Democratization is the most significant challenge of political development in the world today.
Democratizers must represent people's opinions and protect people's rights. At the same time, they must rebuild political power, weakened by the collapse of the non-democratic system which came before, and implement sometimes unpopular social and economic reforms. In the course, we will cover some of the central questions about democratization. After an introductory lecture each week, we will discuss the week's readings, focusing first on any questions that appear after the list of the week's readings on the syllabus. There will be no right or wrong answers in these discussions, but your willingness to participate and your preparation will be part of your semester grade.