Rights, Obligations, and Citizenship Citizens of modern states are endowed with particular rights, in return for which they incur a range of obligations. These aspects of political life are discussed within the context of the evolving conceptions of citizenship in the readings and lectures . Heywood, PIC , Chpt. Democracy invests responsibility for the definition of collective interests in the people, and this has come to be the normative ideal for political organization around the world. Heywood, PIC , Chpt.
Some theorists argue that capitalism provides the most congenial economic environment for democracy.
Certainly, the emergence of democracy in modern history has been associated with the rise of capitalism. Readings and lectures in this section explore these philosophical, economic and ethical preconditions of successful democratic governance. Heywood, PIC , Chpts. Reaction, Reform and Revolution Central to political life is the phenomenon of change. The readings and lectures in this section discuss th ese divergent reactions to political change and introduce the concepts and theories that political researchers and thinkers have developed to help explain and understand this important phenomenon.