Governments, systems and regimes

Defining politics

 

The word ‘politics’ is derived from polis (Greek), literally meaning city-state. The modern form of this definition is ‘what concerns the state’. To study politics is in essence to study government, or more broadly, the exercise of authority.

 

Politics is what takes place within a polity, a system of social organizations centered upon the machinery of government.

 

Politics is engaged in by a limited and specific group of people. Those institutions which are not engaged in ‘running the country’ are in this sense ‘nonpolitical’.

 

The definition is narrowed further when one treats politics as equivalent of party politics.

 

Negative images have often been attached to politics because in the popular mind, politics is closely associated with the activities of politicians who are often seen as power-seeking hypocrites. Nevertheless one needs to acknowledge that without some kind of mechanism for allocating authoritative values, society would simply disintegrate. The task is therefore not to bring politics to an end, but rather to create a framework of checks and constraints to prevent abuse of political power.

 

Thus, politics is the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live. Politics is also an academic subject.

 

Politics is also linked to the phenomena of conflict and cooperation. This explains why the heart of politics is often portrayed as a process of conflict resolution.

 

Different views of politics

1) Politics as the art of government (the exercise of control within society through the making and enforcement of collective decisions).

2) Politics as public affairs (politics is restricted to the activities of the state itself and the responsibilities which are exercised by public bodies).

3) Politics as compromise and consensus (politics as a means of resolving conflict by compromise, conciliation and negotiation).

4) Politics as power (politics as a struggle for scarce resources).

 

Political Ideologies.

Political ideology is one of the most controversial concepts encountered in political analysis. Although the term now tends to be used in a neutral sense, to refer to a developed social philosophy or “world view”, it had in the past heavily negative or pejorative connotations.

The term ideology was coined in 1796 by the French philosopher Destutt de Tracy, who used it to refer to a new “science of ideas” that set out to uncover the origins of conscious thought and ideas.

From a social-scientific viewpoint, an ideology is a more or less coherent set of ideas that provides a basis for organised political action, whether this is intended to preserve, modify or overthrow the existing system of power relationships.

At a “fundamental” level, ideologies resemble political philosophies; at an “operative” level, they take the form of broad political movements.

Any account of political ideologies must start with liberalism. This is because liberalism is, in effect, the ideology of the industrialised West, and is sometimes portrayed as a meta – ideology that is capable of embracing a broad range of rival values and beliefs.

The central theme of classical liberalism is a commitment to an extreme form of individualism. The state is regarded as a “necessary evil”. It is “necessary” in that, at the very least, it establishes order and security. However, it is “evil” in that it imposes a collective will upon society, thus limiting the freedom and responsibilities of the individual.

Modern liberalism is characterised by a more sympathetic attitude towards the state intervention. Modern liberals abandoned their belief in laissez-faire capitalism.

Neoliberalism is an updated version of classical political economy. The central pillars of neoliberalism are the market and the individual. The principal neoliberal goal is to “roll back the frontiers of the state”, in the belief that unregulated market capitalism will deliver efficiency, growth and widespread prosperity.

Conservative ideas and doctrines first emerged in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century as a reaction against growing pace of economic and political change.

From the very outset, divisions in conservative thought were apparent. In continental Europe, a form of conservatism emerged that was characterised by the attitude rejecting out of hand any idea of reform. A more flexible, more cautious, and ultimately more successful form of conservatism developed in the UK and the USA that was characterised by belief in “change in order to conserve”.

Neoconservatism reassets nineteenth-century conservative social principles. One of the main aspects of neoconservatism is the tendency to view the emergence of multicultural and multireligious societies with concern on the basis that they are conflict-ridden and inherently unstable.

Ideological conflict in the twentieth century has forced major ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism and socialism to reexamen their traditional principles, and it has fostered the growth of the new ideologies, such as feminism, ecologism and religious fundamentalism.

Debate about the end of ideology has taken a number of forms. The “end of history” thesis suggests that liberal democracy has triumphed worldwide. Postmodernism implies that conventional ideologies are irrelevant, as they were product of an earlier period of modernisation.

Democracy.

Defining democracy.

The origins of the term democracy can be traced back to Ancient Greece. Like other words ending in 'cracy' (for example, autocracy, aristocracy and bureaucracy), democracy is derived from the Greek word kratos, meaning power, or rule. Democracy thus means 'rule by the demos' (the demos referring to 'the people', although the Greeks originally used this to mean 'the poor' or 'the many'). However, the simple notion of 'rule by the people' does not get us very far.

Amongst the meanings that have been attached to the word 'democracy' are the following:

•a system of rule by the poor and disadvantaged

•a form of government in which the people rule themselves directly and continuously, without the need for professional politicians or public officials

•a society based on equal opportunity and individual merit, rather than hierarchy and privilege

•a system of welfare and redistribution aimed at narrowing social inequalities

•a system of decision-making based on the principle of majority rule

•a system of rule that secures the rights and interests of minorities by placing checks upon the power of the majority

•a means of filling public offices through a competitive struggle for the popular vote

•a system of government that serves the interests of the people regardless of their participation in political life.

Conceptions of Democracy

Conceptions of democracy are based on the two main principles: government by the people and government for the people. The most popular is the first notion which understands democracy as ruled by people.

Thus, the principle of government by the people (popular participation) implies that people can and should govern themselves effectively and determine the fate of their society. This participation can take a number of forms:

• Direct democracy. In this case popular participation leads to direct involvement in the decision-making process via referendums, mass meetings, TV, etc.

• Representative democracy is a much more common form of democratic participation when citizens vote not to choose how to make their lives better, but to choose a person who is going to do it by making decisions for them. Vhat gives elections their democratic character is the possibility to ‘kick the rascals out’.

Government for the people (rule in the public interest) allows little scope for public participation (direct or indirect). There are also types of these regimes:

Totalitarian democracies. The democratic credentials of such regimes were based on the claim that the leader alone can decide what is best for the people, implying that a ‘true’ democracy can be equated with absolute dictatorship.

Plebiscitary democracies use rallies, marches and demonstrations to show submission of the people to the will of the leader.

There are also alternative views on democracy:

Radical democracy sees democracy as a general principle that is applicable to all areas of social existence.

Social or industrial democracy demands the democratization of family life and the right of everybody to participate in making decisions in the domestic or private sphere.

 

 

Political Socialisation.

The notion of political culture is connected to the individual perception of politics and the person’s place in it. That’s why the underlying process that shapes political culture is political socialization (PS). Through the PS process, individual acquires political beliefs, attitudes and behavior. The idea of political socialization is often disputed. Even though it is difficult to deny its existence, main principles and features of PS are still unclear. For example, Marxists claim that ruling classes and oppressing political regime indoctrinate the political conscience of a person. Being influenced by those powerful actors, the individual cannot but agree dominant political culture. However, conventional science acknowledges existence of various agents of socialization and the variety of influences they have one our personalities.

From the very start of his/her life, person acquires political views of the family members, and then views are shaped by the educational institutions, friends, mass-media, etc. In fact, scholars are currently divided over the level of pressure each agent exerts on us. It’s broadly accepted, that religion is less and less influential, while the importance of mass-media is still growing, shaping personality – dissemination of political information through latest means of communication is growing larger. However, that creates variety – and poses unanswered question – whether we can quantify single influences to create a comprehensive report on anyone’s political characteristics or that is highly individual.

 

Theories of Representation.

There is no single theory of representation and that means that each region or country should choose what model of representation to use. There is number of such models.

Trustee model. That model assumes, that, once elected, people should exercise their own judgment, no matter what the electorate wants. That, mostly elitist, point of view was supported by the prominent UK-politician Edward Burke – his main point was that high level of education (and the elected usually have one) makes people more responsible socially. That presumption was fiercely criticized by the democrats – because that fact is rather arguable and because the simple fact of independent judgment will undermine the underlying principles of democracy.

Delegate model. Delegate is nearly the same as the trustee – however, delegates are thought not to have the opportunity to act on their own – all the activities are closely bound to the interests of their constituents. The supporters of that model favor the use of referendums. However, that model seems to be rather ineffective – because, being restricted, politicians will have to act narrowly, unable to mobilize others or provide vision and inspiration. That will also lead to conflicts and mutual hatred between different interest groups inside the society.

Mandate model. The mandate model is closely connected to the ideas of party discipline, voting behavior. It provides something neutral between the above mentioned models. It assumes, that having won elections, party gets (receives) a popular mandate – that allows them to act rater independently from the public. However, their actions are restricted by the party discipline – that provides the guidelines for the coordinated behavior. The opponents of that model assume that the results may be actually influenced by the irrational factors – and no one knows what affects the voters’ behavior. All the way, it means that popular mandate may be given to the irresponsible groups.

Resemblance model. That model is based on the idea that government should be formed as a microcosm – resembling society structure. Ideally, that would mean the same proportional contents. However, that will mean that government has not only the strong sides of the society, but the weak ones as well. Secondly, such composition of government will demand the electorate to be classified on the grounds of gender, nationality, race, income, education and so on – that is completely unacceptable.

 

 

Political Ideologies

Today I’d like to speak about political ideology. From my point of view it would be wrong to speak about it without explaining what does the term ideology mean.

So, where term ideology comes from? This term was coined in 1796 by French Philosopher Destutt de Tracy. He used it to refer to a new “science of ideas” (literally an idea-ology).

From a social-scientific point of view, an ideology is more or less coherent set of ideas. However, it is not hermetically sealed system of ideas and thoughts.

In a modern world there are approximately 20 different political ideologies. But it will take forever to speak about them all, that is why I’ll mention only the main and the most famous ideologies.

To start with conservatism. Conservative ideas first emerged in the late 18 century as a reaction against broad economic and political changes. It is interesting, that almost at the same time in different countries of the world emerged several types of conservatism. For example, in continental Europe there was such conservatism, that was against any idea of reform. A more flexible form of conservatism emerged in the UK and in the USA. It was characterized by belief in «change in order to conserve».

Another well known ideology is called liberalism. It emerged in the early 19-th centuary. The main theme of liberalism is individualism. The state, in their opinion, is nothing but a “necessary evil ”. It is necessary only because it establishes order and security. But it is limiting freedom of individual. They also believe, that economy doesn’t need any kind of control.

There should be mentioned, that every ideology, that we have mentioned, has it’s updated version. For example, modern liberalism is characterised by more sympathetic attitude towards state invention and modern conservatism is less skeptical about???? reforms.

Also I’d like to mention so-called “end of ideology” debate. This debates were started in the late 20-th century and it lasts till nowdays. The question is – could the ideology come to an end? From my point of view, the answer is no. The appearance of the modern and updated versions of ideologies shows us, that ideologies are developing. The evolution of ideology, perhaps, is an unending process, that makes ideologies alive.

Defining politics

 

The word ‘politics’ is derived from polis (Greek), literally meaning city-state. The modern form of this definition is ‘what concerns the state’. To study politics is in essence to study government, or more broadly, the exercise of authority.

 

Politics is what takes place within a polity, a system of social organizations centered upon the machinery of government.

 

Politics is engaged in by a limited and specific group of people. Those institutions which are not engaged in ‘running the country’ are in this sense ‘nonpolitical’.

 

The definition is narrowed further when one treats politics as equivalent of party politics.

 

Negative images have often been attached to politics because in the popular mind, politics is closely associated with the activities of politicians who are often seen as power-seeking hypocrites. Nevertheless one needs to acknowledge that without some kind of mechanism for allocating authoritative values, society would simply disintegrate. The task is therefore not to bring politics to an end, but rather to create a framework of checks and constraints to prevent abuse of political power.

 

Thus, politics is the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live. Politics is also an academic subject.

 

Politics is also linked to the phenomena of conflict and cooperation. This explains why the heart of politics is often portrayed as a process of conflict resolution.

 

Different views of politics

1) Politics as the art of government (the exercise of control within society through the making and enforcement of collective decisions).

2) Politics as public affairs (politics is restricted to the activities of the state itself and the responsibilities which are exercised by public bodies).

3) Politics as compromise and consensus (politics as a means of resolving conflict by compromise, conciliation and negotiation).

4) Politics as power (politics as a struggle for scarce resources).

 

Governments, systems and regimes

“Government ” refers to an institutional processes through which collective decisions are made.

A political system or regime is a broader term that encompasses not only the mechanisms of government and the institutions of the state, but also the structures and processes through which these interact with the larger society.

We classify political systems, because classifications help in understanding of politics and government. But all systems of classification have their drawbacks.

-there is a danger of simplification -all systems are necessarily state-bound

But now this approach is viewed as incomplete in the light of the globalization.

Since the late 1980s, the regime-classification has been in a limbo.

There is no consensus about the criteria upon which such a system should be based. No system of classification relies on a single all-important factor. Nevertheless, systems have tended to prioritize sets of criteria (parameters):

-Who rules? -Is government power centralized or fragmented? -What is the balance between the state and individual? -What is the level of material development? -How is economic life organized? -How stable is a regime?

Nevertheless, five regime types can be identified in the modern world:

Western polyarchies. Western polyarchies are commonly equated to the “liberal democracies” or simply “democracies”. Countries holding multiparty elections have polyarchic features. However, western polyarchies also marked by capitalist economic organization and widespread acceptance of liberal individualism.

Postcommunist regimes. After the collapse of communism the Eastern European countries began their way to the liberal democracy. However, they have some features that allow us to treat them as distinct. First issue is connected with the fact that communism cannot discarded overnight. Secondly, the process of transition to laissez-faire capitalism advocated by the IMF, unleashed deep insecurity and other structural problems.

East Asian regimes. Rise of the East European Regimes changed the balance of the world economy. They are great examples of alternative path. Main features of such regimes are Confucian cultural features (both in politics and economy), low social spending and strong rule.

Islamic regimes. Islamic regimes are another example of alternative path that supposes strong theocracy and stems from the idea that Islam is not simple religion that encompasses different spheres of life.

Military regimes. Some countries survive through the exercise, above all, military power and systematic repressions. The key feature of such state is that leading positions are filled on the basis of the person’s position within the military chain of command. The classical examples of military regimes are military juntas in Latin America. However, military regimes may vary from the personalized dictatorships to the military-backed governments.

 

 

Political Ideologies.

Political ideology is one of the most controversial concepts encountered in political analysis. Although the term now tends to be used in a neutral sense, to refer to a developed social philosophy or “world view”, it had in the past heavily negative or pejorative connotations.

The term ideology was coined in 1796 by the French philosopher Destutt de Tracy, who used it to refer to a new “science of ideas” that set out to uncover the origins of conscious thought and ideas.

From a social-scientific viewpoint, an ideology is a more or less coherent set of ideas that provides a basis for organised political action, whether this is intended to preserve, modify or overthrow the existing system of power relationships.

At a “fundamental” level, ideologies resemble political philosophies; at an “operative” level, they take the form of broad political movements.

Any account of political ideologies must start with liberalism. This is because liberalism is, in effect, the ideology of the industrialised West, and is sometimes portrayed as a meta – ideology that is capable of embracing a broad range of rival values and beliefs.

The central theme of classical liberalism is a commitment to an extreme form of individualism. The state is regarded as a “necessary evil”. It is “necessary” in that, at the very least, it establishes order and security. However, it is “evil” in that it imposes a collective will upon society, thus limiting the freedom and responsibilities of the individual.

Modern liberalism is characterised by a more sympathetic attitude towards the state intervention. Modern liberals abandoned their belief in laissez-faire capitalism.

Neoliberalism is an updated version of classical political economy. The central pillars of neoliberalism are the market and the individual. The principal neoliberal goal is to “roll back the frontiers of the state”, in the belief that unregulated market capitalism will deliver efficiency, growth and widespread prosperity.

Conservative ideas and doctrines first emerged in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century as a reaction against growing pace of economic and political change.

From the very outset, divisions in conservative thought were apparent. In continental Europe, a form of conservatism emerged that was characterised by the attitude rejecting out of hand any idea of reform. A more flexible, more cautious, and ultimately more successful form of conservatism developed in the UK and the USA that was characterised by belief in “change in order to conserve”.

Neoconservatism reassets nineteenth-century conservative social principles. One of the main aspects of neoconservatism is the tendency to view the emergence of multicultural and multireligious societies with concern on the basis that they are conflict-ridden and inherently unstable.

Ideological conflict in the twentieth century has forced major ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism and socialism to reexamen their traditional principles, and it has fostered the growth of the new ideologies, such as feminism, ecologism and religious fundamentalism.

Debate about the end of ideology has taken a number of forms. The “end of history” thesis suggests that liberal democracy has triumphed worldwide. Postmodernism implies that conventional ideologies are irrelevant, as they were product of an earlier period of modernisation.

Democracy.

Defining democracy.

The origins of the term democracy can be traced back to Ancient Greece. Like other words ending in 'cracy' (for example, autocracy, aristocracy and bureaucracy), democracy is derived from the Greek word kratos, meaning power, or rule. Democracy thus means 'rule by the demos' (the demos referring to 'the people', although the Greeks originally used this to mean 'the poor' or 'the many'). However, the simple notion of 'rule by the people' does not get us very far.

Amongst the meanings that have been attached to the word 'democracy' are the following:

•a system of rule by the poor and disadvantaged

•a form of government in which the people rule themselves directly and continuously, without the need for professional politicians or public officials

•a society based on equal opportunity and individual merit, rather than hierarchy and privilege

•a system of welfare and redistribution aimed at narrowing social inequalities

•a system of decision-making based on the principle of majority rule

•a system of rule that secures the rights and interests of minorities by placing checks upon the power of the majority

•a means of filling public offices through a competitive struggle for the popular vote

•a system of government that serves the interests of the people regardless of their participation in political life.

Conceptions of Democracy

Conceptions of democracy are based on the two main principles: government by the people and government for the people. The most popular is the first notion which understands democracy as ruled by people.

Thus, the principle of government by the people (popular participation) implies that people can and should govern themselves effectively and determine the fate of their society. This participation can take a number of forms:

• Direct democracy. In this case popular participation leads to direct involvement in the decision-making process via referendums, mass meetings, TV, etc.

• Representative democracy is a much more common form of democratic participation when citizens vote not to choose how to make their lives better, but to choose a person who is going to do it by making decisions for them. Vhat gives elections their democratic character is the possibility to ‘kick the rascals out’.

Government for the people (rule in the public interest) allows little scope for public participation (direct or indirect). There are also types of these regimes:

Totalitarian democracies. The democratic credentials of such regimes were based on the claim that the leader alone can decide what is best for the people, implying that a ‘true’ democracy can be equated with absolute dictatorship.

Plebiscitary democracies use rallies, marches and demonstrations to show submission of the people to the will of the leader.

There are also alternative views on democracy:

Radical democracy sees democracy as a general principle that is applicable to all areas of social existence.

Social or industrial democracy demands the democratization of family life and the right of everybody to participate in making decisions in the domestic or private sphere.