PUBPOL 3680

Towards a Policy of Democratic Unity

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2024-2025.

Democratic leaders are increasingly concerned with authoritarian attempts to alter long-established values and interests of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.  Questions as to the abuse of Interpol against dissidents, the harsh reaction by China to WHO attempts to address the pandemic, and the rejection by Russia of its international obligations bring new policy questions but also solutions to this topic. As the international liberal order framework of the last 75 years shows its age, the question of which nations and value systems will shape the world for the next 75 years becomes more pressing.  Are democracies capable of jointly addressing this challenge? How far do democratic alliances go before national interests take charge?   In this course, students will draw upon real-life case studies and scenarios through interaction with diplomats, civil society, and other practitioners in this arena. Students in this course will be equipped to shape the debate of a framework of human rights, the rule of law, and democracy for the future and present their ideas through the use of a structured debate as a final project.

When Offered Fall.

• Critique and debate the ability of democracies to pushback against expanding authoritarianism.
• Revise or propose a new narrative for concerted action by democracy to protect human rights and democracy in the multilateral system.
• Differentiate between reforms and attempts to replacement of universal values of human rights and the rule of law.
• Compare and contrast strategies to promote universal human rights.

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