POSC 356/456 TRANSITIONS TO DEMOCRACY AND DICTATORSHIP

Kelly McMann, Tuesday/Thursday, 1:25-2:30

Everyday life is dramatically different depending on whether one resides in a democracy or under a dictatorship. This course examines why some countries have democracies and others dictatorships. It explores successful, incomplete, and failed transitions to democracy. The incomplete transitions result in hybrid regimes, stuck between democracy and dictatorship, and the outright failures result in non-democracies, such as dictatorships. The course examines examples from most regions of the world, including Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the former Soviet Union, North America, and South America.