Dictators and Their Demise PL SC 414/ Fall 2013

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1 370 Willard Bldg T R 1:00PM-2:15PM Professor Wright Office: Pond Lab 233 Office Hours: Wednesday 1:30-3:30 PM josephgwright@gmail.com COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course examines the politics of authoritarian rule. We address: the conditions that give rise to authoritarianism; the variety of authoritarian regimes; the strategies authoritarian leaders use to stay in power in different types of regimes; the consequences of different types of authoritarianism for outcomes such as economic growth and human development; and the domestic and international sources of authoritarian demise. The course covers examples of authoritarian rule in: Algeria, Chile, China, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Mexico, and the former Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo or DRC). Readings cover theoretical approaches to the study of authoritarian rule, in-depth case studies (including novels, biographies, and documentary), and empirical research. This course requires students to analyze quantitative data and to write multiple short assignments, in addition to a mid-term and final exam. REQUIREMENTS: Students are expected to: (1) attend all lectures; (2) read assigned materials before the start of each class; (3) complete 5 (of 6) exercises; (4) complete a midterm exam; (5) complete a final exam. GRADING: Assignments 5@10% (50%) Midterm (25%); Final (25%) GRADE SCALE: A: ; A-: ; B+: ; B: ; B-: ; C+: ; C: ; D: 60 to 69.9; FAIL: LATE ASSIGNMENTS: Each assignment is due at 1:00 PM (a paper copy in person) on the assigned date. Late assignments accrue a penalty of one letter grade (e.g. B+ becomes C+) each 24-hour period until the assignment is given to the instructor. After 96 hours, no late assignment is accepted. Students who arrive late to class (after 1:00 PM) cannot hand in assignments without accruing the late penalty. LATE EXAMS: Students who miss the mid-term and final exams will be required to take alternative exams at a later date at the professor s discretion. Typically, late exams are conducted at 7:00 AM. LECTURE & DISCUSSION: The two classes each week will be devoted to lecture and discussion. Lectures notes will be posted on ANGEL at the beginning of each week. EXAMS: The midterm exam will take place in-class and will consist of short answer questions and one essay. The final exam will be conducted during final exam week. 1

2 EXAM & ASSIGNMENT DATES : Assignment 1: available online August 30; due September 9 (1:00 PM) Assignment 2: available online September 13; due September 19 (1:00 PM) Assignment 3: available online September 27; due October 3 (1:00 PM) Assignment 4: in-class quiz October 10 (1:00 PM) Midterm exam: October 17 (1:00 PM) Assignment 5: in-class quiz November 14 (1:00 PM) Assignment 6: in-class quiz November 21 (1:00 PM) Final exam: to be scheduled during the final exam period READING MATERIALS: Book chapters and articles are on ANGEL. 1 I recommend you buy four books online (these are not on ANGEL): Beatriz Magaloni (2006) Voting for Autocracy (Cambridge University Press) Michela Wrong (2000) In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz (Perennial) Mario Vargas Llosa (2000) The Feast of the Goat (Picador USA) Pamela Constable & Arturo Valenzuela (1991) A Nation of Enemies (W.W. Norton & Co.) BOILER PLATE: Academic Dishonesty The Department of Political Science, along with the College of the Liberal Arts and the University, takes violations of academic dishonesty seriously. Observing basic honesty in one s work, words, ideas, and actions is a principle to which all members of the community are required to subscribe. All course work by students is to be done on an individual basis unless an instructor clearly states that an alternative is acceptable. Any reference materials used in the preparation of any assignment must be explicitly cited. Students uncertain about proper citation are responsible for checking with their instructor. In an examination setting, unless the instructor gives explicit prior instructions to the contrary, whether the examination is inclass or takehome, violations of academic integrity shall consist but are not limited to any attempt to receive assistance from written or printed aids, or from any person or papers or electronic devices, or of any attempt to give assistance, whether the one so doing has completed his or her own work or not. Lying to the instructor or purposely misleading any Penn State administrator shall also constitute a violation of academic integrity. In cases of any violation of academic integrity it is the policy of the Department of Political Science to follow procedures established by the College of the Liberal Arts. More information on academic integrity and procedures followed for violation can be found at: Students with Disabilities Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University s educational programs. If you have a disability-related need for reasonable academic adjustments in this course, contact the Office for Disability Services. For further information regarding policies, rights and responsibilities please visit the Office for Disability Services (ODS) Web site at: Instructors should be notified as early in the semester as possible regarding the need for reasonable accommodations. 1 In lieu of some classic readings in the field, we will use excerpts from Clark, Golder, and Golder Principles of Comparative Politics. Washington DC: CQ Press. 2

3 Schedule of Classes and Readings Weeks 1 and 2: How do we define dictatorships? How are they different from democracies? (8-27) No readings. First day of class. (8-29) No class. I m in Chicago at a political science conference. (9-3) Clark, Golder, & Golder. Three Measures of Democracy. ( ) (9-5) Zakaria. The Rise of Illiberal Democracy. (22-43) (9-5) Levitsky & Way. The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism. (51-64) Assignment 1: Was Chávez a dictator? Week 3: Are all dictators the same? How do they differ? (9-10) Clark, Golder, & Golder. Credible Commitment Problems. ( ) (9-10) Haber. The Logic of Authoritarian Government. (2-23) (9-12) Geddes. What Do We Know About Democratization? ( ) Week 4: How do dictators rule? How do they stay in power? (9-17) Clark, Golder, & Golder. Selectorate Theory. ( ) (9-17) Schedler. Menu of Manipulation. (36-49) (9-19) Levitsky & Way. The Durability of Revolutionary Regimes. (5-17) Assignment 2: Median voters, inequality, and the prospects of democratization Week 5: Why do dictators have democratic-looking institutions? (9-24) Gandhi. Political Institutions Under Dictatorship (xv-xix, 73-82) (9-24) Magaloni. Voting for Autocracy. (1-28) (9-26) Smith. Life of the party. (421-51) Week 6: Are dictatorships good for economic growth and human development? (10-1) Olsen. Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development. ( ) (10-1) Sen. Famine and Other Crisis. in Development as Freedom.( ) (10-3) Demick. Letter from Yanji, Nothing Left. The New Yorker, July 12, 2010, (44-49) (10-3) Subramanian. The Inevitable Superpower (66-78) Assignment 3: Is Rwanda like Singapore? Week 7: Military rule in Chile (10-8) Constable & Valenzuela. A Nation of Enemies. (15-90) (10-10) Constable & Valenzuela. A Nation of Enemies. (90-114, ) Assignment 4: In-class quiz on A Nation of Enemies Week 8: Review & Midterm exam (10-15) Midterm review session in-class (10-17) Midterm exam Week 9: Dominant party rule in Mexico (10-22) Magaloni. Voting for Autocracy. (28-42, 44-55, 63-76) (10-24) Magaloni. Voting for Autocracy. (82-108, ) 3

4 Week 10: Communist party rule in China (10-29) The Economist. The Second Long March. (10-29) Dickson. Integrating Wealth and Power in China. ( ) (10-31) Wallace. Return to Sender. (2-30) (10-31) Johnson. The New York Times. Dynasty of Different Order Is Reshaping China. (10-31) Barboza. The New York Times. Billions in Hidden Riches for Family of Chinese Leader. Week 11: Authoritarian rule in Egypt (11-5) Blaydes. Elections and distributive politics in Mubarak s Egypt. (77-99, ) (11-7) Masoud. The Road to and from Liberation Square. (20-34) Week 12: Trujillo s dictatorship in the Domincan Republic (11-12) Vargas Llosa. The Feast of the Goat. Chapters 1-2, 5-9 (11-14) Vargas Llosa. The Feast of the Goat. Chapters 12-14, Assignment 5: In-class quiz on The Feast of the Goat Week 13: Personalist power in the former Zaire (11-19) Wrong. In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz. (70-85, , , , , ) (11-21) Wrong. In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz. ( , , , ) Documentary film: Mobutu, King of Zaire Assignment 6: In-class quiz on In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz and Mobutu, King of Zaire Week 14: Thanksgiving Break Week 15: Protests in dictatorships (12-3) Clark, Golder, & Golder. Tipping models. ( ) (12-3) Campante & Chor. Why was the Arab World Poised for Revolution? ( ) (12-5) Yom & Gause. Resilient Royals (74-87) (12-5) Barany. The Role of the Military. (28-38) Documentary film: Bringing Down a Dictator (Serbian President Slobodan Milošević) Week 16: Political transitions (12-10) Huntington. How Countries Democratize. ( ) (12-12) Final review session in-class 4

5 Further Reading The Art of Political Murder, Francisco Goldman (Guatemala) The Autumn of the Patriarch, Gabriel García Márquez Blindness, José Saramago The Comedians, Graham Greene ( Haiti) Dinner with Mugabe, Heidi Holland (Zimbabwe) Dogeaters, Jessica Hagedorn (Philippines) The Emperor, Ryszard Kapuscinski ( Ethiopia) The Fear, Peter Godwin (Zimbabwe) The Hunger Angel, Herta Müller I Didn t Do It For You, Michela Wrong (Eritrea) In the Time of Butterflies, Julia Alvarez (Dominican Republic) It s Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle-Blower, Michela Wrong (Kenya) A Man of the People, Chinua Achebe (Nigeria) The Mantle of the Prophet, Roy Mottahedeh (Iran) The President (El Señor Presidente), Miguel Ángel Asturias (Guatemala) Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi (Iran) Sardines, Nuruddin Farah (Somalia) Shah of Shahs, Ryszard Kapuscinski (Iran) 5