Explore UCD

UCD Home >

POL42500

Academic Year 2025/2026

Politics of Authoritarianism (POL42500)

Subject:
Politics
College:
Social Sciences & Law
School:
Politics & Int Relations
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Assoc Professor Alexander Dukalskis
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module will introduce students to academic research in authoritarian politics, broadly conceived as nondemocratic political systems. The module will be organized as a seminar style module in which students will read academic research, discuss it in class, analyse it in their writing, and produce a piece of original research. Themes covered will include elite politics, co-optation, ideology, repression, regime origins, foreign relations, and regime breakdown. The module will give students a firm foundation to understand historical and contemporary patterns of authoritarianism.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:


o Understand multiple theoretical perspectives on the spread and impact of authoritarianism
o Analyze cross-national empirical patterns
o Interrogate the perspectives and empirical patterns that you learn in your written work
o Construct and evaluate arguments
o Compare, contrast, analyze, and evaluate the politics of authoritarianism across contexts
o Prepare a short but academically rigorous paper on a topic of your choosing related to authoritarian politics
o Think creatively about authoritarianism, democracy, and (hopefully) politics more generally

Indicative Module Content:

See module descriptor.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Autonomous Student Learning

200
Lectures

20
Total

220

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Seminar style discussions; analytical writing; research paper.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade Component repeat (in-module) Offered
Participation in Learning Activities: This is not a lecture module. This is a seminar in which most class time will be spent discussing, understanding, and
debating readings. Students are therefore assessed on their weekly contributions.		 Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Graded No
20
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Podcast Assignment. Short writing assignments built around analysing content in a podcast or set of podcasts. Further details will be provided. Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10 Graded No
15
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Authoritarian Book Club. You will read a work of fiction that relates to authoritarian politics, produce a short written assignment, and engage in a group discussion about it. Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Graded No
20
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Final 5,000 word paper on subject related to authoritarianism. Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12, Week 14, Week 15 Graded No
45
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback will be provided to students within 20 working days of the deadline for the assignment in line with university policy.

Print this page
Fill in the following details:
Enter the body of your query here.

From time to time UCD would like to send you further information that we feel, based on your enquiry, would be of interest to you.