This course introduces students to the challenges of developing concepts in the analysis and comparison of democracies and autocracies. We will identify and critically evaluate different existing measures (BTI, FHI, V-Dem, Polity). We will engage in a thorough analysis of what it means to build measurable concepts and discuss more practical topics of reliability and validity, measuring in different historical and regional settings and also engage in more normative questions about measuring social phenomena. I expect an interest in data collection and data analysis but prior coursework in statistics is not required.

 

Course requirements will be announced on the first day of class.

 

Students sign up for class on PULS during the official sign up period.