Democratization in Asia

Catalog description

A course which identifies components of democracy, such as definitions, measures, datasets, and the democratization process. PL SC (ASIA) 465Y Democratization in Asia (3) (IL) This class is an upper-level seminar on democratization in Asia. How do countries move from having an authoritarian regime to a democratic government? Why are some democratic governments stable while others are not? In this class, we will focus on democratization theory and how it applies to countries in Asia. This course is organized into two parts. In the first part of the course, we will discuss democracy and democratization theory. We will cover such components as: definitions, measures, datasets, and the different stages of the democratization process. In the second part of the course, we will apply these concepts and measures to specific Asian countries. Course topics will be explored through readings from textbooks, articles, datasets, and media sources. By the end of the course, students will have a deep knowledge about a wide range of Asian countries. Students will develop the skills to compare countries, will understand the democratization process within Asia, and will be able to generalize from their knowledge to evaluate democratization events around the world. Finally, students will gain a deeper understanding of what is democracy and how easy or difficult it is to install and maintain. This course fulfills the distribution requirement for comparative politics, as well as the advanced and related course requirements for Political Science majors. In addition, the course fulfills the supporting course requirement for International Politics majors and the related areas requirement for Asian Studies majors. Finally, the course fulfills the requirements for writing across the curriculum and other cultures.