First-Year Seminar: The Rise of Authoritarianism

Catalog description

Recent political developments in Turkey, Hungary, and even the United States have provoked debate about the rise of authoritarian leaders in western democracies. In this seminar, we will examine the politics of non-democracies to help us understand the new and growing global wave of authoritarianism. How do dictatorships work? When do democracies break down and when do autocracies collapse? How do non-competitive elections affect authoritarian rule? Do competitive elections strengthen civil liberties? Are democracies more or less susceptible to corruption, property expropriation, nationalism, or xenophobia? Do non-democracies produce higher economic growth? Throughout the course, we will also build empirical knowledge about the politics of particular authoritarian regimes.