Welcome to the Didactic Companion

This companion is a comprehensive, open-access resource designed to support educators and students in navigating the complex topics of dictatorship, authoritarianism, and democratization. Funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union (Project number: 2021-1-PL01-KA220-HED-000023034), the companion is freely available for adaptation and use in educational settings worldwide.

Bridging Scholarship and Practice

The Didactic Companion serves as a repository of teaching materials that connects advanced academic research with practical classroom activities. It is tailored to help educators address the challenges of teaching comparative authoritarianism and democracy studies, including conceptual blind spots, regional biases, and methodological pitfalls. By integrating the latest scholarly insights with hands-on lesson plans, the companion aims to transform how these critical political phenomena are taught and understood in higher education.

Key Features and Structure

The companion is organized around several core themes relevant to contemporary political science, international relations, and area studies. Each module provides:

• Learning Outcomes Framework: Clear benchmarks for student knowledge and skills, aligned with classroom needs and the content of the Encyclopedia Tyrannica.
• Instructions for Educators: Detailed lesson plans, pre-reading questions, class activities, and assignments, as well as guidance on teaching higher-order thinking skills and integrating new topics into curricula.
• Methodological Insights: Practical advice on avoiding common pitfalls in regime classification, conceptual misapplications, and clichés in the literature, informed by the authors’ teaching experience and peer reviews.

Flexibility and Accessibility

Educators are encouraged to use, adapt, and expand these materials to fit their specific course requirements. The companion’s modular structure allows for easy integration into existing programs or the development of full semester courses. All content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), ensuring maximum accessibility and adaptability for any educational purpose.

Join Us in Advancing Political Education

By utilizing this companion, you join a community of educators committed to fostering critical thinking and a nuanced understanding of political regimes and transitions. Whether you are teaching EU foreign policy, democratic backsliding, or the dynamics of autocratic regimes across regions, the Didactic Companion offers the tools and insights needed to prepare students for meaningful engagement with today’s complex political realities

The main audience for this output are: 

• Educators of D&DR
• Students: (under)graduate of D&DR
• Researchers (young + experienced) of D&DR that double as teachers
• Educators of Area Studies (Covering the topic of political regimes)