Below is the list of articles I’m assigning in my undergraduate “Democracy & Democratization” course this Fall.

My objective in selecting articles was twofold: 1) select some seminal articles that dealt w/ key issues in comparative democratization; 2) select readings that exposed my students to as many regions & countries as possible. How frequently do students read about Nepal, Ethiopia, and Kyrgyzstan in a comparative politics course?

I’ve organized the list thematically (corresponding to the order students will read them). A large chunk (though by no means all) of the readings come from Journal of Democracy (because it’s both intellectually stimulating & accessible to a “lay” audience).

They’ll also read a short but focused textbook on comparative politics (Comparing Political Regimes by Alan Siaroff), as well as starting the semester w/ Robert Dahl’s After the Revolution? Besides these two short textbooks, the entire course readings will consist of articles in an online courspack.

Only the articles available through online databases have links (you may be unable to access them if you’re not on a network w/ access to Project Muse or JSTOR). Let me know what you think.

Democratization

Rustow, Dankwart A. 1970. Transitions to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model. Comparative Politics 2 (April): 337-363.

Munck, Gerardo L. 2001. The Regime Question: Theory Building in Democracy Studies. World Politics 54 (October): 119-144.

Defining Democracy

Schmitter, Philippe C. and Terry Lynn Karl. 1991. What Democracy Is … and Is Not. Journal of Democracy 2 (Summer): 67-73.

Collier, David and Steven Levitsky. 1997. Democracy With Adjectives: Conceptual Innovation in Comparative Research. World Politics 49 (April): 430-451.

Modernization & the State

Przeworski, Adam and Fernando Papaterra Limongi Neto. 1997. Modernization: Theories and Facts. World Politics 49 (January): 155-183.

Ziblatt, Daniel. 2006. How Did Europe Democratize? World Politics 58 (January): 311-338.

Gellner, Ernest. 1994. Nationalism and Modernization. In Anthony Smith (ed.), Nationalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 55-63.

Tilly, Charles. 1985. War Making and State Making as Organized Crime. In Peter Evans, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, and Theda Skocpol (eds.), Bringing the State Back In. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 169-191.

Uncertain Democracies

Diamond, Larry J. 2002. Thinking About Hybrid Regimes. Journal of Democracy 13 (April): 21-35.

Castañeda, Jorge and Patricio Navia. 2007. The Year of the Ballot. Current History 106 (February): 51-57.

Mainwaring, Scott. 2006. The Crisis of Representation in the Andes. Journal of Democracy 17 (July): 13-27.

Krastev, Ivan. 2006. Democracy’s ‘Doubles’. Journal of Democracy 17 (April): 52-62.

Civil-Military Relations

Goodman, Louis W. 1996. Military Roles Past and Present. In Larry Diamond and Marc Plattner (eds.), Civil-Military Relations and Democracy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 30-43.

Onyszkiewicz, Janusz. 1996. Poland’s Road to Civilian Control. In Larry Diamond and Marc Plattner (eds.), Civil-Military Relations and Democracy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 99-109.

Dalpino, Catharin. 2007. Thailand’s Elusive Equilibrium. Current History 106 (April): 180-185.

Ruhl, J. Mark. 2004. Curbing Central America’s Militaries. Journal of Democracy 15 (July): 137-151.

Democratic Viability

Prezeworski, Adam, Jose Antonio Cheibub, Fernando Papaterra Limongi Neto, and Michael Alvarez. 1996. What Makes Democracies Endure? Journal of Democracy 7 (January): 39-55.

Bunce, Valerie and Sharon L. Wolchik. 2006. Favorable Conditions and Electoral Revolutions. Journal of Democracy 17 (October): 5-18.

Stepan, Alfred C. 2000. Religion, Democracy, and the Twin Tolerations. Journal of Democracy 11 (October): 35-57.

Rueschemeyer, Dietrich. 2004. Addressing Inequality. Journal of Democracy 15 (October): 76-90.

Democracy & Constitutional Design

Horowitz, Donald. 1996. Comparing Democratic Systems. In Larry Diamond and Marc Plattner (eds.), The Global Resurgence of Democracy, 2nd ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 143-149.

Zielonka, Jan. 1996. New Institutions in the Old East Bloc. In Larry Diamond and Marc Plattner (eds.), The Global Resurgence of Democracy, 2nd ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 207-224.

Ordeshook, Peter C. and Olga Shvetsova. 1997. Federalism and Constitutional Design. Journal of Democracy 8 (January): 27-42.

Valenzuela, Arturo. 2004. Latin American Presidencies Interrupted. Journal of Democracy 15 (October): 5-19.

Elgie, Robert. 2005. Variations on a Theme: A Fresh Look at Semi-Presidentialism. Journal of Democracy 16 (July): 98-112.

Successful Democratizations

Amaral, Diogo Freitas do. 1999. Reflections on the Portuguese Revolution. Journal of Democracy 10 (April): 113-123.

Kraus, Michael. 2003. The Czech Republic’s First Decade. Journal of Democracy 14 (April): 50-64.

Alence, Rod. 2004. South Africa After Apartheid: The First Decade. Journal of Democracy 15 (July): 78-92.

Hunter, Wendy. 2003. Brazil’s New Direction. Journal of Democracy 14 (April): 151-162.

Schedler, Andreas. 2007. The Mobilization of Distrust. Journal of Democracy 18 (January): 88-102.

Sin To-chol and Jason Wells. 2005. Is Democracy the Only Game in Town? Journal of Democracy 16 (April): 88-101.

Political Parties & Elections

Lipset, Seymour Martin. 2000. The Indispensability of Political Parties. Journal of Democracy 11 (January): 48-55.

Elklit, Jorgen and Palle Svensson. 1997. What Makes Elections Free and Fair? Journal of Democracy 8 (July): 32-46.

Reilly, Benjamin. 2002. Electoral Systems for Divided Societies. Journal of Democracy 13 (April): 156-170.

Mainwaring, Scott. 1998. Party Systems in the Third Wave. Journal of Democracy 9 (July): 67-81.

Non-Democracies & Democratic Reversals

Nasr, Seyyed Vali Reza. 2005. The Conservative Wave Rolls On. Journal of Democracy 16 (October): 9-22.

Medlicott, Carol. 2005. Symbol and Sovereignty in North Korea. SAIS Review 25 (Summer-Fall): 69-79.

Means, Gordon Paul. 1996. Soft Authoritarianism in Malaysia and Singapore. Journal of Democracy 7 (October): 103-117.

Shevtsova, Lilia Fedorovna. 2004. The Limits of Bureaucratic Authoritarianism. Journal of Democracy 15 (July): 67-77.

Levitsky, Steven. 1999. Fujimori and Post-Party Politics in Peru. Journal of Democracy 10 (July): 78-92.

Issues in Democratic Consolidation

Schedler, Andreas. 1998. What Is Democratic Consolidation? Journal of Democracy 9 (April): 91-107.

Bunce, Valerie. 2003. Rethinking Recent Democratization: Lessons from the Postcommunist Experience. World Politics 55 (January): 167-192.

Berman, Sheri. 1997. Civil Society and the Collapse of the Weimar Republic. World Politics 49 (April): 401-429.

Solinger, Dorothy J. 2001. Ending One-Party Dominance: Korea, Taiwan, Mexico. Journal of Democracy 12 (January): 30-42.

Democracy’s Future?

Chalmers, Rhoderick. 2007. Toward a New Nepal? Current History 106 (April): 161-167.

Gavin, Michelle. 2007. Africa’s Restless Youth. Current History 106 (May): 220-226.

Habeson, John W. 2005. Ethiopia’s Extended Transition. Journal of Democracy 16 (October): 144-158.

Mujani, Saiful and R. William Liddle. 2004. Politics, Islam, and Public Opinion. Journal of Democracy 15 (January): 109-123.

Radnitz, Scott. 2006. What Really Happened in Kyrgyzstan? Journal of Democracy 17 (April): 132-146.

Safa, Oussama. 2006. Lebanon Springs Forward. Journal of Democracy 17 (January): 22-37.

Madrid, Raúl L. 2005. Indigenous Parties and Democracy in Latin America. Latin American Politics & Society 47 (Winter): 161-179.

Yashar, Deborah J. 1999. Democracy, Indigenous Movements, and the Postliberal Challenge in Latin America. World Politics 58 (January): 311-338.