Political Science: An Introduction Regimes: (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Landov)

Political Science: An Introduction
Chapter 6
Regimes
(Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Landov)

Copyright @ 2012, 2010, 2008 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Kinds of Regimes
Democracy
 Democracy comes from Greek words meaning government by the
people; distrusted until the 19th century.
 Direct democracy, where all citizens could vote on government

policies, may occur through referendums, but is difficult to achieve
given the size of the U.S.
 Representative democracy is where people elect representatives to

make laws and govern; Constitutional means that the government is
limited and can wield its authority only in specific ways
 Illiberal democracies are regimes elected to power but lack

democratic qualities such as civil rights and limits on government
Characteristics of Representative
Democracy
 Popular Accountability of Government
 Political Competition
 Alternation in Power
 Uncertain Electoral Outcomes
 Popular Representation
 Majority Decisions
 Right of Dissent and Disobedience
 Popular Equality
 Popular Consultation
 Free Press
Freedom House Rankings on Relative Freedom
Democracy in Practice: Elitism or
Pluralism?
 Elite theory argues that the key policy decisions are
made by a tiny minority
 Gaetano Mosca argued that government always falls into

the hands of a few
 Robert Michels argued that any organization, no matter

how democratic its intent, will be run by a small elite
(Iron Law of Oligarchy)
 Robert Dahl felt government too large, issues too

complex, for any other option
Pluralism?
 Pluralism argues that political decisions are largely
driven by interest groups
 According to pluralists, interest groups are the great

avenues of democracy, making sure government listens
to the people
 Many argue that only a pluralist society can be

democratic
Pluralism?
 Polyarchy is the synthesis that interest groups compete
(pluralism), but that each group is run by elites (elitism)
 Arend Lijphart calls this “consociational democracy” –

elites agree among themselves on rules of the game,
and get their followers to abide by the rules
 When elite accommodation breaks down, conflict results
Models of Elitism, Pluralism, and
Polyarchy
Totalitarianism
 Totalitarianism – a political system where the state attempts

total control of its citizens
 Elites almost totally unaccountable – they monopolize

instruments of force possibly through secret police or military
 Regime controls economy tightly, making state powerful and

able to allocate resources to serve its interests, such as
military production
 Distinct from dictatorship and authoritarianism – these forms

of regime seek power for power’s sake, for certain individuals
and cronies
Totalitarianism
 A totalitarian state operates under an all-encompassing

ideology – tries to restructure society according to goals
of the ideology
 Regime promotes official theory of history, economics,

politics, and social development – all required to believe
this version; any dissenters are enemies of the people
 Only one party legally exists, led by a single individual

who fosters a “cult of personality”
Authoritarianism
 Authoritarian regimes governed by small group that

minimizes popular input; not usually ideological
 These regimes do not try to control everything – many

cultural, social, economic and other matters left up to
individuals as long as they do not threaten regime
 Individual freedoms limited in favor of hierarchical
organization of command, obedience, and order
 Some democratic tendencies may exist, such as courts

and legislatures, but controlled by regime
Authoritarianism and the Developing Nations
 After World War II, many new states created calling

themselves democracies; no experience with democracy
though
 Political leadership typically believed that political and

economic survival and growth need centralized power
 Political leaders think they know what the people need

and rig elections
Types of Authoritarianism
The Democratization of Authoritarian Regimes
 Democratization seems to happen in:

 Authoritarian countries with rapid economic growth or;
 Collapsed Communist states with slow economic growth
 When authoritarian regimes permit relatively free markets,

they become ripe for some form of democracy; driven by
growth of a middle class
 Gradually regimes tend to ease up and permit democratic

reforms
 This scenario does not apply to petrostates; wealth and power

are concentrated in the hands of a few, retard democracy
Why Democracies Fail
 Apart from outside conquest, democracies usually fail

because they come too soon; stable democracies require
large, educated middle class
 Newly enfranchised and unsophisticated voters often fall for

the extravagant or extremist promises of demagogues , who
offer simple solutions to get the votes of the gullible
Why Democracies Fail
 Several characteristics tend to block democracy:

 Poverty
 Major inequality
 No middle class
 Low education levels
 Oil
 Tribalism
 Little civil society
 No earlier democratic experience
 No democratic countries nearby

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Political Science: An Introduction

(Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Landov)

 Direct democracy, where all citizens could vote on government

 Representative democracy is where people elect representatives to

 Illiberal democracies are regimes elected to power but lack

 Gaetano Mosca argued that government always falls into

 Robert Michels argued that any organization, no matter

 Robert Dahl felt government too large, issues too

 According to pluralists, interest groups are the great

 Many argue that only a pluralist society can be

 Arend Lijphart calls this “consociational democracy” –

 When elite accommodation breaks down, conflict results

 Totalitarianism – a political system where the state attempts

 Elites almost totally unaccountable – they monopolize

 Regime controls economy tightly, making state powerful and

 Distinct from dictatorship and authoritarianism – these forms

 A totalitarian state operates under an all-encompassing

 Regime promotes official theory of history, economics,

 Only one party legally exists, led by a single individual

 Authoritarian regimes governed by small group that

 These regimes do not try to control everything – many

 Some democratic tendencies may exist, such as courts

 After World War II, many new states created calling

 Political leadership typically believed that political and

 Political leaders think they know what the people need

 Democratization seems to happen in:

 When authoritarian regimes permit relatively free markets,

 Gradually regimes tend to ease up and permit democratic

 This scenario does not apply to petrostates; wealth and power

 Apart from outside conquest, democracies usually fail

 Newly enfranchised and unsophisticated voters often fall for

 Several characteristics tend to block democracy:

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