DEMOCRACY AND AUTHORITARIANISM. GLOBAL AND EUROPEAN DYNAMICS

By the end of the course, students will develop advanced knowledge and understanding of the main institutions, actors, and processes of political systems in comparative perspective. They will be able to distinguish between regime types, evaluate patterns of democratisation and authoritarianism, and critically analyse challenges such as backsliding, populism, polarisation, disinformation, inequality, and declining trust, with attention to regional variations worldwide.

Students will also learn to critically apply and adapt concepts and theories of comparative politics to empirical cases across regions. They will integrate theoretical perspectives with empirical evidence and work with indicators such as V-Dem, World Bank, and Eurobarometer to assess democracy, inequality, and political trust.

Through this, students will strengthen their capacity for independent judgement. They will compare and evaluate competing explanations of democratic resilience and decline, construct and defend original arguments supported by evidence, and reflect on the normative implications of democracy’s crisis and resilience.

The course will enhance communication and collaboration skills. Students will synthesise and communicate complex arguments in oral, written, and digital formats, engage in structured debates, and coordinate effectively in groups to prepare digital resources and lead seminar discussions.

Finally, students will consolidate their research and learning skills. They will be able to independently navigate and evaluate academic and policy literature, translate abstract theoretical debates into applied comparative and regional contexts, and design and defend a feasible research strategy, including research questions, methods, data sources, and limitations.

The course combines lectures with interactive activities that require active student engagement. Students are expected to prepare for each class by completing the assigned readings and by contributing to their group’s online platform (website). Class time will be structured around the following formats:

1. Structured Debates. Once a week, one group of students will be responsible for leading a structured debate on the week’s theme. The leading group will prepare discussion prompts and short inputs based on both scientific readings and practical and informational materials collected on the group website (e.g. news articles, videos, data, infographics). Other students are expected to actively participate by commenting and responding. Debates are designed to encourage critical dialogue, the confrontation of competing perspectives, and the application of concepts to contemporary political dynamics.

2. Laboratory Work (Labs). Labs are practical, hands-on sessions where students apply comparative politics concepts and methods to empirical material. Examples include coding democratic backsliding using V-Dem data, role-play debates on polarization, drafting short policy briefs, mapping regime changes over time, analysing survey data on political trust and discontent. Labs aim to strengthen analytical, methodological, and problem-solving skills.

3. Case Study Workshops – “Concepts in Context”. owards the end of the course, students work in regional groups (North America, Latin America, MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia). Each group member prepares a workshop presentation (10–12 minutes) linking a central concept from the course to empirical cases from their region. Workshops allow students to apply theories to concrete contexts, fostering comparative insights and peer learning.

4. Collaborative Website Contributions. Each group maintains a shared online space (Google Site or similar) where members post weekly contributions related to the previous week’s theme. Contributions can include relevant news, videos, infographics, or data visualisations, accompanied by a short written comment (50–100 words) explaining its relevance to class discussions. Each student is responsible for at least one post per week. Contributions feed directly into structured debates and workshops.

The course assumes no background knowledge. However, a general background of political science (comparative politics and international relations) is certainly useful. Normally the core reference text should provide the necessary background, but feel free to approach me and I will be happy to recommend some background readings

The course explores the dynamics of democracy and authoritarianism in comparative perspective, with a global focus. It is organised into three main parts:

1.      Foundations of Comparative Politics (sessions 1–5): introduction to key institutions, actors, and processes, including regime types, electoral systems, political parties, political culture, and participation. These sessions provide the conceptual grounding needed for students with diverse backgrounds.

2.      Research-Based Themes (sessions 6–14): in-depth analysis of contemporary challenges to democracy, including democratic backsliding, populism, polarisation, social media and disinformation, political trust and discontent, and inequality. Guest lectures on the democratic crisis in Israel complement these discussions with a live case study.

3.      Concepts in Context – Case Study workshops (sessions 15–19): application of concepts and debates to regional and country cases across North America, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. Students lead workshops that connect theory with empirical realities.

The course combines lectures, structured debates, laboratory sessions, and student-led workshops, fostering both theoretical understanding and applied analytical skills.

For the foundations part of the course, we will rely on the textbook by Daniele Caramani complemented by other readings. The research-based themes and the case study workshops sections will rely entirely on additional readings and empirical materials. 

Student performance will be evaluated through a combination of continuous assessment and final examinations:

1. Class Participation 
   Active involvement in class activities is essential. Assessment will take into account regular attendance, meaningful contributions to discussions, and engagement in group work and laboratory activities.
2. Group Presentation 
   Students will work in groups to prepare and deliver a presentation on a selected case study. Evaluation will be based on the quality of research, clarity of presentation, teamwork, and ability to stimulate discussion.
3. Final Written Test 
   The written exam will assess students’ knowledge of the course content. It will include both multiple-choice questions (to test factual knowledge) and open-ended questions (to evaluate critical thinking and analytical skills).
4. Final Oral Exam
   The oral exam will allow students to demonstrate their ability to articulate, critically analyze, and discuss the main themes and concepts of the course.