DEMOCRACY AND DEMOCRATIC THEORY

GRADO EN ESTUDIOS GLOBALES/GLOBAL STUDIES

Curso 2022/2023

1. Subject Information

(Date last modified: 10-06-22 14:26)

Code: 109005
Plan: 290
ECTS: 6.00

Type: Basic
Year: 1
Duration: Second semester

Language: ENGLISH

Area: CIENCIA POLÍTICA Y DE LA ADMINISTRACIÓN

Departament: Derecho Público General

Virtual platform: Campus Virtual de la Universidad de Salamanca

Professor Information

Profesor/Profesora: Isabel Inguanzo Ortiz
Group/s: Único

Centre: Fac. Derecho

Office: Área de ciencia política – Planta Jardín

Office hours: Please send an email for convening office hours

Web address: http://campus.usal.es/~acpa/

E-mail: isabel_io@usal.es
Phone: -

2. Association of the subject matter within the study plan

Curricular area to which the subject matter pertains.

Basic

Professional profile.

International organizations, political analysis, political counseling

3. Prerequisites

There are no special requirements for this course, however having passed ‘Introduction to Political Science’ would be helpful. Also, students should be comfortable reading in English.

4. Learning objectives

After successfully completing this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the different conceptions of democracy,

• Explain the different theoretical approaches to it,

• Analyze the empirical challenges of these approaches

• Identify the theoretical weaknesses of each approach

• Critically identify gaps & biases in democratic literature

5. Contents

Theory.

Unit 1: Introduction to democratic theory

BLOCK 1: MAINSTREAM DEMOCRATIC THEORY

Unit 2: Liberalism

Unit 2: Pluralism

Unit 3: Social choice theory

BLOCK 2: THE CRITICS

Unit 4: Participatory democracy

Unit 5: Deliberative democracy

Practice.

Debates over controversial topics in democratic theory

Discussion of assigned readings

Workshops: Applying and assessing democratic theories in real life

Games: Practicing different conception of democracy

Final Mock-debate

6. Competences acquired

Basic / General.

CB3. “Que los estudiantes tengan la capacidad de reunir e interpretar datos relevantes normalmente dentro de su área de estudio de para emitir juicios que incluyan una reflexión sobre temas relevantes de índole social, científica o ética”.

CB4. “Que los estudiantes puedan transmitir información, ideas, problemas y soluciones a un público tanto especializado como no especializado”.

Specific.

CE8 – “Describir y valorar las distintas teorías sobre la democracia así como comprender el funcionamiento de la democracia y sus diferencias con otros regímenes políticos”.

7. Teaching methods

Every unit has selected readings associated to it that can be included in the exam.

Everybody MUST read at least one reading per unit and be prepared to answer questions and engage in debates about them. Participation is essential to a successful class (15% of your final grade). You do not have to agree with the material presented either by your professor or by the authors we will read. Your professor does, however, expect you to engage with the material and the class discussion, think about the issues they raise, come to your own conclusions, and be able to convey these conclusions to others in a respectful manner.

It is impossible to cover all relevant material in one course. The readings we will cover are a mix of classic works that active members of our field are familiar with along with more recent and state-of-the-art research. The professor will introduce several ongoing debates in the study of democracy to encourage you to think about the material and come to your own conclusions.

Workshops are intended to wrap-up theories previously discussed in class and assess their applicability in real life.

Games are intended to recreate hypothetical situations where collective decisions need to be made. Students will need to collectively reach decisions based on different conceptions of democracy.

The Final mock-debate is a simulation of a consultancy job requested by an international organization and students are assigned different theoretical roles. Students will be requested to advise the international organization on a particular policy based on their assigned role and engage in debates with other colleagues from other theoretical perspectives

8. Anticipated distribution of the use of the different teaching methods

9. Resources

Reference books.

RECOMMENDED TEXTBOOK

Cunningham, F. (2002). Theories of democracy: a critical introduction. Routledge.

READING LIST

Your professor has assigned a number of selected classical works and scholarly journal articles. All of them will be available on the internet (Studium platform).

RECOMMENDED WORKS FOR AVID READERS & YOUNG POLITICAL PHILOSPHERS

Benhabib, Sheila (ed). 1996. Democracy & Difference. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Dahl, Robert A. 1992. Democracy and its Critics. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Held, David. 2006. Models of Democracy. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Lijphart, Arend. 1999. Patterns of Democracy. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Pateman, Carole 1970 Participation and Democratic Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schumpeter, Joseph (1994) [1942]: Capitalism, Socialism, Democracy. London: Routledge

10. Assessment

Assessment criteria.

Participation and understanding about the readings discussed in class are fundamental elements for successfully passing this course.

Assessment tools.

	Unit 1	Block 1	Block 2	Block 3	TOTAL
Exam	Mid-term exam (multiple choice)			Final	50%
Workshops		5		5	10%
Participation	Discussing readings in class				15%
Mock-debate	Simulation of consultancy job for the EU				25%