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.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
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 20^th– 21^st 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