reading 4 (ch.6 + art.) Flashcards
authoritarianism
power is centralized in the hands of a dictatorship and a supporting elite, the majority of citizens have little or no influence over how the community is governed, there are neither equal rights nor equal levels of information
- patronage, coercion, personalism
- many degrees if authoritarianism, from tyranny and totalitarianism to despotism, autocracy and ‘non-democracy’
constitutional architecture = vague, contradictory, weak legislature and judiciary, poor respect of civil liberties, little/no constitutional restrains + no protection of private property rights (eco. stagnation)
features vary by time and place + no fixed model of agreed typology
expected features:
- institutions = weak, immature, poorly defined, centralization of power
- participation = little political participation and representation
- rights = few limits on gov. power, mixed record of protecting individual rights + limited independence for the jury
- elections = poor record on representative gov. with elections (fraud, manipulation, violence)
- opposition = constrained
- media = limited and controlled
hybrid vs authoritarian regimes
- Democracy Index
hybrid regime = political systems appear democratic, but institutions, processes, laws and policies are manipulated to keep rulers and their supporting elites in power
*Levitsky and Way call it: competitive authoritarianism
authoritarian regime = centralized political control, intolerance of opposition, human rights abuses
origins and evolution of authoritarianism
- authoritarian rule has a longer history than democracy (earliest organized political regimes were often strictly hierarchical + based on violence, coercion, loyalty and/or divine right)
- we don’t entirely understand the process through which autocracies emerge or strengthen themselves
- Latin America: long and unfortunate history of military interference (US made it worse: allies in cold war no matter if they were authoritarian)
- first reverse wave democratization Huntingtion 1922-1942 (e.g. Stalin USSR)
- second reverse wave democratization 1960s (e.g. coups in sub-Saharan Africa)
- Luhrmann and Lindberg: 3d wave of autocratization since mid-1990s that mainly affects democracies
four main forms of authoritarian regime
! no agreed typology of authoritarianism
! authoritarianism is not always openly on display, it’s often shrouded in secrecy (democratically disguised dictatorships) -> difficult to study
- absolute monarchies = sovereign exerts control, with other members of the royal family in key political and military posts (e.g. Bahrein, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman)
- presidential monarchies = presidents exerts control, without term limits, with opponents kept off-guard and the opposition marginalized (many former Soviet-republics + multiple sub-Saharan African States (e.g. Uganda, Angola)
- ruling parties = rule by a single party, often combined with a strong president (many African states)
- military government = government by the military, often ruling through a junta comprising the leaders of each branch of the armed forces (many after WW2, less common now)
dilemma of corruption
corruption = abuse of public office (authority) for private gain
*is everywhere, in authoritarian regimes the most: it is a cause and effect of the kind of power authoritarian leader wield
!hard to measure = often based on Corruption Perceptions Index (based on bank, foundation and interest group info)
- can undermine the quality f governance and the efficiency of an economy
- forms e.g. electoral fraud, bribes, influence peddling (selling influence in gov. to benefit a third party), patronage (corrupt when choosing less qualified candidates for office), nepotism or cronysm (favoring relatives or friends), embezzlement (theft of public funds) + kickbacks (offering contract to a company in exchange for part of the income)
hybrid regime
- Democracy Index
political systems appear democratic, but institutions, processes, laws and policies are manipulated to keep rulers and their supporting elites in power
*often provides effective governance, earning/manipulating popular support
- Levitsky and Way call it: competitive authoritarianism
authoritarian regimes (Democracy Index)
centralized political control, intolerance of opposition, human rights abuses
(most people would associate this with autocracy or dictatorship)
*dictators are threatened more by their regime insiders, than by popular uprising
4 control devices authoritarian leaders: coercion, patronage, military, media
4 control devices authoritarian leaders
- coercion (core feature authoritarian regimes) = making people act against their will
- patronage = incorporation of holders of power through the provision of resources and opportunities
- the military = high spending, helping buy off the opposition + suppressing domestic dissent
- the media = control aimed at ensuring only favorable coverage of the government
autocratization
- Luhrmann + Lindberg = substantial de facto decline of core institutional requirements for electoral democracy
- Kneuer + Demmelhuber = the process of change that replaces democracy with autocracy + **authoritarian gravity centres promote autocracy in other countries (both passive (attractiveness) as active)
understudied: preference to study democratization
now: signs of democratic backsliding -> more interest in autocratization
- proces can be seen as reversed liberalization (starting with more control exerted by ruling elite, followed by transition, consolidation and deepening)
- forces can be: coercion, real and imagined threats, loss of faith in democracy, inequalities, enemy portrayal, maintain through influence external powers
autocratization = usually in states that have never been fully democratic -> it is likely more a proces of deepening than of complete conversion
totalitarianism
less a variant of authoritarianism than a category of its own
Roberts:
- totalitarianism denies individual freedom altogether to maximize control and to mobilize a population
- totalitarianism features = dominating leader portrayed as in the benefit of the people + single guiding ideology (building an ideal society) + tightly controlled society in which all aspects of life are politicized
Roberts: difference with authoritarianism = authoritarianism allows political participation and freedom within a restricted framework
totalitarianism Stalin
= in the first reverse wave of democracy (Huntington)
archetypal totalitarian regime = dominated by Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union late 1920s-1953
Marxist ideals -> absolutist, unyielding dictatorship :
- demanded unquestioning support for the state (leaders)
- systematic and calculated oppression (-> deaths: famine, executions, concentration camps)
- Stalinism = elimination human rights
- secret police
- cult of personality
- establishment of a command economy
Luhrmann and Lindberg
- autocratization =
- proces of autocratization works via =
- there is a third and gradual wave of autocratization (next to the 2 reverse waves of democratization described by Huntington): mid-1990s affecting mostly democracies: elected leaders slowly eroding and undermining democratic norms without abolishing key democratic institutions
e.g. Brazil, Ghana, Russia, Hungary, Turkey, Thailand, Venezuela
absolute monarchy
- absolute monarchies = sovereign exerts control, with other members of the royal family in key political and military posts (e.g. Bahrein, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman)
undemocratic, but often stable traditional authority + paternalistic concern for subjects
- authority of the ruler, not the state
- ruler not constrained by law or competitive election
- people have right to petition the ruler (often weak link)
particularly important in the Middle East, e.g. Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
- *in these countries, often authority exercised by senior members of the ruling dynasty (not necessarily one monarch) + clan council often has to conform the successor of the monarch (emir, sultan, sheikh)
Saudi Arabia = e.g. sprawling royal family exercises power + there are some mechanisms of representation (e.g. advicers)
Iran = e.g. direct election president and legislature, but real power lies with Muslim clerics, most importantly the supreme leader (chosen by assembly of experts)
presidential monarchy
- presidential monarchies = presidents exerts control, without term limits, with opponents kept off-guard and the opposition marginalized (many former Soviet-republics + multiple sub-Saharan African States (e.g. Uganda, Angola)
proces of personalism = personalities matter more than institutions and politics takes precedence over government
reach of the leader often reflected in cult of personality
- e.g. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea (has now also appointed his son as vice president) = 40+ years
- e.g. Kim family in North Korea (*does rely highly on patronage China +own military)
ruling party
- ruling parties = rule by a single party, often combined with a strong president (many African states)
ruling party monopolizes public authority (in name of economic modernization, social transformation or national revival)
!power of the party can sometimes be hard to distinguish from the power of the leader of the party (often the party is the vehicle rather than the driver with real authority resting with a dominant leader)
*numbers have declined (first many communist parties), still exist in a few African states
