Course Description and Learning Outcomes
The 'waves' of democracy since the Second World War, hybrid regimes in Africa, Asia and Latin America, the Color Revolutions and the Arab Spring – all these phenomena highlight the practical need for sound analytical concepts and theories to study the causes and effects of political regime change systematically. The course draws on a rich set of definitions and typologies of political regimes in comparative politics. It covers a number of theories at different levels of analysis concerning the patterns of political regime change. In addition, theories describing the reasons for and effects of political regime change will be discussed.
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to
- describe different types of political regimes as well as theories regarding the patterns of political regime change
- evaluate the ability of these concepts to 'travel', i.e. the validity of the concepts outside the OECD
- name and assess pertinent theories explaining the causes and effects of political regime change
- prepare and present a well-structured and well-formatted presentation on one of the topics covered in class as a team
- develop a suitable research design for a research question of your choice
- apply the concepts and theories discussed in class to a region of your choice in your research paper(s) according to scientific standards by means of empirical indicators using descriptive statistics
The course is primarily based on interactive learning activities that serve to further your understanding of the required readings and provide you with ample opportunities to raise questions and contribute your ideas.
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