https://at-ceu.studyguide.timeedit.net/modules/POLS5776?type=COREAlthough political parties were looked upon suspiciously or hardly considered at thedawn of modern democracy, and have been blamed for some political catastrophessince, a certain kind of political party is now largely considered to be anessential ingredient for a functioning democracy. Are political scientistsright to place faith in political parties? This course provides an overview ofthe development of the modern political party in different regions of theworld, and links those developments to the emergence, stability or demise ofdemocracy. The course's two main objectives are i) to understand how politicalparties came to play an essential role in democratic regimes and ii) to explorethe links between the features of political parties and the evolution ofpolitical regimes towards and away from democracy. To do so, the course providesan overview of historical experiences primarily from Europe, the United States,touching also on experiences of new democracies in Eastern Europe, LatinAmerica and beyond.