Democracy in Europe

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Since the collapse of the Soviet Empire and the post-Communist drift in Central and Eastern Europe, in the early 90s, liberal democracy was extended to the entire European continent. It was seen as the ideological and political victory of democracy and the path to its universalization. Yet today, more than two decades after these optimistic theories about the definitive sweep of liberal democracy across the globe, democracy faces new challenges and democratization remains a major issue around the world, even in Europe. The course introduces students to a variety of historical and theoretical perspectives on Democracy and Democratization in Europe and will be focused on the past heritages, present changes and future challenges for European democracies. Major topics to be discussed are: What is and what is not democracy; the waves of democratization; democracy and globalization; democracy and Europeanization; economic development and democracy; inequality and democracy; democracy, security and defense, economic crisis and democracy; crisis of democracy; populism and democracy.