Transformations in Modern Politics: Democracy, Conflict and Globalisation

What do we mean when we talk about ‘the West’ today? And how has democracy evolved over time? These questions are at the heart of this Transformations in Modern Politics: Democracy, Conflict and Globalisation short course.

We begin the course by examining the key global transformations in politics in the modern era, from wars and revolutions to ideologies and mass movements. Then we move on to looking at the differences and connections between democratic and authoritarian regimes. This raises many questions for us to explore: such as how democratisation occurs, how democracies relate to non-democratic forms of government, how non-democratic regimes claim a degree of legitimacy, whether it is true that democracies do not fight wars against each other, and what is ‘illiberal democracy’?

On this short course you will have the chance to develop relevant research methods and study skills to critically analyse transformations in global politics. You will gain a thorough grounding in the central transformations that have shaped the modern world.

We aim to cover the following themes:

• Before European hegemony: travel, trade and civilisation
• The Atlantic Crucible
• What is the West, and when was it made? Classes, masses and nations
• The Age of Empire: capitalism, imperialism, war
• The Long Peace: the Cold War as global conflict
• Models of democracy
• Democratic peace theory
• Theories of democratisation
• Fascism, communism
• Illiberal democracy