GOVT 50.26 The Dictator's World

Democratic backsliding is occurring all over the world, a trend occurring amidst growing authoritarianism and a new variant of “competitive authoritarianism.” In the United States, both liberals and conservatives accuse each other of eroding democracy. In foreign policy, an emerging rivalry between the democratic United States and authoritarian China has increased the salience of ideology and regime type in global politics. To give Dartmouth students the intellectual tools to better understand these vital topics, this class focuses on the theme of authoritarianism and democracy in internal and global politics. We first explore what is authoritarianism and how it differs from democracy. We discuss how dictators rise, stay in power, and fall. We examine how liberal and authoritarian countries differ in economic and security policies: for example, the extent to which dictatorships are more violent and less economically successful. We examine how today’s autocrats stay in power through different toolkits relative to the past—and what this suggests for the global struggle between authoritarianism and democracy.    

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:INT; WCult:NW

The Timetable of Class Meetings contains the most up-to-date information about a course. It includes not only the meeting time and instructor, but also its official distributive and/or world culture designation. This information supersedes any information you may see elsewhere, to include what may appear in this ORC/Catalog or on a department/program website. Note that course attributes may change term to term therefore those in effect are those (only) during the term in which you enroll in the course.

Department-Specific Course Categories

Government