| Bemerkung |
Since 1989, Western liberal democracy, historically based on a special relationship between state and society, has become a template for the rest of the world, and its main facets have been universally promoted under the label ‘good governance’. Over the last decade, this liberal model has come under attack both by populist movements within Western regimes and by the emergence and more active promotion of counter-hegemonic models of state, regime, and governance in the Global South, leading to what some perceive as the emergence of a Post-Western order. Empirical data show a global decline of democratic institutions.
The main goal of the seminar is thus to understand the contested nature of democratic models, and how they are linked to broader understandings of the (nation) state, rule of law, and secularism. We will also discuss how regime dynamics are shaped by international factors. While the seminar will be based on a thorough engagement with academic debates on these issues, students will have the opportunity to relate these debates to empirical (country) case studies. |
| Leistungsnachweis |
Students are required to hand in a seminar paper (6500-7000 words excluding bibliography, cover page, and table of contents). Detailed info on format and structure will be made available separately. The final marks for this seminar will be calculated in the following way: Paper: 75%; Presentation: 25% |
