Module POC3131 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
POC3131: The Revival of Global Authoritarianism
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Please note that this module is only delivered on the Penryn Campus.
Module Aims
This module aims to equip you with the conceptual and theoretical tools necessary for understanding the rise of authoritarian governance and how it is sustained. It will familiarise you with the latest research on authoritarianism and encourage you to develop a critical perspective in analysing existing research on authoritarianism. You will be exposed to a variety of methodological approaches and challenges in research on authoritarianism and provided with an understanding of how both historical and international factors affect the forms and practices of domestic authoritarian governance. You will be able to explore these concepts and theories in a wide range of geographical cases, from the Middle East to the post-Soviet region, from one-party states, such as China, to established democracies, like the UK and USA. The assessment also features a policy briefing, which is intended to enable you to develop your writing for a policy audience.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. Demonstrate understanding of the domestic and international factors that drive and sustain authoritarian politics 2. Demonstrate a command of the main findings research on authoritarianism 3. Critically evaluate the main approaches to the study of authoritarianism |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. Critically employ the categories and concepts of Comparative Politics to a range of empirical cases 5. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of existing research 6. Conduct rigorous, independent analysis using a variety of relevant sources |
| Personal and Key Skills | 7. Evidence effective writing styles that are required in the job market 8. Construct a reasoned and logical argument supported by evidence 9. Work independently and with peers to achieve goals |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Ahram, Ariel and J Paul Goode (2016) ‘Researching Authoritarianism in the Discipline of Democracy’, Social Science Quarterly, 97 (4): 834-849.
Art, David (2016) ‘Archivists and Adventurers: Research Strategies for Authoritarian Regimes of the Past and Present’, Social Science Quarterly, 97 (4): 974-990.
Bruff, Ian (2014) ‘The Rise of Authoritarian Neoliberalism’, Rethinking Marxism: A Journal of Economics, Culture and Society 26 (1): 113-129.
Diamond, Larry (2015) ‘Facing up to the Democratic Recession’, Journal of Democracy 26 (1): 141-155
Glasius, Marlies (2018) ‘What Authoritarianism is… And is Not: A Practice Perspective’, International Affairs 94 (3): 515-533.
Glasius, Marlies, Meta de Lange, Jos Bartman, Emanuela Dalmasso, Aofei Lv, Adele del Sordi, Marcus Michaelsen and Kris Ruijgrok (2018) Research, Ethics and Risk in the Authoritarian Field (Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan).
Heydemann, Steven and Reinoud Leenders (2011) ‘Authoritarian Learning and Authoritarian Resilience: Regime Responses to the “Arab Awakening”’, Globalizations, 8 (5):
Inglehart, Ronald and Pippa Norris (2017) ‘Trump and the Populist Authoritarian Parties’, Perspectives on Politics 15 (2): 443-454.
Levitsky, Steven and Lucan Way (2010) Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Schedler, Andreas (2013) The Politics of Uncertainty: Sustaining and Subverting Electoral Authoritarianism (Oxford University Press)
Svolik, Milan W. (2012) The Politics of Authoritarian Rule (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
Tansey, Oisin (2016) The International Politics of Authoritarian Rule (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
