Political Science | Comparing Non-Democratic Regimes
Y490 | 12737 | Razo
Dictatorships and autocratic governments have long prevailed
throughout history. To understand these types of governments, we will
address four main questions:
1. How are dictatorships different from democracies?
2. What different types of non-democratic regimes are there?
3. How can authoritarian regimes gather political support while
simultaneously limiting political freedoms?
4. How can authoritarian regimes promote economic development in
the absence of political institutions to constrain abuse of government
In order to answer these questions we will read and discuss the work
of political scientists, economists, and historians. The first part of
the course provides a general set of tools for the study of
comparative politics. Part II reviews recent theoretical approaches
for the study of dictatorships. Part III focuses on notable cases of
non-democratic regimes from across the World. Part IV studies recent
democratic transitions. Part V concludes with an overview of
contemporary non-democratic regimes.