POSC 249 - Two Koreas: Democracy Authoritarian

4 Credits

1 Units

Authoritarianism and democracy are fundamentally different, but what distinguishes them? Do democracies perform better than authoritarian political systems? Can democracy and authoritarianism coexist in a hybrid form? This course aims to address these questions by focusing on the two Koreas in East Asia. Despite the armistice between North and South Korea, the two nations remain in a state of war, posing a significant threat to global peace beyond Asia. Throughout the course, we will explore how the division of the two Koreas came about, why democracy emerged in South Korea while dictators retained power in North Korea, and how South Korea, despite being poorer than the North, has outpaced its northern neighbor and now ranks as the world’s 10th largest economy.

Prerequisite: POSC 125 or POSC 115 or POSC 110
Credit Type Code: Letter Grade