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Democracy in a Global World

Code: 104476 ECTS Credits: 6
2024/2025
Degree Type Year
2503778 International Relations OB 3

Contact

Name:
Joan Ricart Angulo
Email:
joan.ricart@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

None


Objectives and Contextualisation

The course aims to provide students with the tools that allow them to analyze democratic systems and their different aspects, their evolution over time and the factors that may condition them in recent years and in the future.

Competences

  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Analyse the behaviour of international actors, both state and non-state.
  • Apply quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques in research processes.
  • Identify and analyse the main challenges for democracy in a global world.
  • Identify data sources and carry out rigorous bibliographical and documentary searches.
  • Learn and analyse the impacts of the globalisation process on domestic political systems and on the behaviour of the political actors and the public.
  • Make changes to methods and processes in the area of knowledge in order to provide innovative responses to society's needs and demands.
  • Produce and prepare the presentation of intervention reports and/or proposals.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  • Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  • Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Use metatheoretical data to argue and establish plausible relation of causality and establish ways of validating or rejecting them.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse how the EU and other actors manage the problems posed by the promotion of democracy and the rule-of-law state in the world.
  2. Analyse the impact of the globalisation process in the public policies of the main states of the European Union, and their interrelationship with democracy and the rule-of-law state in the world.
  3. Analyse the indicators of sustainability of academic and professional activities in the areas of knowledge, integrating social, economic and environmental dimensions.
  4. Analyse the sex- or gender-based inequalities and the gender biases present in one's own area of knowledge.
  5. Apply quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques in research processes.
  6. Communicate using language that is not sexist or discriminatory.
  7. Consider how gender stereotypes and roles impinge on the exercise of the profession.
  8. Critically analyse the principles, values and procedures that govern the exercise of the profession.
  9. Explain the explicit or implicit code of practice of one's own area of knowledge.
  10. Identify data sources and carry out rigorous bibliographical and documentary searches.
  11. Identify the principal forms of sex- or gender-based inequality and discrimination present in society.
  12. Identify the social, economic and environmental implications of academic and professional activities within the area of your own knowledge.
  13. In accordance with the theoretical and analytical information acquired, analyse the big challenges for democracy in a global world and the different solutions proposed to manage them.
  14. Make a comparative analysis of the state of democracy and the rule-of-law state in different countries and political regimes.
  15. Produce and prepare the presentation of intervention reports and/or proposals.
  16. Propose new experience-based methods or alternative solutions.
  17. Propose new ways to measure success or failure when implementing ground-breaking proposals or ideas.
  18. Propose projects and actions in accordance with the principles of ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights, diversity and democratic values.
  19. Propose projects and actions that incorporate the gender perspective.
  20. Propose viable projects and actions that promote social, economic and environmental benefits.
  21. Propose ways to evaluate projects and actions for improving sustainability.
  22. Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  23. Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  24. Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  25. Students must develop the necessary learning skills to undertake further training with a high degree of autonomy.
  26. Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
  27. Use metatheoretical data to argue and establish plausible relation of causality and establish ways of validating or rejecting them.
  28. Weigh up the impact of any long- or short-term difficulty, harm or discrimination that could be caused to certain persons or groups by the actions or projects.
  29. Weigh up the risks and opportunities of one's own ideas for improvement and proposals made by others.

Content

In recent decades, democracy as a political system has gone from its moment of maximum expansion (as a result of the rise of the Soviet bloc from 1989) to a time of crisis and questioning.
										
											
										
											We will analyze the fundamental elements of democratic systems, both at the institutional level and in terms of the underlying values and the relationship between institutions and citizenship, and we will assess their evolution over time.
										
											
										
											We will also analyze the risk factors for the maintenance of democracies, both the globalization of the turn of the century and the emergence of nationalist and authoritarian movements in the wake of the 2008 global crisis.
										
											
										
											The subject will deal with the following topics:
										
											
										
											1. The foundations of democracy
										
											2. The expansion of democratic systems in the late twentieth century
										
											3. The challenges of democracy: globalization
										
											4. The challenges of democracy: the crisis of 2008
										
											5. The evolution of democratic systems: the indices of democracy
										
											6. Political culture and democratic health
										
											7. Political competence and democracy
										
											8. System response and democracy
										
											9. Gender and democracy
										
											10. What a democracy in what world

Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Presentation and discussion of readings 20 0.8 8, 5, 27, 6, 15, 10, 29, 16, 17, 20, 26, 25, 24, 22, 23
Theorical lessons 32 1.28 1, 13, 14
Type: Supervised      
Exam 2 0.08 5, 27, 15, 26, 25, 22
Tutorials 15 0.6 8, 9, 18, 19, 26, 25, 22, 23
Type: Autonomous      
Final Project 30 1.2 1, 2, 4, 13, 5, 27, 6, 15, 10, 11, 17, 19, 25, 24, 22, 23, 7, 14
Mandatory readings 15 0.6 1, 2, 13, 10, 25, 23, 14
Study of learning materials introduced in class 30 1.2 1, 2, 13, 26, 22, 23, 14 

The sessions of the subject are divided into three types: a) theoretical lessons to introduce the contents of the subject, b) lessons in which the students will present the evolution of their final projects and their final conclusions, and c) In-class debates on these readings.

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.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Final Exam 50% 2 0.08 1, 2, 13, 5, 27, 15, 10, 26, 25, 22, 23, 14
Final Project on Democracy Indexes 40% 3.4 0.14 1, 2, 4, 13, 5, 27, 6, 15, 10, 11, 16, 17, 19, 26, 25, 24, 22, 23, 7, 14
Participation in debates 10% 0.6 0.02 8, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 11, 29, 21, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 23, 7, 28

1. Written exam (50%). This will assess knowledge acquired by students both at the master classes and at the presentations and discussion of academic readings.

2. Final Project (40%). This mark will include the student's progress, the originality of the proposal, and its results.

3. Participation in class dicussions (10%). This percentage of the final mark could be absorbed by the exam if there is not a sufficient number of presencial lectures.

To pass the subject it is necessary to pass both the Final project as well as the final exam.

The student who performs any irregularity (copy, plagiarism, identity theft...) will be qualified with 0 in this assignment or exam. In case there are several irregularities, the final grade of the subject will be 0.

In accordance with article 117.2 of the UAB Academic Regulations, the assessment of repeat students may consist of a single synthesis test. Repeating students who wish to take advantage of this possibility will need to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course.

Students will be entitled to the revaluation of the subject. They should present a minimum of activities that equals two-thirds of the total grading.

 

Single Evaluation:

The student that following the established procedures choses to take the single evaluation must carry out the following tasks:

1.- Final paper on any of the subjects proposed by the teaching team (30%). It must be delivered the day of the final exam.

2.- Written Essay on any of the readings proposed by the teaching team (20%). It must be delivered the day of the final exam.

3.- Final Exam (50%).

 


Bibliography

ARENDT, H. (1963) On Revolution. Penguin Books (available online in pdf here)

DAHL, R. A. (1989) Democracy and Its Critics New Haven ; Yale University Press
 
HUNTINGTON, S. P. (1991) The Third Wave : Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. University of Oklahoma press

INNERARITY, D. (2019) Una teoría de la democracia compleja. Galaxia Guttenberg

KALDOR, M. (2003) "The idea of global civil society" in The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Vol. 79, No 3, pp. 583-593 (digital version at UAB library)

LEVITSKY, S. i ZIBLATT, D. How democracies die. Crown (Spanish version at UAB library)

LIJPHART, A. (1999) Patterns of democracy. Yale  (digital version at UAB library)

MORLINO, L. (2012) Changes for Democracy: Actors, Structures, Processes. Oxford: Oxford University Press (digital version at UAB library)

MACPHERSON, C. B. (1977) The life and times of liberal democracy. Oxford

SASSEN, S. (2003) "The Participation of State and Citizens in Global Governance" in Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, Vol. 10, issue 1, pp. 5-28 (digital version at UAB library)

SNYDER, T. (2018) The road to unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America. Tim Duggan

TOCQUEVILLE, A. (1835) La democràcia a Amèrica (diverses edicions)

The Economist Democracy Index https://www.eiu.com/topic/democracy-index

V DEM Democracy report https://www.v-dem.net/media/filer_public/f0/5d/f05d46d8-626f-4b20-8e4e-53d4b134bfcb/democracy_report_2020_low.pdf

FREEDOM HOUSE Freedom in the world https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2020/leaderless-struggle-democracy


Software

Microsoft Excel could be required when analyzing the data of democratic indexes


Language list

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(SEM) Seminars 1 English second semester morning-mixed
(TE) Theory 1 English second semester morning-mixed