Upon completion of this course, the student will have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:
Knowledge
The student
- possesses a broad knowledge of central themes (democratization, varieties of political regimes, democratic performance, democratic institutions), theories (democratic theory, theory of regime consolidation, theory of regime change), research questions and traditions (Why do regimes rise and fall?; How do we evaluate regime performance?; What role does civil society play under democracy?), processes (regime change; civil society activation), scholarly tools (concepts, data, models of democracy) og methods (qualitative and quantitative) in the study of political regimes and regime change.
- is familiar with foundational literature (classic and contemporary research) as well as developments in the scholarly literature (cutting-edge developments) within the field of study concerning democracy and democratization;
- can update and extend existing knowledge (building upon introductory Sampol courses) in the study of democracy and democratization via advanced scholarly literature, data, and research methods;
- has knowledge concerning the role played by and the impact of democracy and democratization throughout history as well as the role played by democracy and political regime change in contemporary societies studied cross-nationally.
Skills
The student
- can apply knowledge from the study of democracy and democratization and relevant findings in the scholarly literature on these topics to formulate informed analyses and prognoses on related issues on a global scale;
- can reflect over issues related to democracy and democratization and build upon them to formulate innovative research questions and research agendas;
- can build upon knowledge and literature studied in order to develop further research in the area of democracy and democratization, applying theories, concepts, data, and methods studied in this course;
- can build upon the home essay assignment for further, more sophisticated research into literature and problems in the study of democracy and democratization.
General Competence
The student
- has developed insights into the key issues regarding political regimes, democratization, regime stability, democratic quality and performance that are relevant for understanding and consulting on political systems in the world today;
- can disseminate and effectively convey central issues in the study of democracy and regime change, including key concepts and theories, empirical patterns, and findings from the scholarly literature;
- is familiar with new ways of studying and understanding political regimes and the institutional design of new democracies from past as well as contemporary history.