specialist texts in English.
  6. Describe the characteristics of political culture and identify their explanations and consequences.
  7. Design and write projects and technical and academic reports autonomously using the appropriate terminology, arguments and analytical tools in each case.
  8. Identify the way in which current phenomena such as globalisation, cultural diversity and the development of new technology affect democratic systems.
  9. Identify forms of political participation, the factors that explain them and their consequences for democracy.
  10. Identify the debates about public opinion, political communication and democracy.
  11. Identify the debates on public opinion, political communication and democracy.
  12. Identify the different dimension of the concept of democracy, their contradictions and the normative debates which accompany them.
  13. Identify the different dimensions of the concept of democracy, its contradictions and the debates accompanying them.
  14. Identify the different factors and variables that may be involved in the appearance, stability and crisis of a democratic system.
  15. Identify the different factors and variables which could affect the appearance, stability and crisis of a democratic system.
  16. Identify the different practical implications of the different theories on democracy.
  17. Identify the different practical implications of the theories of democracy.
  18. Identify the importance of specific political, economic and institutional contexts for democratic stability.
  19. Identify the modes of political participation , the factors that explain them and their consequences for democracy.
  20. Identify the way current phenomena such as globalisation, cultural diversity and the development of new technologies affect democratic systems.
  21. Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
  22. Possess and understand knowledge that provides a basis or opportunity for originality in the development and/or application of ideas, often in a research context.
  23. Student should possess the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that is largely student led or independent.
  24. Students should be able to integrate knowledge and face the complexity of making judgements based on information that may be incomplete or limited and includes reflections on the social and ethical responsibilities associated with the application of their knowledge and judgements.
  25. Understand and produce advanced specialised research texts in political science.
  26. Understand the different conceptions of the concept of citizenship and their implications.
  27. Understand the different existing models of democracy, their institutional characteristics and their implications.
  28. Understand the tension between participation and representation, debates and political disaffection and the crisis of representation.
  29. Understand the tensions between participation and representation, the debates on political disenchantment and the crisis of representation.
  30. Use acquired knowledge as a basis for originality in the application of ideas, often in a research context.

Content

Introduction. Democracy and Citizenship: questions new and old (E. Hernández)

The aim of this introductory class is to give an overview of the study of democracy and citizenship in order to provide context for the themes that we shall be studying in this module. The session then presents the different parts of the module, before discussing the formal aspects involved.

Part 1. The Emergence of Liberal Democracy in the West: social, economic and institutional contexts (J. Etherington) (6 sessions).

  1. Democracy and Citizenship: conceptual and historical considerations.
  2. Capitalism: definition, origins and development.
  3. The Social Origins of Liberal Democracy: Barrington Moore and The Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy.
  4. Considerations on The Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. 
  5. Capitalism and the Rise of Liberal Democracy. 
  6. Capitalist Development and Democracy

Part 2. Democratic Backsliding.Anna Kyryazi (3 sessions)

  1. Situating the field
  2. Forms, sympthoms, methods
  3. Explanations and resistance

Part 3. Does Democracy Really Work? The citizens’ perspective (E. Hernández) (5 sessions)

  1. Studying citizens’ attitudes towards democracy: the concept of political support. 
  2. Support for democracy and growing discontent: Is democracy still the only game in town? 
  3. A changing paradigm: From allegiant to critical/assertive citizens. 
  4. The long-term impactof institutions: Historical legacies. 
  5. The short-term impact of institutional performance: corruption, the economy, and winners and losers. 

Part 4. Democracy, citizenship and international migration (E. Østergaard) (3 sessions)

  1. Migration and citizenship, political incorporation of migrants. 
  2. Transnational political fields - dual citizenship and external voting rights, transnational party mobilization of diasporas.
  3. Democratization and transnational linkages - how processes of democratization are influenced by transnational relations.

Part 5. Democracy and Political Participation (Carol Galais) (4 sessions)

  1. Types (modes) of political participation
  2. To vote or not to vote. Theories on political participation 
  3. Protest 
  4. Attitudes and political participation. Interest, efficacy, trust (support) and duty

Part 6. Political conflict in Western Europe: Change and continuity (Macarena Ares) (2 sessions)

  1. TBC
  2. TBC

Methodology

This course emphasizes active student participation in class, tutorials, continous evaluation through the elaboration and evaluation of assignments related to the different dimensions of the module. 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lectures and seminars 63 2.52 1, 3, 27, 29, 6, 26, 11, 14, 18, 8, 13, 17, 19, 23, 22
Type: Supervised      
Tutorials 50 2 5, 24, 22
Type: Autonomous      
Preparation of assigned readings 100 4 5, 22
Preparation of course assignments 34.5 1.38 7, 24, 23, 22

Assessment

In this module, the main emphasis is on continuous assessment in order to ensure that the different dimensions and concepts related to the sessions are taken on board by students as we progress through the module. This is complemented by a final essay. Evaluation is based on the following criteria:

  • Capacity to synthesize the relevant literature
  • Capacity to critically evaluate the relevant literature
  • Coherence of the argument
  • Originality
  • Formal aspects, with special reference to correct citation and academic style

As noted in the Students Guide, we are committed to avoiding plagiarism, and as such every effort is made to detect and punish such cases. Anti-plagiarism software will be used to check every submission.

The evaluation is divided into the following elements:

a) Short essays (50%): During the term students will write 4 short essays (max 1200 words each).  Students must write one short essay for Part 1 and one short essay for Part 3. For the two remaining essays students can choose for which part they want to write the two remaining short essays (Part 2, Part 4, or Part 5). Please note that it is not possible to write a short essay for Part 6. The questions for the short essays will be posted in the Campus Virtual before the end of each part of the module. 

b) Final essay (50%): At the end of the course the instructors will post a set of research questions related to each part of the module. Students will have to answer one of these questions in an essay of not more than 2500 words. 

c) In-class participation (10%): Students are expected to have prepared the assigned readingsbefore coming to class and to take an active part in the sessions. It is compulsory to attend to a minimum of 80% of the sessions in order to pass this module.

Feedback: Comments on work will be available three weeks at the latest after submission. Please do not hesitate to contact the professors for this feedback.

Submission: Please submit your short essays and final essay through the Campus Virtual tasks section, where all graded submissions will be analyzed by the anti-plagiarism software.

Grading: All submissions will be graded with a numeric grade ranging from 0 to 10, being 10 the best grade.

Late submissions policy: A -1 point grade penalty will be applied for each day that a student is late with a graded submission.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Final Essay 50% 2 0.08 2, 1, 3, 25, 27, 28, 29, 5, 6, 7, 26, 20, 11, 10, 14, 15, 9, 18, 8, 13, 12, 16, 17, 19, 24, 21, 23, 4, 22, 30
In-class participation 10% 0.1 0 1, 24, 21, 23, 4, 22, 30
Short essays 40% 0.4 0.02 1, 3, 27, 29, 5, 6, 7, 26, 11, 14, 18, 8, 13, 17, 19, 24, 23, 22

Bibliography

 

  • Moore, Barrington (1966) The Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World. Boston: Beacon Press. Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 7.
  • Skocpol, Theda (1984) “Emerging Agendas and Recurrent Strategies”, in Skocpol (ed.) Vision and Method in Historical Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Mahoney, J. and Rueschemeyer D. (2003) “Comparative Historical Analysis: Achievements and Agendas”,inMahoney and Rueschemeyer (eds) Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Therborn, Göran (1977) The Rule of Capital and the Rise of Democracy New Left Review I/103, May-June pp. 3-41.
  • Rueschemeyer, D.,  Huber Stephens, E. and  Stephens, J.D. (1992) Capitalist Development and Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chapters 1-3.
  • Putnam et al., (1993) Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univesity Press. Chaps. 1-4.
  • Tarrow, Sidney (1996) “Making Social Science Work Across Space and Time: A Critical Reflection on Robert Putnam's Making Democracy Work”, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 90, No. 2 pp. 389-397.
  • Boix, Carles and Posner, Daniel (1996) “Making Social Capital Work: A Review of Robert Putnam's Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy”, Harvard University Paper, 96-4.

 

  • Wolinetz, S.B. (2002) ‘Beyond the Catch-All Party: Approaches to the Study of Parties and Party Organization in Contemporary Democracies’, in Gunther, R et al. Political Parties: Old Concepts and New Challenges. Available through Oxford Online Scholarship.
  • Schlesinger, J.A. and Mildred S. Schlesinger (2006), ‘Review article: Maurice Duverger and the Study of Political Parties’ French Politics, Vol. 4 (1).
  • Reiter, H.L. ‘The Study of Political Parties, 1906-2005: The View from the Journals’, American Political Science Review, Vol. 100, No. 4: 613-618
  • Optional: Sartori, G. (1976) Parties and Party Systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (reserved at UAB library with two red dots).
  • Gunther, R. And Larry Diamond (2003) ‘Species of Political Parties: A New Typology’, Party Politics Vol. 9. No. 2, pp. 167-199
  • Webb, P. (2007) Democracy and Political Parties. Hansard Society Report. Available at: http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Democracy-And-Political-Parties-2007.pdf
  • Dalton, R. J. and Steven A. Waldon (2005) ‘Public Images of Political Parties: A Necessary Evil?’ Western European Politics, Vol. 28, No. 5, pp. 931-951
  • van Parijs, Philippe. 1987. “A Revolution in Class Theory”, Politics & Society 15(2): 453- 482.
  • King, Desmond & David Rueda. 2008. “Cheap Labor: The New Politics of “Bread and Roses” in Industrial Democracies.” Perspective on Politics 6(2): 279.
  • Standing, Guy. 2011. The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class. Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 1-19.
  • Lorey, Isabell. 2015. State of Insecurity: Government of the Precarious. Verso. Introduction & Chapter 1.
  • Aytes, Ayhan. 2012. “Return of the Crowds: Mechanical Turk and Neoliberal States of Exception.” Digital Labor (Ed. Scholz). Routledge, pp. 79-97.
  • Emmenegger, P. et al. 2012. The Age of Dualization: The Changing Face of Inequality in Deindustrializing Societies. Oxford UP, Chapter 1.
  • Rueda, David. 2007. Social Democracy Inside Out: Partisanship and Labor Market Policy. Oxford. Chapter 2.
  • Berg, Jan. 2015. Labour Markets, Institutions and Inequality. ILO, Chapter 1. [available online]
  • Fine, Janice. 2007. “Worker Centers and Immigrant Women” in The Sex of Class: Women Transforming American Labor. Dorothy Sue Cobble (ed.) Cornell UP, pp. 211-230.
  • Strolovitch, Dara Z. 2013. “Of Mancessions and Hecoveries: Race, Gender, and the Political Construction of Economic Crisis and Recovery.” Perspectives on Politics 11: 167-76.
  • Mitchell, Timothy. 2011. Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil. Verso. Chapter 1
  • Lorey, Isabell. 2015. State of Insecurity: Government of the Precarious. Verso. Chapter 4.
  •  Bartels, Larry. 2009. Unequal Democracy. Princeton UP. Chapters 1 & 9.
  • Solt, Frederick. 2008. “Economic Inequality and Democratic Political Engagement” American Journal of Political Science 52 (1), 48–60.

 

  • Anduiza, E., Cantijoch, M., & Gallego, A. (2009). Political Participation and the Internet: A field essay. Information, Communication & Society, 12(6), 860. doi:10.1080/13691180802282720
  • Loader, B. D., & Mercea, D. (2011). Networking democracy? Social media innovations and participatory politics. Information, Communication & Society,14 (6), 757-769.
  • Neuman, W. R., Bimber, B., & Hindman, M. (2011). The Internet and four dimensions of citizenship. The Oxford handbook of American public opinion and the media, 22-42.
  • Khondker, H. H. (2011). Role of the new media in the Arab Spring. Globalizations, 8(5), 675-679.
  • Walgrave, S., Bennett, W. L., Van Laer, J., & Breunig, C. (2011). Multiple engagements and network bridging in contentious politics: digital media use of protest participants. Mobilization: An International Quarterly, 16(3), 325-349.
  • Van Laer, J. (2010). Activists online and offline: The internet as an information channel for protest demonstrations. Mobilization: An International Quarterly, 15(3), 347-366.
  • Anduiza, Eva; Camilo Cristancho, Jose M. Sabucedo (2014) Mobilization through online social networks: the political protest of the indignados in Spain, Information Communication & Society Volume 17, Issue 6, pp. 750-764
  • Bennett, Lance W. & Alexandra Segerberg (2012) The Logic of Connective Action, Information, Communication & Society, Vol 15, No. 5.
  • Gil de Zúñiga, H., Jung, N., & Valenzuela, S. (2012). Social media use for news and individuals' social capital, civic engagement and political participation. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 17(3), 319-336.
  • Shirky, C. (2011). Political Power of Social Media-Technology, the Public Sphere, and Political Change, The. Foreign Aff., 90, 28
  • Howard, P. N. (2006). Managed Citizenship and Information Technology. In: New media campaigns and the managed citizen. Cambridge University Press.
  • Sanne Kruikemeier, Guda van Noort, Rens Vliegenthart Claes H de Vreese (2013) Unraveling the effects of active and passive forms of political Internet use: Does it affect citizens’ political involvement? New Media & Society
  • Schlozman, K. L., Verba, S., & Brady, H. E. (2010). Weapon of the strong? Participatory inequality and the Internet. Perspectives on Politics, 8(02), 487-509.

 

 

 

Software

None