Democratisation and Human Rights in Latin America, 7.5 credits

The course comprises two thematic blocks. The first has a political science approach, with a focus on the democratic system and its institutions. The other has a legal sociological perspective, with a focus on the influence of social movements on the political and legal development. The course gives an introduction to the central discussions concerning democratization in Latin America, with an emphasis on political developments since the 1980s. The course regards democratization as mainly an institutional and legal sociological process of change (the social movements rights based struggle), but also includes its relation to economy and culture in the following areas:

-theories about democratic transitions and phases of consolidation

-state and civil society

-social movements

-legal pluralism

-women's rights

-globalization, democratization and citizenship