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 |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
While the precise content will vary from year to year, it is expected that the module will include lectures on the following themes:
- Global Democracy in Decline?
- Studying authoritarianism – methodological and empirical challenges
- Authoritarianism as Regime Type
- Authoritarian Institutions (legislatures, courts, constitutions)
- The Political Economy of Authoritarianism (e.g. rentier states, patronalism, corruption)
- Civic Life under Authoritarianism (civil society, protests and repression, welfare)
- From 20th– 21st Century Authoritarianism (innovations in authoritarian governance, technology and authoritarianism)
- The International politics of authoritarianism (norm diffusion, democracy prevention, authoritarian international institutions, rising powers, decline of the West)
- Authoritarianism in democratic countries (populism, Trump etc., authoritarianism as a set of practices)
- A Global Authoritarian Future?
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
---|---|---|
22 | 128 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
---|---|---|
Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 22 | 11 x 2 hour seminars |
Guided independent study | 65 | Private study, reading and preparing for seminars (approx. 6 hours of private study per seminar) |
Guided independent study | 28 | Researching and writing policy briefing |
Guided independent study | 30 | Researching and writing essay |
Guided independent study | 5 | Preparing formative presentation |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
A good summary of how to write a policy brief - https://writingcenter.unc.edu/policy-briefs/
Blog on authoritarianism managed at Sheffield and Birkbeck - https://thelanguageofauthoritarianregimes.wordpress.com/
Research project ‘Authoritarianism in a Global Age’, University of Amsterdam, http://www.authoritarianism-global.uva.nl/
NED podcast on authoritarian resurgence - https://www.ned.org/ideas/podcast/
Freedom House 2017 Report on Modern Authoritarianism - https://freedomhouse.org/report/special-reports/breaking-down-democracy-goals-strategies-and-methods-modern-authoritarians
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Group Presentation (in class or online) | 15 minutes | 1-6, 8-9 | Oral |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
---|---|---|
100 | 0 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
Policy Briefing | 40 | 1,500 words | 1-9 | Written |
Research Essay | 60 | 3,000 words | 1-6, 8-9 | Written |
0 | ||||
0 | ||||
0 | ||||
0 |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
Policy Briefing | Policy Briefing (1,500 words) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
Research Essay | Research Essay (3,000 words) | 1-6, 8-9 | August/September reassessment period |