Unit2pptx__2024_10_06_23_35_56hjchjkhdfj.pptx

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1. Unit -2 Political Development

2. Ideas of Political Systems as learnt from History Two Important T erms to Study: State:   means the political unit within which power and authority reside. This unit can be a whole nation or a subdivision within a nation . Thus the nations of the world are sometimes referred to as states (or nation-states), as are subdivisions within a nation, such as California, New York, and Texas in the United States.

3. Government   M eans the group of persons who direct the political affairs of a state, but it can also mean the type of rule by which a state is run. Another term for this second meaning of government is  political system. The type of government under which people live has fundamental implications for their freedom, their welfare, and even their lives.

4. Brief Study of the major political systems in the world today Democracy:  In Lincoln’s stirring words from the Gettysburg Address, democracy is “ government of the people, by the people, for the people. ” In  D irect  (or  pure )  democracies : people make their own decisions about the policies and distribution of resources that affect them directly. An example of such a democracy in action is the New England town meeting , where the residents of a town meet once a year and vote on budgetary and other matters.  S uch direct democracies are impractical when the number of people gets beyond a few hundred

5. Representative democracies   In these types of democracies, people elect officials to represent them in legislative votes on matters affecting the population. Representative democracy is more practical than direct democracy in a society of any significant size, but political scientists cite another advantage of representative democracy. In theory , it ensures that the individuals who govern a society and in other ways help a society function are the individuals who have the appropriate talents, skills, and knowledge to do so .

6. But In Reality……. In this way of thinking, the masses of people are, overall, too uninformed, too uneducated, and too uninterested to run a society themselves.   Representative D emocracy falls short of the ideals proclaimed by political theorists. Democracies are certainly not perfect. Their decision-making process can be quite slow and inefficient ; decisions may be made for special interests and not “ for the people ”

7. Monarchy Monarchy  is a political system in which power resides in a single family that rules from one generation to the next generation.  The power the family enjoys is  traditional authority , and many monarchs command respect because their subjects bestow this type of authority on them. Other monarchs, however, have ensured respect through arbitrary power and even terror .  Royal families still rule today, but their power has declined from centuries ago. Example : Queen Elizabeth II of England holds a largely ceremonial position, but earlier English monarchs held much more power.

8. Absolute M onarchies  In  absolute monarchies , the royal family claims a divine right to rule and exercises considerable power over their kingdom. Absolute monarchies were common in both ancient (e.g., Egypt) and medieval (e.g., England and China) times. In reality, the power of many absolute monarchs was not totally absolute, as kings and queens had to keep in mind the needs and desires of other powerful parties , including the clergy and nobility.

9. Constitutional M onarchies In these monarchies, the royal family serves a symbolic and ceremonial role and enjoys little, if any, real power.  Instead the executive and legislative branches of government—the prime minister and parliament in several nations—run the government, even if the royal family continues to command admiration and respect . Constitutional monarchies exist today in several nations, including Denmark, Great Britain, Norway, Spain, and Sweden.

10. Oligarchy The power in an oligarchy is held by a small, elite group. Unlike in a monarchy, members of an oligarchy do not necessarily achieve their statuses based on ties to noble ancestry. Rather, they may ascend to positions of power because of military might, economic power, or similar circumstances . Generally , the word carries negative connotations and conjures notions of a corrupt group whose members make unfair policy decisions in order to maintain their privileged positions.

11. Which claims to be democratics are actually oligarchies   S ome prominent journalists, such as Paul Krugman, who won a Nobele laureate prize in economics, have labeled the United States an oligarchy , pointing to the influence of large corporations and Wall Street executives on U.S. policy (Krugman 2011). Other political analysts assert that all democracies are really just “ elected oligarchies ,” or systems in which citizens must vote for an individual who is part of a pool of candidates who come from the society’s elite ruling class 

12. Oligarchies(Russia) After the fall of communism, groups of business owners captured control of this nation’s natural resources and have used the opportunity to expand their wealth and political influence. Once an oligarchic power structure has been established, it can be very difficult for middle- and lower-class citizens to advance their socioeconomic status

13. Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism A uthoritarianism  refers to political systems in which an individual or a group of individuals holds power, restricts or prohibits popular participation in governance, and represses dissent. Totalitarianism  refers to political systems that include all the features of authoritarianism but are even more repressive as they try to regulate and control all aspects of citizens’ lives and fortunes. People can be imprisoned for deviating from acceptable practices or may even be killed if they dissent in the mildest of ways.

14. Most Unstable Politically The populations of these governments do not willingly lend their obedience to their leaders and realize that their leaders are treating them very poorly; for both these reasons, they are more likely than populations in democratic states to want to rebel. Authoritarian and totalitarian regimes are more unstable politically because their leaders do not enjoy legitimate authority and instead rule through fear.

15. Different governments and states manage their people's political, economic, and social affairs worldwide. The Government does so to maintain law and order within its territories. Without law and order, chaos and conflict are likely to emerge, making it very difficult for any government to govern effectively. Political systems are established to ensure the government is effective and smooth running . D efinition : Therefore, the political system  is a set of different institutions established politically, to ensure the free and fair distribution of resources within a given society.

16. Types of political system The type of government or political arrangement under which a certain group of people live has critical impacts on their freedoms, basic rights, and economic welfare. The following are the most popular types of political systems and their main aspects. Monarchy Democracy. Dictatorship . Republic Communism

17. Monarchy A  monarchy  is a type of political system where the president gets into power without an election . In this political arrangement, the president assumes power through inheritance within the family. The citizens under the monarchy systems have no right or voice to elect their leader. Monarchies are divided into two categories . Autocracy monarchies are where the leader is the head of the government and enjoys full state power . The ruling family has absolute power, which they share with no one within the entire kingdom. Saudi Arabia, ancient Egypt during pharaoh regimes, practiced absolute monarchies. Democratic, or constitutional, monarchies are found in modern countries like Britain, Sweden, Denmark, and Japan. The president, or the ruling family, has controlled state powers in these countries. The parliament always checks the monarch's powers, and their state functions are mainly ceremonial. The real state power is under the office of the prime minister.

18. Dictatorship   : is a type of political system where the ruling person has full control of the state institutions and the entire society. They gain state powers through rigged elections or by overthrowing the government . In these systems of government, human rights, and liberties are never respected, and are almost always violated. Most of the decisions of the state are made by the president with the help of police or military officers . The citizens under the dictatorship are never consulted , and only a few benefit. Those who question or criticize the government are assassinated or imprisoned, while others seek exile. North Korea is an example of a country that runs through a dictatorship.

19. Republic In a  republic government system , the power also rests with the people, as they are in charge of electing or choosing the country’s leader, instead of the leader being appointed or inheriting power. Broadly defined, a republic is a government system without a monarch. A republic may be governed by a group of nobles, as long as there is not a single monarch. Some examples of countries with a republic government system include Argentina, Bolivia, Czech Republic and France.

20. Communism A communist government system is usually based on a particular ideology of communism taught by  Karl Marx (capitalist also)  or Vladimir Lenin (communist). A single party or group of people usually runs communist states. In some cases, citizens of a communist state are given certain jobs or life duties in an effort to obtain collective citizenship for the state. Examples of communist states include China, Cuba and Vietnam. Fight in Russia between N icholas Czar and Vladimir is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary vanguard party as the political prelude to the establishment of communism.

21. Democracy and its types: A Democracy can be defined as a government system with supreme power placed in the hands of the people. It can be traced back to as early as the fifth century B.C. In fact, the word democracy is  Greek  for “ people power ”. The difference in types of democracy lies in the method of civilian participation. R epresentative  D emocracy : While most use the United States as an example of a democratic government system, the United States actually has what is called a  R epresentative democracy . In a representative  democracy , citizens elect representatives who make the law. D irect  democracy : In a D irect  democracy , every citizen is given an equal say in the government The difference is significant when put into action. Other examples of democratic states include Aruba, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

22. Key point: Power While these types of government systems all vary, they have at least one similarity: The allocation of Power. Whether it be the allocation of power to a single person, a group of people, or evenly distributed to everyone, power is the shared theme of all types of government systems.

23. What is the comparative study of government systems? Comparative government includes  the study of features and legal powers of political institutions existing in various states . It is the study of state and other political institutions in terms of their legal powers, functions, and positions on a comparative basis.