Universität Wien

210144 SE M11: Research Practice: Understanding De-Democratization (2024S)

12.00 ECTS (4.00 SWS), SPL 21 - Politikwissenschaft
Continuous assessment of course work
ON-SITE

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Studierende, die der ersten Einheit unentschuldigt fern bleiben, verlieren ihren Platz in der Lehrveranstaltung.

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Die Lehrveranstaltungsleitung kann Studierende zu einem notenrelevanten Gespräch über erbrachte Teilleistungen einladen.
Th 02.05. 11:30-14:45 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 35 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Thursday 14.03. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 21.03. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 11.04. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 18.04. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 25.04. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 16.05. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 23.05. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 06.06. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 13.06. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 20.06. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock
Thursday 27.06. 11:30 - 14:45 Hörsaal 2 (H2), NIG 2.Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Aims of the seminar
There is wide agreement, within and without the academy, that democracy is under severe threat. New authoritarian and “illiberal” forces are said to attack and, when in power, gradually erode democratic institutions across the world. While Samuel Huntington in the early 1990s charted a “third wave of democratisation,” political scientists have recently spoken of a “third wave of autocratisation.” The 2023 report by the Swedish Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute, the institution that has created the currently most widely-used democracy index, indeed observes that “In a decade, the level of democracy enjoyed by the average global citizen has deteriorated to levels last seen in 1986 – more than 35 years ago.”

How can we make sense of these developments? This in-depth, research-oriented seminar addresses this timely and pressing question, equipping students with a good sense of the major debates and controversies in the field. The seminar divides into four parts. The first part (“foundational texts and critical reflections”) engages with the foundational texts in this emerging field of study, and critically reflects on some of the core concepts used, notably the notion of “democratic backsliding.” The second part (“measurement”) deals extensively with the most influential index for measuring the quality of democracy, the V-Dem index, exploring its conceptual foundations, coding strategy and use of empirical indicators. The third part (“cases, actors and mechanisms”) looks at a variety of different explanations for why de-democratization occurs, ranging from authoritarian parties’ hegemonic strategies to citizens’ attitudes about democracy to the influence of supranational and international agents on domestic democratic development. Finally, the fourth part (“remedies”) asks how de-democratization might be halted, examining proposals such as the strengthening of “democratic resilience” in fragile political systems. Throughout, the seminar connects cutting-edge scholarship in comparative politics with related debates in legal studies and political theory, taking a distinctly interdisciplinary approach to de-democratization

Assessment and permitted materials

Seminar presence and participation (students must not miss more than one session): 10% of the grade
• Four reflection papers on the readings: 12% of the grade (short papers raising two to three questions about the readings with an explaining paragraph, to be posted at noon the day prior to the class on Moodle)
• A literature review of the foundational texts (2000-2500 words): 13% of the grade
• A group project on a measurement-related assignment, to be discussed in class (3000 words) (Draft paper should at least have a research question, state of the art section, research design section): 15% of the grade
• An outline of a final research proposal on a de-democratization related topic: 15% of the grade
• Final research proposal (5000 words): 35% of the grade, to be submitted after the final session
Please note that written assignments might be checked for plagiarism using the Turnitin software

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

See above

Examination topics

See above

Reading list

Please note that a detailed reading list will be on moodle.
Indicative reading:

Bohle, Dorothee, Béla Greskovits, and Marek Naczyk. 2023. “The Gramscian Politics of Europe’s Rule of Law Crisis.” Journal of European Public Policy, 1–24.

Diamond, Larry 2021. “Democratic regression in comparative perspective: scope, methods, and causes.” Democratization 28 (1): 22-42.

Ginsburg, Tom, Aziz Z. Huq. 2022. “The Pragmatics of Democratic ‘Front-Sliding’.” Ethics & International Affairs 36 (4): 437-53.

Khaitan, Tarunabh. 2019. “Executive aggrandizement in established democracies: A crisis of liberal democratic constitutionalism.” International Journal of Constitutional Law 17 (1): 342-56.

Levitsky, Steven and Daniel Ziblatt 2018. How Democracies Die, chap. 1. NY: Crown.

Lührmann, Anna & Staffan I. Lindberg. 2019. “A third wave of autocratization is here: what is new about it?” Democratization 26 (7): 1095-1113.

Samuels, David J. (2023) “The International Context of Democratic Backsliding: Rethinking the Role of Third Wave ‘Prodemocracy’ Global Actors.” Perspectives on Politics 21 (3): 1001-12.

Waldner, David and Ellen Lust 2018. “Unwelcome change: Coming to terms with democratic backsliding.” Annual Review of Political Science 21: 93-113.
Wolkenstein, Fabio. 2023. “What is Democratic Backsliding?” Constellations 30 (3): 261-75.


Association in the course directory

Last modified: Tu 05.03.2024 11:06