30208
Advanced seminar
Democratic Backsliding and Resilience
Teresa Völker
Comments
This seminar examines the causes, dynamics, and consequences of democratic backsliding, as well as the conditions that foster democratic resilience. Divided into two parts, we will first explore key concepts and theoretical approaches to understanding democratic decline and resilience. Topics include institutional decline, illiberalism, authoritarianism, and the role of actors such as political parties, civil society, and the media. These theoretical approaches provide a framework for analyzing why some democracies resist these pressures more effectively than others. In this part of the seminar, we will primarily read theoretical and empirical contributions, including textbooks and articles from comparative politics and democracy studies. In the second part of the seminar, students will work on concrete cases of democratic backsliding or resilience. Drawing on examples from Europe and beyond, we will examine how and why democratic norms and institutions are challenged - and what political, institutional, and societal responses emerge. Through group work, presentations, and independent research, students will deepen their understanding of current debates and develop their own analytical perspectives on the challenges and futures of democracy. close
10 Class schedule
Regular appointments
Tue, 2025-10-14 14:00 - 16:00
Tue, 2025-10-21 14:00 - 16:00
Tue, 2025-10-28 14:00 - 16:00
Tue, 2025-11-04 14:00 - 16:00
Tue, 2025-11-11 14:00 - 16:00
Tue, 2025-11-18 14:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2025-11-25 14:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2025-12-02 14:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2025-12-09 14:00 - 18:00
Tue, 2025-12-16 14:00 - 18:00