TOPIC: Democratization and Its Enemies
The world is democratizing.  Over the past two decades, more countries have
changed from authoritarian regimes to democracies than at any other time in
history.  This democratic wave has swept across most of the globe:
democratic transitions have occurred in Europe, Africa, Latin America, South
America, and Asia.  This course provides students the opportunity to explore
the politics, economics, and social effects of these modern transitions to
democracy.

This course allows students to investigate the causes and consequences of
democratic transitions.  Students will read and discuss current theories
regarding democratic transitions.  These theories include explanations such
as culture, political institutions, economic institutions, wealth,
education, religion, the relationship between the military and the people,
and the nature of civil society.  Students will apply these theories to a
number of cases where such transitions have succeeded and failed, in an
effort to analyze and evaluate the state of our understanding about
democracy and its genesis.

The course's general orientation is discussion -- it is rare that a
"straight lecture" ever takes place.  These discussions are supported by
homework involving reading and writing, group and individual in-class
assignments, and quizzes.  The course is designed so that the mid term and
the final exams together account for a minority of the student's final
grade.