Democracy and the Practices

Course Code:

PSIR 422

Course Type:

Elective

P:

3

Application:

0

Credits:

3

ECTS:

15

Course Language:

İngilizce

Courses given by:

Ebru İlter AKARCAY

Course Objectives:

The objective of this course is to come up with the fullest possible understanding of the forces that shape contemporary democratic mass politics. We will maintain a consistently comparative approach, incorporating research into the politics of countries in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia whenever possible.

Course Content:

This course will focus on research questions related to how people around the world think about and participate in democratic politics. More specifically we will study crossnational differences and similarities in public opinion, voting behavior, social movements and mass protests. In the first part of the course, we will focus on the notion of democracy by looking at its definition, varieties of democratic regimes as well as the transition and consolidation process of democracy. In the second part of the course we will discuss the importance of political culture by looking at democratic values and public support for democratic regimes. In the next section we will try to explain the causes and consequences of voter turnout and other forms of political participation (e.g. protests, strikes and boycotts). The final section discusses how social cleavages, economic conditions, ideology, party identification and various other factors influence the voting behavior of people.

Course Methodology:

1: Lecture, 2: Discussion based lecture, 3: Case study, 4:Small group work, 5: Seminar, 6: Group work, 7: Research paper, 8: Oral presentation/exam, 9: Survey, 10: Panel, 11: Guest speaker, 12: Activities within a Student Body or Research Project.

Course Evaluation Methods:

A: Exam, B: Homework, C: Presentation, D: Discussion

Vertical Tabs

Course Learning Outcomes

Learning Outcomes	Program Learning Outcomes	Teaching Methods	Assessment Methods
Acquiring the skills required to compare and contrast various political systems with regards to their political institutions, and political processes.	2, 3, 5, 8, 9	1, 2, 3	A, D
Classifying political systems around the world with the objectives of identifying patterns that hold across a variety of political systems and spotting the differences displayed by these systems.	2, 3, 5, 7, 9	1, 2, 3	A, D
Upon the successful completion of the course, the students will be able to describe and account for the essential characteristics of a multitude of political systems around the world, including the defining and distinguishing features of the systems discussed.	2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10	1, 2, 3	A
Through various case studies, the course will enable the participants to apply the information they obtained in surveying the literature.	2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10	3	A, D

Course Flow

COURSE CONTENT
Week	Topics	Study Materials
1	Introduction
2	What is Democracy?	Philippe C. Schmitter and Terry Lynn Karl, (1996) “What Democracy Is…and Is Not,” in
3	Democratic Transition	• Samuel P. Huntington (1991) “Democracy’s Third Wave” Journal of Democracy 2(2). • Christian Welzel. ‘Theories of democratization’. Ch 6 in Christian W. Haerpfer et al. Democratization. pp74-88
4	Social Movements and Revolutions	• Rossi, Federico and Donatella della Porta. (2009). ‘Social movements, trade unions and advocacy networks.’ Ch 12 in Christian W. Haerpfer et al. Democratization pp.74-88 • Anderson, Lisa. (2011). Demystifying the Arab Spring: Parsing the Differences between Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. Foreign Affairs. 90 (May/June): 2-7.
5	Hybrid Regimes	• Faared Zakari (1997) “The Rise of Illiberal Democracy” Foreign Affairs, 76(6) • Steven Levitsky and Lucian A. Way, (2002) “The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism,” Journal of Democracy, pp. 51-65.
6	Democratic Consolidation	• Linz, Jaun J. and Alfred Stepan. (2001). “Toward Consolidated Democracies.” in L. Diamondand M. Plattner, Ed. The Global Divergence of Democracies, pgs. 93-112 • Andreas Schedler “Concepts of Democratic Consolidation” Paper prepared for delivery at the 1997 meeting of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), Guadalajara, Mexico,
7	Democratic Stability and Institutions: Parliamentary vs. Presidential Systems	• Juan J. Linz, “The Perils of Presidentialism” Journal of Democracy, Volume 1, Number 1, Winter 1990 pp. 51-69 • Stepan, Alfred and Cindy Skach. 1993. ‘Constitutional frameworks and democratic consolidation: Parliamentarism and presidentialism.’ World Politics 46 (1): 1-22.
8	Midterm
9	Democracy and Political Culture	• Christian Welzel and Ronald Inglehart. (2009). ‘Political culture, mass beliefs and value change.’ Ch 9 in Christian W. Haerpfer et al. Democratization. pp.126-143. • Fails, Matthew D. and Heather N. Pierce. 2010. ‘Changing Mass Attitudes and Democratic Deepening.’ Political Research Quarterly 63(1): 174-187. In Class Film and Discussion: Please Vote for Me—an Experiment in Democracy by Chinese 8- Year- Olds by Wiejun Chen
10	Political Culture in Non-Western Countries	• Tessler, Mark (2002)“Islam and Democracy in the Middle East: The Impact of Religious Orientations on Attitudes towards Democracy in Four Arab Countries”, Comparative Politics • Ciftci, Sabri.(2010).”Modernization, Islam, or Social Capital: What Explains Attitudes Toward Democracy in the Muslim World?”Comparative Political Studies 43(11): 1442-70.
11	Political Participation & Protests	• Dalton, Russell (2000) “Citizen Attitudes and Political Behavior” Comparative Political Studies, 33; 912-934. • Lois Becket, “Globalizing Occupy Wall Street: From Chile to Israel, Protests Erupt,” ProPublica.com, October 25, 2011 (online)
12	Voter Turnout	• Blais, André (2006). What Affects Voter Turnout? Annual Review of Political Science, 9, 111-125. • Dubner, Stephen J. and Steven D. Levitt. (2005). “Why Vote?” the New York Times November 6. (online)
13	Voting Behavior: Sociological, Economic and Strategic Voting	• Rui Antunes (2010) “Theoretical models of voting behavior” Exedra Journal, No.4 • Çarkoğlu, Ali (2008). “Ideology or Economic Pragmatism?: Profiling Turkish Voters in 2007” Turkish Studies. Vol.9 Issue. 2.
14	Final Review

Assessment

ASSESSMENT
IN-TERM STUDIES	NUMBER	PERCENTAGE
Mid-terms	1	30
Response Papers	2	20
Participation & Attandance	1	10
Final examination	1	40
Total		100
CONTRIBUTION OF FINAL EXAMINATION TO OVERALL GRADE		40
CONTRIBUTION OF IN-TERM STUDIES TO OVERALL GRADE		60
Total		100

Course’s Contribution to Program

COURSE'S CONTRIBUTION TO PROGRAM
No	Program Learning Outcomes	Contribution
No	Program Learning Outcomes	1	2	3	4	5
1	Having a comprehensive knowledge of the basic concepts and theories of Political Science and International Relations.				X
2	Comprehension and interpretation of the structure, institutions and operation of national, international and supranational entities via utilization of the concepts and theories of Political Science.					X
3	Having a comparative approach vis-à-vis human societies and political systems.					X
4	Possessing skills in taking personal responsibility as well as in participating group work that are developed by activities such as research projects and internships.	X
5	Having advanced level skills in reading, writing and speaking of the English language.					X
6	Proficiency in quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Paying utmost respect and attention to the norms of academic honesty.		X
7	Acquiring skills in written and oral communication combined with an analytical and critical approach that can be utilized either in a professional or an academic setting.				X
8	Having the social skills and experience required by public or private institutions or in the academia.				X
9	Having developed empathy towards societies other than one’s own so that adaptation to team work in local and global settings is easily achieved.					X
10	Acquiring advanced knowledge and proficiency in the interpretation of domestic and international developments via communication with international scholars and students.				X

ECTS

ECTS ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD BY THE COURSE DESCRIPTION
Activities	Quantity	Duration (Hour)	Total Workload (Hour)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	16	3	48
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	16	15	240
Mid-terms	1	30	30
Homework	1	40	40
Presentation	1	20	20
Total Work Load			378
Total Work Load / 25 (h)			15.12
ECTS Credit of the Course			15

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