The Dictatorship Game: Simulating a Transition to Democracy

A central topic in the comparative-politics subdiscipline is the study of democratic transitions. Despite a growing role-playing literature, there are currently no simulations that illustrate the dynamics of democratic transitions. This article proposes a role-playing simulation that demonstrates to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPS, political science & politics Vol. 48; no. 2; pp. 353 - 357
Main Author Jiménez, Luis F.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.04.2015
Subjects
Authoritarianism
Behavioral Objectives
College professors
Democracy
Higher education
Nonmajors
Political science
Politics
Public Schools
Reprography
Teaching
THE TEACHER
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN1049-0965
1537-5935
DOI10.1017/S1049096514002108

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Summary:A central topic in the comparative-politics subdiscipline is the study of democratic transitions. Despite a growing role-playing literature, there are currently no simulations that illustrate the dynamics of democratic transitions. This article proposes a role-playing simulation that demonstrates to students why it is difficult for countries to transition to democracy and why protests are a necessary but not sufficient condition to topple a dictatorship. As surveys and teaching evaluations subsequently showed, this exercise succeeded in clarifying the more difficult theoretical concepts as well as in making a potentially dry subject more accessible.
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ISSN:1049-0965
1537-5935
DOI:10.1017/S1049096514002108