DEMOCRACY AND DEMOCRATIC THEORY
Estudios Globales / Global Studies
Curso 2023/2024
1. Subject Information
(Date last modified: 10-10-23 9:17)- Code
- 140505
- Plan
- 405
- 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
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/
- isabel_io@usal.es
- Phone
- -
- Professor
- Valentín Clavé Mercier
- Group/s
- Único
- Centre
- -
- Office
- -
- Office hours
- -
- Web address
- -
- 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
BLOCK 3: UNIT 7 TO BE DECIDED BY THE STUDENTS
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 exam (essay type) |
50% |
||
Workshops |
5 |
5 |
|
10% |
|
Mock-debate |
Simulation of consultancy job for the EU |
|
25% |
||
Participation |
Discussing readings in class |
15% |
Assessment recommendations.
Never engage in plagiarism nor cheating.
Guidelines in the case of failing the subject.
The requirements will be the same for the second round of evaluations.