3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

Dictators have changed. No longer wedded to ideology, they now use corruption, disinformation and surveillance to cement control. But those who fight them are adapting too. This course will cover the latest stories and lessons from the global battles against autocracy. From Brazil to Georgia, Russia to Zimbabwe and China, we will meet the activists, politicians, campaigners and journalists who are reinventing how to take on autocrats in the 21st century. Students will then apply these lessons to the US. What can we learn from Russian activists’ battle against corruption, for example, for America today? The aim of this course is to familiarize students with the evolving tactics of autocrats and democratic activists, and use that to understand the strengths and weaknesses of American democracy- and how we can defend it. The course will be taught be Anne Applebaum, Peter Pomerantsev, and Denise Dresser. It will feature regular special guests from the front lines of campaigns against autocrats, followed by workshops where students will apply international lessons to the US. As a final paper students will produce a proposal for a campaign to defend democracy in the US.