A POLITICS, LAW, AND SOCIAL THOUGHT CLASS PROJECT

Authoritarian Constitutionalism and Democratic Dictatorships

AUTHORITARIAN CONSTITUTIONALISM AND DEMOCRATIC DICTATORSHIPS SINCE 1848


This communication intensive course examines the notion of the "authoritarian constitutionalism" of states that are authoritarian in practice despite having constitutions that assert principles of liberal democracy. The course will examine the concept both analytically and historically. In the second phase of the class, students will divide into groups to analyze specific examples of authoritarian constitutionalism from the past two centuries, based on primary and secondary sources, which will be presented in visual, oral, and written form.