Class dates: Oct 28, Nov 4, 11, 18, 25 (5 weeks)

Class time: 10:00 am to 11:30 am

Location: Online (via Zoom)

If we believe that free and fair elections, civil rights, political participation, economic opportunities, work best in a democracy, then we should know what countries least exhibit these democratic ideals, as George Orwell once said, so as “to have standards of comparison.” This course explores the following 15 Most Authoritarian Regimes in the World: China, Nicaragua, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Belarus, Eritrea, Iran, Yemen, Chad, Tajikistan, Syria, Central African Republic, North Korea, Myanmar, and Afghanistan. From geography to climate, to demographics, to history, to politics and government, to economy and culture, each country will be analyzed according to a variety of indexes. What makes each country an authoritarian regime in the world is revealed in the categories of Electoral Process, Political Participation, Functioning of Government, and Civil Liberties. The instructor welcomes a diversity of political thought.

Instructor: Paul Macek has a bachelor’s degree in both history and geography and a master’s degree in both history and English. He has taught U.S. History and American Literature for over twenty-five years. He has also worked as a proofreader, copyeditor, indexer, translator, writer, and publisher for over thirty years. Paul Macek is the author of seven books: one on education, two on literature (one of which was a translation), and four on American history.