Course Schedule

Start > Masterprogramm Governance & Law: Staatswissenschaften - Public Economics, Law and Politics (M.A.) -> Vertiefung -> Theorien und Methoden der vergleichenden Politikwissenschaft

Lehrveranstaltungen

Democracy and Democratization in Post-Communist Europe (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Sarah Engler

Termin:
wöchentlich | Donnerstag | 12:15 - 13:45 | 13.10.2025 - 30.01.2026 | C 14.203 Seminarraum

Inhalt: In this course, we take a look at the current state of democracy in post-communist Europe and the path that led to it. We learn which factors helped or hindered democratic progress and how these factors relate to theories of democratization in other regions. What role did external actors, such as the EU, have in democratic consolidation? How can we explain the large differences between the quality of democracy in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic? In the second part, we turn to the process of democratic consolidation. We explore how authoritarian legacies shaped party systems and elections, how EU accession affected democratic quality and we look at the rising political disillusionment, democratic skepticism, and the emergence of illiberal politics. In the third and final part, we analyze the recent wave of autocratization and its implications for the future of democracy in Europe. We discuss polarization as both a driver and consequence of backsliding, examine how citizens and the EU respond to democratic erosion, and ask whether democratic recovery is possible after illiberal rule. The class is structured in three thematic parts: (I) Theories of democratization (II) Democratic consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe (III) Democratic backsliding. We critically engage with the literature, discuss the theoretical and empirical approaches in detail and look at contemporary events and phenomena that are related to the research questions of the readings.