Western Polyarchy as modern democracy.

A polycracy is a state ruled by more than one person, as opposed to monocracy. The word is derived from Greek poly which means "many" and kratos which means "rule" or "strength".

· Control over governmental decisions about policy is constitutionally vested in elected officials.

· Elected officials are chosen and peacefully removed in relatively frequent, fair and free elections in which coercion is quite limited.

· Practically all adults have the right to vote in these elections.

· Most adults also have the right to run for the public offices for which candidates run in these elections.

· Citizens have an effectively enforced right to freedom of expression, particularly political expression, including criticism of the officials, the conduct of the government, the prevailing political, economic, and social system, and the dominant ideology.

· They also have access to alternative sources of information that are not monopolized by the government or any other single group.

· Finally, they have an effectively enforced right to form and join autonomous associations, including political associations, such as political parties and interest groups, that attempt to influence the government by competing in elections and by other peaceful means.

Economic, social and political preconditions of democracy.

Stages of democratic transitions.

Democratic transitions are recent phenomena. It is the process in which states change from an authoritarian regime to a democracy. In a democracy, constituents choose leaders through fair and competitive elections. The transition operates in three main stages. The first step is when the hard-liner faces the popular revolution that claims for more rights; and the usual outcome of this is either a harsh (sometimes deadly) repression or the emergence of a “soft-liner” who accepts to negotiate and to grants more rights to the population. The second stage presents two following possibilities: either the dictator, who hold tightly on power, descend his army again the population or the negotiations end up in the organization of elections. The third stage is as decisive as the two previous ones. It is the outcome of the dictator’s “stubbornness” or that of the newly held elections. In most sad cases, the dictator usually succeeds to maintain his/her power by imposing military force. In the case elections prevail, there are to outcomes. The first being the birth of democracy, if actually all implied parties follow the pre-negotiated rules of the game (agreement). Another possibility in this third stage of transition is a return of violence when one of the parties betrays the previous agreements. In the case, the soft-liner may resort to force to assiege his/her authority, which returns the regime to authoritarianism; and this require the re-start of the whole process for the democratic transition to democracy to begin again.
20) Liberalisation, democratisation, consolidation.

In general, liberalization (or liberalisation) refers to a relaxation of previous government restrictions, usually in areas of social or economic policy. In some contexts this process or concept is often, but not always, referred to as deregulation.^[1] Liberalization of autocratic regimes may precede democratization (or not, as in the case of the Prague Spring).

In the arena of social policy it may refer to a relaxation of laws restricting for example divorce, abortion, or drugs

In the arena of civil rights policy it may refer to the elimination of laws prohibiting same-sex sexual relations, same-sex marriage, interracial marriage, or interfaith marriage

Democratization (or democratisation) is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic political system. The outcome may be consolidated (as it was for example in the United Kingdom) or democratization may face frequent reversals (as it has faced for example in Argentina). Different patterns of democratization are often used to explain other political phenomena, such as whether a country goes to a war or whether its economy grows. Democratization itself is influenced by various factors, including economic development, history, and civil society. Consolidation is generally regarded as a period of indecision, which ends when the price of the asset breaks beyond the restrictive barriers. Periods of consolidation can be found in charts covering any time interval (i.e. hours, days, etc.), and these periods can last for minutes, days, months or even years. Lengthy periods of consolidation are often known as a base.

Democratisation and globalisation.

Democratization (or democratisation) is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic political system. The outcome may be consolidated (as it was for example in the United Kingdom) or democratization may face frequent reversals (as it has faced for example in Argentina). Different patterns of democratization are often used to explain other political phenomena, such as whether a country goes to a war or whether its economy grows. Democratization itself is influenced by various factors, including economic development, history, and civil society.

Globalisation is the "process enabling financial and investment markets to operate internationally, largely as a result of deregulation and improved communications" (Collins) or - from the US - to "make worldwide in scope or application" (Webster). The financial markets, however, are where the story begins Globalisation came to be seen as more than simply a way of doing business, or running financial markets - it became a process. From then on the word took on a life of its own. Centuries earlier, in a similar manner, the techniques of industrial manufacturing led to the changes associated with the process of industrialisation, as former country dwellers migrated to the cramped but booming industrial cities to tend the new machines.

Does political parties in Kazakhstan have ideology? If yes what is the difference between resent communistic ideology (In Soviet time) and new one?

Fascist and communist totalitarian regimes. Fascism is a totalitarian movement wherein an omnipotent government asserts control over every nook and cranny of political, economic, social, and private life – generally in the name of “the public good.” In its original sense, the word “totalitarian” did not carry the negative connotations it has acquired over time. The Italian fascist Benito Mussolini first coined the term to describe a society where everyone belonged, where no one was abandoned socially or economically, and where the state would take ultimate responsibility for the well-being of all its people. “Everything in the State, nothing outside the State,” is how Mussolini phrased it. Because fascism sees no legitimate boundary to its ambitions, it is expansionist by nature. totalitarian communism is a badly run government system that can't provide for it's citizens and has one person in charge of the entire countries operations whether the citizens like it or not. and is completely irreversible unless the person in charge wants to go through the hassle of reversing it, which has never and will never happen. The totalitarian leader serves a term of however long he or she wants and can appoint the next person in charge without any election.

Post-totalitarian regimes. A totalitarian regime is a government that controls every aspect of the life of the people. People living under this type of regime generally also support it, sometimes almost cultishly, thanks to extensive propaganda missions that are designed to promote a positive view of the government. Citizens are also usually afraid to criticize the government, so they may be outspoken supporters to avoid closer scrutiny. Several characteristics can be seen in all totalitarian regimes. The first is strict government control of the media, with the media typically being used as a propaganda organ. Cultural, political, and artistic expression among the populace is also usually severely curtailed, as is access to outside news sources. People who criticize the government tend to disappear, and their family members may fall under close scrutiny.These governments also cultivate a sense of deep devotion to the state, with citizens being encouraged to regard it as being almost like a parent. People must file applications before changing residences, taking new jobs, or getting married. They may also be expected to serve the state in some capacity, ranging from the military to a labor camp, and the government has control over access to education, reproductive freedoms, healthcare, and a number of other aspects of life that many people consider personal.Many people feel that totalitarian regimes are a very poor form of government because they can be quite oppressive. They are also highly efficient, however, thanks to the extreme level of control, and this is one reason why such regimes are capable of mounting massive economic and military attacks on their neighbors.

25) Representation in politics. Party as a representative institution. In politics, representation describes how political power is given from a large group for a certain time period in the hands of a comparatively small group of its members. Representation usually refers to representative democracies, where elected officials (so-called representatives) nominally speak for their electors in the legislature. Generally, only citizens have representation in the government in the form of voting rights.The future keys to the roles of socialist representative institutions include the extent to which: (1) the party maintains close control over personnel selection for representative bodies; (2) institutional identity and interests may develop among members of representative institutions; (3) group interests coalesce and seek institutional expression; (4) the state apparatus continues to demonstrate tendencies toward contrived insulation from the party apparatus; and (5) failures of economic ministries necessitate legislative oversight. This essay also briefly characterizes the methodology of recent studies, and suggests how future research on socialist representative institutions might profitably be reoriented.