Post on 29-Dec-2015
Democracy Government is limited by
constitution. Power is exercised by
elected officials who are chosen by ballot.
Authoritarianism Government seeks a total
concentration of political power.
Power is held by an individual or small group (junta or group of generals).
Power of Government
Democracy Liberties and rights are
guaranteed by a constitution. Individualism and social
contract theory for ensuring individual rights.
Authoritarianism Rights are not guaranteed
in practice. Collective interests take
precedence over individual rights.
Civil Liberties & Rights
Democracy Elections offer a choice of
candidates with differing ideas, usually in a two- or multi- party system.
Calls for free elections at regular intervals.
Authoritarianism Elections do not offer a choice. Single party system is in
effect. Elections are usually symbolic
for the ruling class to show the solidarity of the regimes.
Elections
Democracy Government and people are under
the rule of law. Based on formal constitutions that
protect citizens’ rights. Law is promulgated by a limited,
neutral government whose legitimacy derived from a social contract.
Authoritarianism Government relies on ideology,
religion, or personal charisma as a source of moral authority.
The ruling parties are the final political, legal, & moral authority.
Rule of Law
Democracy Orderly demonstrations
are legal and protests are guaranteed by law.
Force is used only to restrain the disorderly.
Authoritarianism Force or threat of force are
used frequently to keep peace.
Social stability is viewed as the central element for the legitimacy of government.
Maintaining Order
Forms of Authoritarian Rule Traditional authoritarian rule
• Royal family (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia)• Personal despot (Haiti)• Ruling president (Uzbekistan)• Military government (Burma)• Theocracy (Iran)
Communist state Fascist state
Totalitarianism
An extreme version of authoritarianism Limited sphere for private life A guiding ideology Lack of tolerance to pluralism in social
organizations Strong state power in mobilizing the
whole population in pursuit of national goals
Totalitarianism & AuthoritarianismTotalitarianism Authoritarianism
Charisma High Low
Role of leader Leader as function Leader as individual
Ends of power Public Private
Corruption Low High
Official ideology Yes No
Limited pluralism No Yes
Legitimacy Yes No
Traditional Authoritarian Regime
Rule by persons rather than by law Politics comes before policy The penetration of the state remains limited The rulers are concerned with protecting
their positions than developing their states Developments (as education, TV, Internet)
are perceived as a threat by the rulers who are concerned to maintain the populations’ dependence on their patronage.
Authoritarianism, Totalitarianism, and Autocracy Both authoritarian and totalitarian rules have
been excised in autocratic government
Autocratic forms of government• Theocracy (Rule by religion, leader is the main
religious figures)
• Monarchy (Rule by a single leader, typically claims Divine Right)
• Tyranny (Rule by an absolute dictator who is not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition)
• Oligarchy (Rule by a few individuals)
• Aristocracy (Rule by the wealthy)
Communist State Monopoly of ruling parties (no opposition,
state-managing elections, acting above the law, controlling the media and spying on their population).
Equality of welfare to the mass of the population
Equal and classless society Centralized planning economy All ownership was transferred to the state,
which was operated by the vanguard of the proletariat
Fascist State An autocratic ruler and a single party personify
the state; state and nation were to become one. Strong ideological impulse; depend on
movement rather than a method of governing An extreme nationalism; extreme glorification of
the nation, often defined by racial terms National socialism (extensive governmental
control of the economy while retaining private production and enterprise
Comparing historical trajectories to make causal inferences about macro-level structures and processes to test historical generalizations.
Also called as the Historical-Comparative Tradition, an approach that explores specific processes that explain a sequence of contingent events that occurred across time.
Barrington Moore, Jr., Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy, identifies three alternative routs to modernity: (1) “bourgeois revolution” to liberal democracy; (2) “revolution from above” to fascism; (3) “peasant revolution” to communism. Compares sets of countries that follow similar routes and contrasts these with sets that follow different paths.
Theda Skocpol, in States and Social Revolutions, theorizes that three countries (Bourbon France, Imperial China, and Tsarist Russia) experience revolutionary crises for similar
analytic reasons. She compares these instances to countries that did not experience revolutionary crises.
These non-revolutionary instances act as controls.
Macro-Causal Analysis
The Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy
Analyses the rise of fascism in Germany, Italy, and Japan. Fascism was a reaction to capitalistic modernization which
was shaking the old political order by bring new groups into the political nexus and adversely affecting old groups.
Analyses the specific factors that led to the rise of fascism Describes the fascist system of governance, ideology, and the
role of the state. Evaluates the major strengths and weaknesses of fascism.
Moore, 1966, Chapter 8