Course description
Practices that are undermining the substance of democracy have become an increasing reality in many countries worldwide. As a result of it there is a growing body of scholarly literature that tries to explain how and why many forms of democratic malaise emerge. This course will deal with the effects of nationalism in this regard. The first part of the course is designed to provide students with an understanding and conceptualization of nationalism. We will discuss the terms such as: state, nation, nationalism, minorities, national identity, religion, ethnicity, nation building, and state building.
In the second and third part of the course, we will focus on the effects of nationalism on political processes, i.e., on nationalism’s role in the recent trend of democratic backsliding: both from the perspective of political actors (how they use ethno-nationalist appeals to subvert democracy) and voters (their acquiescence to the subversion of democracy). Throughout the course, theoretical discussions will be supplemented with examinations of empirical studies. We will cover cases from around the world: Serbia, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Israel, and India. We will also look at structural conditions that favor and facilitate the actors’ subversion of democracy in the name of the nation and at proposals how to counter such actions.
The course aims to equip students with a theoretical and empirical understanding of nationalism and democratic backsliding. Our course discussions (papers, chapters, articles) as well as the course papers, which students will be developing, shall revolve around the relationship between these two phenomena. The course also intends to strengthen a variety of skills such as: academic writing (how to formulate research questions and develop arguments), critical reading, analytic thinking, public presentation, and collective deliberation.
Course Requirements
Preparation and participation (10% of the final grade): In each session we will discuss papers, articles or book chapters (listed below). They form the main basis for our discussions. In order to successfully participate you need to carefully read them and to be prepared to discuss them. Laptops and tablets are only allowed for displaying course-related materials. You should notify me in advance if you are not able to attend a class. We will watch one documentary together in class. You do not need to watch it before.
Regular written comments on mandatory readings (25% of the final grade): For one obligatory reading (chosen by yourselves) of each session day (except the first, fourth, and twelfth one), I ask you to submit a short comment (300 words) before the start of the session. The comment may address the key points and insights of the text, but also its weaknesses in the theoretical argument, in its empirical evidence, in its treatment of the literature, in its concept etc.
Oral presentation (25% of the final grade): Each of you (or in teams of two) will do one short (maximum 15 minutes) presentation of an obligatory text. In your presentation I expect you to highlight the text’s key messages, its take-away points, its weaknesses, and eventual open questions. We will assign responsibilities for presentation in our first session. In addition to the presentation, one or two discussion questions should be prepared for our joint discussion during the class. The questions need to be specific and well explained. Submission deadline: 14:00 on the day before the corresponding seminar session.
Course Paper (40% of the final grade): You are expected to write an 2000 words (without references) long essay. You can choose a question that aligns with your interests and engages with the key themes of the course: conceptualization of nationalism and democratic backsliding; nationalism’s role in democratic backsliding; the effects of nationalism on political process; the role of political actors (top-down) and citizens (bottom-up) in this regard; how to counter exclusionary nationalism. You should choose the topic of the course paper and discuss it with me by Week 10. In your essay you should demonstrate the understanding of the topic and your research and analytical skills. Your final course paper should incorporate at least 5 academic references that do not form part of our readings. Course papers are due two weeks after our last session. I will evaluate papers according to following criteria: clarity of structure, argument, and writing; precision and persuasiveness of the argument; background (contextual) information; and incorporation of literature. I will also pay attention to formal criteria such as title, abstract, numbered pages, sources, and bibliography.
- Instructor: Filip Milacic