Democratic Breakdown

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

Democracy around the world is in decline. Nearly three in four people live under autocracy, the highest ratio since 1978. There are more autocracies than democracies in the world for the first time in 25 years as former democracies transition to autocracy. The list of autocratizing countries includes some with great geopolitical heft, including Russia, Turkey, and India; many observers place the United States on that list. The erosion of a single democracy, in addition to domestic effects, alters the security of its neighbors, reshapes alliances, and invites conflict where checks on personal authority recede. This course will investigate how and why democracies break down and the implications for international security, focusing on the most prevalent form of breakdown: subversion by democratically-elected leaders. We will engage in theoretic readings, policy documents, and case studies. By the end of the course, students will be able to employ methods for evaluating democracy and its constituent components; recognize the governance trajectory of a target country based on drivers and signposts of democratic breakdown; understand theories for re-establishing democracy; and grasp the geopolitical and security implications of a given nation's democratic decline.