1. Faculté des sciences sociales | Faculty of Social Sciences
Democracy Promotion in Theory and Practice
API6399 C
Matteo Legrenzi and Marc Lemieux
Fall, 2009
Class schedule: Tuesday, 5:30-8:30 p.m.
DMS 11143
Professor’s office hours: Tuesday, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Wednesday 12:00-1:00 p.m.
DMS 11117
E-mail: Matteo Legrenzi: matteo.legrenzi@uottawa.ca
Marc Lemieux: lemieuxmarc@yahoo.com
On virtual campus: No
COURSE CONTENT
Over the past decade, global trends toward democratization have levelled out, bringing an end
to the phenomenon that Samuel Huntington famously described as the “Third Wave.” This has
raised the profile and intensity of Canadian and international debates on the role of democracy
promotion, a growing but controversial element of the foreign and development policies of
most industrialized democracies.
This seminar is designed to examine the legitimacy and effectiveness of democracy promotion
in the current international context with a particular emphasis on the Middle East. It will
combine theoretical and practical perspectives by exposing students to both classics and
contemporary literature on the topic as well as to case-studies on recent democracy promotion
programs supported by major donors.
The theoretical underpinnings of democracy promotion will be taught using a synthetic
approach that combines perspectives from international relations and comparative politics.

2. The principal themes to be explored in this first half of the course will include the challenge of
defining democracy, the pitfalls of “conceptual stretching,” and arguments for and against the
legitimacy of democracy promotion and the effectiveness of international efforts to support it.
Students will be exposed to the practice of democracy promotion through a critical
examination of case-studies on international support for democratization as well as by
presentations from visiting practitioners. This second half of the course will examine the
various elements of democratic governance targeted by international actors, including
electoral and other political processes, public service delivery, the rule of law, state-society
relations, democratic culture and education. Finally, students will examine the principal
challenges to democracy promotion, including poverty, conflict, and authoritarian regimes.
TEACHING METHODS
This course adopts a seminar format, meaning a non-lecture class environment in which the
instructor’s role is to moderate and stimulate sustained class discussion of weekly topics. Its
success depends on the active engagement of students, based on their mastery of reading
materials and their participation in discussion. For this reason, 20% of the final grade will be
determined by class participation.
EVALUATION
Class Presentations
Each student will be required to make two presentations throughout the course of the
semester. These presentations will be based on specific questions based on the readings for
that particular week. Presentations will be made in debate style, with the student outlining a
specific answer to the question posed, drawing support from the readings. Presentations
should be approximately 15 minutes in length.
To ensure adequate engagement of the reading material, other students will be chosen at
random to provide a rebuttal of each student’s presentation. The rebuttal must take a
contrary position to the answer provided by the original presenter, and should take no more
than five minutes. The purpose of the rebuttal is to stimulate debate on the key analytical
issues in the broader class discussion, and to assist students to develop the critical analytical
skills required for further study or work in the field of international relations.
Each presentation is worth 15% of the final grade.
Each rebuttal is worth 5% of the final grade.
Research paper
Each student will be required to prepare a 5.000 words research paper on international efforts
to promote democracy. Students can choose to provide a critical examination of existing
international efforts in one particular country or region of their choosing, or of international
efforts to address one element of democratic governance across many countries.
Research papers must include the following elements:
1. A succinct statement of the research question (this is a question the student
will attempt to answer in order to evaluate the success or failure of democracy
promotion efforts in a particular case)

3. 2. A working hypothesis (this is the tentative answer to the research question in
the form of a single sentence statement)
3. Research challenges (methodology, conceptual or theoretical issues, acquisition
of materials, etc.)
4. An argument based in reference to theoretical perspectives such as those
provided in the reading materials for the course
5. Evidence from organizations or governments involved in the field of democracy
promotion (whether from interviews, printed or web materials)
The research paper is worth 50% of the final grade. Late submission will be penalized by 20%.
GRADING SUMMARY
Two seminar presentations 15 % each
Two rebuttals 5 % each
Research paper 50 % each
Class participation and attendance 10 % each
Policy on language quality and late submissions
Class attendance is necessary to successfully complete this course.
You will also be judged on language quality, therefore it is recommended that you take the appropriate measures to
avoid mistakes such as spelling, syntax, punctuation, inappropriate use of terms, etc. You may be penalized up to 20 %.
Late submissions are not accepted. Exceptions are made only for illness or other serious situations deemed as such by
the professor. There will be a penalty for unauthorized late submissions. University regulations require all absences
from exams and all late submissions due to illness to be supported by a medical certificate.
WEEKLY READINGS
September 15: Introductory lecture
PART I: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON DEMOCRACY PROMOTION
September 22: Defining Democracy and “Conceptual Stretch”
Presentation topics:
1) What is core and what is contested in the concept of democracy?
2) Which form of democracy advances the rights of citizens more effectively:
representative or participatory democracy?
Linz, Juan J., “An Authoritarian Regime: the Case of Spain” in Eric Allardt and Stein Rokkan,
eds., Mass Politics: Studies in Political Sociology (New York: Free Press, 1970)
Collier, David and Seven Levitsky, “Democracy with Adjectives: Conceptual Innovation in
Comparative Research” World Politics 49 (April 1997), pp. 430-51

4. Schmitter, Philippe and Terry Lynn Karl, “What Democracy Is… and Is Not” in Larry Diamond
and Marc F. Plattner, eds., The Global Resurgence of Democracy, (Baltimore, MD:
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), pp. 49-62
Sadiki, Larbi, Rethinking Arab Democratization: Elections without Democracy, OUP, Oxford,
2009, pp. 1-59.
Somer, Murat, “Moderate Islam and Secularist Opposition in Turkey : Implications for the
World, Muslims and Secular Democracy”, Third World Quarterly 28:7 (Oct. 2007), pp.
1271-1289. ( http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-123572-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html)
September 29: The Legitimacy of Democracy Promotion:
Cultural Considerations
Presentation topics:
1) Is representative democracy a universal ideal?
2) Can authoritarian rule be justified on the basis of cultural considerations?
Goldsmith, Arthur A., “Muslim Exceptionalism ? Measuring the ‘Democracy Gap’”, in Middle
East Policy, vol. 14, no. 2. (Fall 2007), Blackwell Publishers, pp. 86-96.
Kienle, Eberhard, “Democracy Promotion and the Renewal of Authoritarian Rule” in Oliver
Schlumberger, ed., Debating Arab Authoritarianism: Dynamics and Durability in
Nondemocratic Regimes, SUP, Stanford, 2007, pp. 231-251
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, “Buddhism, Asian Values and Democracy” in Larry Diamond and
Marc Plattner, eds., The Global Divergence of Democracies, JHU, Baltimore, 2001, pp.
18-22
Sen, Amartya, “Democracy as a Universal Value” in Larry Diamond and Marc Plattner, eds., The
Global Divergence of Democracies, JHU, Baltimore, 2001, pp. 3-17
Zakaria, Fareed, “A Culture is Destiny : Conversation with Lee Kuan Yew”, Foreign Affairs, 73:2
(1994: Mar./Apr), pp. 109-126.
Jung, Kim Dae. “Is Culture Destiny?”, Foreign Affairs, 73:6 (1994: Nov./Dec.) pp. 189-194.
October 6: The Legitimacy of Democracy Promotion: International, Political
and Legal Considerations
Presentation topics:
1) Is there a right to democracy in international law?
2) At what point does the promotion of democracy in other countries violate their
national sovereignty?
Carothers, Thomas, “The Backlash Against Democracy Promotion”, in Foreign Affairs,
March/April 2006

5. Diamond, Larry, Juan J. Linz and Seymour Martin Lipset, Politics in Developing Countries:
Comparing Experiences with Democracy, 2nd
ed., pp. 1 - 9
Franck, Thomas, “The Emerging Right to Democratic Governance” in the American Journal of
International Law” 86 / 1 (1992)
McFaul, Michael, “Democracy Promotion as World Value” in the Washington Quarterly, Winter
2004-2005, pp. 147-163.
Oneal, John R. and Bruce Russett, “the Kantian Peace: the Pacific Benefits of Democracy,
Interdependence and International Organizations” in World Politics 52.1 (1999), pp. 1-
37
Goodwin-Gill, Guy S., The Development of International Law and Practice (part 2), Free and
Fair Elections, new expanded edition, Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2006, pp. 93-111,
http://www.ipu.org/PDF/publications/Free&Fair06-e.pdf
October 13: Guest Lecture: “Democracy Promotion and Canadian Foreign Policy”
October 20: The Effectiveness of Democracy Promotion: Social and Economic
Considerations
Presentation topics:
1) Is formal democracy still legitimate if it fails to advance social and economic
objectives?
2) Do income taxes generate democratic rights above and beyond those that exist in
rentier states?
Lipset, Seymour Martin: The Social Requisites of Democracy Revisited in the American Political
Science Review 59 (February 1994), pp. 1 - 22
Londregan, John and Keith T. Poole, “Does High Income Promote Democracy?” in World Politics
49 (October 1996), pp. 1-30
Heydemann, Steven, “Social Pacts and the Persistence of Authoritarianism in the Middle East”
” in Oliver Schlumberger, ed., Debating Arab Authoritarianism: Dynamics and Durability
in Nondemocratic Regimes, SUP, Stanford, 2007, pp. 21-39
Luciani, Giacomo 'Allocative vs. Productive States: A Theoretical Frame-work' and Beblawi,
Hazem 'The Rentier State in the Arab World' in Luciani, Giacomo, ed,The Arab State,
Routledge, 1990.
Baghwati, Jagdish, “The New Thinking on Development,” Journal of Democracy, 6:4 (Oct.
1995).
October 27: The Effectiveness of Democracy Promotion: Positive or Perverse
Impacts?
Presentation topics:
1) Does democracy contribute to or undermine stability in fragile states?

6. 2) Should states promote democracy when the consequences would be detrimental to
their geopolitical or economic interests?
Diamond, Larry, “Can the Whole World Become Democratic?” Centre for the Study of
Democracy paper 03-05, April 17, 2003, at http://repositories.cdlib.org/csd/03-05.
McFaul, Michael, “the Missing Variable: The International System as the Link Between the
Third and Fourth Wave Models of Democratization,” CDRL Working Papers no. 58, May
2006, at http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/21142/McFaul_No_58.pdf.
Lawson, Fred, “Intraregime Dynamics, Uncertainty, and the Persistence of Authoritarianism in
the Contemporary Arab World ” in Oliver Schlumberger, ed., Debating Arab
Authoritarianism: Dynamics and Durability in Nondemocratic Regimes, SUP, Stanford,
2007, pp. 21-39
Carothers, Thomas and Ottaway, Marina, Uncharted Journey: Promoting Democracy in the
Middle East, CEIP, Washington, 2005, pp. 3-15, 173-193, 251-269
PART 2: PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVES ON DEMOCRACY PROMOTION
November 3: Strengthening Governance: Systems to Wield Power
Presentation topics:
1) Is it possible to identify models of good governance that are not democratic?
2) Do programs to strengthen state effectiveness in non-democratic states help or
hinder democratization?
Carothers, Thomas, “the End of the Transition Paradigm” in the Journal of Democracy 13:1
(January 2002), pp. 5-20
Fish, Steven M., “Stronger Legislatures, Stronger Democracies” in the Journal of Democracy
17:1 (2006), pp. 5-20
Grindle, Merilee S., “Good Enough Governance Revisited: a Report for DFID”, Cambridge MA:
Harvard University, February 2005
Ottaway, Marina, Democracy Challenged: The Rise of Semi-Authoritarism, Carnegie,
Washington, 2003
Simmons, Julie M., “United Arab Emirates”, in Griffiths, Ann L., and Neremberg, Karl, eds,
Handbook of Federal Countries, 2005, (McGill-Queen’s Press, Montreal, 2005) pp. 357-
367. (public domain, Forum of Federations online federalism library,
www.forumfed.org)
Faundez, Julio, “the Rule of Law Enterprise: Promoting a Dialogue Between Practitioners and
Academics” in Democratization 12:4 (August 2005), pp. 567-586

7. November 10: Strengthening Political Processes: Systems to
Distribute Power
Presentation topics:
1) Does external support for domestic political processes constitute a violation of
national sovereignty?
2) Should democracy assistance only be directed to parties that support the values of
the donor country?
Boda, Michael, “Reconsidering the ‘Free and Fair’ Question” in Representation: The Journal of
Representative Democracy (Vol. 41:3, 2005).
Carothers, Thomas, Confronting the Weakest Link: Aiding Political Parties in New Democracies
(Washington: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2006)
Horowitz, Donald, “Electoral Systems: A Primer for Decision-Makers” in the Journal of
Democracy 14 (October 2003), pp. 115-127
Kumar, Krishna, “Reflections on Political Party Assistance” in Democratization 12:4 (August
2005), pp. 505-52.
Reilly, Benjamin, “International Electoral Assistance: A Review of Donor Activities and Lessons
Learned” CRU Working Paper 17, (the Hague: Clingendael Institute, June 2003)
Doherty, Ivan, “Democracy Out of Balance : Civil Society Can’t Replace Political Parties,”
Policy Review, (April/May, 2001), pp. 25-35.
November 17: Developing Civil Society: Systems to Mobilize Citizens
Presentation topics:
1) Is the development of a vibrant and independent civil society an end in itself, or
should it be explicitly linked to political processes?
2) Can an independent civil society undermine democracy in certain circumstances?
Finkel, S. E., “Can Democracy Be Taught?” in the Journal of Democracy 14 (October 2003), pp.
137-151.
Putnam, Robert A., “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital” in Diamond, Larry and
Marc F. Plattner, eds., The Global Resurgence of Democracy, 2nd
ed. (Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1996)
Pratt, Nicola, Democracy and Authoritarianism in the Arab World, Lynne Rienner,
Boulder, 2007, pp. 25-59
Ackerman, Peter, and Jack Duvall, “The Right to Rise UP : People Power and the Virtues of
Civic Disruption” Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, 30:2 (Summer: 2006), pp. 33-42.
(http://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/resources.shtml )

8. November 24: Challenging Contexts: Conflict
****PAPER DUE****
Presentation topics:
1) Does democracy promotion exacerbate conflict by deepening ethnic division?
2) Should elections be postponed in deeply divided societies?
3) Is democracy promotion inextricably linked with Imperialism in the global
South?
Horowitz, Donald, Ethnic Groups in Conflict: Theories, Patterns, and Policies (1985; reissued
with a new preface, 2000).
Lijphart, Arend, “Constitutional Design for Divided Societies” in the Journal of Democracy 15
(April 2004), pp. 96-109
Paris, Roland, At War’s End: Building Peace after Civil Conflict (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2004)
Rao, Rahul, “The Empire Writes Back (to Michael Ignatieff)” in Millennium: Journal of
International Studies, 2004, Vol.33, No.1, pp. 145-166
Mansfield, Edward D., and Snyder, Jack, Electing to Fight : Why Emerging Democracies Go to
War, MIT Press, Cambridge, 2007), Chapters 1 and 8.
Collier, Paul, Wars, Guns and Votes : Democracy in Dangerous Places, Harper, 2009, pp. 1-50.
December 1: The Future of Democracy in Canadian Foreign Policy
Presentation topics:
1) Does an emphasis on democracy promotion necessarily expose Canada to charges of
hypocrisy and double standards?
2) How should democracy promotion be balanced with other objectives of Canadian
foreign policy?
Government of Canada, “A New Focus on Democracy Support,” November 2, 2007
House of Commons, “Advancing Canada’s Role in International Support for Democratic
Development,” Eighth Report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and
International Development, July 11, 2007
Axworthy, Thomas S., and Leslie Campbell, “The Democracy Canada Institute : A Blueprint,”
Institute for Research on Public Policy, Working Paper Series no 2005-02b (May 2005).
Clark, Janine A., “Canadian Interests and Democracy Promotion in the Middle East,” in
Heinbecker, Paul, and Bessma Momani, eds. Canada and the Middle East, Wilfred
Laurier University Press, 2007, pp. 91-115.
Simpson, Jeffrey, Time to go the Extra Mile for Democracy, Globe and Mail, 28 November 2001.

9. Simpson, Jeffrey, Canada Can Do Democratic Development Better, Globe and Mail, 28 July
2007.
Broadbent, Edward, 21st
-century Canada, home of 19th
century democracy, Globe and Mail, 16
October 2008.
Kippen, Grant, Remember. We Promised Democracy, Globe and Mail, 16 January 2008.
El Akkad, Omar, Canada’s goals rest on this man’s mission : To bring free and fair elections to
Afghanistan, Globe and Mail, front page, 27 July 2009.
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