Authoritarian Regimes Flashcards
What are characteristics of authoritarian regimes?
- Limited (but not responsible) pluralism
- Distinctive mentalities
- Low levels of social mobilization
- Ill-defined but predictable limits of power
What is meant by limited pluralism
Small key groups are in power & certain groups are banned
What is meant by a limited pluralism that’s not responsible?
Social institutions -> have autonomy
Eg. Military, church, business organizations, unions
How are totalitarianism and authoritarianism different
There are boundaries between state and society (state doesn’t control aspects of society)
What are distinctive mentalities
Not fully developed ideology BUT mentalities (ways of thinking)
Eg. Mentalities -> militarism/nationalism
- Allow flexibility to switch ideas
- Limit ability
○ To mobilize people for a long time
Create psych attachment to regime
What are low levels of social mobilization?
Demoblize -> depoliticeze -> stability
Not a lot of opposition to political parties because don’t think about politics
What are ill-defined, but predictable limits of power?
- Violence is always a possibility to respond to political conflicts
- Rapid changes of enemies
- Violations of rights
Totalitarian characteristics in a regime
- Political power: Everything is in one power/party = state social/political government controls (Monolithic)
- Beliefs: One ideology -> easier to mobilize
- Mobilization: Mobilize all aspects of society
- Use of violence: Random, unpredictable of power
authoritarian characteristics in a regime
- Political Power: Limited pluralism, social -> society, political -> government
- Beliefs: No ideology BUT mentality -> change mentality/views
- Mobilization: no
- Use of violence: yes, but limit of power defined, violation of human rights
Mobilization
Ability to depot official support
What are the different types of authoritarian regimes?
- Personalist
- Single-party
- Military
What are personalist regimes
- One person STRONG man -> cult of personality
- In government because of relationship with leader
- Personal networks (eg. Related, ethnicity, religion) = important
- Military/party =X independent power
- Regime personal rotates ->personal bases of support
What is an example of a personality regime?
Sudham hussein in IRAQ
How does leader stay in power in personalist regiem
Repression -> prevent uprisings
Distrubution of patronage to allies -> prevent internal divisions AND COUP
What are absoltue monarchies
- type of personalist regimes
- Royal family -> reduces uncertainty in succession
Eg. Saudi arabia
What are single party regimes
One party dominates
What are the different types os single party regimes
1. Communist Eg. china 2. Fascist Eg. Mexico 3. Post-colonial Eg. Post-indpendcee Tanzania
How does a single party stay in power?
- Repression -> weaken opposition
- Some party mobilization ->for legitmacy
- Benefits to loyal citizens (jobs/education/etc) -> for support
- POWER sharing -> prevent internal divisions
What are military regimes
- Council of military officers in power (junta)
- Military counci
• Decides who rules - More frequent during cold war
- Various political positions BUT usually RIGHT WING (economic)
• Exception: middle east - Similar goals: national integrity/internal order
State of emergency/martial law
What are some examples of military regimes
Egypt (1981-2011/2013-)
How does a military regime endure?
- Repression -> suppress opposition
- Power is shared among council -> prevent internal divisions/coup
How do military regimes form?
Formed after military coup
- Seizes secutive power by force - Take power away from elected officials/prevents elected officials from taking office - RESPONSE TO political instabiltiy
What is an example of a military coup?
- Leftist parties win elections
- Conservative officers led by FRANCISCO FRANCO launch coup
- Civil war -> conservatives win
- Military regime created
In power until 1975
Failure of regimes
- military=least stable
- single party=most stable
End of military regimes
- Most vulnerable to crisis within the country
• Economic downturns - Starts with split within military elite
- Some want to go back to service
• If/when goal = obtained
• Maintain role in democracy
How are single-party regimes stable
- Much internal stability
- Large support:
• Jobs, education, govt - Institutional structures favor
• popular participation
•Elite power-sharing
How are single party regimes collapsed
Brought down from external conflict
Eg. Soviet collapse
World wars
Intl economic crisis
End of personalist regime
Less vulnerable than military regimes
- One leader prevents challenges
More vulnerable than single party regimes
- Vulnerable to death of leader
- Narrower support (smaller share of citzens: kingship, religion, etc)
Vulnerable to economic crises with patrons
What is electoral fallacy
- Elections = democracy
- But elections not sufficient
- REMEMBER DEFINITIONS OF DEMOCRACY
Why are holding elections bad for authoritarian regimes
Think marks beginning of democrazationation
BUT authoritarian regimes have elections AND survive
Elections in authoritarian regimes are
- Manageable
- Provide benefits to regime
Can help regime survive
How do authoritarian regimes manage elections before voting day
Before election…
- Control media
- Control which candidates can run
- Harass opposition
How do authoritarian regimes manage election day of election
- Buy votes
- Pressure voters
- Stuff ballot boxes
- Falsify results
How do authoritarian regimes manage elections after voting day
- Manipulate results
- Annul results
Resorts to coups
H=what are advantages of election in authoritarian regimes
- Signal dominance -> discourage opposition
- Provide information
Don’t know preference of citizens, bc scared of oppression- Reveals
○ How/where popular regime is
○ Which local leaders better at mobilizing support
○ How/where opposition organized
○ Where major opposition leaders are
○ Citizen’s grieviences
- Reveals
- Elite recruitment
- Opportunities for ambitious
○ Winners -> pathway to elite
○ Losers -> can try again/no coups or revolts
- Opportunities for ambitious
Disadvantages for elections
- Opposition can organize
- Provide opportunity for foreign pro-democracy support (US, EU)
- Expose regime weakness -> protests
• Eg. Belarus 2020 - Can spark democratic transition
Elections: recap
Necessary BUT not sufficient for democracy
Matter, but serve other purposes for authoritarian regimes
