Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Authoritarianism is a type of political system in which the population lacks any control over the ruling authorities (Taylor, 2002). It is characterized by indefinite tenure of leaders who cannot be removed from office or positions of authority by any political process or by the collective will of the people. Generally, authoritarian systems are only maintained by the use of force or by the implied threat of the use of force by the ruling authorities through their command of military organizations and national police forces. Another typical characteristic of authoritarian rulers is the corruption of the political and electoral processes, whereby elections (if they are permitted in the first place) are rigged or otherwise manipulated fraudulently. Similarly, authoritarian societies typically feature the complete dominance of law enforcement and administrative authorities as well (Taylor, 2002).
Rule by Force
Authoritarianism is one of the...
The principal difference is that in the former model, the power and authority held by the strong over the weak is consolidated into formal positions, organizations, and entities, whereas in the latter, it is just individuals taking advantage of one another based on individual differences in strength. Throughout early recorded human history, most societies were governed by some form of authoritarianism, likely because the impulse to abuse power and authority over others is a natural one and the weaknesses of authoritarianism generally do not become apparent in the short-term (
Corrupt Political and Electoral Processes
In authoritarian societies, ruling entities usually inherited their power by birth, such as in…
References
Edwards, G., Wattenberg, M., and Lineberry, R. (2007). Government in America: People,
Politics, and Policy. New York, NY: Longman.
Taylor, R. (2002). Freedom, Anarchy, and the Law: An Introduction to Political
Philosophy. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus.
1. Why is the state considered a central institution in comparative politics? What does state power look like, and where does it come from? Towards what ends do states use their power? Give detailed examples from three country-cases. The state is the central institution in comparative politics because it represents the group of institutions and agencies that exercise authority over the people subordinate to it. The state mediates disputes and serves
Authoritarian Regimes Authoritarianism has been a historically produced phenomenon in reaction to state crises of political order. Its primary feature has actually been elitist dictatorship, with the periodic cult of character. It is a feedback to democratic failure, social polarization, financial stagnation, and worldwide weakness, which typically becomes the reason for its stamina. An additional reason for its stamina is that it normally works out sovereign power with single-party guideline, and
Africa's Political Crisis Most African colonies became independent in the 1950s and 1960s amid hopes that this would be the prelude to an era of democracy and development (Cooper, 2002). By the end of the 1980s, Africa was plagued by instability, authoritarianism, poverty, war and famine. In some countries, the state itself had begun to disintegrate. There are many reasons for Africa's current state of political instability. For one, continuous rivalry between
reign of Hitler and the actions of Nazi Germany are a dark page in human history. It has been well established that Hitler studied the tactics and policies of different dictators to create a regime that spread terror throughout Europe and the world. The purpose of this discussion is to examine how Bismarckian and Prussian Conservative/Authoritarian polices provided a stepping stone to Nazi Germany. First, we will explore the
Arab Spring was a revolution started mainly by youth and spread over the Arab and North African countries. The purpose was to attain change in the way the countries were run and in doing so attain better living conditions. Morocco was one of the nations involved in the revolution and it succeeded in attaining some form of change. The constitutional and parliament alterations limited the powers of the king along
Latin America's problems owe a great deal to a tradition of caudillism, personal politics and authoritarianism." It will also give definitions for eight terms associated with Latin American studies: caudillism, liberalism, The Export Boom, Neocolonialism, Import Subsidizing Industrialization, Bureaucratic Authoritarianism and Privatization. Latin America currently faces many problems, with diverse causes and manifestations, for example, huge external debts, lack of development in infrastructure, low levels of education for children, and