Authoritarianism Is a Type of Political System

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 most primitive forms of political systems and is, in principle, nothing but a more complex version of the most primitive form of society in which "might makes right" and the weak are simply at the mercy of the strong. 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 connection with nobility, or they achieved societal domination by systematic corruption and takeover of established political institutions and processes (Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry, 2007; Taylor, 2002). The Middle Ages were thoroughly dominated by authoritarianism in the form of nobility. Relatively recent examples of authoritarian societies that illustrate the corruption of political and electoral processes would include the Nazi takeover of the German government in the decade preceding the Second World War. Contemporary examples would include the recently deposed dictators Saddam Hussein in Iraq and even more recently, of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya last week. In Germany, Hitler rose to power by compromising the integrity of each branch of government individually and by pressuring Von Hindenburg to ceding his authority and legitimizing the Nazis. Currently, the country of North Korea illustrates the most extreme version of authoritarianism in the complete domination of all economic and social institutions and the subjugation of the populace in forced worship and adoration of the national leader (Edwards, Wattenberg, & Lineberry, 2007).