Each student is required to write a research paper limited to 20-25 double-spaced
pages (including footnotes but excluding tables, figures, and references) due on May
12, noon. The paper will include a statement of a research question or puzzle, a
review of the literature related to the topic, theoretical arguments in order to
provide an answer to the question, empirically testable hypotheses drawn from
these theories, and possibly a description of the data followed by some initial
analysis.
Middle Eastern and North African countries have remained autocratic since the post-Cold War.
Authoritarian rulers possess structural advantage over their democratic counterparts in maintaining power since they do not have to put power at stake in regular competitive elections.
This hypothesis is based on the oscillation between controlled political liberalizations and de-liberalizations and incumbents who rarely give up political power voluntarily.