Theme 4 - Forms of Government Flashcards
Define the concept “Regime”
*a broader term which
encompasses mechanisms of government and
*the institutions of state but also the structures and processes through which these interact with the larger society.
*It is political for it relates to the distribution of power, wealth and resources in society.
*A regime is a ‘system of rule’ that endures even as governments come and go.
*Regime also sometimes referred to as ‘form of government’.
Why is there a need for classification?
Classification is an essential aid to the understanding of politics and
government.
*The classification of political systems aids understanding by helping to
highlight similarities and differences between otherwise shapeless
collections of facts.
*Classification also facilitate evaluation, rather than just analysis. It helps us
to evaluate the effectiveness or success of different political systems. The
aim is thus not just to understand but also to improve.
What’re the three ‘sets’ of typologies?
1.Classical typologies
2. The three-world typology
3. Typologies in the modern era
Define the classical typology:
Based on Aristotle in 4th century BCE
* He considered the constitution (the political way
of life) of 158 different city-states.
* Dominant way of categorizing for the next 2500
years
* Aristotle asked two questions:
1. Who rules?
2. Who benefits from rule?
* Based on these two questions he identified six forms of government.
What’re Aristotle’s six
forms of government?
*Tyranny
*Monarch
*Oligarchy
*Aristocracy
*Democracy
*Polity
Define Aristotle’s 6 forms of government
- Was trying to find an ideal constitution
- When the rulers’ benefit, the regime is
‘perverted’ - When all benefit, the regime is ideal
- Worst option: Tyranny
- Best option: Polity
- Ultimately asked for mixed constitutions
Explain the development
of the Aristotelian system:
- Based on Thomas Hobbes & Jean Bodin
- They were concerned with the principle of
sovereignty (the final/highest authority) - The best type of regime – the one that best
expressed sovereignty. - Jean Bodin advocated for absolutism. The
sovereign is a single authority. The only
constraint on a sovereign should be natural law
or the will of God. - Thomas Hobbes thought of sovereignty as a monopoly of coercive power. Therefore, the sovereign would have no constraints.
- John Locke & Montesquieu (early liberals)
championed the idea of constitutional government – which refers to limits being placed on the ruler. - Locke argued that sovereignty belongs to the people, not the ruler.
- Advocated for system of limited government that protects natural rights
- Montesquieu advocated for a system of checks and balances: the separation of powers.
- Separation between the executive, legislative, and judicial institutions
Explain the redundancy of classical classifications :
- The classical way of thinking about
regimes became outdated as modern
constitutional systems became prevalent
from the late 18th century. - New systems were more complex than
what previous thinkers had imagined - New emphasis on the constitutional and
institutional features of political rule. - Built from the work by Montesquieu,
as they placed a lot of emphasis on
the relationships between the various
branches of government. - Monarchies vs republics
- Parliamentary government vs presidential
government - Unitary systems vs federal systems
Define the ‘Three worlds’
typology:
- 20th Century: new forms of authoritarianism
encouraged the view that the world consisted of
democratic states and totalitarian states. - However, this was heavily influenced by the
Cold War - Attempted a value-neutral system of
classification - Three distinct blocks:
1. Capitalist ‘first world’
2. Communist ‘second world’
3. Developing ‘third world’ - Many different dimensions:
o Economic affluence
o Ideological rivalry between 1st & 2nd worlds
o Different political systems
What’re the problems with
this typology?
- From 1970s classification became problematic:
- New patterns of economic development
- Change of political systems
- Negative connotation to ‘third’ world.
- Huge blow to the typology: Eastern European Revolutions (1989-91)
- Francis Fukuyama: The end of History thesis only short-lived
Define the modern systems of political rule:
No system of classification relies on just one single factor – a variety of political, economic and cultural factors come into play:
* Who rules? - an elite / entire population?
* How is compliance achieved? – Threat and force / bargaining and compromise?
* Is government power centralized or fragmented? – What checks and balances are there in the system?
* How is government power acquired and transferred? – Is it open and competitive or
monolithic?
* What is the balance between the state and the individual? - The distribution of rights and responsibilities between government and citizens?
* What is the level of material development? – How affluent is the society and how equally is wealth distributed?
* How is economic life organized? – Market / Planning? What economic role does government play?
* How stable is a regime? – Does it survive over time? Does it have the capacity to respond new demands and challenges?
What’re the five (six) prominent regime types can be identified in the modern world:
- Liberal democracies
- Illiberal democracies
- East Asian regimes
- Islamic regimes
- Military regimes.
- (Authoritarian regimes???)
Explain liberal democracies :
- Polyarchy (rule by the many) - liberal democracy (ideal)?
- Two general features: high tolerance for effective opposition & widespread
levels of political participation. - What is particularly distinctive is the embrace of western liberalism as well i.e.
liberal individualism – rights, choice, competition, etc. - Internal differences - can distinguish between ‘majority’ democracies and
‘consensus’ democracies. - Majoritarian tendencies are associated with any, or all, of the following features (e.g., UK, New Zealand):
- single-party government
- a fusion of powers between the executive and the assembly
- an assembly that is either unicameral or weakly bicameral
- a two-party system
- a single-member plurality, or first-past-the-post, electoral system
- unitary and centralized government
- an uncodified constitution and a sovereign assembly
What features are consensual/pluralistic often associated with?
- coalition government
- a separation of powers between the executive and the assembly
- an effective bicameral system
- a multiparty system
Define illiberal democracies :
- E.g., Turkey, Hungary, Venezuela,
- Very broad category – from mostly liberal democracy to almost open dictatorship.
- Illiberal democracies include the following features:
- A system of regular elections that are sufficiently free and fair to contribute, albeit
within limits, maintenance of legitimacy - The political process is typically characterized by personalized leadership, strong state, weak opposition, few real checks and balances.
- Political and civil rights are selectively suppressed, especially in relation to the
media, no attempt is made to control every aspect of human life. - A disposition towards majoritarianism is reflected in a general intolerance of
pluralism and, hostility towards ethnic, cultural religious minorities
