Democracy and Development
Module Code: PO3670
Module Name: Democracy and Development
- ECTS Weighting: 10
- Semester/Term Taught: Michaelmas + Hilary Term
- Contact Hours: 2 lectures per week; 1 tutorial per fortnight
- Module Personnel: Lecturer - Professor Christian Houle/ Lecturer Professor Tom Pegram
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
- Outline the emergence, survival and breakdown of democratic regimes
- Describe the relationship between political institutions, development and democratic quality
- Identify factors which foster democracy
- Critically assess the impact of economic development on democracy
- Evaluate the consequences of democracy on political accountability and the rule of law
- Analyze democracy and development in Latin America
Module Learning Aims
By the end of this course, students will be familiar with major themes and debates in comparative politics scholarship and their application to a variety of issue-areas related to democracy and development. They will have a good command of both rational choice and sociological explanations of political outcomes.
Module Content
Semester 1 module content: Semester 1 will examine the theoretical and empirical bases of arguments that relate democratic governments and economic development. It will consider different conceptions of democracy and the conditions under which they emerge and survive. We will concentrate on theories that explain the emergence of democracy using 1) economic development; 2) economic inequality; 3) resource wealth; 4) culture; or 5) the international economic and political order.
Semester 2 module content: Semester 2 will explore key questions facing scholars of contemporary Latin American politics and the variable ‘quality’ of democracy in the region. The course begins by considering a variety of approaches towards defining and conceptualising democracy. It will then consider a range of thematic domains central to processes of political competition, participation, and responsiveness in Latin America, including: (1) presidentialism, (2) accountability, (3) the rule of law, (4) civil society, and (5) human rights.
Recommended Reading List
Acemoglu, D. and J. Robinson. 2006. Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. Cambridge University Press.
Przeworski, A., Alvarez, M., Cheibub, J.A. and Limongi, F. 2000.Democracy and Development: Political Regimes and EconomicWell-being in the World, 1950-1990. Cambridge University Press.Assessment Details
2 essays counting for 12.5% each
Term Tests: No
1 x 3-hour examination