Theories of Democracy
Political Science
About This Course
The aim of this course is to introduce you to the origins and the definition of the concept of democracy. The course intends to analyse not only the different components of a democratic political system, but also the methods that allow us to measure the democratic level of a government, its quality and legitimacy. Moreover, it is taken into account the different waves of democracy and the challenges that democracy faces worldwide.
Course Content
1. Origins of the democratic political system
a) Athenian democracy
b) Roman Republic
c) Modern democracies
2. Main components of a democracy
3. Measuring the democratic level of a political system
4. Waves of democracy
5. The process of democratization
6. The quality of a democracy
7. Legitimacy
8. The future of democracy
Bibliography
Cunningham, Frank. Theories of Democracy: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge, 2002.
Crick, Bernard. Democracy: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Dahl, Robert. On Democracy. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000.
Ljiphart, A. Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-six countries.
Held, D., Models of Democracy (2006).