Around the globe, democracy is under siege. New and old democracies face unprecedented challenges. The rise of norm-breaking demagogues, heightening political polarization, and economic inequality threaten the underpinnings of stable democracy. This course explores the history of democracy, different theories of democratic breakdown and explores how democracies die around the world today in order to think about what can be done to improve our own democracy.
By the end of the course, you will have a mastery of theories of democratic breakdown, an understanding of the warning signs of democracies in crisis, a knowledge of countries facing democratic crisis, and a grasp of the range of strategies to counteract democratic decline.
Please visit the Office of the Registrar for more information about this course.