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Authoritarian regimes wield a variety of tools to suppress dissent and maintain compliance. Yet resistance, including institutional challenges, peaceful protest, and violent rebellion, occurs periodically within most autocratic regimes. This course examines conflict between states and societal actors, raising a number of questions: how do regimes seek to maintain order? What conditions facilitate popular protest? What triggers violent rebellion? How do identities such as gender, religion, and region affect contentious politics? Course readings will include studies of North Africa before, during, and after the Arab Spring, providing a regional context in which to examine these questions. Students will also have to opportunity to investigate other cases in readings and assignments. <a href="http://bit.ly/1bebp5s" target="_blank">Click here to see evaluations, syllabi, and faculty bios</a>