Workshop in Democracy, Power and Inequality

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2024-2025/S_WDPI

Course Objective

Learning outcomes: A. Knowledge and understanding
- The student has acquired knowledge and understanding of: (1) political science research in the area of Comparative Politics. B. Skills
- The student is able to: (2) critically evaluate research in the area of Comparative Politics; (3) design theory-guided research projects; (4) select and apply the appropriate methods and techniques of data collection and analysis to carry out research projects; (5) report on research for discussion and work in small research teams. C. Attitude
- The student displays: (6) critical theoretical and empirical reflection on research results.

Course Content

On the basis of a collective thematic focus the workshop aims to train students in doing political science themselves within the field of Comparative Politics with a specific emphasis on democracy. This workshop surveys some of the literature on democracy to answer questions such as these: How is democracy conceptualised? What are the relevant distinctions among democracies? How can we measure democracy? What are the social, economic, cultural, and political prerequisites of democracy? What effect does the political and economic performance have on the public support for democracy? Is democracy in decline today? These questions are approached by the selected literature both from the macro-perspective of institutions and context conditions as well as from the micro-perspective of the citizens and their understanding and evaluation of the way democracy works. The literature on these questions is, of course, huge, and the selection of the texts for the courses is, as always, not encompassing. This is the selection of a comparative political scientist who is trying to understand the conditions under which democracy as-we-know-it develops and flourishes, and the conditions under which it is put into question. The selection is focused on publications dealing with the core issues. It also takes into account some debates between competing views. At the same time, the selected texts reflect a variation of methodological tools to approach these questions empirically.

Teaching Methods

Seminars

Method of Assessment

Class participation (response papers), group presentation, and final group research proposal.

Literature

To be announced in the course manual (see CANVAS).

Target Audience

Mandatory course for students in the specialisation Democracy, Populism and Inequality.

Entry Requirements

Participation in Selected Issues: Contemporary Democratic Politics