The challenge of combating global terrorism and yet maintaining an
open society is a test that is confronting the United States today.
To protect and serve as well as safeguard liberty is the role for
every police department. However, there is a paradox between the two
roles. Democratic policing involves a compromise between protecting
the society and ensuring that citizens are protected from the
police. The police play an important role in handling the severe
threat of terrorism, suicide bombers and weapons of mass destruction
while also maintaining an open society. This course examines the
issues of democratic policing by primarily focusing upon India, the
largest democracy in the world where plural, diverse and multi-
religious society presents an extraordinary challenge of governance
by democratic means. The course will supplement the study of police
in India with that in the US, UK, Japan, Russia, South Africa,
emerging democracies of Eastern Europe and some other countries to
understand how this paradox is being resolved around the world.
Further, special topics like Human Rights, Order Maintenance, Social
and Religious Conflicts, Terrorism as also the problems of
minorities will also be examined in this context to understand the
challenges and responses of democratic police systems.
The course requirements will be short review papers and a final term
paper. The review papers will be evaluative studies of particular
topics and societies while the final term paper will be an
analytical study of policing a democratic society.

Required Text:
Course Reader
Additional readings will be given in class

Evaluation:
Review papers		50%
Term Paper		50%

Class Meeting:  Tuesday and Thursday, 1:00-2:15

Instructor:  Professor Arvind Verma, criminal justice department