Undergraduate Course: Autocracy and Dissent in the 21st century (PLIT10196)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | There are now more autocracies than democracies in the world. The course will examine this new 'wave' of authoritarianism, critically examining how Political Science and IR have engaged with the phenomenon, the challenges it presents for international actors, and the strategies used to resist its rise, and push for reform. |
| Course description |
The course focusses on the increase in authoritarianism regimes since the turn of the century. The course critically examines the epistemological, methodological and analytical debates within Political Science and IR about how best to measure, study and understand authoritarian rule.
More practically, we will consider the challenges authoritarianism presents for policy actors and diplomatic relations, the threats to the global rules-based order, and the strategies used by activists to resist its rise, and push for reforms.
We'll explore debates about competing conceptual definitions and methodological debates about the rise of electoral authoritarianism. We'll consider relevant thematic issues and case studies such as populism, lawfare, media capture, authoritarian resilience, how activists attempt to resist autocracy, and the implications for global politics.
The course will be taught through lectures and tutorials. In additional to academic literature, we'll read a wide range of sources including blogposts, podcasts, and policy documents , and carefully observe current events in relevant countries.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least four Politics/IR courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). Only university/college level courses will be considered. |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Analyse and explain conceptual approaches to the study of authoritarianism, the new and different patterns of authoritarian rule since the end of the cold war, and the complex ways in which it comes into being.
- Evaluate the usefulness of different epistemological approaches and research methods for studying autocracy.
- Examine and analyse the challenges experienced by those resisting autocratization.
- Measure and analyse trends towards autocracy in a range of case study countries.
- Demonstrate and assess the implications of growing authoritarian rule for international relations and international organizations.
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Reading List
Wolf, Anne ed. (2025) The Oxford Handbook of Authoritarian Politics. Oxford: OUP.
Levitsky, Steven and Way, Lucan (2010) Competitive authoritarianism: hybrid regimes after the Cold War. Cambridge: CUP.
Levitsky, Steven and Way, Lucan (2020) "The New Competitive Authoritarianism" Journal of Democracy, 31(1), pp. 51-65.
Nord, Marina et al. (2024) State of the world: 25 years of autocratization - democracy trumped? Democratization., 32(4), pp. 839-864.
Lührmann, Anna and Lindberg, Staffan (2019) "A third wave of autocratization is here: what is new about it?" Democratization., 26(7), pp. 1095-1113. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Critical Analysis
1. Enhanced ability to critically evaluate and explain patterns of governance and politics in the world today
2. Improved capability to understand, evaluate and utilize empirical data and analytical source material
Communication and Research
1. Strengthened skills for engaging with a wide range of stakeholders on the global stage
2. Strengthened capacity to clearly and effectively communicate ideas about academic research to both academic and non-academic audiences. |
| Keywords | authoritarianism,democratic backsliding,competitive authoritarianism,third wave of autocracy |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Sara Dorman
Tel: (0131 6)50 4239
Email: sara.dorman@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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