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Syllabus DEMOCRACIES:DEFINITIONS EXPLANATIONS & INSTITUTIONS - 56242
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Last update 18-07-2016
HU Credits: 4

Degree/Cycle: 1st degree (Bachelor)

Responsible Department: political science

Semester: Yearly

Teaching Languages: Hebrew

Campus: Mt. Scopus

Course/Module Coordinator: Prof Reuven Hazan

Coordinator Email: reuven.hazan@huji.ac.il

Coordinator Office Hours: Monday 1530-1630

Teaching Staff:
Prof Reuven Hazan

Course/Module description:
This course deals with the main institutions of democratic regimes. The course compares different types of democracies, and the interaction between institutions and the type of democracy. The course focuses on the question of stability versus change in democratic institutions and regimes, and on the factors that influence the stability or collapse of democratic regimes.

Course/Module aims:
To familiarize the students with the basic terms, concepts, theories and arguments used for political analysis of democratic regimes. To provide the students with the practical tools needed for a comparative cross-national analysis of the differences which affect the functioning and behavior of democratic regimes. To expose the students to a variety of contemporary democratic regimes.

Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1.To identify the concepts and central theories in the field of democratic regime studies
2.To compare democratic regimes around the world based on characteristics found in the academic literature
3.To examine to different factors which affect the function and conduct of democratic countries
4.To comparatively analyze and characterize the strengths and weaknesses of democratic regimes around the world in general, and of the Israel in particular

Attendance requirements(%):
100

Teaching arrangement and method of instruction: lecture

Course/Module Content:
1. Definitions
2. Explanations
a) economic conditions
b) political culture
c) social cleavages
3. Institutions
a) regime types
b) electoral systems
c) parties and party systems
4. Democratic stability

Required Reading:
Dahl, Robert A. Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1971 (chapter 1, pp. 1-16).

Sartori, Giovanni. Theory of Democracy Revisited. Chatham: Chatham House, 1987 (chapter 6, pp. 152-56).

Schmitter, Philippe & Karl, Terry Lynn. “What Democracy Is ... And Is Not.” In Diamond, Larry & Plattner, Marc F. (editors) The Global Resurgence of Democracy. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1993 (pp. 39-52).

Lipset, Seymour Martin; Seong, Kyoung-Ryung & Torres, John Charles. “A Comparative Analysis of the Social Requisites of Democracy.” International Social Science Journal. Vol. 136, May 1993, pp. 155-75.

Przeworski, Adam & Limongi, Fernando. “Modernization: Theories and Facts.” World Politics, Vol. 49, January 1997, pp. 155-83.

Devine, Donald J. The Political Culture of the United States: The Influence of Member Values on Regime Maintenance. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1972 (chapter 1, pp. 1-18).

Almond, Gabriel A. & Verba, Sidney. The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1963 (chapter 1, pp. 1-35).

Inglehart, Ronald. Modernization and Postmodernization: Culture, Economic and Political Change in 43 Societies. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997 (chapter 6, pp. 160-84).

Putnam, Robert D. Making Democracy Work: Civic Tradition in Modern Italy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993 (chapter 6, pp. 163-85).

Linz, Juan J. “The Perils of Presidentialism.” Journal of Democracy. Vol. 1, #1, Winter 1990, pp. 51-69.

Horowitz, Donald L. “Comparing Democratic Systems.” Journal of Democracy. Vol. 1, #4, Fall 1990, pp. 73-79.

Mainwaring, Scott. “Presidentialism, Multipartism, and Democracy: The Difficult Combination.” Comparative Political Studies. Vol. 26, #2, July 1993, pp. 198-228.

Rose, Richard. “Elections and Electoral Systems: Choices and Alternatives”. In Bogdanor, Vernon & Butler, David (editors), Democracy and Elections: Electoral Systems and their Political Consequences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983 (pp. 20-45).

Rae, Douglas W. The Political Consequences of Electoral Laws. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967 (chapters 4-5, pp. 69-103).

Katz, Richard S. & Mair, Peter. “Changing Models of Party Organization and Party Democracy.” Party Politics. Vol. 1, #1, 1995, pp. 5-28.

Duverger, Maurice. “The Two-Party System and the Multiparty System.” In Mair, Peter (editor). The West European Party System. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990 (pp. 285-95).

Sartori, Giovanni. “A Typology of Party Systems.” In Mair, Peter (editor). The West European Party System. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990 (pp. 316-49).

Przeworski, Adam; Alvarez, Michael; Cheibub, José Antonio & Limongi, Fernando. “What Makes Democracies Endure?” Journal of Democracy. Vol. 7, #1, January 1996, pp. 39-55.

Diskin, Abraham; Diskin, Hanna & Hazan, Reuven Y. “Why Democracies Collapse: The Reasons for Democratic Failure and Success.” International Political Science Review. Vol. 26, #3, July 2005, pp. 291-309.

Tamir Sheafer and Shaul Shenhav. “Political Culture Congruence and Political Stability: Revisiting the Congruence Hypothesis with Prospect Theory.” Journal of Conflict Resolution. Forthcoming.

Additional Reading Material:
See course website.

Course/Module evaluation:
End of year written/oral examination 100 %
Presentation 0 %
Participation in Tutorials 0 %
Project work 0 %
Assignments 0 %
Reports 0 %
Research project 0 %
Quizzes 0 %
Other 0 %

Additional information:
See course website.
 
Students needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for Diagnosis and Support of Students with Learning Disabilities, or the Office for Students with Disabilities, as early as possible, to discuss and coordinate accommodations, based on relevant documentation.
For further information, please visit the site of the Dean of Students Office.
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