Transitional Justice and Democratization

Transitional Justice and Democratization
Bachelor in International Studies
ECTS Credits: 6.0
Course: 4
Semester: 1

COMPETENCES AND SKILLS THAT WILL BE ACQUIRED AND LEARNING RESULTS

BASIC COMPETENCES
CB1 - Be able to show that they possess and comprehend facts and contents in an area of study which, based on a previous general secondary school level, have been extended to those included in advanced textbooks and in some aspects proceed from the most advanced studies in this area.
CB2 - Be able to show that they have learned how to apply their knowledge professionally to their future jobs or tasks and that they possess the competences needed to develop and defend arguments and solve problems in that area of study.
CB3 - Be able to show that they are capable of collecting and interpreting the relevant data (normally within their area of study) needed for formulating judgments which require critical thought on social, scientific and ethical topics of relevance.
CB4 - Be able to show that they are able to transmit information, ideas, problems and solutions both to specialized and non-specialized publics.
CB5 - Be able to show that they have developed the learning skills required to perform further studies with a high degree of self-dependence.

GENERAL COMPETENCES
CG1 - Understand social, political, legal and economic realities from a comparative perspective.
CG2 - Be able to approximate and analyze the intrinsic values contained in equal opportunities, multi-cultural society, political ideological and cultural pluralism, human rights, and the international community.
CG5 - Be able to debate and formulate critical reasoning, using precise terminology and specialized resources, when analyzing international and global phenomena, employing both the concepts and knowledge from different disciplines as well as the methods of analysis, paradigms and concepts pertaining to the Social Sciences.
CG6 - Be able to apply scientific method to the economic, social and political questions of a global society; be able to formulate problems in this context, identify a possible explication or solution, and a method to contrast them by sensibly interpreting the data.

OVERLAPPING COMPETENCES
CT1 - Acquire the capacity to communicate knowledge in oral and written form, both to specialized and to non-specialized publics.
CT2 - Acquire the capacity to establish good interpersonal communication and to work both in interdisciplinary and international teams.
CT3 - Acquire the capacity to organize and plan workloads, taking correct decisions based on the available information, collecting and interpreting relevant data in order to provide assessments in that area of study.
CT4 - Develop the motivation and capacity to perform independent continuous learning for life, with an endowment to adapt to change and new situations.

SPECIFIC COMPETENCES
CE1 - Be familiar with the principal political and social theories. Be capable of analyzing and comparing contemporary policies.
CE2 - Be familiar with and understand the processes of political, social, economic and cultural change in society and contemporary policy.
CE3 - Be familiar with the system of origins of Law.
CE4 - Be familiar with public freedoms and fundamental rights in both Spanish and international legal codices.
CE5 - Be familiar with the leading state models of territorial, political, economic and social organization.
CE7 - Understand the main dynamics which generate inequality and its consequences, and comprehend the principles on which equal opportunity policies are based.
CE10 - Be able to discern the differentiating elements in international problems in accordance to the development stages of a country.
CE11 - Be able to critically relate present and past events and processes.
CE12 - Be able to formulate and solve basic economic, social, political problems in an international context.
CE14 - Be able to design and evaluate viable and sustainable political and socio-economic programs designed for social advancement.
CE16 - Be able to carry out case studies and apply comparative method to analyze institutions, processes and policies in different countries.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
· Applied knowledge on the elements of the concept of transitional justice, its historical evolution and the international legal norms which each of them has been consecrated and consolidated.
· Applied knowledge that permits to identify the various legal, political, institutional and social aspects that interact in any process of transition to democracy.
· Applied knowledge for understanding the importance of transitional justice and the satisfaction of the rights of victims of severe human rights violations when conducting any process of transition to democracy.
· Applied knowledge for determining the viability and success of the different implemented public policies to meet the principles of transitional justice in a process of democratization.

DESCRIPTION OF CONTENTS: PROGRAMME

Analysis of transitions to democracy: Waves of democratization. Explanations regarding the determinants of transitions to democracy. Explanation of the elements of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition that make up the universe of transitional justice. The analysis of the relevance of transitional justice - as remedial mechanism for victims of severe violations of human rights - in the democratization process of societies with a dictatorial past. Transitional justice in post-conflict situations. Types of dictatorship, transition types and transitional justice. The comparative study of the degree of satisfaction and compliance with the elements of transitional justice in political transitions of the twentieth century. Relationship to the actually achieved degree of democratization in each process. The study of international obligations binding states regarding transitional justice and reparation for victims of severe violations of human rights. The analysis of the different public policies by which each society implements the requirements of transitional justice, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each model.

ASSESSMENT SYSTEM

Continous assessment - 40% Final Exam - 60%