Authoritarian Breakdown

Student’s Name
Course
Professor
Date
POLS 140: Authoritarian Breakdown
1. What was important about the piece you were asked to read/watch?
The important thing about the piece for me is the definition of dictatorship and the discussions on how dictators rise and fall. People mostly think of “military” when hearing the word “dictatorship” and they fail to grasp political concepts that gave rise to this structure of power in the first place. The differences between the types of dictatorships were highlighted, and this discussion emphasized the strengths and weaknesses of it.
2. What did you learn about the topic that you didn’t know before?
I learned that there are many types of dictatorship, not just the military types we know. From Dr. Ezrow’s presentation, I learned that even monarchies like Saudi Arabia are a type of dictatorship, and from Barbara Geddes’ definition, I now realize that indeed, even seemingly peaceful dictatorships like monarchies are still dictatorships. Furthermore, I learned that dictators can weaken their own regimes by eliminating competent people in their political party in an effort to k...