Formal theory integration for teaching autocracy

Allison Cuttner and Pearce Edwards

Chapter 6 in Teaching Autocracy and Autocratic Politics, 2026, pp 106-125 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Insights from formal theory have transformed scholars’ understanding of autocratic politics in the twenty-first century. How can these insights translate to undergraduate political science education? Students may recoil at the prospect of “doing math” in a political science class, while instructors may be daunted by the prospect of teaching with formality, not least because of students’ reluctance. This chapter describes, based on the authors’ classroom experiences, how to employ formal theory integration (FTI) in an undergraduate class on autocratic politics. The primary focus is on a systematic approach that scaffolds up from rational choice, decision theory, analysis of non-cooperative games and play of non-cooperative games, to reading a formal model. All but the final step in the systematic FTI approach may be reached without any math. The approach achieves key learning outcomes for students in autocratic politics courses, while also increasing student engagement with opportunities to play games in class.

Keywords: Pedagogy; Formal Theory; Autocratic Politics; Repression; Games and Simulations; Active Learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035353453
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