question archive Democracy and dictatorship The course discusses democratic and various authoritarian and totalitarian forms of governance based on normative theories and empirical research
Democracy and dictatorship The course discusses democratic and various authoritarian and totalitarian forms of governance based on normative theories and empirical research
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Democracy and dictatorship
The course discusses democratic and various authoritarian and totalitarian forms of governance based on normative theories and empirical research. Classical as well as modern theories and empirical research are addressed. The course also discusses the challenges that democracy today is confronted with from various directions, including the fact that several great powers and major regional powers in Europe presently are not democratic, and what this may entail in a normative perspective as well as in relation to Realpolitik.
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Final paper assignment
The take-home exam consists of two questions, of which you choose one. Your answer should be between 2300 and 2500 words, not including cover and reference list. Explicit references (meaning page numbers, e.g. Smith 2019:234) to the course literature or other types of material are required throughout the text. It is ok to use other sources than the course literature, but the course literature (books and articles) should form the basis of your answer.
Question 1:
How can the arguments from the course literature on totalitarian and authoritarian regimes
(Linz’s and Applebaum’s books) be applied on the development in contemporary China
(Bell’s and Ringen’s books)? Can Bell’s and Ringen’s books in turn contribute with any theoretical arguments to the literature on totalitarian and authoritarian regimes? Can the rest of the course literature contribute with anything to these two discussions?
Question 2:
How can the arguments from the course literature on totalitarian and authoritarian regimes
(Linz’s and Applebaum’s books) be applied on the situation for democracy in the Middle
East? Can the articles from the course literature on democracy in the Middle East in turn contribute with any theoretical arguments to the literature on totalitarian and authoritarian regimes? Can the rest of the course literature contribute with anything to these two discussions?
Literature:
Linz, J. (Latest edition). Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes. Boulder, Colorado: Lynne
Rienner Publishers Inc, (342 p.).
Bell, D. (Latest edition). The China Model. Princeton: Princeton University Press, (330 p.).
Applebaum, A. (Latest edition). Twilight Of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of
Authoritarianism. New York: Knopf (224 s).
Ringen, S. (2016). The Perfect Dictatorship: China in the 21st Century. Hong Kong: Hong
Kong University Press, (208 p.).
Articles:
Agha, H. and Malley, R. (2019). ’The Middle East's Great Divide Is Not Sectarianism’, The
New Yorker, 11 March 2019. Available at
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-middle-easts-great-divide-is-not-sectarianism
Applebaum, A. (2022). ”Ukraine Must Win”, The Atlantic, 22 Mars. Accessible via
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/how-democracy-can-win-ukraine/627125/
Bellin, E. (2004). ‘The Robustness of Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Exceptionalism in
Comparative Perspective’, Comparative Politics, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 139-157.
Diamond, L. (2010). ’Why Are There No Arab Democracies?’, Journal of Democracy, Vol.
21, No. 1, pp. 93-104.
Foa, R. & Mounk, Y. (2017). ‘The Signs of Deconsolidation’, Journal of Democracy, Vol. 28,
No. 1, pp. 5-15.
Freedom House (2022). Freedom in the World 2021: The Global Expansion of Authoritarian
Rule. Available at https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/FIW_2022_P
DF_Booklet_Di gital_Final_Web.pdf
Ghannouchi, R. (2016). ’From Political Islam to Muslim Democracy: The Ennahda Party and the Future of Tunisia’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 95, No. 5, pp. 58-75.
Levitsky, S. & Ziblatt, D. (2016). ‘Is Donald Trump a Threat to Democracy?’, The New York
Times, 16 December 2016. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/opin
ion/sunday/is-donald-trump-a-threat-to-democracy.html
Masoud, T. (2015). ’Has the Door Closed on Arab Democracy?’, Journal of Democracy, Vol.
26, No. 1, pp. 74-87.
Mearsheimer, John (2022). “Playing With Fire in Ukraine
The Underappreciated Risks of
Catastrophic Escalation”, Foreign Affairs. Will be available on My Moodle.
The EUI (2023). Democracy Index 2022. Available on My Moodle.
V-Dem (2022). Democracy Report 2022: Autocratization Changing Nature? Available at
URL= https://v-dem.net/media/publications/dr_2022.pdf
Criteria of assessment for the take-home exam
Relevance: The question should be correctly analyzed concerning the topic and the concepts, and the student must have answered the central part of the question.
Independence: The answer should reflect independent and critical thinking as wellapplication of key concepts and theories from the literature.
Breadth: The student should consider a reasonable number of different angles, areas and aspects in her/his answer. What is “reasonable” depends on the character of the question.
Depth: The student should be able to value the body of knowledge acquired in the course related to the question and from that pick out the central parts. The answer should be thorough and precise. Long reviews or quotes should be avoided. And quotes and reviews should not be left uncommented.
Disposition: The answer should be structured, logical, understandable and coherent.
Strategy: The question is of the character that there rarely is a “correct” answer. There can therefore be different strategies in answering the question. Some strategies are more appropriate, creative and independent than others when it comes to clarifying the main message in the answer to the question.
Usage of literature: The assessment concerns how well the student has managed to use the course literature in answering the question. The student is expected to make explicit references to the course literature, including page number, when used. The reader must always know what the author (in this case the student) has thought her/himself, and what has been brought from other sources. It is never acceptable to present the result of others work as a result of one’s own work. The usage of notes and references is central in separating what the author has used from others, and the author’s own analysis and ideas. The presentation of data, ideas or something written by someone else without references is called plagiarism. It is ok to use other sources than the course literature, but the course literature should form the basis of your answer.
Your texts will be run through anti-plagiarising software. If you are caught with plagiarism you will fail and be reported to the disciplinary committee.
The language: The take-home exam should be written in coherent sentences and paragraphs and have a good “flow.” The text should be well?formulated and proof-read. The form of the text is also important for the overall assessment, e.g. clear headings, paragraphs and punctuation.
