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PI4583: DEMOCRATIZATION (2020-2021)

Last modified: 05 Aug 2021 13:04


Course Overview

This course offers a broad introduction to the changing nature of why countries become and stay democratic and to the problems of putting democracy into practice in today’s world. The module introduces to the process of conducting empirical research by introducing the nature, limitations and possible applications of different analytical tools, and research methods including simple quantitative analysis.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 4
Term Second Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Kathrin Thomas

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • Either International Relations (IR) or Politics (PI)
  • Either Programme Level 4 or Programme Level 5
  • Any Undergraduate Programme

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

  • PI4083 Democratization (Studied)

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

The study of politics frequently focuses on explanation – what are the causes and/or consequences of features of the political world? It is not enough to know that a country has a president or a prime minister, or that it is a democracy or an autocracy. Rather, when engaging in the study of politics, we are often concerned with understanding why this is true and/or what the consequences are. Increasingly, people around the world seem to agree that democracy is the only legitimate and feasible form of government. But what exactly does ‘democracy’ mean? This course offers a broad introduction to the changing nature of why countries become and stay democratic and to the problems of putting democracy into practice in today’s world. The module introduces to the process of conducting empirical research by introducing the nature, limitations and possible applications of different analytical tools, and research methods including simple quantitative analysis. This course explores contemporary empirical research on democratization in an effort to answer the question: can democracy and democratization be studied ‘scientifically’? In addition, it re-emphasizes how researchers in PIR go about defining research questions and how apply empirical evidence to study them.


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Policy Brief (25%)

Online Quiz (25%)

Essay (50%)

 

Resit (for students who took the course in Academic Year 2020/21):  

Policy Brief (25%)

Online Quiz (25%)

Essay (50%)

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ProceduralEvaluateCritically evaluate previous empirical research on democracy and democratization
ProceduralApplyApplying key concepts to the study and practice of democracy in empirical research
ProceduralAnalyseAnalyzing fundamental problems of the relationship between society and the state
ProceduralUnderstandLearning analytical tools and research methods of comparative politics and international relations

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