Democracy and its enemies in the 21st century

  • Price
    75 € + 0% VAT
  • Conductor
    Arcada University of Applied Sciences
  • Language
    English
  • Scope
    5 ECTS
  • Course dates
  • Last application date

What is democracy in the 21st century? What are its distinctive features in the digital age and what are its enemies? In this course we will look at the combination of factors that contribute to the strengthening or the weakening of democracy, to the nature of the challenges facing democratic regimes in Europe and elsewhere and to the nature of the responses that could address these challenges.

This course addresses the crisis of democracy and the ideals associated with it, and the challenges facing democratic societies in the West. We will discuss the influence and the reasons for the appeal of non-democratic ideologies in democratic societies.

By taking this course, you will learn

  • to recognise the fundamental features that distinguish democracy from non-democratic ideologies;
  • to identify the signs of non-democratic ideologies in political communication;
  • to develop the functional literacies and epistemic competences necessary for active participation in democratic politics in the digital age.

You will also become better at

  • reading and comprehension in political communication;
  • democratic argumentation;
  • recognizing the influence of non-democratic ideologies in political communication;
  • recognize the political, cultural and psychological features of non-democratic ideologies of the 21st century;
  • develop personal and collective responses to the challenges for democracy associated with them.

Practical details

In this course we will be using lectures, individual readings and audiovisuals as teaching methods. The lectures will be held on campus on Fridays from 13.00 to 17.00. For each segment of the course (1 ECTS each) a test/quiz will be held, and at the end of the course you will need to produce a short essay. It is also possible to take parts of the course, meaning you don't have to commit to the full 5 ECTS. In this case, you will be billed for the amount of credits you've completed (1 ECTS = 15€).