POS 303: Comparative Democratization
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Department of Political Science and Public Administration
POS 303-01: Comparative Democratization
Spring 2012
Tuesday/Thursday 2:00-3:15
Instructor: Dr. David Faris
Office: AUD 757
Email: dfaris@roosevelt.edu
Office Phone: 312-322-7152
Office Hours: Tuesdays 3:30-5:30; Thursdays 3:30-4:30
Course Description:
For most of history, human beings have structured their political arrangements with different
forms of authoritarianism. But since the beginning of the 20th century, more and more
countries around the world have become political democracies. What has caused this massive
shift in human social organization? What is the future of democratic movements around the
globe? What are the social, economic, and political conditions that cause transitions to
democracy? And how do new democracies construct institutions and make decisions that
structure contentious politics? Beginning with an exploration of democracy, its history and its
meanings, this course provides a comparative, regional exploration that will help students
understand theories of democracy and democratization, and to think critically about debates
and issues surrounding democratization around the globe. The course will focus in class on
democracy and democratization in Ukraine, South Korea, and Egypt. Collaborative group
presentations will offer students an opportunity to study transitions in other countries beyond
these three primary case studies. Students are welcome to focus their individual projects on
any appropriate country or countries.
The course is not designed to force you to memorize facts, figures and dates but rather
to make you conversant in the major political questions and themes that characterize public
debate about the democratization. You will not just understand but be fluent in the kinds of
questions about democracy that policymakers, scholars, and opinion-leaders tackle on a daily
basis. I believe in question-oriented teaching. To that end we will be defining the questions we
will be tackling very early on in the semester. I will not be providing or transmitting “answers”
to you but rather building an environment where we can safely and vigorously brainstorm,
collaborate and engage in critical thinking. This is not a lecture-only course. On the contrary, to
help develop your skills as critical thinkers, we will be engaging in a variety of collaborative and
group activities in the classroom, designed to solve problems and offer answers to the toughest
questions facing those who consider questions of politics and policy. Students will also be asked
to develop their public speaking skills through presentations and discussions.
POS 303: Comparative Democratization
Required Texts:
The following texts are available for purchase in the university bookstore.
1. Christian W. Haerpfer, Patrick Bernhagen, Ronald F. Inglehart, and Christian Welzel,
eds., Democratization. Oxford University Press.
2. Bernard Crick. Democracy: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.
3. Kathryn Stoner and Michael McFaul eds., Transitions to Democracy: A Comparative
Perspective. Johns Hopkins University Press.
Other readings will be posted to Blackboard well in advance of class and are noted with a {BB}
Attendance and Punctuality:
Attendance for this course is optional. However, students who fail to show up for the day of
their group presentations will be assessed a 5% penalty that will be removed directly from their
final grade. This penalty will be assessed separately from your participation grade, which
depends on both evaluations from your group members and the instructor’s evaluation of your
conduct in class.
Crisis Policy
If you are experiencing difficulties with your health, personal life or any other crisis that is
affecting your ability to come to class and complete the work, it is imperative that you alert me
as soon as possible. The best path is to see someone at Roosevelt’s counseling center, who can
then alert all your professors that you are having trouble. This is very important: You cannot
come to me in April and tell me you’ve been having trouble since January. You’ll find that if you
come to me promptly, I will be very understanding and will work together with you to devise
strategies to get you through the class.
Grade Components
Mid-term Exam: There will be one exam, a midterm, on Monday, October 14th.
Research Sequence: Each student will write a 3,000-3,500 term paper, addressing course
themes in a country or group of countries from your working group. This paper serves as your
final exam. The paper will be a 3-part research sequence, comprised of a research proposal
(10%), complex synthesis (20%) and judgmental synthesis/final paper (70%). The detailed
research sequence is posted to Blackboard for you to review. Relevant dates are included in the
syllabus.
Weekly Quizzes: First thing each Tuesday a quiz on the past week’s readings will be
administered in class.
Working Groups: We will be forming 5 or 6 country-based working groups depending on
enrollment. The working groups will not require much collaboration outside of class, but will be
used in class to brainstorm ideas and problems relevant to your particular country, to workshop
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POS 303: Comparative Democratization
paper ideas, and to discuss the relevance of course themes relevant to your region. Students
will at the end of the semester evaluate the contributions of their fellow working group
members. More details about these working groups will follow during their formation next
week. Each group will make one 40-minute presentation on the transition to democracy in one
of the countries from Transitions to Democracy. Groups will receive a collective grade for their
presentations.
Participation: Your participation grade is an average of your fellow group members’ evaluation
of your semester-long work in the group, and the instructor’s evaluation of your contribution to
the class environment. The participation rubric for the instructor’s evaluation is as follows:
A: Student rarely misses class, contributes frequently with thoughtful comments clearly drawn
from a careful consideration of class materials.
B: Student rarely misses class, contributes occasionally with comments and questions that are
clearly drawn from a consideration of class materials.
C: Student misses class frequently, and participates with comments that betray a lack of
engagement with class materials. A C will also be assigned to students who attend class
diligently but never contribute to class discussions.
D: Student misses class very often and makes contributions to the class environment that are
an obvious distraction from the materials, ideas and issues under consideration.
F: Student rarely if ever shows up for class.
LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW - Fall 2013 full semester courses is 10/31/2013.
Prior to and including the first week of the fall or spring semester sessions, students may drop
one or more courses with no record of the class appearing on the transcript. In weeks two
through ten of the fall or spring semester, students may complete a Change in Registration
form in person or by fax.
The form is found on the web at http://www.roosevelt.edu/registrar/forms. Online
withdrawals after the semester has begun are not an option. The course will be recorded on
the transcript with the notation of "W" indicating that the student withdrew.
After week ten of the fall or spring semester students may not withdraw from courses without
completing a Petition for Late Withdrawal form found
at http://www.roosevelt.edu/registrar/forms. The petition form requires the student’s
signature and the approval of the instructor, department chair, dean or dean’s designee. It also
requires a statement of the non-academic reason for your late withdrawal, including reason
student was unable to withdraw by deadline, AND, documentation.
Withdrawing from courses may have serious consequences for academic progress towards the
degree, for financial aid eligibility, for repayment of refunds, visa requirements (for
international students), and eligibility for competition (for student athletes). Students should
consult carefully with their instructors and academic advisors and must meet with a financial
aid advisor before withdrawing from classes after the semester has begun. Tuition Refund
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POS 303: Comparative Democratization
Schedule and Withdrawal deadlines are published for each semester and for summer session
on the Important Dates page of the website
at http://www.roosevelt.edu/registrar/ImportantDates
Grading
Note: I reserve the right to adjust grades on the margin based on a shared understanding of
your contribution to the group learning environment.
Mid-term 25%
Research Sequence/Term Paper: 35%
Quizzes 20%
Presentations: 10%
Participation: 10%
The grading scale is as follows. Grades will be rounded down below .5, and rounded up for .5.9 – i.e. an 89.4 is an 89, but an 89.5 is a 90.
92.5 – 100% : A
89.5 – 92.4%: A79.5 – 82.4%: B-
86.5 – 89.4%: B+
82.5 – 86.4%: B
69.5 – 72.4%: C-
76.5 – 79.4%: C+
72.5 – 76.4%: C
0 – 59.4%: F
66.5 – 69.4%: D+
59.5 – 66.4%: D
University Policy on Absence to Observe Religious Holidays
Roosevelt University respects the rights of students to observe major religious holidays and will
make accommodations, upon request, for such observances. Students who wish to observe
religious holidays must inform their instructors in writing within the first two weeks of the
semester of their intent to observe the holiday so that alternative arrangements convenient to
both students and faculty can be made at the earliest opportunity. See the student handbook
for further details.
Academic Integrity
Committing plagiarism or other academic dishonesty (e.g., cheating) will result in a grade of 0
(zero) for the assignment in question, and will result in formal notification of the incident to
your major department chair, college dean, and the University’s Assistant V. P. for Student
Services. Further disciplinary action may be pursued depending on the circumstances of the
incident and may result in expulsion from the university. There are no exceptions to this policy.
It is your responsibility to know and follow the official Roosevelt University description of
academic integrity.
Written assignments are due on the assigned due dates and promptly at the times specified
on the assignments. Late assignments will be penalized as follows:
 1 min – 12 hours past due: -5%
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POS 303: Comparative Democratization
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12 hours to 24 hours past due: -10%
24 hours to 36 hours past due: -20%
36 hours to 48 hours past due: -30%
48 hours past due: Assignments not accepted (zero credit earned)
You are responsible for sending the correct file in the correct format. Emails without
attachments, or emails containing files other than Word documents, will be regarded as not
fulfilling the assignment. You may not under any circumstances:
 Claim that you saved the email in draft form but simply forgot to send it
 Claim that you sent the email to the wrong address
 Claim that you wrote the paper but simply forgot to send it to me
 Claim that you emailed me but forgot to attach the assignment
 Claim that the Internet is down where you live
 Claim that your document was lost in a catastrophic computer crash
 Claim that your document was lost, stolen or otherwise corrupted
 Email me days later with a different file claiming the file you sent me the first time was
the wrong one. If you send the wrong file, you MUST realize and rectify the error within
the timeframe of the due date.
Exceptions to policies surrounding the turning in of assignments will only be granted in the
case of severe illness or emergency occurring within 24 hours of the due date, which must be
documented with written proof.
Class Schedule
Note: Readings are to completed before the class period for which they are assigned.
Week 1: WHAT IS DEMOCRACY?
Friday, August 23rd
In class: Logistics and Introductions
Read: Monday, August 26th
In class: Lecture
Read: Crick pp. 1-31; Haerpfer Ch. 2, pp. 10-22.
Wednesday, August 28th
NO CLASS; FARIS AT AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Weeks 2-3: DEMOCRATIC HISTORY
Monday, September 2nd
NO CLASS; LABOR DAY
Wednesday, September 4th
In-class: Lecture
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POS 303: Comparative Democratization
Read: Crick, 32-90.
Monday, September 9th
In-class: Discussion
Read: Crick, pp. 91-130; Haerpfer et. al. Chapter 4 (41-54)
Wednesday, September 11th
In-class: Collaborative work, discussion
Read: Haerpfer et. al. Chapter 5 (pp. 55-73)
Week 4: THEORIES OF DEMOCRATIZATION/Ukraine
Monday, September 16th
In-class: Lecture
Read: Haerpfer et. al. Chapter 6, 74-90; Rustow, Dankwart. “Transitions to Democracy: Toward
a Dynamic Model.” Comparative Politics 2/3 (April 1970): 337-363. {BB}; Haerpfer et. al.
Chapter 20, pp. 309-320.
Wednesday, September 18th
In-class: Lecture
Read: Stoner and McFaul Chapter 5 (“Ukraine”), pp. 120-141. Timothy Garton Ash and Timothy
Snider. “The Orange Revolution.” New York Review of Books, April 28th, 2005 {BB}; Lucan
Way, “The Real Causes of the Orange Revolution.” {BB}
Week 5: EXTERNAL FACTORS AND DEMOCRACY/Ukraine
Monday, September 23rd
In-class: Lecture: The Democracy Promotion Industry
Read: Haerpfer et. al. Chapter 7 (92-105); Carothers, Thomas “Democracy Promotion During
and After Bush” {BB}. Aslund and McFaul, Revolution in Orange, Chapters 7 and 8 (pp. 125165). {BB}
Wednesday, September 25th
In-class: Group Presentation #1: Serbia
Read: Stoner and McFaul Chapter 4, “Serbia.” Pp. 91-119.
Week 6: CIVIL SOCIETY/Ukraine
Monday, September 30th
In-class: Lecture: Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times
Read: Aslund and McFaul, Revolution in Orange Chapters 3-4 (pp.45-84) {BB}. Haerpfer et. al.
Chapter 11, pp. 158-169
Wednesday, October 2nd
In-class: Presentation #2: South Africa.
Read: Haerpfer et. al. Chapter 22, pp. 339-355; Stoner and McFaul Chapter 7, “South Africa.”
pp. 168-191.
Week 7 DEMOCRATIC FATIGUE/Ukraine
Monday, October 7th
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POS 303: Comparative Democratization
In-class: Lecture, “After the Revolution”
Read: Haerpfer et. al. Chapter 14 (pp. 201-215) Henry E. Hale, “The Uses of Divided Power.”
Journal of Democracy 21/3 (July 2010): 84-98. {BB}; “Orange and Blue.” The New Yorker {BB}
Wednesday, October 9th
In-class: Discussion, midterm review
Read: --Week 8: ORIGINS OF TRANSITION IN SOUTH KOREA
Monday, October 14th
In-class: MID-TERM EXAMINATION
Wednesday, October 16th
In-class: Lecture “Economic and Political Reform”
Read: Haerpfer et. al. Chapter 8 107-125; Stoner and McFaul Chapter 11, “South Korea.” pp.
266-289. Scalapino, Robert A. “Democratizing Dragons: South Korea and Taiwan.” Journal of
Democracy 4/3 (July 1993): 70-83. {BB}. Haerpfer et. al. Chapter 23, pp. 356-376.
Week 9: VALUES AND CULTURE/South Korea
Monday, October 21st
In-class: Lecture
Read: Haerpfer et. al. Chapter 9, 126-144; Yu-tzung Chang, Yun-han Chu, and Chong-Min Park.
“Authoritarian Nostalgia in Asia.” Journal of Democracy 18/3 (July 2007): 66-80. {BB}
Due: Research Sequence Part I, Research Proposal (500 words)
Wednesday, October 23rd
NO CLASS; FARIS AT BOOK LAUNCH EVENT IN PHILADELPHIA
Week 10: CIVIL SOCIETY AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS/South Korea
Monday, October 28th
In-Class: Lecture
Read: Haerpfer et. al. Chapter 12, 172-175; Lorenzo Fioramontia and Antonio Fiori, “The
Changing Roles of Civil Society in Democratization: Evidence from South Africa and South
Korea.” Africa and Asian Studies (2010). {BB}.
Wednesday, October 30th
In-class: Presentation # 3: Chile
Read: Stoner and McFaul Chapter 8, “Chile.” pp. 192-218. Haerpfer Chapter 19, pp. 290-308.
Week 11: GENDER AND DEMOCRATIZATION/South Korea
Monday, November 4th
In-class: Lecture
Read Haerpfer et. al. Chapter 10, 145-157; Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris, “Cultural
Obstacles to Equal Representation.” Journal of Democracy 12/3 (July 2001): 126-140. {BB}
Seungsook Moon, “Women and Civil Society in South Korea,” pp. 125-44 . {BB}
Wednesday, November 6th
In-class: Presentation #4: China
Read: Stoner and McFaul Chapter 15, “China.” pp. 378-399.
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POS 303: Comparative Democratization
Week 12: FAILED TRANSITIONS/Egypt
Monday, November 11th
In-class: Lecture “Egypt from Coup to Revolution”
Read: TBD reading on Egypt {BB}; Haerpfer et. al. Chapter 21, pp. 321-337.
Wednesday, November 13th
In-class: Discussion
Read: Mona El-Ghobashy, “The Praxis of the Egyptian Revolution” {BB}; David Faris and Erin
Snider, “Democracy Promotion in Egypt” {BB}
Week 13: ELECTORAL SYSTEMS/Egypt
Monday, November 17th
In-class: Lecture “Electoral Systems and Democratization”
Read: Haerpfer et. al. Chapter 15, pp. 219-233; David Faris, “Constituting Institutions” Middle
East Policy (Spring 2012) {BB}; Horowitz, David. “Electoral Systems: A Primer For Decision
Makers.” Journal of Democracy 14/4 (October 2003):
Due: Research Sequence Part 2: Complex Synthesis (1,500-2,000 words)
Wednesday, November 19th
In-class: Presentation #5: Algeria
Read: Stoner and McFaul Chapter 13 “Algeria.” pp. 319-341.
Week 14: NO CLASS NOVEMBER 24TH AND 26TH; THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Week 15: THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY AND DEMOCRATIZATION
Monday, December 2nd
In-class: Lecture “The future of democratization”;
Read: Haerpfer et. al.Chapter 24, pp377- 385; Haerpfer et. al. Chapter 17 pp. 249-265;
Carothers, “The End of the Transitions Paradigm.” {BB}
Wednesday, December 4th
In-class: Wrap and farewell
Due Monday, December 9: Research Sequence Part 3: Judgmental Synthesis/Final Paper
(3,000-3,500 words)
Important Notes:
*Students with disabilities may request special accommodations. Students must let me know
within the first two weeks of the semester if this is the case, and they also must contact Nancy
Litke in the Academic Success Center (312-384-3810).
* You must purchase or acquire the books for this class.
*Students are required to abide by the University’s Code of Student Conduct. Students who
plagiarize or cheat will receive a zero for the assignment and will be referred to the university
for disciplinary action.
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POS 303: Comparative Democratization
*Cell phones, mp3 players and other personal electronic devices must be switched off during
class. You may use your laptop for note-taking, but students using their laptops for personal
communication during class will be asked to stop.
*There is no eating during class. You may bring drinks with lids or caps.
*Enrolling in this course constitutes acceptance of these policies.
FURTHER READING AND RESOURCES
ORGANIZATIONS AND INTEREST GROUPS
Freedom House
www.freedomhouse.org
National Endowment For Democracy
www.ned.org
Transparency International
www.transparency.org
Carnegie Endowment For International Peace
www.carnegieendowment.org
Council on Foreign Relations
www.cfr.org
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
www.thechicagocouncil.org
Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law
http://cddrl.stanford.edu/
MAJOR ACADEMIC, PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS (General)
Journal of Democracy
Democratization
Comparative Politics
Foreign Affairs
Third World Quarterly
Comparative Political Studies
American Political Science Review
International Studies Quarterly
Electoral Studies
MAJOR ACADEMIC, PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS (Region-Specific)
Journal of Communism and Post-Communism
Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization
Journal of East European Studies
Latin American Politics and Society
Journal of Latin American Studies
African Affairs
Journal of Southern African Studies
Asian Affairs
East Asia
Journal of East Asian Affairs
Middle East Policy
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POS 303: Comparative Democratization
Middle East Journal
Middle East Quarterly
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