Authoritarian countries are distinguished by their media and information environment. This course will primarily focus on how authoritarian political regimes, as well as other political actors in authoritarian countries, use political communication tools and how these influence domestic public opinion. Going beyond this, the course will also cover the international political dimension, including the attempts of authoritarian regimes to influence public opinion in democratic countries.

Lecture: one hour per week, for 10 weeks

Tutorial: one hour per week, for 10 weeks

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- Weekly tasks: 15%

- An essay of 2,000 words: 35 %

- An essay of 3,000 words: 50%

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the political communication and public opinion literature focusing on authoritarian political actors' communication strategies. The course will provide a broad overview of the variety of communication strategies adopted by historical and contemporary authoritarian regimes. The course will also teach students to critically examine the evidence provided in academic works conducted in this literature and evaluate how various communication tools and strategies shape public opinion.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Demonstrate critical insight into how political actors in authoritarian countries use political communication tools to pursue political goals

■ Analyse the characteristics of authoritarian political communication strategies

■ Evaluate how these characteristics distinguish propaganda from persuasion and a high-quality information environment from a low-quality information environment

■ Compare and contrast democracies and autocracies in terms of communication and information environment

■ Critically review the research and evidence in order to examine the impact of media technologies, information environment, and communication strategies on public opinion and political behaviour,

■ Develop arguments on the future of authoritarianism in world politics and how the adoption of various communication strategies by authoritarian actors can influence public opinion and political behaviour in authoritarian and democratic countries.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.