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<h1 style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">State, Democracy, and Civil Society </span></h1><p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;">The emergence of the modern state has made questions of authority, legitimacy, and participation central to debates in political theory and practice. Although liberal democracies have been the main focus in the post-Cold War period, the core values of these regimes (accountability, rule of law, and transparency) have come under increasing scrutiny. Challenges have emerged both from within democratic systems and from outside, such as the consolidation of authoritarian and hybrid regimes that promote competing visions of governance.</p><p style="text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;">The first aim of this course is to explore the foundational concepts of state, democracy, and governance. We begin with theoretical approaches to the modern state and examine how different forms of statehood have emerged across the world. We then turn our focus to different regime types (democratic, hybrid, and authoritarian) and critically examine the patterns of democratic backsliding. A second aim of this course is to understand how structural pressures such as nationalism, religion, and populism contribute to the erosion of democratic values. These dynamics are then examined in relation to civil society, which can serve both as a space for democratic participation and as a site of state control.</p><p>In the final block, we consider transnational dimensions of governance by focusing on international support for democracy, authoritarian resilience, and the broader consequences of global (multi-)crises. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to reflect on the tensions, contradictions, and evolving nature of governance in the contemporary world.</p> |
