SOCIOLOGY
Bachelor	TR-NQF-HE: Level 6	QF-EHEA: First Cycle	EQF-LLL: Level 6

Course Introduction and Application Information

Course Code	Course Name	Semester	Theoretical	Practical	Credit	ECTS
POL4343	Comparative Democratization	Fall	3	0	3	6

This catalog is for information purposes. Course status is determined by the relevant department at the beginning of semester.

Basic information

Language of instruction:	English
Type of course:	Non-Departmental Elective
Course Level:	Bachelor’s Degree (First Cycle)
Mode of Delivery:	Hybrid
Course Coordinator :	Assoc. Prof. ESRA ALBAYRAKOĞLU
Course Lecturer(s):	Dr. Öğr. Üyesi YÜKSEL ALPER ECEVİT
Recommended Optional Program Components:	None
Course Objectives:	This course deals with the democratization literature in the comparative political studies which emerged in the 1960s and which has reached the present time with a particular focus on the effects of the rising right-wing populism over democratic backsliding. The first few weeks will revisit what democracy is and entails, a theme that is familiar to the students from their previous courses. Then the course will go further and examine the different conceptions of democracy based on the identification of various layers by prominent theorists. Types of dictatorships will be analysed afterwards since the term ‘democratization’ implies the existence of a prior regime which is not democratic. Then the different theories of democratization, namely the Modernization Theory, Historical Sociology, and Transition Theories will be examined. A relatively new phenomenon labelled “competitive authoritarianism”, “authoritarian populism”, “right-wing populism” and so on by many scholars, which is thought to be the consequence of the crisis of representative democracy in the harsh times of globalization, will be dealt with too. The four weeks that will precede the last lecture will be assigned to students’ presentations.

Learning Outcomes

The students who have succeeded in this course;
The students who have succeeded in this course;
I. Understand political regime definitions, and distinguish various procedures, and principles of democratic regime types forwarded by different political scientists.
II. Identify main causes of democracy and distinguish main approaches to democratization such as modernization, cultural, structural and political transitions approaches.
III. Acquire the ability to critically engage with these conceptual frameworks (named above) that aim to explain democracy and democratization
IV. Attain competence to understand and analyze the workings of principal democratic institutions such as forms of democratic government (presidential-parliamentary), party systems and electoral systems
V. Compare the impact of these different democratic political institutional clusters to democratic regime maintenance, stability, and consolidation.

Course Content

Democracy: definitional issues; Single and multidimensional conceptions of democracy; Types of dictatorships; Theories of democratization; Globalization, Competitive Authoritarianism, Authoritarian Populism

Weekly Detailed Course Contents

Week	Subject	Related Preparation
1)	Introduction to the course
2)	Democracy: Definitional Issues I
3)	Democracy: Definitional Issues II
4)	Single- and multi-dimensional conceptions of democracy
5)	Types of dictatorships
6)	Theories of Democratization I
7)	WRAP UP & Q/A
8)	Theories of Democratization II
9)	Globalization, Competitive Authoritarianism, Authoritarian Populism
10)	Presentations
11)	Presentations
12)	Presentations
13)	Presentations
14)	WRAP UP & Q/A

Sources

Course Notes / Textbooks:

Philip J. Adler and Randal Pouwels (2006) World Civilizations Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth
Andrew Heywood (2013) Politics 4th Edition New York: Palgrave Macmillan
Robert Dahl (1971) Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition Yale University Press
Samuel Huntington (1991) ‘Democracy’s Third Wave’, Journal of Democracy 2(2), pp. 12-34.
Philippe Schmitter and Terry Lynn Karl (1994) ‘What Democracy Is… And Is Not’, Journal of Democracy 2(3), pp. 75-88.
Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan (1996) Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press
S. Martin Lipset (1959) ‘Some Social Requisites of Democracy’, American Political Science Review 53(1), pp. 69-105.
Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba (1980) The Civic Culture Revisited Boston: Little Brown
Adam Przeworski and Fernando Limongi (1997) ‘Modernization: Theories and Facts’, World Politics 49(2), pp. 155-184
Barrington Moore (1993) Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy Beacon Press
Dietrich Rueschemeyer, Evelyne Huber Stephens, John D. Stephens (1992) ‘Capitalist Development and Democracy’, Contemporary Sociology pp. 243-248.
Guillermo O’Donnell and Philippe C. Schmitter (1986), ‘Opening (and Undermining) Authoritarian Regimes in Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions About Uncertain Democracies Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 15-36.
Ozan O. Varol (2012) ‘The Democratic Coup d’Etat’, Harvard International Law Journal 53(2), pp. 292-356.
Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way (2006) ‘Linkage versus Leverage: Rethinking the International Dimension of Regime Change’, Comparative Politics 38(4), pp. 379-400.
Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way (2002) ‘Elections Without Democracy: The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism’, Journal of Democracy 13(2), pp. 51-65.
Cas Mudde and C. R. Kaltwasser (2017) Populism: A Very Short Introduction New York: OUP
Jan-Werner Müller (2016) What Is Populism? Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

References:

Mevcut Değil

Evaluation System

Semester Requirements	Number of Activities	Level of Contribution
Presentation	1	% 30
Midterms	1	% 30
Final	1	% 40
Total		% 100
PERCENTAGE OF SEMESTER WORK		% 60
PERCENTAGE OF FINAL WORK		% 40
Total		% 100

ECTS / Workload Table

Activities	Number of Activities	Workload
Course Hours	10	30
Study Hours Out of Class	10	116.5
Presentations / Seminar	1	0.5
Midterms	1	1.5
Final	1	1.5
Total Workload		150

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

No Effect	1 Lowest	2 Low	3 Average	4 High	5 Highest

	Program Outcomes	Level of Contribution
1)	To learn and compare major sociology perspectives, both classical and contemporary, and apply all of them to analysis of social conditions.
2)	To be able to identify the basic methodological approaches in building sociological and anthropological knowledge at local and global levels
3)	To be able to use theoretical and applied knowledge acquired in the fields of statistics in social sciences.
4)	To have a basic knowledge of other disciplines (including psychology, history, political science, communication studies and literature) that can contribute to sociology and to be able to make use of this knowledge in analyzing sociological processes
5)	To have a knowledge and practice of scientific and ethical principles in collecting, interpreting and publishing sociological data also develop ability how to share this data with experts and lay people, using effective communication skills
6)	To develop competence in analyzing and publishing sociological knowledge by using computer software for quantitative and qualitative analysis; and develop an attitute for learning new techniques in these fields.
7)	To identify and to have a knowledge of the theories related to urban and rural sociology and demography, and political sociology, sociology of gender, sociology of body, visual sociology, sociology of work, sociology of religion, sociology of knowledge and sociology of crime.
8)	To have knowledge of how sociology is positioned as a scientific discipline from a philosophical and historical perspective
9)	To have the awareness of social issues in Turkish society, to develop critical perspective in analysing these issues and to have a knowledge of the works of Turkish sociologists and to be able to transfer this knowledge
10)	To have the awareness of social issues and global societal processes and to apply sociological analysis to development and social responsibility projects
11)	To have the ability to define a research question, design a research project and complete a written report for various fields of sociology, either as an individual or as a team member.
12)	To be able to transfer the knowledge gained in the areas of sociology to the level of secondary school.