IDL 105

Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law

Dr. Kathryn Stoner-Weiss, et al

Syllabus

Course description

This course, like the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) itself, is devoted to exploring the links between various components of the establishment of democracy, economic growth and rule of law. We will examine, in particular, how and why democratic, economically developed states arise as well as how rule of law can be established in places where historically it has been largely absent.

As a research community, CDDRL associates generally agree that the establishment of robust political, economic and legal institutions is an important piece in the puzzle of how democratic states are established and economies develop. But what do we mean by institutions exactly? What variation is there in how democracies are organized? What effects do such variations have on political and economic outcomes? How are such institutions built in conflict-ridden places like Iraq or Afghanistan, and states in transition from communism like Russia, Tajikistan or perhaps China? How much does history matter or is there a universal formula or set of ideas the international policy community might use to promote democracy, development and the rule of law?

We will take these questions as our starting points in exploring the complex and still poorly understood relationships between democracy, economic growth and law-based polities. The course is divided into four parts.

In the first part of the course, we will consider various understandings of democracy, economic development and rule of law as well as different ways in which each has been established institutionally. For example, some polities have elections on a regular basis in which political leaders are chosen, but they cannot necessarily be considered “liberal” democracies because the franchise is somehow limited, or norms of fairness and equal access are not established. Similarly, analysts often talk about the developed versus the developing world, but what do these distinctions mean in practice? How do we measure “development” ? Finally, the rule of law is a popular term with international aid organizations, but what is it exactly and what effect does its establishment have on democratic and economic development?

In the second part of the course, we will look at the actual variation in how democracies, market economies and rule of law systems functions in practice and what the consequences are of different institutional forms and choices. For example, what effect does the choice of a parliamentary over a presidential system make for the consolidation of a stable democracy? How do decisions about the degree of state regulation in the market affect economic growth? How do different forms of constitutionalism influence state development?

The third part of the course will look in deeper empirical detail at how democratic systems have come about historically in different parts of the world. We will examine challenges to dominant models of democratization and institutionalization, various experiences in how sovereign states have come to be established, and how markets are built. What is the role of indigenous versus international actors in these processes? How does the European experience compare to those of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the former Soviet Union, for example?

Finally, in the fourth part of the course, we will look at the available policy instruments commonly used in international democracy, rule of law, and development promotion efforts. What is the role of the United Nations? What is the approach of the United States versus the European Union? What is the role of the World Bank? What is the role of the IMF? What is the function and effect of non-governmental organizations on these processes?

To successfully pass the course all students are expected to 1) view the lectures (on the CDs); 2) know the reading materials; 3) participate at the seminars; 4) complete the weekly assignments; and 5) pass the midterm and final exams. 

Lectures and reading materials. Viewing the lectures and reading the assigned papers is the most essential part of the course. All enrolled students are therefore expected to view all lectures and read all assigned papers. 

Seminars. The seminars are organized and conducted by the Russian course instructors. The student performance at the seminars will be assessed based on three criteria: attendance, preparedness, and activity.

Assignments. For each week, except the midterm and the final, there will be a group assignment to write a short paper addressing a specific question. To that end, all students must be divided into groups of 3 by their instructors. The assignments will be graded and commented by the Stanford teaching assistants (TA) with one grade for the entire student group and a paragraph of comments.  To submit the assignments and view the results the students must login to the Forum and use the PanFora program. See the rules for submitting the assignments. 

Exams. There will be a midterm exam after the first half of the course. The final exam will be given after the entire course is completed. Both the midterm and the final exams consist of two parts: in-class (short questions) and take-home (longer essay). Stanford teaching assistants will be grading and commenting on the exams. See the rules for submitting the midterm and the final exams. 

Plagiarism and Cheating. Plagiarism is the use of somebody's work as one's own, without quotation marks and references to the original source. Cheating is the use of materials that are not allowed at the exam. No plagiarism or cheating are allowed under any circumstances whatsoever. Click here to read the rules for citation and reference.

Grading. The course grade will be determined by four factors: weekly assignments (30%), seminar participation (20%), mid-term exam (20%), and final exam (30%). All weekly assignments, midterms, and finals will be graded with numbers ranging from 60 to 100. The numbers will be converted into the final grade according to the following rule:

Part 1: Introduction to central concepts and understanding institutional variation

WEEK 1:  February 11-15

LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

NO READINGS

LECTURE 2: WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? (Karl)

REQUIRED

1)    Philippe Schmitter and Terry Karl, "What Democracy Is...and Is Not," Diamond and Plattner The Global Resurgence of Democracy, pp. 49-62.

2) В. Ильин, «Либеральная демократия», Democracy.ru

RECOMMENDED

3) Terry Lynn Karl, "Electoralism: Why Elections are not Democracy," in Richard Rose (ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Elections. (Congressional Quarterly Books), 2000.

WEEK 2: February 18-22

LECTURE 3: DEVELOPMENT AND THE QUALITY OF DEMOCRACY (Diamond)

REQUIRED

1)    Larry Diamond and Leonardo Morlino, "The Quality of Democracy: An Overview," Journal of Democracy 15 (October 2004): 20-31.

2) Егор Гайдар, "Построить действующую демократию сложнее, чем ее муляж",       Газета.ру, декабрь 2004. http://www.gazeta.ru/comments/2004/11/30_a_205181.shtml

3) Андрей Кунов, "От «управляемой демократии» к «сырьевой автократии»",       Газета.ру, январь 2005. http://www.gazeta.ru/comments/2005/01/13_a_224038.shtml

RECOMMENDED

4) Larry Diamond, "Moving up and Out of Poverty," pages 1-11 CDDRL Working Paper, 2004.

LECTURE 4: RULE OF LAW (Casper) – NO VIDEO PORTION

REQUIRED

1)    Gerhard Casper, “The Rule of Law – Whose Law?” CDDRL Working Paper, 2004.

2)    Владимир Гельман, «Демократия избыточная или недостаточная?» Pro et Contra, Том 3, Номер 4, Осень 1998

RECOMMENDED

3) Weber, Max. “The Economy and Social Norms” and “Summary of the Most General Relations Between Law and Economy,” in Economy and Society (Eds. Guenther Roth and Claus Wittich, University of California Press:  1978), p. 311-325, p. 333-337.

WEEK 3: February 25-29

LECTURE 5: INSTITUTIONAL FORMS OF THE RULE OF LAW (Jensen)

REQUIRED

1) Erik G. Jensen, “The Rule of Law and Judicial Reform:  The Political Economy of Diverse Institutional Patterns and Reformers’ Responses,” pp. 336-381, in Erik G. Jensen and Thomas C. Heller, Beyond Common Knowledge:  Empirical Approaches to the Rule of Law (Stanford University Press:  2003).

2) В. А. Карташкин, «ЕВРОПЕЙСКАЯ КОНВЕНЦИЯ О ЗАЩИТЕ ПРАВ ЧЕЛОВЕКА И ОСНОВНЫХ СВОБОД И СТАНОВЛЕНИЕ ПРАВОВОГО ГОСУДАРСТВА В РОССИИ»

LECTURE 6:  DOES ECONOMIC GROWTH MATTER? (Wacziarg)

REQUIRED

1) Prologue: The Quest;  Pages 1-16 "Why Growth Matters - To Help the Poor"; Pages 217-240 "Governments can Kill Growth" all in: William Easterly in The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Misadventures in the Tropics, MIT Press, 2002.

2)    В.В. Попов,  «ГОСУДАРСТВО, ДЕМОКРАТИЯ И ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИЙ РОСТ», Доклад на семинаре «Стратегия развития» от 29 сентября 2003 г.

Part II: Institutional Theory and Consequences of Institutional Choice

WEEK 4:  March 3-7

LECTURE 7:  SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO INSTITUTIONS (Meyer)

REQUIRED

1) Ronald Jepperson, "Institutions, Institutional Effects, and Institutionalism."   Pp. 143-163 in W. Powell and P. DiMaggio, eds., The New Institutionalism In Organizational Analysis, (U. of Chicago Press, 1991).

2) Смолин О.Н., «Проблема демократии в посткоммунистической России: некоторые вопросы теории», Опубликовано на сайте Демократия.ру

http://democracy.ru/curious/democracy/postcomm_problems.html

RECOMMENDED

3) John W. Meyer, Globalization: Sources, and Effects on National States and Societies. 

LECTURE 8:  INSTITUTIONS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN MARKETS, DEMOCRACIES AND LEGAL TRADITIONS (Greif)

REQUIRED

1) Douglas North, Institutions, Institutional Organization, Chapters 1 and 9.

2) Greif, Institutions and Impersonal Exchange: The European Experience

3) Александр Аузан, “Общественный договор и гражданское общество,” Полит.ру, Январь 2005.

Part III: Historical and Contemporary Cases

WEEK 5:  March 10-14

LECTURE 9: EXAMPLE 1 LATIN AMERICA (Diaz-Cayeros)

REQUIRED

1) Peter Smith, Democracy in Latin America: Political Change in Comparative Perspective (Oxford 2005), chapter 10, 263-285.

2)  “Democracy’s Low Level Equilibrium,” (Economist one page article on results of Latinbarometer attitudes: http://www.economist.com/world/la/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3084404

3) М. Л. ЧУМАКОВА, «Общество XXI века. ЛАТИНСКАЯ АМЕРИКА: ВЛАСТЬ И ПОЛИТИКА В ЗЕРКАЛЕ ОБЩЕСТВЕННОГО МНЕНИЯ,» Латинская Америка, 2005/08

RECOMMENDED

4) Terry Lynn Karl, “The Vicious Cycle of Inequality in Latin America,” in Susan Eva Eckstein and Timothy P. Wickham-Crowley,(eds.), What Justice? Whose Justice? . Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.

LECTURE 10: EXAMPLE 2 RULE OF LAW IN ASIA:  JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE, ECONOMIC GROWTH AND POLITICAL STABILITY (Jensen)

REQUIRED

1)    David Kennedy, “Laws and Developments” in Law and Development:  Facing Complexity in the 21st century, John Hatchard and Amanda Perry-Kessaris, eds., (Cavendish Publishing: January 2003), p. 17-26

2)    Andras Sajo, “How the Rule of Law Killed Hungarian Welfare Reform” 5 East European Constitutional Review 31 (1996), p. 31-36.

3)    Малинова О.Ю.,  “Об универсальных правах человека и доводах в поддержку культурного релятивизма.”

RECOMMENDED

4) Asian Development Bank’s Judicial Independence Study (Asia Foundation:  October, 2003), pp. 1-7 at http://www.adb.org/Documents/Events/2003/RETA5987/Final_Overview_Report.pdf

WEEK 6:  March 17-21

MIDTERM Exam

WEEK 7:  24-28

LECTURES 11: EXAMPLE 3 EASTERN EUROPE (Stoner-Weiss)

REQUIRED

1)    Michael McFaul, "The Fourth Wave of Democracy and Dictatorship: Noncooperative Transitions in the Postcommunist World," also in McFaul and Stoner-Weiss, eds., pp. 58-95.

2)    П. Е. Смирнов, «Центральная и Восточная Европа: между США и ЕС,» США-Канада, 2005, Август.

RECOMMENDED

3) Valerie Bunce, "Comparative Democratization: Lessons from Russia and the Postcommunist World," in Michael McFaul, Kathryn Stoner-Weiss, eds., After the Collapse of Communism: Comparative Lessons of Transition, (Cambridge: 2004), pp. 207-231.

LECTURES 12: EXAMPLE 3 FORMER SOVIET UNION (Stoner-Weiss)

REQUIRED

1)    Michael McFaul “Transitions from Postcommunism,” Journal of Democracy, July 2005.

2)    Александр Чачия, «Верните нам Россию», Эксперт, 2005, Август.

RECOMMENDED

3) Vladimir Popov, "Circumstances versus Policy Choice: Why Has the Economic Performance of the Soviet Successor States Been so Poor?" also in McFaul and Stoner-Weiss, eds., pp. 96-129.

WEEK 8:  March 31-April 4

LECTURE 13: EXAMPLE 4 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA  (Weinstein)

REQUIRED

1) Robert H. Jackson` and Carl G. Rosberg, Jr., "Why Africa's Weak States Persist:  The Empirical and the Juridical in Statehood," World Politics 35, 1 (October 1982), 1-24.

2) Круглый Стол, «АФРИКА: ИСПЫТАНИЕ НЕЗАВИСИМОСТЬЮ», Азия и Африка Сегодня, 05-01-2001.

RECOMMENDED

3)    Jeffrey Herbst, States and Power in Africa (Princeton University Press, 2000), chapters 1 (pages 11-32) and 9 (pages 251-72)

Part IV: Policy Instruments

LECTURE 14: INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND GROWTH PROMOTION  – THE WORLD BANK AND THE IMF; THE WASHINGTON CONSENSUS (Henry)

REQUIRED

1) Williamson, John (1990). "What Washington Means by Policy Reform" and discussion that follows the article in John Williamson ed. Latin American Adjustment: How much has happened, Institute for International Economics, Washington, D.C. pp. 7-38.

2) William Easterly, “A Modest Proposal,” Washington Post (review of Jeff Sachs’ book and Sachs’ response). Also available at: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25562-2005Mar10.html]

3)    Дипак Лал, «Угрозы экономическим свободам со стороны международных организаций», Калифорнийский университет, Лос-Анджелес, 2004 г.

RECOMMENDED

4) Pages 25-45, Chapter 2 - Aid for Investment and Pages 101-121, Chapter 6 - The Loans That Were, the Growth That Wasn't, all in William Easterly, The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Misadventures in the Tropics.

WEEK 9:  April 7-12

LECTURE 15: INTERNATIONAL LAW AND DEMOCRACY (Weiner)

REQUIRED

1)    Gregory H. Fox, “The Right to Political Participation in International Law”, in Democratic Governance and International Law 48 (Gregory H. Fox & Brad R. Roth eds. 2000). Read pp. 48-69

2)    В. Н. Казаков, «Право и международные отношения. О некоторых чертах современного международного правопорядка,» Государство и право, 2003-04-30.

RECOMMENDED

3) Brad R. Roth, Governmental Illegitimacy in International Law (1999). Read pp. 321-344

4) Charter of the United Nations, available at: http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/index.html. Read Articles 1 and 2

5) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_ccpr.htm .  Read Articles 1 and 25

6) Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 25: The right to participate in public affairs, voting rights and the right of equal access to public service (Art. 25) (1996), available at: http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/d0b7f023e8d6d9898025651e004bc0eb?Opendocument

LECTURE 16: THE UNITED NATIONS, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND RECONCILIATION OF CONFLICT RIDDEN SOCIETIES.  (Stacy)

REQUIRED

1) Helen Stacy “Western Triumphalism: The Crisis of Human Rights in the Global Era” Macquarie University Law Review Vol 2, 193 (2002)
   

2) Марк ШУГУРОВ, «Мир. Современные коллизии прав человека», Свободная мысль – XXI,  2004-10-31, No. 010.

RECOMMENDED

3) Alston and Steiner, International Human Rights in Context (2nd Edition) Oxford 2001, pp1216-1247

WEEK 10:  April 14-18

 LECTURE 17: IRAQ (Diamond)

REQUIRED

1)    Larry Diamond, "Building Democracy After Conflict: Lessons from Iraq," Journal of Democracy 16 (January 2005): 9-23.

2)    Александр Юрин, «Под знаком Ирака», Международная жизнь, 2004, Февраль, No. 002.

RECOMMENDED

3)    James Dobbins, "Iraq: Winning the Unwinnable War," Foreign Affairs 84 (January/February 2005): 16-26

LECTURE 18: DEMOCRACY AND RULE OF LAW PROMOTION STRATEGIES: THE UNITED STATES VS. EU (Magen)

REQUIRED

1) Paula Dobriansky: "Democracy Promotion: Explaining the Bush Administration's Position” in Thomas Carothers " Critical Mission: Essays on Democracy Promotion (2004), pp. 75-80.

2)  Ron Asmus, Larry Diamond, Mike McFaul et al. "A Transatlantic Strategy to Promote Democratic Development in the Broader Middle East" (Spring 2005) Washington Quarterly.

3)    Владислав Иноземцев, «Америке нечему учить остальной мир. Новая историческая задача: сделать демократию менее опасной для мира,» НГ - Ex libris, 2003-07-10, No. 023.

RECOMMENDED

4)    Thomas Carothers  “The Question of Strategy” in Aiding Democracy Abroad: The Learning Curve (1999), pp.85-122;

WEEK 11:  April 21-25

LECTURE 19: THE ROLE AND EFFICACY OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN PROMOTING DEMOCRACY, DEVELOPMENT, AND THE RULE OF LAW

REQUIRED

1) Michael Maren,"The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid and International Charity.

2) Газета.Ru, «Гражданские палатки», 09 Ноября 2005 г.

Final Examination due May 2th