Module SGIA46415: DEMOCRACY IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

Department: Government and International Affairs

SGIA46415: DEMOCRACY IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

Prerequisites

• None.

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• This module studies democratic politics in the context of the so-called “developing” world. In particular, it explores how certain characteristics commonly identified with developing countries – such as poverty, weak state capacities, ethnic conflict, or the dependence on international aid – affect the functioning of the central institutions of democracy, including elections, political parties, and the rule of law.
• This agenda is embedded in a wider set of more fundamental questions: What is democracy? What is development? And what role should the international community play vis-à-vis developing countries?

Content

• The module is structured around what are commonly regarded as democratic deficits in developing countries, including vote buying, electoral fraud, the prevalence of informal institutions (clientelism, corruption, tribal or ethnic networks), violence-based political participation, elitist political parties, and poorly institutionalised party systems.
• Each session will investigate why these features emerge and discuss the question of whether they are indeed problematic, as externally promoted conceptions of democracy would suggest. The discussion will address different levels of analysis, moving between the local and the global – that is, between everyday life and developing countries’ relations with the world economy.
• The module does not have a specific geographical focus. Empirical examples to illustrate the theoretical arguments discussed will be taken from different parts of the developing world, including Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Learning Outcomes

• At the end of the module students will have advanced knowledge of:
• developing countries as a context for democratic politics;
• how this context can affect the quality of democracy;
• theoretical debates on how to strengthen democracy in the developing world.

• At the end of the module students will have acquired the ability to:
• describe and analyse the process of democratic politics in developing countries;
• engage appropriately with advanced scholarly literature on the topic;
• develop arguments that identify the reasons for democratic deficits and formulate appropriate solutions.

• The independent learning within a defined framework at an advanced level;
• research skills in identifying and assessing the suitability of data sources;
• the ability to work to a deadline and complete written work within word limits;
• presentation of work to appropriate academic standards.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The module is taught by means of a series of 2-hour seminars in which students give a presentation to the class – accompanied by a handout – followed by class discussion guided by the teacher.
• Presentations demand independent reading and research, contributing to independent learning, and require the structuring of the results in a digestible format, developing presentational skills. Formative feedback is given on class presentations using a proforma.
• Class discussion calls for background reading on the part of non-presenters, contributing to their independent learning, enables critical assessment of presentations by other participants, developing their critical skills, and allows gaps and errors to be identified and rectified to the advantage of the presenter.
• In the week following the presentation students are asked to submit a 1,500 word essay outline on the same topic. This essay will serve as a basis for early formative feedback on the summative assessment.
• Summative assessment is via an essay of 4,000 words. Summative essays test the acquisition of knowledge and the ability to apply a critical argument in relation to a specific question.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Class presentations accompanied by a handout; formative feedback via proforma. 1,500 word essay outline; written feedback via proforma.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University