A study and analysis of the most important theoretical and practical issues, motivations and mechanisms relating to political transition to democracy. Topics to be covered include: theories and conceptions of democratic transitions (elite theory, rational choice, social contract theory); empirical studies of successful and unsuccessful transitions, with special reference to transitions from military, totalitarian, and absolute monarchical regimes to democracy, with the purpose of comprehending the role of economics, prevailing culture and international pressures in impeding or aiding the process of democratic transition; origins, political, intellectual and field-related motives lying behind the rise of “Transition to Democracy” as a field of research with different theoretical approaches; case studies of transition to democracy in Arab countries; relation between transition to democracy and: development, modernization, globalization, liberation, revolution and social forces supporting such transitions; difficulties and horizons for transition to democracy in Palestine.
