Measuring Democracy and Democratic Quality - JPM792

• Title: Measuring Democracy and Democratic Quality
• Guaranteed by: Department of Political Science (23-KP)
• Faculty: Faculty of Social Sciences
• Actual: from 2023
• Semester: winter
• E-Credits: 6
• Examination process: winter s.:
• Hours per week, examination: winter s.:1/2, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: unknown / unknown (unknown)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: not taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment
• Guarantor: doc. Dr. habil. MA PhDr. Petra Guasti, Ph.D.
• Class: Courses for incoming students
• Is incompatible with: JPM039

Annotation

Last update: doc. Dr. habil. MA PhDr. Petra Guasti, Ph.D. (20.09.2022)

What is a democracy, and how can we measure it? Which conceptual tools are necessary to measure the dynamics of democratic quality? What data resources and methods can we use to assess the path towards democratic consolidation or – in turn – democratic backsliding? This course critically engages with the core literature on democracy and democratic quality and existing indices to measure and compare them. The course has a theoretical and applied component. The theoretical component aims to provide a thorough understanding of the purposes, benefits, challenges, and drawbacks of comparing democratic quality over time and across countries. We will familiarize ourselves with several key democratic indexes (Freedom House, Bertelsmann Transformation Index, Varieties of Democracy), review literature that applies these indices and familiarize ourselves with their online analytical tools. In combination, the two components aim at improving theoretical knowledge of democratic quality, data literacy, and the ability to assess the nonlinear dynamics of democracy.

Aim of the course

Last update: doc. Dr. habil. MA PhDr. Petra Guasti, Ph.D. (20.09.2022)

Learning outcomes:

The course combines active and passive, individual and group learning forms, and is designed to develop:

1. knowledge and understanding of democracy, democratic quality, and their measurement; 
2. information processing skills and analytical skills - students should be able to identify democracy and its measurement. Key is the linkage between conceptualization and measurement, as well as the ability to compare dynamics of democratic quality over time and across countries; 
3. communication skills – students will improve their communication and argumentation skills discussing various issues – developing ways to debate using theoretically informed and factual arguments; 
4. writing skills – in the course of the semester, students will improve the ability to summarize academic texts, identify and elaborate on the key points, and work with resources according to academic standards (i.e., proper citation of various types of texts, including online resources).

Descriptors

Last update: doc. Dr. habil. MA PhDr. Petra Guasti, Ph.D. (20.09.2022)

Lecturer: Dr. Petra Guasti

Email: [e-mail]

Times and room: Wednesday 12:30-13.50; room 301

Zoom Link: 

https://cuni-cz.zoom.us/j/99396986599?pwd=Z0pKYlBuSURLQTd5aVFaaUwwSW1KQT09

Meeting ID: 993 9698 6599

Passcode: 341743

Credits: 6

Language: English

Course completion requirements

Last update: doc. Dr. habil. MA PhDr. Petra Guasti, Ph.D. (20.09.2022)

Course requirements:

Intro

·       The communication platform for this seminar will be Moodle, where all readings will be available; and group projects realized

·       Required readings are to be completed by every student for the given session of the seminar BEFORE the class. 

·       The recommended reading aims to encourage students to obtain a more profound understanding of the presented topics.

·       Students are also encouraged to use the library and other resources available at the university. You are welcomed to ask for a recommendation in a specific direction during consultations.

Requirements:

 

1.     QACQs: one-page reading summaries. A summary is a passive form of learning - you repeat information contained in the text. The QACQ model is different - it focuses on engaging you with the material.

QACQ:

 

Q choose a quote from the text, 

A explain its argument, 

C connection to the overall text, and 

Q formulate a question.

 

Length cca 300 words. 

 

Students whose surname starts with A-L are to complete QACQs in weeks 2,4,6,8, and 10. Students whose surname starts with letters M-Z are to complete QACQs in weeks 3,5,7,9, and 11. 

 

Each student will have to do 5 QACQs during the course – on a text of their choice from the list of recommended readings.

 

The QACQ are to be submitted electronically the latest 48 hours before the relevant session as they serve as a basis for our discussion (the second ‘Q’ in QACQ.). The QACQ submission is via Moodle upload.

 

2.     Group project

Depending on number of participants, students will form groups of 2-4 members. 

 

Each group will select one country included in all three indices (Freedom House/Nations in Transit, Bertelsmann Transformation Index, and Varieties of Democracy). 

 

Using available data, country reports, and additional information, each group will assess the process of democratization in a given country along the criteria AND structure stipulated in Moodle.  

 

The group project is to be uploaded into Moodle at the latest by week 11 of the course. 

 

3.     Multiple-choice tests

Each student is to complete two multiple-choice tests. The first test will be based on the compulsory readings of block 1. The second test will be based on the compulsory reading of block 2. Each multiple-choice test will have ten questions, randomly selected for each student from a pool of questions –tests will NOT be identical. Students will have three attempts to complete each test and choose the best score. 

 

4.     Final exam

During the exam period, the students will sign up for a final test. This test will be composed of multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Completion of readings for all 12 sessions is expected for successful completion of the test.  

 

Logic:

The idea behind these assignments is that you familiarize yourself with a number of different questions and issues at the forefront of measuring democratic quality. This should train students to think along theoretical lines and allow them to see democracy from a theoretically- and empirically informed perspective. In-class active participation is expected – each session (2-11) will include a section dedicated to discussing selected questions from the submitted QACQs.

 

Grade composition:

QACQs (25%)

Group project (25%)

Multiple-choice tests (25%)

Final test (25%)

Literature

Last update: doc. Dr. habil. MA PhDr. Petra Guasti, Ph.D. (20.09.2022)

Block I. Democracy – Democratic Quality - Democratization
Session Date Topic
1. 5.10.2022 Introduction

Course Overview
Course Requirements

Recommended reading:
Saward, Michael. 1994. Democratic Theory and Indices of Democratization. In Defining and Measuring Democracy, edited by D. Beetham. London: Sage.

2. 12.10.2022 What is Democracy?

Required reading:
Schmitter, P. C., & Karl, T. L. (1991). What democracy is... and is not. Journal of democracy, 2(3), 75-88.

Recommended reading:
Collier, D., & Levitsky, S. (1997). Democracy with adjectives: conceptual innovation in comparative research. World Politics, 430-451.

3. 19.10.2022 Democratic Quality

Required reading:
Munck, G. L. (2016). What is democracy? A reconceptualization of the quality of democracy. Democratization, 23(1), 1-26.

Recommended reading:
Diamond, L., & Morlino, L. (2004). The quality of democracy: An overview. Journal of Democracy, 15(4), 20-31.
Berg-Schlosser, D. (2004). The quality of democracies in Europe as measured by current indicators of democratization and good governance. Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, 20(1), 28-55.

4. 26.10.2022 Democratic Consolidation

Required reading:
Schedler, A. (1998). What is democratic consolidation?. Journal of Democracy, 9(2), 91-107.

Recommended reading:
Linz, Juan and Alfred Stephan (April 1996): "Towards Consolidated Democracies." Journal of Democracy, 7(2), 34-51.
Schedler, A. (2001). Taking uncertainty seriously: the blurred boundaries of democratic transition and consolidation. Democratization, 8(4), 1-22.

5. 2.11.2022 Democratic Backsliding

Required reading:
Bermeo, N. (2016). On democratic backsliding. Journal of Democracy, 27(1), 5-19.

Recommended reading:
Croissant, A., & Haynes, J. (2021). Democratic regression in Asia: introduction. Democratization, 28(1), 1-21.
Greskovits, B. (2015). The hollowing and backsliding of democracy in East Central Europe. Global Policy, 6(S1), 28–37.

Block II. Measuring Democracy and Democratization

6. 9.11.2022 Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy

Required reading:
Collier, D., & Adcock, R. (1999). Democracy and dichotomies: A pragmatic approach to choices about concepts. Annual Review of Political Science, 2(1), 537-565.

Recommended reading:
Munck, G. L., & Verkuilen, J. (2002). Conceptualizing and measuring democracy: Evaluating alternative indices. Comparative Political Studies, 35(1), 5-34.
Coppedge, M., Gerring, J., Altman, D., Bernhard, M., Fish, S., Hicken, A., ... & Teorell, J. (2011). Conceptualizing and measuring democracy: A new approach. Perspectives on Politics, 247-267.

7. 16.11.2022 Measuring Democratic Consolidation

Required reading:
Schneider, C. Q., & Schmitter, P. C. (2004). Liberalization, transition, and consolidation: Measuring the components of democratization. Democratization, 11(5), 59-90.

Recommended reading:
Altman, D., & Pérez-Liñán, A. (2002). Assessing the quality of democracy: Freedom, competitiveness, and participation in eighteen Latin American countries. Democratization, 9(2), 85-100.
Greene, S. R. (2020). Coups and the consolidation mirage: lessons for stability in new democracies. Democratization, 27(7), 1280-1300.

8. 23.11.2022 Measuring Democratic Backsliding

Required reading:
Bakke, E., & Sitter, N. (2020). The EU’s Enfants Terribles: Democratic Backsliding in Central Europe since 2010. Perspectives on Politics, 1-16.

Recommended reading:
Lührmann, A., Mechkova, V., Dahlum, S., Maxwell, L., Olin, M., Petrarca, C. S., ... & Lindberg, S. I. (2018). State of the world 2017: autocratization and exclusion?. Democratization, 25(8), 1321-1340.
Mechkova, V., Lührmann, A., & Lindberg, S. I. (2017). How much democratic backsliding?. Journal of Democracy, 28(4), 162-169.

Block III. Democratic Indices

9. 30.11.2022 Freedom House

Required reading:
Giannone, D. (2010). Political and ideological aspects in the measurement of democracy: the Freedom House case. Democratization, 17(1), 68-97.

Recommended reading:
Högström, J. (2013). Does the choice of democracy measure matter? Comparisons between the two leading democracy indices, Freedom House and Polity IV. Government and Opposition, 48(2), 201-221.
Vaccaro, A. (2021). Comparing measures of democracy: statistical properties, convergence, and interchangeability. European Political Science, 1-19.

10. 7.12.2022 Bertelsmann Transformation Index

Required reading:
Merkel, W. (2004). Embedded and defective democracies. Democratization, 11(5), 33-58.

Recommended reading:
Brusis, M. (2005). Assessing democracy, market economy and political management: the Bertelsmann Transformation Index and Southeastern Europe. (CAP Policy Research, 1/2005).
Lavrič, M., & Bieber, F. (2020). Shifts in Support for Authoritarianism and Democracy in the Western Balkans. Problems of Post-Communism, 1-10.

11. 14.12.2022 V-Dem Index

Required reading:
Teorell, J., Coppedge, M., Lindberg, S., & Skaaning, S. E. (2019). Measuring polyarchy across the globe, 1900–2017. Studies in Comparative International Development, 54(1), 71-95.

Recommended reading:
Lührmann, A., Marquardt, K. L., & Mechkova, V. (2020). Constraining governments: New indices of vertical, horizontal, and diagonal accountability. American Political Science Review, 114(3), 811-820.
Boswell, J., & Corbett, J. (2021). Democracy, Interpretation and the “Problem” of Conceptual Ambiguity: Reflections on the V-Dem Project’s Struggles with Operationalizing Deliberative Democracy. Polity, 53(2), 000-000.

12. 21.12.2022 Final Session: Comparing Indices for Measuring Democracy

Required reading:
Munck, G. L., & Verkuilen, J. (2002). Conceptualizing and measuring democracy: Evaluating alternative indices. Comparative Political Studies, 35(1), 5-34.

Recommended reading:
Møller, J., & Skaaning, S. E. (2010). Beyond the radial delusion: Conceptualizing and measuring democracy and non-democracy. International Political Science Review, 31(3), 261-283.
Fleuss, D., & Helbig, K. (2020). Measuring Nation States’ Deliberativeness: Systematic challenges, methodological pitfalls, and strategies for upscaling the measurement of deliberation. Political Studies, 0032321719890817.

Additional readings:

 

Alexander, A. C., Inglehart, R., & Welzel, C. (2012). Measuring effective democracy: A defense. International Political Science Review, 33(1), 41-62.

Bönker, F. (2020). Democracy, Policy-Making and Policy Performance in the Czech Republic in the Light of International Democracy and Governance Indices. In Czech Democracy in Crisis (pp. 19-38). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Bustikova, L., & Guasti, P. (2017). The Illiberal Turn or Swerve in Central Europe?. Politics and Governance, 5(4), 166-176.

Gagnon, J. P., & Fleuss, D. (2020). The case for extending measures of democracy in the world “Beneath," "Above," and "Outside" the national level. Political Geography, 83, 102276.

Giebler, H. (2012). Bringing methodology (back) in Some remarks on contemporary democracy measurements. European Political Science, 11(4), 509-518.

Levitsky, S., & Way, L. (2015). The myth of democratic recession. Journal of Democracy, 26(1), 45-58.

Lührmann, A., & Lindberg, S. I. (2019). A third wave of autocratization is here: what is new about it?. Democratization, 26(7), 1095-1113.

Mayne, Q., & Geissel, B. (2016). Putting the demos back into the concept of democratic quality. International Political Science Review, 37(5), 634-644.

Sabl, A. (2015). The two cultures of democratic theory: Responsiveness, democratic quality, and the empirical-normative divide.Perspectives on Politics, 345-365.

Steiner, N. D. (2016). Comparing Freedom House democracy scores to alternative indices and testing for political bias: Are US allies rated as more democratic by Freedom House?. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice, 18(4), 329-349. 

 

Teaching methods

Last update: doc. Dr. habil. MA PhDr. Petra Guasti, Ph.D. (20.09.2022)

This course is IN PERSON!

Only if necessary:

Zoom Link: 

https://cuni-cz.zoom.us/j/99396986599?pwd=Z0pKYlBuSURLQTd5aVFaaUwwSW1KQT09

Meeting ID: 993 9698 6599

Passcode: 341743