Democracy, Development and Human Rights

This course is designed to introduce students to the issues of democracy, development, and human rights from the perspective of comparative politics. We will discuss different conceptualizations, theories, and measurements of these phenomena, analyze the extent to which existing theories contradict or complement each other, and whether their policy prescriptions have been successful in the real world. While the course focuses on how democracy, development, and human rights relate to each other, we will also address the effects of domestic and international institutions, natural resources, political culture, and globalization. The course is designed to provide a general understanding of the patterns and challenges to democracy, development, and human rights; however, we will also pay some attention to regional differences among Latin America, East Central Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.