Democratic transitions are easy to see as they occur - they are often shown on CNN. But the consolidation of democracy is much trickier. It is difficult to measure, and even harder to determine its causes. As with many concepts in social science, many take the attitude that we know it when we see it. This course will examine a number of countries from across Eastern Europe (Poland, Russia, and Ukraine), Southern Europe (Portugal and Greece), and Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, and Peru) that experienced democratic transitions as part of the Third Wave of Democracy to determine where we do and do not see democratic consolidation, and then use these cases to inform theoretical discussions of why democracy is consolidated in some places, but not in others. We will focus especially on the trajectories of electoral cycles and political competition, constitutional development, and political crises.