INTS 423 The Rise of Authoritarianism

A new authoritarian wave is sweeping world politics today: the mass uprisings of the Arab Spring have reproduced authoritarian regimes, consolidated democratic regimes are increasingly becoming illiberal, and new democracies are centralizing power through populist rhetoric. This course will address such rise in authoritarianism by asking how authoritarian regimes emerge, survive, co-opt, and mold their citizens. Thus, the aim of this course will be to understand the multiplicity of authoritarian politics and its influence through theoretical discussions. These theoretical discussions will also be coupled with case studies from across the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. Within this framework, this course will be organized into three parts. Part 1 will question what leads to the rise of authoritarian regimes and how democracies break down. Part 2 will discuss how authoritarian regimes consolidate their power by using ideology, law, media, and violence. Part 3 will examine how authoritarian regimes weaken, what leads to mass uprisings, and when they democratize.