1 / 14

Democracies, Semi-democracies and authoritarian political systems - II

Democracies, Semi-democracies and authoritarian political systems - II. TYPES OF POLITICAL SYSTEMS :. Liberal Democracy vs. Illiberal-democracy vs. Authoritarian <-----------------------------------------------------------------> Consolidated vs. Transitional states

mina
Download Presentation

Democracies, Semi-democracies and authoritarian political systems - II

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Democracies, Semi-democracies and authoritarian political systems - II

  2. TYPES OF POLITICAL SYSTEMS: Liberal Democracy vs. Illiberal-democracy vs. Authoritarian <-----------------------------------------------------------------> Consolidated vs. Transitional states <----------------------------------------------------------------> Developed vs. Developing states <----------------------------------------------------------------->

  3. Authoritarian systems Characteristics? • non-democracy? • A system in which power is held (or arrogated) by a single individual or group without reference to elections or popular control

  4. Varieties of authoritarianism • Tyranny? • Simple dictatorship • Rule by a single individual or group • Military government • Monarchy? • Fascism? • Communism?

  5. Totalitarianism A form of authoritarianism characterized by: • Frequent mobilization of the population • Recourse to terror • A total grip of the state on its citizens: • Atomization of the population • Reduction, if not elimination of any private space • Relatively rare -- a 20th c phenomenon

  6. Examples of totalitarian systems • Nazi Germany • The Soviet Union (USSR) under Stalin • The People’s Republic of China (PRC) under Mao Zedong • North Korea • Cuba?

  7. Communist regimes • A form of authoritarianism characterized by • a dominant Communist Party • constitutionally mandated to control and guide the state apparatus, • implement socialism and prepare the way for an eventual communist system in which • The state has withered away • Society is organized on the principle “from each according to his (her) means; to each according to their needs

  8. `Actually existing’ Communism A party-state system, characterized by • A single communist party monopolizing of dominating political life • The Communist Party inter-penetrates and dominates the state • The Communist Party organizes and mobilizes the population • The Communist Party monopolizes access to the political system

  9. Authoritarianism vs. Totalitarianism • Authoritarian systems lack (or fail to maintain) the total grip characteristic of totalitarian systems – there is some private space beyond the grasp of the state • Less recourse to force or arbitrary terror: • What is and is not acceptable is more predictable • There may be a state of law

  10. Examples of authoritarian systems: • The Soviet Union after Stalin • The People’s Republic of China after Mao • Portugal from 1926-1974 (Salazar gov’t 1932-1968) • Spain from 1939-1975 (Franco dictatorship • Iran • Pakistan

  11. ILLIBERAL DEMOCRACY • What is it? • Illiberal democracy v. semi-democracy? Is there a difference? • Semi-democracy v. semi-authoritarian: • is the glass half empty or half full? • Does it matter?

  12. ILLIBERAL DEMOCRACY - 2 • How does illiberal democracy differ from • Liberal democracy? • Authoritarianism? • Examples of illiberal democracy? • Is illiberal democracy becoming a more common form of government? If so, why?

  13. REMINDER PLEASE SIGN UP FOR THE POSC2300 LISTSERV (follow directions on p. 2 of the course outline)

  14. STUDENT INFORMATION CARD • Political Science 2300 • Name • Student number • Local address • Home address (if different) • Telephone • E-mail • Year of study • Major • minor

More Related