PBL 4 Authoritarianism Flashcards
state
an entity that uses coercion and the threat of force to rule in a given territory.
regime
the set of rules, norms or institutions that determine how the government is constituted and organised and how major decisions are made
government
the set of people who run the state or have the authority to act on behalf of the state at a particular point in time.
Dahl’s two dimensions of Democracy
- Contestation: captures the extent to which citizens are free to organise themselves into competing blocks in order to press for policies+outcomes they desire
- Inclusion: has to do with how gets to participate in the democratic process.
measures of democracy and dictatorship
- D-D (democracy-dictatorship)
- Polity IV
- Freedom House
D-D system
-dichotomous system: either democracy or dictatorship
-minimalist view on democracy
-country is a democracy if:
1. chief executive is elected
2. legislative is elected
3. plurality in elections
4. alternation in power under identical electoral rules
when one of these requirements are not met, dictatorship!
Polity IV scoring system
-continuous score from 0-10
-10 to -6 (dictatorship), in between (anocracy), 6-10 democracy.
Polite IV score dimensions
substantive view:
1. competitiveness of executive recruitment
2. openness of executive recruitment
3. constraints that exist on the executive
4. regulation of political participation (inclusion)
5. competitiveness of political participation
Freedom House
measure of freedom, represents democracy
substantive view:
1.amount of freedom on political rights
2. amount of freedom on civil rights
Political rights
- electoral processes
- pluralism
- functioning of government
civil rights
- freedom of expression and belief
- associational and organisational rights
- rule of law
- personal autonomy and individual rights
a state becomes authoritarian when:
it fails to respect: 1. free and fair elections (right to vote, fair competition)
2. to not dissolve parliament
3. freedom of expression, access to information, freedom of association
relationship between authoritarianism and accountability
authoritarianism is a regime where there is an active practice of sabotaging accountability
accountability vs a. sabotage (opposite)
-enabling forum’s access to information (actor explains+justifies conduct vs illegitimate secrets+misinformation)
-enabling voice of forum (forum can pose questions+pass judgement vs nope)
authoritarian vs illiberal practices
authoritarian practices sabotage accountability, whereas illiberal practices infringement on the autonomy and dignity of human rights
