This course provides students with an introduction to the politics of dictatorship and democratic transition. A substantial portion of the semester will focus on selected political processes and institutions of dictatorship, including such topics as the organization and operation of executive, legislative, bureaucratic, and judicial institutions, political parties, and the role of public opinion. The latter part of the semester will be devoted to an exploration of contemporary explanations of democratization and several case studies of states in democratic transition. Student team presentations will be an essential component of the examination of these cases.

Texts:

Daniel Chirot. Modern Tyrants. (1994)

Larry Diamond, et al. Politics in Developing Countries, 2nd ed. (1995)

Reserve readings at Cullom-Davis Library.

Students should note that there is proportionately greater reading for some topics than for others. Thus, they should pace themselves with respect to the readings. During the latter part of the course, when student teams are making presentations to the class, all students will be expected to complete the assigned readings prior to the presentations in order to participate fully in class discussion.

Permission to take make-up examinations will be granted only under the most dire of circumstances, e.g., illness (requiring a doctor's excuse), death (personal or familial), or felony criminal indictment (requiring court documentation or notice of bond).

Grading:  Each course assignment will be graded on a 100 point scale. The standard grading scale will be:

100-90   A      69-60           D

89-80     B      59 or less     F

79-70     C

The course will not be graded on a curve. Students should not feel compelled to compete against one another, and there is no reason to condemn a fixed percentage of students to a failing grade regardless of their course performance. However, if the distribution of course grades is low, downward adjustment of the cut-off points may be made.

Attendance:  Attendance will not be taken on the assumption that since you are responsible university students, you consider your academic career to be a full-time job, and therefore will attend class. Significant departures from this commitment will be viewed by the instructor with utmost disfavor.

Important Dates:

Midterm examination tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, March 6th, 1996.

Research paper due in class on Monday, April 22nd, 1996.

Final examination scheduled for Friday, May 10th, 1996, at 12:00 p.m.

Anticipated Schedule:

PART I:  DICTATORSHIP

• Definitions, Problems, and Consequences

Chirot, chap. 1.

• Emergence of Dictatorship

Chirot, chaps. 2 and 3.

• The "Take-off" Stage

Chirot, chaps. 4 and 5.

• The Dictator

Chirot, chaps. 6 and 7.

• Leader's Court: Central Control and Private Legislative Process

Chirot, chaps. 8 and 9.

• Communication, Terror, and Interest Articulation

Chirot, chaps. 10 and 11.

• The Bureaucracy and Policy-making Consequences

Chirot, chap. 12.

PART II:  DEMOCRATIZATION

• Theories, Processes, and Strategies

Diamond, et al., chap. 1.

Russia -- Readings TBA.

Hungary -- Readings TBA.

Turkey -- Diamond, et al., chap. 5.

Mexico -- Diamond, et al., chap. 4.

Chile -- Diamond, et al., chap. 2.

Brazil -- Diamond, et al., chap. 3.

South Korea -- Diamond, et al., chap. 8.

People's Republic of China -- Readings TBA.

South Africa -- Diamond, et al., chap. 11.

Nigeria -- Diamond, et al., chap. 9.

PART III:  CONCLUSION