Last modified: 05 Aug 2021 13:04
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.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Second Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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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.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
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%)
There are no assessments for this course.
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Evaluate | Critically evaluate previous empirical research on democracy and democratization |
| Procedural | Apply | Applying key concepts to the study and practice of democracy in empirical research |
| Procedural | Analyse | Analyzing fundamental problems of the relationship between society and the state |
| Procedural | Understand | Learning analytical tools and research methods of comparative politics and international relations |
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