This course will study contemporary authoritarianism both conceptually and empirically. It will survey the broad literature on authoritarian politics to investigate the factors that are associated with the survival of authoritarian regimes, and also the circumstances under which such regimes fail.

Lecture: one hour per week, for 10 weeks

Tutorial: one hour per week, for 10 weeks

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Assessment

■ Two essays of between 2,000 and 2,500 words (50% of the final mark each)

■ To understand the concept of authoritarianism and its principal sub-types

■ To analyse how authoritarianism research is conducted

■ To appreciate the factors that have contributed historically to the contemporary distribution of authoritarianism around the world

■ To understand how the three main sub-types of authoritarianism function

■ To understand the common causes and consequences of authoritarianism

■ To examine critically common strategies employed in the aim of reducing authoritarianism

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Demonstrate a command of the principal findings of research in the field of authoritarianism

■ Evaluate critically the design and implementation of authoritarianism research

■ Explore the determinants of authoritarianism in the contemporary world using relevant databases

■ Conduct rigorous analysis using relevant research sources

■ Advance reasoned and factually supported arguments in both written and oral formats