POLn4050 Nondemocratic Regimes

Faculty of Social Studies
Autumn 2022
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 7 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
prof. PhDr. Jan Holzer, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Petr Martinek (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Jonáš Syrovátka (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jan Holzer, Ph.D.
Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Lucie Pospíšilová
Supplier department: Division of Politology – Department of Political Science – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Mon 14:00–15:40 U41
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! POL501 Nondemocratic Regimes && !NOW( POL501 Nondemocratic Regimes )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course focuses on the introduction of the theory and practice of non-democratic regimes. In the first lectures, it focuses on data on classical and modern examples of non-democracies (including Czech / Czechoslovak examples), which represent real variants of ideally typical models. Subsequently, the subject focuses on introducing critical debates on the terms "totalitarianism" and "authoritarianism" and the identity of other types of non-democratic (post-totalitarian, sultanic, traditional) regimes and their actors, including the opposition. Finally, the students receive description of the current trends in the debate on the concept, and classification of non-democratic regimes. The subject is based mainly on the works of J.J. Linz, A. Stepan, P. Brooker and H.E. Chehabi, and classical texts (R. Aron, H. Arendt, G. Sartori), including Czech authors (V. Čermák), and the current literature on the topic (M. Boggards, E. Mazo, T. Roylance, T. Snyder, etc.).
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course students should be able to: - understand and explain the topics of nondemocratic regimes; - distinguish between totalitarian and authoritarian regimes; - apply the theory of non-democratic regimes to the concrete historical and present political regimes; - consider the situation of concrete political regime in relation to his (non-)democratic character.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Reading week
  • 3. Historical types of non-democratic regimes
  • 4. Theory of totalitarianism I.
  • 5. Theory of totalitarianism II.
  • 6. Theory of authoritarianism I.
  • 7. Theory of authoritarianism II.
  • 8. Theory of non-democratic regimes and Czech/Czechoslovak politics
  • 10. Theory of opposition of non-democracies
  • 11. Contemporary non-democracies
  • 12. Actual trends in the theory of regime's types
  • 13. Final exam
Literature
    required literature
  • Za obzor totalitarismu : srovnání stalinismu a nacismu. Edited by Michael Geyer - Sheila Fitzpatrick, Translated by Jan Mervart - Jakub. Vydání první. Praha: Academia, 2012, 686 stran. info
  • BALÍK, Stanislav and Michal KUBÁT. Teorie a praxe totalitních a autoritativních režimů (The Theory and Practice of Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes). 1st ed. Praha: Dokořán, 2004, 168 pp. Edice Bod. ISBN 80-86569-89-6. info
  • BROOKER, Paul. Non-democratic regimes : theory, government and politics. 1st pub. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press, 2000, viii, 288. ISBN 0-333-66079-X. info
  • LINZ, Juan J. Totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000, vii, 343. ISBN 1555878903. info
  • CHEHABI, H. E. and Juan J. LINZ. Sultanistic regimes. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998, x, 284. ISBN 0801856949. info
  • ARENDT, Hannah. Původ totalitarismu. 1. vyd. Praha: Oikoymenh, 1996, 679 s. ISBN 80-86005-13-5. info
    not specified
  • Snyder, T. 2017: Tyranie. 20 lekcí z 20. století, Praha: Paseka - Prostor
  • Guriev, S. - Treisman, D. (2015): How modern dictators survive: An informational theory of the new authoritarianism. Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research
  • Roylance, T.: The Twilight of ‘Modern Authoritarianism. Freedom House. On-line https://freedomhouse.org/blog/twilight-modern-authoritarianism.
Teaching methods
theoretical preparation, lectures, seminary essay
Assessment methods
1) Seminary paper Essay in the run of the semester with the topic: comparative analysis of author´s approach to the issue of non-democratic regimes in two scientific articles, at least 40% points; 2) Written test, at least 60% points.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2022/POLn4050