Pick one of the following authoritarian regimes:
The Chavez regime in Venezuela [Possible sources: Dobson reading, Levitsky and Ziblatt]
Hitler and the Nazi Party [Possible sources: Clinton reading and Dikotter reading]
Mussolini’s Fascist Party in Italy [Possible sources: Dikotter reading]
Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia [Possible sources: Dobson reading and Levitsky and Ziblatt reading]
Alberto Fujimori and Peru [Possible sources: Levitsky and Ziblatt]
Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party [Possible Sources: Dikotter reading and Dobson reading]
What factors led to the establishment of that authoritarian regime instead of democracy? How did authoritarianism impact economic development and human rights in that country? In your paper please engage the theories provided in the lectures about why countries may become authoritarian.
Although the following list of possible factors leading to the establishment of authoritarian rule is not conclusive, some factors to consider that may have impacted the creation of the dictatorship are the history of democracy in the country, the nature of colonial rule (if applicable), ethnic cleavages, economic development, international context, and the personality of the leader.
For sources, in addition to the sources suggested above, you may feel free to use Wikipedia for factual information, but you are responsible for any errors that are contained in that source. Additionally, you should not rely on Wikipedia for any analysis as that may frequently contain bias.
