THE RISE AND RULE OF SINGLE PARTY STATES

GROUP PRESENTATION ASSIGNMENT

In small groups of 2-3 students, you will be researching a twentieth century dictator, in order to prepare for a presentation to the class. It will be your group’s responsibility to teach the class about your assigned dictator, and the class will be tested—so be thorough in the material you present, and as an audience member, thorough in the notes you take.

Your presentation must include the following:

· A 20-25 minute lesson on the dictator addressing the questions below

· A handout for the class—one page only!

· Media elements: overhead, film clip, PPT

· A discussion phase

Dictators from whom you may choose:

· Juan Peron (Argentina)

· Mao Zedong/Tse-tung (China)

· Fidel Castro (Cuba)

· Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt)

· Nicolae Ceaucescu (Romania)

· Augusto Pinochet (Chile)

· Josip Tito (Yugoslavia)

· Julius Nyerere (Tanzania)

· Idi Amin (Uganda)

· Kim Il Sung (North Korea)

· Francisco Franco (Spain)

· Pol Pot (Cambodia)

· Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier (Haiti)

· Ferdinand Marcos (Phillipines)

Questions to address:

Origins and Establishment of the Single Party State

1. What were the conditions that helped to produce this single-party state?

2. How did the leader emerge? What were his aims, and ideology? From where did he get his support?

3. How did the dictator come into power: by force, through legitimate channels, peaceful cheating, or combination of these?

4. What was the role of personal charisma?

5. How was propaganda used (if it was)? What was the role of the general public?

6. What were the key arguments or justifications for seizure of power?

7. What form did his government take? What was its ideology?

Consolidation and Maintenance of Power

8. What was the role of the army, police, and special forces/tactics?

9. How was opposition dealt with—both extra- and intra-party.

10. How were propaganda and censorship used in this aspect?

11. To what extent did the dictator attempt to use personal charisma and popularity to maintain power and support?

Style and Policies of the Regime

12. What were the chief economic, military, and social policies?

13. What were the roles of education, the arts and the media?

14. What were policies regarding ethnic groups, women, religious and other minorities? What motivated these policies?

15. How were the policies enforced?

Success and Impact

16. How long did the dictator remain in power? How was he removed from power, or how did his rule end?

17. What forces brought about the dictator’s downfall, if such a downfall occurred?

18. To what extent were the dictator’s goals implemented?

19. How did the dictator use foreign policy to maintain his regime?

20. What impact did the regime have outside of its own state, i.e. in the Cold War?

21. Was this a totalitarian government? (Consider the cartoon from class.)

22. Evaluate the impact of the dictator on his country. What were the chief good/bad things he did for his state?

S. Blom, April 2008