PSC 8388: AUTHORITARIANISM
SPRING 2012
Professor Bruce Dickson office: 480 Monroe Hall ph: 994-4186; fax: 994-7743; email: bdickson@gwu.edu office hours: Fridays, 2-4 p.m., or by appointment
Course Description: This class will examine the political science scholarship on authoritarian regimes, including their institutional features, strategies for survival, and prospects for change.
Course Prerequisite: Although not a requirement, it is strongly recommended that students take
PSC 331, Advanced Theories of Comparative Politics, before taking this class.
Readings: Several books have been ordered through the book store, and are also on reserve at
Gelman Library:
Jason Brownlee, Authoritarianism in an Age of Democratization (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2007).
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Alastair Smith, Randolph M. Siverson, and James Morrow, The Logic of Political Survival (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2003.
Jennifer Gandhi, Political Institutions under Dictatorship (Cambridge, 2008).
Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way, Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold
War (Cambridge, 2010).
Beatriz Magaloni, Voting for Autocracy: Hegemonic Party Survival and its Demise in Mexico
(Cambridge, 2008).
Guillermo O’Donnell and Philippe Schmitter,
Transitions from Authoritarian Rule, Vol. 4:
Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1986).
Dan Slater, Ordering Power: Contentious Politics and Authoritarian Leviathans in Southeast
Asia (Cambridge, 2010).
All other readings will be available on Blackboard. Students are required to do the readings for each session and be prepared to discuss them in class.
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Learning Objectives: During the semester, students will:

Become familiar with the key issues, institutions, and dynamics of authoritarian regimes;;

Become familiar with the scholarly debates on the formation and sustainability of authoritarian regimes;

Become familiar with different research methods and approaches and evaluate the pros and cons of them;

Learn how to design and implement an original research paper.
Assignments:
(1) Two Short Papers. During the semester, you will write two five-page papers. Papers should be critiques of the assigned readings; you are not expected or required to do additional outside reading. There will be no assigned topics; instead, students will use their own discretion in selecting paper topics, so long as they respond to the readings in some way. A good paper should do the following things:
 it may compare and contrast several of the readings; provide an in-depth critique of just one of the readings, or analyze a basic approach (e.g., the utility of rational choice versus political culture in explaining political behavior).
 it should not simply summarize the readings; your paper should make an argument and convey a point of view.
 it should give a good critique of the readings. A critique is not necessarily negative.
Whether or not you like an author’s argument, you still must critique it: is the argument clearly stated? Is the evidence offered relevant to the argument and convincing, or is it biased in some way? Are alternative explanations ignored or addressed? Are the cases selected appropriate for the research question? etc.
 it should give credit where credit is due: always cite the sources for key information, and always provide page numbers for quotes.
 it must be double spaced, use 12 point font, and no more than five pages long.
Your papers do not have to cover all the readings in a particular week, but they should identify and analyze a main theme, debate, or puzzle from at least some of that week’s readings.
The papers are due by 12 noon the day of class . Under no circumstances may you turn your paper after class discussion. Your papers will also include a one-paragraph abstract of your main themes; this abstract will be the basis of your class presentation. Both the paper and the abstract should be posted to Blackboard.
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(2) Class Participation. Active participation is a key requirement of this seminar, and you cannot participate if you have not done the readings. You are therefore expected to have finished all the readings before each week’s class, and come to class ready to participate in our discussion.
In weeks that you do not write a paper, you will submit three questions on that week’s readings.
One question may be a factual question, asking for clarification of a point that you did not understand. The other questions must be analytical in nature, designed to promote class discussion. The questions are due by 12 noon the day of class.
They will be posted on the discussion board of Blackboard, and you are encouraged to read other students’ questions/comments before class.
(3) Research Paper. The final assignment for the class is to produce an original research paper of approximately 25 pages. You have three options for this paper:

Standard research paper . This may include a major revision of a paper done in another class.

Review essay . This is a World Politics style review of 3 or more books on a common theme or topic.

Grant proposal . This will design a dissertation-worthy research project, following the
National Science Foundation’s template for grant proposals.
Your paper topic and type of paper are due by February 2, and the paper is due by
Monday, May 14.
Grading: Final grades will be based on several criteria, with the following weights:
Participation 30%
Short papers
Research paper
2 @ 15% = 30%
40%
Academic Integrity: I personally support the GW Code of Academic Integrity, and all students are also expected to abide by it. It states: “Academic dishonesty is defined as cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting one's own work, taking credit for the work of others without crediting them and without appropriate authorization, and the fabrication of information.” For the remainder of the code, see: http://www.gwu.edu/~ntegrity/code.html
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WEEKLY READING ASSIGNMENTS
1. January 19: Overview
2. January 26: Introduction to Authoritarianism
Guillermo O’Donnell and Philippe Schmitter,
Transitions from Authoritarian Rule, Vol. 4:
Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1986).
Barbara Geddes, “What Do We Know about Democratization After Twenty Years?”
Annual
Review of Political Science 2, no. 1 (1999), pp. 115-144.
Thomas Carothers, “The End of the Transition Paradigm,”
Journal of Democracy , Vol. 13, no. 1
(2002), pp. 5-21.
Larry Diamond, “Thinking about Hybrid Regimes,”
Journal of Democracy , Vol. 13, no. 2 (April
2002), pp. 21-35.
Michael Bratton and Nicolas van de Walle, Democratic Experiments in Africa: Regime
Transitions in Comparative Perspective (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997), chapter
2.
Henry E. Hale, “Regime Cycles: Democracy, Autocracy, and Revolution in Post-Soviet
Eurasia,”
World Politics , vol. 58 (October 2005), pp. 133-165.
Lisel Hintz, “Explaining Democratic Failure in the Post-Soviet Space,”
Washington Review of
Turkish and Eurasian Affairs (December 2011).
3. February 2: Authoritarianism and the Arab Spring
Eva Bellin, “The Robustness of Authoritarianism in the Middle East,”
Comparative Politics ,
Vol. 36, no. 2 (January 2004), pp. 139-157.
Ellen Lust-Okar, “Divided They Rule: The Management and Manipulation of Political
Oppression,”
Comparative Politics , Vol. 36, no. 2 (January 2004) pp. 159-179.
M. Steven Fish, “Islam and Authoritarianism,” World Politics , Vol. 55 (October 2002), pp. 4-37.
Michael L. Ross, “Oil, Islam, and Women,” American Political Science Review , vol. 102, no. 1
(February 2008), pp. 107-123.
Steven Heydemann, “Upgrading Authoritarianism in the Arab World,” Brookings, Analysis
Paper no. 13, October 2007.
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Jack Goldstone, “Understanding the Revolutions of 2011: Weakness and Resilience in Middle
Eastern Autocracies,” Foreign Affairs , (May-June 2011), pp. 8-16.
F. Gregory Gause III, “Why Middle East Studies Missed the Arab Spring: The Myth of
Authoritarian Stability,” Foreign Affairs (July/August 2011), pp. 81-90.
Eva Bellin, “Reconsidering the Robustness of Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Lessons from the Arab Spring,” Comparative Politics , vol. 44, no. 2 (January 2012), pp. 127-149.
Marc Lynch, “After Egypt: The Limits and Promise of Online Challenges to the Authoritarian
Arab State,”
Perspectives on Politics , Vol. 9. No. 2 (June 2011), pp. 301-310.
***PAPER TOPIC DUE***
4. February 9: Authoritarian Parties and Party Systems (I)
Samuel P. Huntington, “Social and Institutional Dynamics of One-Party Systems,” in Samuel P.
Huntington and Clement H. Moore, eds., Authoritarian Politics in Modern Society: The
Dynamics of Established One-Party Systems (New York: Basic Books, 1970), pp. 3-47.
Andrew Nathan, “Authoritarian Resilience,”
Journal of Democracy , Vol. 14, no 1 (January
2003), pp. 6-17.
Michele Penner Angrist, “Party Systems and Regime Formation in the Modern Middle East:
Explaining Turkish Exceptionalism,”
Comparative Politics , Vol. 36, no. 2 (January 2004), pp.
229-249.
Ellen Lust-Okar, “Divided They Rule: The Management and Manipulation of Political
Oppression,”
Comparative Politics , Vol. 36, no. 2 (January 2004) pp. 159-179.
Francesco Cavatorta, “Neither Participation nor Revolution: The Strategy of the Moroccan
Jamiat al-Adl wal-Ilhsan,” Mediterranean Politics , Vol. 12, no. 3 (November 2007), pp. 381-
397.
Benjamin Smith, “Life of the Party: The Origins of Regime Breakdown and Persistence under
Single-Party Rule,” World Politics , Vol. 57, no. 3 (April 2005), pp. 421-451.
Kenneth F. Greene, “Opposition Party Strategy and Spatial Competition in Dominant Party
Regimes: A Theory and the Case of Mexico,” Comparative Political Studies , Vol.
35, no. 7,
(September 2002), pp.755-783.
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5. February 16: Authoritarian Parties and Party Systems (II)
Magaloni, Voting for Autocracy
6. February 23: Elite Strategies (I)
BDM, et al, Logic of Political Survival , chap. 1-5, pp. 1-214.
7. March 1: Institutional Characteristics of Authoritarianism
Gandhi, Political Institutions under Dictatorship
8. March 8: Elite Strategies (II): Strategies for Survival
BDM, et al, Logic of Political Survival , chap. 7-8 pp. 273-404.
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and George W. Downs, “Development and Democracy,” Foreign
Affairs , Vol. 84, no. 5 (September/October 2005), pp. 77-86.
Zaryab Iqbal and Christopher Zorn, “Sic Semper Tyrannis? Power, Repression, and
Assassination since the Second World War,”
Journal of Politics , Vol. 68, no. 3 (May 2006), pp.
489-501.
Yongshun Cai, “Power Structure and Regime Resilience: Contentious Politics in China.”
British
Journal of Political Science , Vol. 38, no. 3 (July 2008), pp. 411-432.
March 15 – Spring Break
9. March 22: Competitive Authoritarianism (I)
Levitsky and Way, Competitive Authoritarianism
10. March 29: Competitive Authoritarianism (II)
Jason Brownlee, Authoritarianism in an Age of Democratization (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2007).
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11. April 5: State Capacity and Authoritarian Durability
Slater, Ordering Power
12 April 12: Societal Factors
Edward Gibson, “The Populist Road to Market Reform: Policy and Electoral Coalitions in
Mexico and Argentina,”
World Politics , Vol. 49, no. 3 (April 1997), pp. 339-370.
Michael Schatzberg, “Parameters of the Political,” in
Political Legitimacy in Middle Africa:
Father, Family and Food (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001), pp. 71-110.
Eva Bellin, “Contingent Democrats: Industrialists, Labor, and Democratization in Late-
Developing Countries,”
World Politics , vol. 52, no. 2 (January 2000), pp. 175-205.
Holger Albrecht, “The Nature of Political Participation,” in Ellen Lust-Okar and Saloua
Zerhouni (eds.), Political Participation under Authoritarianism in the Middle East (Boulder:
Lynne Rienner, 2008), pp. 15-32.
Stephen Whitefield, “Political Cleavages and Post-Communist Politics,” Annual Review of
Political Science (2002), pp. 181-200.
Mary E. Gallagher, “‘Reform and Openness’: Why China’s Economic Reforms Have Delayed
Democracy,” World Politics , Vol. 54, no. 3 (April 2002), pp. 338-372.
13. April 19: Communism and Capitalism
Kellee S. Tsai, “Capitalists without a Class: Political Diversity among Private Entrepreneurs in
China,”
Comparative Political Studies , vol. 38, no. p (November 2005), pp. 1130-1158.
Jie Chen and Bruce J. Dickson, Allies of the State: China’s Private Entrepreneurs and
Democratic China (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2010).
Bruce J. Dickson, “Updating the China Model,”
Washington Quarterly , vol. 34, no. 4
(September 2011), pp. 39-58.
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14. April 26: Military and Security
Samuel P. Huntington, “Praetorianism and Political Decay,” Political Order in Changing
Societies , pp. 192-263.
Bueno de Mesquita, et al, Logic of Political Survival , chapters 6 and 9, pp. 215-272 and 405-460.
Karen L. Remmer and Gilbert W. Merkx, “Bureaucratic-Authoritarianism Revisited,” Latin
American Research Review , Vol. 17, no. 2 (1982), pp. 3-40.
Lawrence P. Markowitz, “Unlootable Resources and State Security Institutions in Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan,”
Comparative Political Studies , vol. 44, no. 2 (February 2011), pp. 156-183.
MAY 14: RESEARCH PAPER DUE
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