REGIMES

REGIME

 A regime is the set of rules, norms, or institutions that

determine how the government is constituted, how it is
organized, and how major decisions are made.

 Regimes are generally classified as being either democratic or

dictatorial, and are the focus of this chapter.

REGIMES 2
MAJOR REGIME TYPES

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 Comparing Democracy and Democratic Development: Major Indicators
NAME DESCRIPTION SCOPE SOURCE
Freedom House Political rights and Detailed country reports. www.freedomhouse.org
Index civil liberties. Trends are pointed out. 193
countries.
Bertelsmann Democratic and economic development Detailed country reports. www.bertelsmann-
Transformation and capabilities of the executive. Trends are pointed out. 125 transformation-
Index (BTI) countries. index.de
Polity-Index Monitors regime changes/political Country reports point out www.systemicpeace.org/polit
stability, authority, quality of executive. specific developments. 162 y/polity4.htm
countries.
Polyarchy and Fairness of elections, freedom of Detailed country reports. 196 www.nd.edu/
Contestation organisation, freedom of expression, countries. ~mcoppedg/crd/datacrd.htm
Scales media pluralism, extent of suffrage.
Democracy and Focus on political features and Detailed country reports. 135 www.nd.edu/~apsacp/ACLPc
Development pure regime type determination. countries. odes.pdf
Unified Synthesised indicator of democracy Worldwide democracy scores www.clinecenter.
Democracy based on the ten commonly used for the 1946–2000 period. uiuc.edu/research/affiliatedre
Scores (UDS) indicators of democracy. search/UDS/

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 FREEDOM HOUSE RANKING
 Freedom House annually ranks
countries on a 1–7 scale and puts
them into “free” (1 to 2.5),
“partly free” (3 to 5), and “not
free” (5.5 to 7) categories to
indicate their degree of
democracy .

 Some countries are barely free

(India and Mexico at 2.5), and
others at the upper end of not free
(Egypt and Russia at 5.5).

REGIMES 5
REGIMES
DEMOCRACY
“Democratic government is government in which the
people and the government are connected in terms of
both the input and the output dimensions of
government. That is, the people are self-governing in
terms of input (people have freedom to put ideas into
government and to shape government through
elections, contacting officials, lobbying, and so on),
and the output (laws and policies) of government
indicates that government is in the hands of a self-
governing people.” REGIMES 7
 DEMOCRACY [1]
 Democracy has many meanings. Dictators misuse the word to convince subjects that
they live in a just system.
 The Soviet Union used to claim it was the best democracy, and mainland China still
calls itself the “People’s Republic.”
 Democracy does not always equal freedom.
 Elections, even free and fair ones, can produce regimes that ride roughshod over rights
and freedoms, what is called ILLIBERAL DEMOCRACY .
 Democracy is a complex and carefully balanced system that needs thoughtful citizens,
limits on power, rule of law, and human and civil rights.
 Not every country that calls itself a democracy is one, and not every country is capable
of becoming one.

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 DEMOCRACY [2]
 Democracy (from the Greek demokratía; demos = “people” and kratía =
“government”) carried a negative connotation until the nineteenth century, as thinkers
accepted the ancient Greeks’ criticism of direct democracy as mob rule.
 A “true” democracy, a system in which all citizens meet periodically to elect officials
and personally enact laws, has been rare.
 Some DIRECT DEMOCRACY continues in U.S. states through referendums on issues
the legislature will not handle. Although referendums seem very democratic, their
sponsors can oversimplify and manipulate issues.
 Direct democracy is difficult to carry out because of the size factor.
 REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY evolved as the only workable system. Modern
democracy is not the actual setting of policy by the people. Instead, the people play a
more general role.

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 PRESUPPOSTIONS OF DEMOCRACY
Democracy Presupposes That
 People are free to participate in the governing process (PARTICIPATORY
DEMOCRACY).
 All the people are free to participate in the governing process (PLURALIST
DEMOCRACY).
 People are aware of what they are doing when they participate in the governing
process so that their participation is a process of achieving self-government
(DEVELOPMENTAL DEMOCRACY).
 Government is not tyrannical and oppressive toward the people (PROTECTIVE
DEMOCRACY).
 Governmental outputs in the form of laws and policies are a reflection of self-
governing people’s desire for well-being (PERFORMANCE DEMOCRACY).

REGIMES 10
 COMPONENTS OF DEMOCRACY
Participation in selecting government officials is one of the most obvious ways in which people
PARTICIPATION can be connected to their government.

The term pluralism refers to the multiplicity, diversity, or plurality of opinions and groups free
PLURALISM to express themselves within a political system.

Developmentalism refers to the extent to which the people develop their human potential
DEVELOPMENTALIS sufficiently to possess an awareness of their actions as part of the democratic process, including
M an awareness of their civic actions such as voting.

The protection component of democracy is democracy’s commitment to limiting governmental

PROTECTION power so that governments do not become tyrannical.

If a government is democratic—if it is reflecting and serving the demos—then the demos

PERFORMANCE should be living as well as possible given the resources available within the territory of the
state.

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 PARTICIPATION
 PARTICIPATION in selecting government officials is one of the most obvious ways in
which people can be connected to their government.
 Indeed, the existence of elections in which all eligible citizens are free to vote,
campaign, debate, and otherwise participate is a basic element of democratic politics.
 From the standpoint of this component of democracy, a country would look highly
democratic if, in elections, voters freely chose between alternative parties and
candidates and voted in high numbers.
 By contrast, low voter turnout, corrupt elections in which some groups enjoy undue
influence, bogus elections in which the outcome is manipulated by a dominant party or
clique, or the absence of elections altogether indicates low levels of democracy from
the standpoint of participation.

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 PLURALISM
 The term PLURALISM refers to the multiplicity, diversity, or plurality of
opinions and groups free to express themselves within a political system.
 Pluralism’s relationship to democracy is crucial: Democracy requires that all the
people—with all their differing ideologies, opinions, values, and so forth—be
free to connect to government.
 Ideally, pluralism requires that no single group have a special claim to be heard
before any others or to silence any others.
 In this sense, democracy affirms that all groups and opinions in a society must
be free to compete for attention and for followers.
 If some opinions and groups are suppressed, which would be indicated by lower
levels of pluralism, then the level of democracy drops.

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 DEVELOPMENTALISM
 DEVELOPMENTALISM refers to the extent to which the people develop their human
potential sufficiently to possess an awareness of their actions as part of the democratic
process, including an awareness of their civic actions such as voting.
 From a developmental democracy perspective we can ask, “If the people in a country
vote in high numbers and have exposure to a wide range of groups and opinions, but
act without awareness of what they are doing, can we say that democracy exists in a
meaningful way?”
 To be blunt: If self-awareness or consciousness of the need for self-governance is
absent, how can self-governance (that is, democracy) be possible? Does democracy not
imply some level of developed intellectual self-awareness? If not, then could we not
say that interactive entities (such as computers) are capable of democracy?

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 PROTECTION
 The PROTECTION component of democracy is democracy’s commitment to limiting
governmental power so that governments do not become tyrannical.
 For democracy to be authentic, the demos must be protected from excessive
governmental regulation and control inconsistent with the democratic principle of self-
government. Democracies have many options for limiting governmental power.
 Governmental power may be restrained through constitutional protections of freedom
of speech, press, association, and religion; through checks and balances that protect
against the possibility of one branch of government becoming all-powerful; and
through fixed terms of office for politicians, which protect against the rise of a
governing elite who could proclaim themselves rulers for life.

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 PERFORMANCE
 Democracy also includes a PERFORMANCE component. If a government is
democratic—if it is reflecting and serving the demos—then the demos should be living
as well as possible given the resources available within the territory of the state. If not,
one might ask whether the government is performing in a democratic (demosoriented)
manner.
 Political scientists who study countries from the standpoint of performance democracy
might examine such factors as income levels, literacy rates, life expectancy, access to
medical care, vulnerability to crime, and other quality-of-life issues.
 High rates of poverty in a country rich in both natural resources and the technology
needed to develop them, for example, might raise the question of whether government
policies reflect and serve the interest of a self-governing people

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 PERFORMANCE
 Democracy also includes a PERFORMANCE component. If a government is
democratic—if it is reflecting and serving the demos—then the demos should be living
as well as possible given the resources available within the territory of the state. If not,
one might ask whether the government is performing in a democratic (demosoriented)
manner.
 Political scientists who study countries from the standpoint of performance democracy
might examine such factors as income levels, literacy rates, life expectancy, access to
medical care, vulnerability to crime, and other quality-of-life issues.
 High rates of poverty in a country rich in both natural resources and the technology
needed to develop them, for example, might raise the question of whether government
policies reflect and serve the interest of a self-governing people

REGIMES 17
 REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: ESSENTIAL
CHARACTERISTICS
A. POPULAR ACCOUNTABILITY OF GOVERNMENT
 In a democracy, the policymakers must obtain the support of a majority or a plurality of votes cast.
 Leaders are accountable to citizens.
 Elected leaders who govern badly can be voted out.

B. POLITICAL COMPETITION
 Voters must have a choice, either of candidates or parties. That means a minimum of two distinct alternatives. One-party or
one-candidate elections are fake.
 The parties must have time and freedom to organize and present their case well before elections.
 A regime that permits no opposition activity until shortly before election day has rigged the election.

C. ALTERATION IN POWER
 The reins of power must occasionally change hands, with the “ins” becoming the “outs” in a peaceful, legitimate way. No
party or individual should get a lock on executive power.
 A system in which the ruling party stays in power many decades cannot really be democratic. Such parties say
 Systems without alternation are invariably corrupt.

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 REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: ESSENTIAL
D. UNCERTAIN ELECTORALCHARACTERISTICS
OUTCOMES
 Related to alternation in power, democratic elections must have an element of uncertainty, fluidity, and individual vote
switching.
 Voting must not be simply by groups, where 100 percent of a tribe, religion, social class, or region automatically votes for a
given candidate or party.

E. POPULAR REPRESENTATION
 In representative democracies, the voters elect representatives to act as legislators and, as such, to voice and protect their
general interest.
 Representative democracy, therefore, does not mean that the representative must become a cipher for constituents; rather, it
means that the people as a body must be able to control the general direction of government policy.

F. MAJORITY DECISION
 On any important government decision, there is rarely complete agreement. One faction favors something; another opposes.
The simple answer is that the majority should decide, the procedure used in the democracies of ancient Greece.
 However, our more modern and practical concept of democracy is that the majority decides but with respect for minority
rights. To uphold such rights, an independent judiciary, one not under the thumb of the regime, is a necessity.

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 REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: ESSENTIAL
G. CHARACTERISTICS
RIGHT OF DISSENT AND DISOBEDIENCE
 Related to minority rights, people must have the right to resist the commands of government they deem wrong or
unreasonable.

H. POLITICAL EQUALITY
 In a democracy, all adults (usually now age 18 and over) are equally able to participate in politics: “one person, one vote.”
 In theory, all are able to run for public office, but critics point out that it takes a great deal of money—and often specific
racial and religious ties—to really enter public life.

I. POPULAR CONSULTATION
 Most leaders realize that to govern effectively, they must know what the people want and must be responsive to their needs
and demands.
 Intelligent leaders realize that they must neither get too far ahead of public opinion nor fall too far behind it. Leaders monitor
opinion on a continuous basis. Public opinion polls are closely followed.

J. FREE PRESS
 One of the clearest ways to determine the degree of democracy In a country is to see if the media criticize government,
tracked by Reporters Without Borders in its World Press Freedom Index. No criticism, no democracy.

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 DEMOCRACY IN PRACTICE
■ The pure elite theorist views
society as a single pyramid—with a
tiny elite at the top.

■ The pure pluralist views society as

a collection of billiard balls
colliding with each other and with
government to produce policy.

■ Both views are overdrawn.

■ A synthesis that more accurately reflects reality might be a series of small pyramids, each capped by an elite. There is
interaction of many units, as the pluralists would have it, but there is also stratification of leaders and followers, as elitist
thinkers would have it. Robert Dahl called this a “polyarchy,” the rule of the leaders of several groups who have reached stable
understandings with each other.

REGIMES 21
REGIMES
TOTALITARIANISM
 TOTALITARIANISM
 TOTALITARIANISM — a word coined by outside analysts in the 1930s — is a
system in which one party holds total power and attempts to restructure society
in accordance with party values.

 Freedom disappears.

 The old autocratic rulers kept their subjects quiet, but the totalitarian state insists
on mass enthusiasm.

REGIMES 23
 FEATURES OF TOTALITARAINISM
A. AN ALL-ENCOMPASSING IDEOLOGY
 Totalitarians push an official theory of history, economics, and future political and social development.
 The ideology portrays the world in black-and-white terms and claims to be building a perfect, happy society, so anyone
against it is an “enemy of the people.”
 All are supposed to believe and study the official ideology.

B. A SINGLE PARTY
 Only one party legally exists, led by one man who establishes a cult of personality.
 Party membership is controlled—usually less than 10 percent of the population— and is supposed to be an honor.
 Membership brings privileges, and in return members strongly support the party.
 Hierarchically organized, the party is either superior to or tied in with the formal institutions of government.
 Party functionaries hold all important posts and impose at least outward conformity on all citizens.

C. ORGANIZED TERROR
 Security police use both physical and psychological methods to keep citizens cowed.
 The threat of the “knock at the door” cows most of the population. Mass arrest and execution shows the state’s power and the
individual’s helplessness.

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 FEATURES OF TOTALITARAINISM
D. MONOPOLY OF COMMUNICATIONS
 The mass media in totalitarian states sells the official ideology and shows the system is working well under wise leaders.
 Only good news appears. Sinister outside forces, however, are trying to harm the system and must be stopped.

E. MONOPOLY OF WEAPONS
 Governments of totalitarian nations have a complete monopoly on weapons, thus eliminating armed resistance.

F. CONTROLLED ECONOMY
 Totalitarian regimes control the economy. Stalin did so directly by means of state ownership and Hitler indirectly by means
of party “ coordination” of private industry.
 Either way, it makes the state powerful, for resources can be allocated to heavy industry, weapons production, or whatever
the party wishes.
 Workers can be moved wherever labor is needed, and the needs or wants of the consumer are unimportant.

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 RIGHT WING TOTALITARINISM
 We tend to focus on communism, but right-wing totalitarianism—Italian Fascism and German
National Socialism—was somewhat different. It developed in industrialized nations plagued
by economic depression, social upheaval, and political confusion and weakness, and in which
democracy was weak.
 Right-wing totalitarianism does not want revolution; rather, it aims to block a leftist
revolution by strengthening the existing social order and glorifying the state.
 It attempts to get rid of those deemed foreign or inferior, as Hitler strove to annihilate Jews
and Gypsies.
 Citizens are also directed toward national glory and war.
 Private ownership is generally permitted, but obedient cartels and national trade associations
carry out party wishes.

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REGIMES
AUTHORITARIANISM
 AUTHORITARIANISM
 The terms authoritarianism and totalitarianism are often confused but have
different meanings.
 Authoritarian regimes are governed by a small group—a party, a dictator, or
the army—that minimizes popular input.
 They do not attempt to control everything. Many economic, social, religious,
cultural, and familial matters are left up to individuals.
 Most of the six points of totalitarianism discussed earlier are diluted or absent.
 Authoritarian regimes, for example, rarely have a firm ideology to sell. Some
called the Saddam regime in Iraq totalitarian, but it was closer to
authoritarianism.

REGIMES 28
 TYPES OF AUTHORITARIANISM

EXAMPLES
1. MILITARY Burma, Niger
2. PERSONALISTIC Libya, Venezuela
3. TRADITIONAL Saudi Arabia, Kuwait
MONARCHY
4. DOMINANT-PARTY Russia, Zimbabwe
5. SINGLE-PARTY China, Cuba

REGIMES 29
 AUTHORITARIANISM
 Authoritarian regimes limit individual freedoms in favor of a hierarchical
organization of command, obedience, and order.
 Citizens obey laws and pay taxes that they have no voice in establishing. Some
trappings of democracy may exist for appearance’s sake.
 Elections confirm the rule of the dominant party; opponents have no chance, and
some are arrested. Legislatures rubber stamp the dictator’s laws, and puppet
prime ministers and cabinets carry them out.

REGIMES 30
 AUTHORITARIANISM AND THE DEVELOPING
 NATIONS
Authoritarian regimes limit individual freedoms in favor of a hierarchical
organization of command, obedience, and order.
 Citizens obey laws and pay taxes that they have no voice in establishing. Some
trappings of democracy may exist for appearance’s sake.
 Elections confirm the rule of the dominant party; opponents have no chance, and
some are arrested. Legislatures rubber stamp the dictator’s laws, and puppet
prime ministers and cabinets carry them out.

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THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES
 There seem to be two types of regimes that contributed to the latest wave of
democracy:
 authoritarian regimes that enjoyed strong economic growth and
 collapsed Communist regimes whose economic growth lagged.
 The fast-growth systems— such as Chile, Brazil, South Korea, and Taiwan—
were politically authoritarian but developed a private market economy.
 The pro-business regimes set macroeconomic policy (sound currency, low
inflation, plenty of capital for loans) and exported to the world market.
 After a time, the growing economy transformed the whole society into a
democracy.
 As countries improve from poor to middle income, they become ready for stable
democracy.
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 Why Democratization Occurs?
 First, economic growth creates a large middle class, which has a stake in the
system; the middle class may wish to reform it but not overthrow it.
 Second, education levels have risen; most people are high-school graduates, and
many are college graduates. They are no longer ignorant and do not fall for
demagogues, extremist ideas, or vote buying.
 Third, people increasingly recognize their interests and express them: pluralism.
They voice business, professional, regional, and religious demands. They can
spot cruel, corrupt, or inefficient governments and do not like being treated like
children.
 Finally, the market itself teaches citizens about self-reliance, pluralism,
tolerance, and not expecting too much—all attitudes that sustain democracy

REGIMES 33