Political System: A System of Politics and Government.

Political System: A System of Politics and Government.

Political system usually compared to the legal system, economic system, cultural system, and other social systems.

However, this is a very simplified view of a much more complex system of categories involving the views: who should have authority, how religious questions should be handled, and what the government's influence on its people and economy should be.

• It is a complete set of institutions, interest groups (such as political parties, trade unions, lobby groups), the relationships between those institutions and the political norms and rules that govern their functions (constitution, election law).
• It is composed of the members of a social organization who are in power.

A Political System is a system that necessarily has two properties:

 A set of interdependent components and boundaries toward the environment with which it interacts.

A political system is a concept in which theoretically regarded as a way of the government makes a policy and also to make them more organized in their administration.

A political system is one that ensures the maintaining of order and rationality in the society and at the same time makes it possible for some other institutions to also have their grievances and complaints put across in the course of social existence.

Political systems are the Formal and Informal political processes by which decisions are made concerning the use, production and distribution of resources in any given society.

Formal political institutions can determine the process for electing leaders; the roles and responsibilities of the executive and legislature, the organisation of political representation, and the accountability and oversight of the state.

Informal and customary political systems, norms and rules can operate within or alongside these formal political institutions. The development of democratic political systems that provide opportunities for all, including the poor, to influence decision-making, is a critical concern for donors.

Types political systems  as follows…

Anarchy

• Anarchy is the condition of a society, entity, group of people, or individual that rejects hierarchy and promotes self-governing. 
• Anarchism is a political philosophy that eschews the notion of a state and its authority.

Monarchy

• A monarchy is a form of government in which a group, usually a family called the dynasty, embodies the country’s national identity and one of its members, called the monarch, exercises a role of sovereignty. 

• Monarchical form of political system in Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Morocco etc.  

• The actual power of the monarch may vary from purely symbolic , to partial and restricted , to completely autocratic . 

(ie; Crowned Republic à Constitutional Monarchy à Absolute Monarchy)

UK : Constitutional  Monarchy

The King of Saudi Arabia :Absolute Monarch. 

• Traditionally and in most cases, the monarch’s post is inherited and lasts until death or abdication, but there are also elective monarchies where the monarch is elected.

Dictatorship 

A government in which a single leader or party exercises absolute control over all citizens and every aspect of their lives.

In most cases, this absolute power is exercised in a cruel way.

Alternate names of dictatorship: Autocracy, Military Junta, Right Wing, Authoritarianism, Totalitarianism or Fascism.

Examples of countries run by dictatorship : Nazi Germany, Soviet Union under Stalin’s rule, Napoleonic France, pol pot regime in Cambodia, North Korea under Kim Jong-il & Kim il Sung, Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe, Uganda under Idi Amin etc. 

  

Features:

•   In a dictatorship, a single person, a dictator, has absolute power over the state. 
•  It is not necessarily ruled by a theology or belief. 
•  It is an authoritarian form of government where one person is in charge of enforcing and enacting the law. Aspects often include military organizational backing, unfair elections and various human rights violations.
•  A dictator does not usually inherit their power like a monarch does; they either seize control of the state by force or through (usually unfair elections). 
•    Dictators are not held accountable for their actions and thus are free to do as they please, including limiting citizens’ rights.

Totalitarian 

               It is a political system in which the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible, without any respect for human rights.

          In an Authoritarian regime a single power holder an individual dictator, a committee or a small group of political elite monopolizes political power. The authoritarian state is only concerned with political power and as long as that is not contested it gives society a certain degree of liberty.

             In contrast, a totalitarian regime attempts to control virtually all aspects of the social life, including the economy, education, art, science, private life, and morals of citizens. The totalitarian government seeks to completely control the thoughts and actions of its citizens. It also mobilizes the whole population in pursuit of its goals. The Nazi Germany, USSR under Joseph Stalin, China under Mao, North Korea are examples of the totalitarian states.

Features :

• It is an elaborate ideology, a set of ideas that gives meaning and direction to the whole society, often involving a one-party state, a dictator and a personality cult.

• It stay in political power through such techniques as propaganda, state control of the mass media, educational system, economy, political repression, capital punishment, restriction of speech, and mass surveillance.

         It is a form of government in which the state’s power is unlimited and is used to control virtually all aspects of public and private life. This control extends to all political and financial matters, as well as the attitudes, morals, and beliefs of the people.

      The concept of totalitarianism was developed in the 1920s by Italian Fascists who attempted to put a positive spin on it by referring to what they considered totalitarianism’s “positive goals” for society. However, most western civilizations and governments quickly rejected the concept of totalitarianism and continue to do so today.

It is the existence of an explicit or implied national ideology, a set of beliefs intended to give meaning and direction to the entire society.

According to Russian history expert and author Richard Pipes, fascist Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, summarized the basis of totalitarianism as, “everything within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.”

Examples of characteristics that might be present in a totalitarian state include:

• Rule enforced by a single dictator
• The presence of a single ruling political party
• Strict censorship, if not total control of the press
• Constant dissemination of pro-government propaganda
• Mandatory service in the military for all citizens
• Mandatory population control practices
• Prohibition of certain religious or political groups and practices
• Prohibition of any form of public criticism of the government
• Laws enforced by secret police forces or the military

The characteristics of a totalitarian state tend to cause the people to fear their government. Rather than trying to allay that fear, totalitarian rulers tend to encourage and use it to ensure the people’s cooperation.

Authoritarianism

An authoritarian state is characterized by a strong central government that allows the people a limited degree of political freedom. However, the political process, as well as all individual freedoms, is controlled by the government without any constitutional accountability.

Characteristics of Authoritarian state  (recognized by Juan José Linz, professor emeritus of sociology and political science at Yale university in 1964) :

• Limited political freedom with strict government controls imposed on political institutions and groups like legislatures, political parties, and interest groups.
• A controlling regime that justifies itself to the people as a “necessary evil” uniquely capable of coping with “easily recognizable societal problems” such as hunger, poverty, or violent insurgency
• Strict government-imposed constraints on social freedoms such as suppression of political opponents and anti-regime activity
• The presence of a ruling executive with vague, loosely defined and shifting powers

Authoritarian Governments: Modern dictatorships, such as Venezuela under Hungo Chavez, or Cuba under  Fidel Castro. 

Main differences between Totalitarianism and Authoritarian Governments.

Totalitarian state: The Government’s range of control over the people is virtually unlimited. The government controls nearly all aspects of the economy, politics, culture, and society. Education, religion, the arts and sciences, even morality and reproductive rights are controlled by totalitarian governments.

Authoritarian : Government is held by a single dictator or group, the people are allowed a limited degree of political freedom.

Fascism

•     Employed rarely since the end of World War II in 1945.
•     Fascism is a form of government combining the most extreme aspects of both totalitarianism and authoritarianism. Even when compared to extreme nationalistic ideologies like marxism  and anarchism, fascism is typically considered to be at the far-right end of the political spectrum.
•   It is characterized by the imposition of dictatorial power, government control of industry and commerce, and the forcible suppression of opposition, often at the hands of the military or a secret police force.
•   Fascism was first seen in Italy during World War I, later spreading to Germany and other European countries during World War II.

   Function of Fascist regimes has been to maintain the nation in a constant state of readiness for war.

 Fascist rulers strive to create a rabidly nationalistic culture of “military citizenship” in which all citizens are willing and prepared to take on some military duties during times of war, including actual combat.

 Fascists view democracy and the electoral process as an obsolete and unnecessary obstacle to maintaining constant military readiness and consider a totalitarian one-party state as the key to preparing the nation for war and its resulting economic and social hardships.

“Neo-Fascist” is often used to describe governments or individuals espousing radical, far right political ideologies similar to those of the World War II fascist states.

Theocracy 

It is a form of government in which God or a Deity is recognized as the king or immediate ruler, and his laws are taken as the statute-book of the kingdom, these laws being usually administered by a priestly order as his ministers and agents.

It is a system of government by a sacerdotal order, claiming a divine commission; also, a state so governed.

Examples of theocracies:The vatican city, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Central Tibetan administration etc…

Features :

• In a pure theocracy, the civil leader is believed to have a personal connection with the civilization’s religion or belief,eg; Moses led the Israelites, and Muhammad led the early Muslims.

• An Ecclesiocracy is a situation where the religious leaders assume a leading role in the state, but do not claim that they are instruments of divine revelation.

• while secular governments have some aspects of life that are not influenced by religion, theocratic governments seek guidance from higher powers to cover all aspects of life, including law, punishment, education and marriage.

Democracy 

Democracy is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a parliament.

 It is referred to as rule of the majority.

Democratic countries: India, the US, the UK, France, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Japan etc.

Features :

The democracy : four key elements:

1. A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections;
2. The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life;
3.   Protection of the human rights of all citizens,
4.  A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens.

Other features:

•  Popular Sovereignty
• Political Freedom & Equality
• Protection of Minority Rights
• Independence of Judiciary
•  Presence of Civil & Socio-Economic Rights
•  Legal Equality & Rule of Law etc.

       Direct Democracy

·       Direct democracy is also often called “Pure Democracy” and involves having the citizens as individuals vote on issues instead of elected representatives.

·    Generally only possible in small communities, although elements of direct democracy exist in California's referenda, initiatives, and recall elections. 

Representative Democracy

·       It is a form of government in which representatives are elected to make policy and enforce laws while representing the citizens.

·       All modern democratic countries are representative, not direct, democracies. 

·       A representative democracy is also known as a republic.

Constitutional Democracy  

A system of government based on popular sovereignty in which the structures, powers, and limits of government are set forth in a constitution. 

Non-Constitutional Democracy

A form of government that does not have, or follow, constitutional rules. The government does whatever those currently in power choose to do. For a citizen, such governments are unpredictable and they may violate a person's rights with impunity.

Federal Democracy 

A system of government in which power is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units (like states or provinces). Each enforces its own law directly on it citizens and neither the national government nor constituent political units can alter the arrangement without the consent of the other. 

Unitary Democracy

·    A  system of government in which constitutional authority lies in the hands of a single central government.

·    Administrative divisions created by the central government are responsible for the everyday administration of government, but exercise only powers the central government chooses to delegate.

·  Great Britain is an example of a country with a unitary system of government.

Presidential Democracy 

·      A  form of government in which the executive branch is elected separately from the legislative branch.

·     The chief executive, the President, is elected for a fixed term and cannot be removed except by extra ordinary measures.

·   The powers vested in the President are usually balanced against those vested in the legislature.

·         In the american presidential system, the legislature must debate and pass bills. The president has the power to veto a bill, preventing its adoption. However, the legislature may override the President's veto if it can muster enough votes. 

Parliamentary Democracy

·         It is a form of representative democracy in which political power is vested in an elected legislature, but the executive and legislative branches are not separate. The elected legislature (Parliament) chooses the chief executive (Prime Minister).

·         The legislature may remove the prime minister at any time by a vote of no confidence and often approves the prime minister's cabinet members.

·         The fusion of the legislative and executive branches in the parliamentary system leads to party members voting along party lines.

Republic 

A republic is a sovereign state or country which is organized with a form of government in which power resides in elected individuals representing the citizen body and government leaders exercise power according to the rule of law.

The term republic is commonly referred to a government which excludes a monarch.

The term ‘republic’ in our constitution indicates that India has an elected head called the President. He is elected indirectly for a fixed period of five years.

Examples of the republic states Ancient Athens, Sparta, Roman Republic, Mahajanpadas in ancient India, the US, France, Islamic Republic of Iran.

Features:

• In the republican form of government, the political sovereignty is vested in the people and not in a single individual like a king.

• All the public offices are open to every citizen without any discrimination & there is absence of any privileged class.