Description:
Paper Topic:
Compare the problems and prospects for democracy in two countries, addressing the following three points. Choose countries that have either made or failed to make a transition to democracy, or that either survived or failed to survive as democracies under stress.
Do not present a general history or description of each country.
Rather, address only the specific points that follow (suggested length in parentheses):
What happened? Begin by analyzing the dependent variable, democracy, in both of your two cases over time.
First, explain how you will define democracy in order to study it in these two countries. You may use Dahl, DLL, or whatever definition will best allow you to study democracy in these two countries. (1 page)
Second, briefly describe the trajectory of the DV (democracy as you have defined it) over the relevant period of time for each country and describe the status of the DV as of last year (2013) in each country. How democratic was each of your countries over the relevant period of time? What changed (and when) and what remained the same in terms of their level of democracy? What was the level of their democracy in 2013? (6 pages, about 2 pages for each country’s trajectory and one for each country’s present status)
Why did this happen? Then turn to the independent (causal) variables and their relationship with the dependent variable for both cases. What causal factors are most responsible for the trajectory and status of democracy in each of your two countries?
Choose two of the causal factors discussed by DLL or Moller and Skanning that are most relevant to your two cases.
Explain in what way each of these factors facilitated or obstructed democratization (genesis or survival) in your two cases. (8 pages, about 2 for each causal variable for each case)
Final concluding section: in the final section of your paper, explain what you think are the three most important things you learned from comparing democratization in your two countries. (1 page)
Respond to each of the questions above as clearly, concisely, and specifically as possible, avoiding vague generalities. At the beginning of each section, copy and paste the appropriate question above. You are to make extensive
use of the notes and readings from this course, drawing from and citing course materials whenever possible. You should write around 16 pages, but content and documentation are much more important than length. Proofread your paper carefully and number your pages.
Sources:
You should use and cite a minimum of five sources of information for each country, including at least three academic sources—journal articles, books, or book chapters—and other sources that allow you to bring the information up to date for each country. (Remember also to cite from class lectures and readings.) Do not rely too much on on-line sources that give facts without analysis or that give superficial analysis not rooted in facts. Follow the guidelines on documentation and citation given below.
Probably the best source for country-specific annual assessments of the level of democracy is Freedom House,
https://www.freedomhouse.org/ While not obligatory, I strongly recommend using this source—along with others
such as Polity IV—when analyzing the trajectory and status of democracy in your two cases.
One journal that is especially useful in the study of democratization is the Journal of Democracy, available at HYPERLINK
“https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_democracy/”
https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_democracy/