Why do some states develop as democracies while others remainauthoritarian? Explain these outcomes by drawing on the comparative experience of Zimbabwe and South Africa.

The word limit is 2,500 words.

Recommended formatting

The recommended referencing style is Harvard style, where the surname of the author(s) appear(s) in parentheses in the main text along with the year of publication (and the specific page if needed).

Then, all works cited in the text are included in a list under the heading ‘Bibliography’ at the end of the document.

The assessment criteria for the essays include the following main items:

• The extent to which an argument has been provided in response to the question
• The extent to which the argument is supported with accurate use
of evidence from the work of scholars and academic literature
• The extent of understanding of complex approaches and concepts
• The quality and clarity of the analysis and main argument
• The use of proper citation & referencing
• The extent to which the material is written clearly and fluently.

You will be assessed through one written essay, 2,500 words long. You will need to prepare an essay that will address an important political phenomenon from a comparative perspective. Most of the questions stem from the key themes/puzzles we will explore in this module (see below).

Questions for assignment [2,500 words]:

• Why do some states develop as democracies while others remain authoritarian? Explain these outcomes by drawing on the comparative experience of Zimbabwe and South Africa.

• While the recent wave of revolutions in the Middle East (‘Arab Spring’) paved the way for a relatively peaceful transition to democracy in Tunisia, Egypt returned to authoritarian rule shortly after the end of the revolution. What explains these divergent outcomes?

• In your opinion, what is the most useful electoral system for a country in times of economic crisis? Some scholars argue that ‘first-past-the-post’ secures stable governments, necessary for effective decision-making, while others maintain that ‘consensus’ models facilitate political consensus.

• Why do some democracies experience democratic backsliding? Compare the experiences of Hungary and Poland.

• What explains the recent surge of populist parties? Is populism an outcome of rising economic inequalities or cultural backlash?

• What is the relationship between political institutions and economic development? Discuss with reference to two cases.

• Does welfare state reduce economic inequality ? Discuss.

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