Totalitarian, Authoritarian and Democratic Flashcards
What form of government concentrates all powers in a single authority?
Totalitarian
What term describes a government where a small group holds power without being constitutionally responsible to the public?
Authoritarian
Which form of government is associated with the principle of separation of powers?
Democratic
What are the main features of a totalitarian government?
A totalitarian government centralizes power in a single authority, suppresses all opposition, controls all aspects of life, including the economy, media, and education.
How is an authoritarian government different from a totalitarian government?
Authoritarian government focuses on maintaining control over political aspects, allowing limited personal freedoms.
Totalitarian government seeks to control every aspect of life, including ideology, culture, and private behavior.
What are the key characteristics of a democratic government?
A democratic government is characterized by:
1. The rule of law
2. Free and fair elections
3. Separation of powers
4. Protection of individual rights and freedoms
5. Accountability of the government to the people
Give one example each of totalitarian, authoritarian, and democratic governments in history.
Totalitarian: Nazi Germany under Hitler
Authoritarian: Spain under Franco
Democratic: India
What is the significance of public participation in a democracy?
Public participation ensures accountability, promotes transparency, upholds individual rights, and fosters collective decision-making in a democracy.
What form of government allows political pluralism but limits freedoms through strict control over opposition?
Authoritarian
Explain the role of propaganda in totalitarian states.
Propaganda is used to control public opinion, reinforce the state ideology, and suppress revolt by getting rid of any opposing or misleading information about the ruler/ ruling party through media, education, and culture.
What are the major differences between direct democracy and indirect democracy?
In direct democracy, citizens directly participate in decision-making, as seen in ancient Athens. In indirect democracy, elected representatives make decisions on behalf of the people, as seen in modern democratic states like India.
What is the significance of a free press in a democratic government?
A free press ensures transparency, holds the government accountable, informs the public, and enables debate, thereby strengthening democracy.
What is the importance of checks and balances in a democratic government?
Checks and balances prevent any single branch of government from becoming too powerful, ensuring accountability and adherence to the rule of law.
The constitution of the state is used to cloak for legitimising the power of the ruler or the powerful leadership. Complete centralisation of authority, absense of an independent judiciary and rule of rulers and not the rule of law are its basic principles.
Totalitarian
Forced Legitimacy: ______:: Manipulated Legitimacy:_____.
Totalitarian, Authoritarian
