Democracy and Governance Studies
Welcome to the Democracy and Governance Studies program at Georgetown University, housing the Master of Arts in Democracy and Governance and the Center for Democracy and Civil Society (CDACS).
New Book Looks at Globalization and Civil Societies Worldwide
CDACS faculty associate Steven Heydemann recently published a co-edited volume, Globalization, Philanthropy, and Civil Society: Projecting Institutional Logics Abroad. The book explores the global diffusion of models for the organization of civil societies and nonprofit organizations.
Prof. Heydemann is a co-founder of CDACS and the Georgetown Democracy and Governance program. He teaches graduate-level classes on regime transitions, authoritarian politics, and social science research methods. His co-editor is David Hammack, Haydn Professor of History at Case Western Reserve University.
Democracy & Society on the Prospects for Democracy Abroad
The Spring 2009 issue of CDACS' journal, Democracy & Society, looks at global democratic recession, the consolidation of authoritarian regimes, our understandings of these phenomena, and how democracy assistance programs might respond. Also included are reviews of recent titles by Robert Kagan, Michael Klare, Edward Lucas, Susan Shirk, and Barbara Slavin. Please stay tuned for the Fall 2009 call for papers.
Addressing the Democratic Recession
According to Freedom House, the proportion of electoral democracies has declined for two years in a row. This is the first democratic recession since the end of the Cold War. The decline, in part, stems from the policies of the Bush Administration as well as from incomplete democratic transitions. It is also the result of deliberate reforms to strengthen authoritarian regimes. CDACS Executive Director Barak Hoffman and MA student Jack Santucci argue that unless the Obama administration addresses the causes of the democratic recession by focusing more attention on the difficulties of democratic consolidation, it is likely to deepen.
