PLSC 221 - Democratization

Credit(s): 3
Lecture: 3
Non-Lecture: 0
Democracy as both a political ideal and institutionalized system is relatively new in historical terms: the eighteenth century counted only three such polities (The US, the French Republic, and the Swiss Cantons). This number has increased steadily over time, even leading some to predict a trend toward near-total democratization globally. In what is termed the third wave of democratization, over 80 countries around the world have moved from authoritarian to democratic systems, albeit sometimes slowly and in partial measure, just since the mid- 1970s. However, there is no single clear path toward democratization, and the methods for - or even possibility of - assisting countries toward democratic goals remains a topic of acute political controversy. Offered every year.