“Control of opposition was the most important method used to maintain power in authoritarian states.” Discuss with reference to two authoritarian states.

The question requires that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the statement. The two authoritarian states may or may not be drawn from the same region and they may or may not have been contemporaneous with each other. A comparative approach may or may not be used. Candidates may offer equal coverage of the two authoritarian states or they may emphasize their discussion of one of them; however, both authoritarian states will be a feature of the response. Candidates may refer to the persecution of other political parties, journalists, religious leaders or intellectuals. While other relevant methods, for example propaganda or economic policies may be referred to, the bulk of the response will remain on the issue raised in the question. Candidates may agree, partly agree or disagree with the statement.

The question required candidates to offer a considered and balanced review of the statement that the control of opposition was the most important method used to maintain power in authoritarian states. This was one of the most popular questions on the exam paper with most candidates choosing the Third Reich, Fascist Italy or the People’s Republic of China as examples. A few candidates, quite appropriately, took a longer view using, for example, both Lenin and Stalin for the USSR and both Mao and Deng Xiaoping for the PRC. This was quite appropriate and indicated that the candidates were, indeed, thinking along the lines of “Authoritarian States” rather than “Single Party Leaders”. Most response demonstrated some knowledge of the methods used to control opposition and candidates balanced this with references to the use of force to intimidate opponents or of propaganda to convince populations that their lives were improving. Even so, several examiners commented on how candidates continue to be confused over what may be relevant to the emergence of the authoritarian state rather than the maintenance of power.