AP Comparative Government and Politics Authoritarianism

University:
Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools
Course:
AP Government & Politics: Comparative
Academic year:

2022
Views:

321

Pages:

2
Author:

esfredint7qo

Authoritarianism Defining Authoritarianism ● What differentiates authoritarianism with democracy is that authoritarianism does not grant the people with rights to change the government. Instead, they have a small group of individuals in charge of this goal. ● This is different from totalitarianism, which entails state control in citizens’ private lives. Components of Authoritarianism How Did Authoritarianism Come About? ● Economy: Many societies that have to worry less about money are liberal democracies, as a well off public results in a public that cares about, and can make informed decisions on, different political matters. With larger economic disparities, one group will likely seize control, resulting in authoritarianism. ● Society: Political culture can play an important role as well. For instance, statism (the tendency to trust the state’s capacity) can influence the political landscape. ● Religion: Looking into history, different religions have ruled nations for many, many years. Similarly, religion can be used as a way to hold power in an authoritarian regime. Control in an Authoritarian Regime ● Coercion means that the regime uses force to control the nation. ● States can also control the media and make it less independent from the state. ● Civil society could be restricted or obligated onto citizens. ● They could intimidate any opposing political forces to maintain power. ● They could use co-optation, which is establishing a beneficial relationship between the state and a group/person. ● State corporatism (corporatism) essentially means that the state stands in between competing interests, like a judge or referee. Therefore, it is beneficial to an interest group to appeal to the state, because they are the ones making decisions. ● Patron-clientelism (clientelism) occurs when rulers grant particular people different political positions for personal gain. This oftentimes happens in the level below as well, and the level below, and so forth, creating a pyramid of power associated with one person. This is a patron-client network. ● This could lead to corruption, the abuse of authority --- or an official position --for political gain. (Authority is not to be confused with power, the ability to influence people. ● Personality cults base power on one individual, who is often hailed as a hero. Types of Authoritarian Regimes ● Personal rule means that the regime is controlled by an individual, without the power being limited or constrained. ● Military rule comes from a coup d’état that promotes the military to a position of power. ● One-party rule (dominant-party system) means that only one party is able to exercise political power. ● On the other hand, illiberal democracies institutionally protect elections but do not have other fundamental features of a liberal democracy. ● A theocracy means that the state relies on religion to support its rule, saying that it is their god-given right to rule the country.