POLS-471 Topics in Democracy: Democratic Erosion
Recent years have witnessed what is widely described as a global retreat of democracy and a concurrent rise of illiberalism and populism of both the right and left variants. Some observers argue that this alarmist assessment is unwarranted and that a more nuanced and careful evaluation of the data does not support a conclusion that democracy is on life support. Which perspective is right? Is democracy really under threat at home and abroad? If so, why and what, if anything, could or should we do about it? This course will critically and systematically evaluate the risks to democracy both in the U.S. and globally as an empirical question, through the lens of social science, theory and history. This course is being taught as part of a cross-university collaborative in which students from more than a dozen campuses follow similar syllabi, collaborate on select assignments, contribute research to a global database on Democratic Erosion and will engage with students at other universities.