The Authoritarian Government: The Reign Of Terror

Introduction
From 1793 to 1794, the French First Republic was under the authoritarian rule of the Committee of Public Safety (“CPS”), a “ruling coalition” (Svolik, 2012, p.5) primarily led by Robespierre, Couthon and Saint-Just. The dictatorship, which some historians refer to as “the Reign of Terror”, is a good example to demonstrate the two fundamental problems in authoritarian government rule, considering its historical importance. This essay intends to analyze CPS’s most significant economic policy, the General Maximum, and its downfall, the Thermidorian reaction, using Svolik, Tullock and Haber’s theories of autocracy.

Literature review
The two fundamental problems that affect authoritarian politics are “authoritarian control”, defined

The Thermidorian reaction marked the end of the dictatorship of the CPS, and France moved on towards another period of transition.

Power struggle was an ever-present and especially prominent issue in the Reign of Terror. The fight for power happened not only within the de facto government, but also between the ruling coalition and members from other parties, as the new Republic was full of audacious republicans since the abolishing of the monarchy. The Jacobins, represented by Robespierre, had long been fighting violently against the Girondins led by Danton, accusing the latter of being unpatriotic and committing treason. Not long before the Thermidorian reaction, there had been fierce arguments among the CPS members themselves as well, where Collot d’Herbois and Billaud-Varenne criticized Robespierre for being a dictator and controlling the CPS (Palmer, 1941, p.364). In the end, the coup of Thermidor was effectively backed by former supporters of Danton and originally neutral CPS members such as Collot d’Herbois. As Tullock has pointed out, the chance is that those who are already in high position and with power would plot a coup and overthrow the