Omar Bennett
A political system is a set of formal legal institutions that constitute a government and its processes. It defines the process of making official government decisions and the relationships among those involved in making these decisions. The type of political system a country operates under has fundamental implications for its citizens' freedom, welfare, and lives. Political systems can be broadly categorized into democracies, totalitarian regimes, and authoritarian regimes, with monarchies as a standalone entity or a hybrid system of the three.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Formal legal institutions that constitute a government | Democracy, Totalitarianism, Authoritarianism, Monarchy, Dictatorship, Oligarchy |
| Form of political organization that can be observed, recognised or declared by a society or state | Liberal values, Constitutional arrangements, Legal and economic systems |
| Process for making official government decisions | Elections, Referendums, Legislative votes |
| Who holds power and how it is used | The executive, the legislature, and the judiciary |
| Monopoly of legitimate force to control citizens and run their affairs | Policies on health, education, foreign threats |
| Interactions through which values are authoritatively allocated for a society | --- |
| Type of rule by which a state is run | Unitary systems, Federal systems |
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What You'll Learn
Democracy
Historically, the concept of democracy has evolved over time. In ancient Athens, for example, the "people" who held power in a democracy were only a subset of the population, such as all free adult males. Similarly, in 19th-century Britain, it may have included only propertied adult males. In the Roman Republic, only a minority of Romans were citizens with votes in elections, and the votes of the wealthy and noble were given more weight. Despite these limitations, democratic assemblies are as old as the human species and are found throughout history.
Today, the type of government and political system a country has can have fundamental implications for its citizens' freedom, welfare, and lives. Democracy is one of the main types of political systems recognised today, alongside totalitarian regimes and authoritarian regimes, with monarchies sometimes included as a standalone entity or as a hybrid system. A hybrid regime is often created during an incomplete transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one, resulting in a combination of autocratic and democratic features.
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Totalitarianism
The term 'totalitarianism' emerged in the interwar period, arising from a comparison of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin and Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler. It is a theoretical concept in Western political science. Totalitarian governments use ideology to control most aspects of human life, such as the political economy, education, arts, sciences, and private morality of its citizens. It is distinguished from dictatorship, despotism, or tyranny by its replacement of all political institutions with new ones and its rejection of all legal, social, and political traditions.
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Authoritarianism
Authoritarian regimes may be autocratic or oligarchic and can be based on the rule of a party, military, or monarchy. They often adopt the "institutional trappings" of democracies, such as constitutions, legislatures, and judiciaries, but these institutions serve to reinforce the power of the ruling authority. For instance, legislatures may serve as forums for leaders to enhance their support and share power, while judiciaries may be used to repress political challengers and institutionalise punishment.
Authoritarian governments lack free and competitive direct elections. They may hold fraudulent or non-competitive elections, or they may not hold elections at all. These regimes may also lack certain human rights and civil liberties, such as freedom of religion.
The political scientist Juan Linz defined authoritarianism as possessing four qualities:
- Limited political pluralism, achieved through constraints on legislatures, political parties, and interest groups.
- Political legitimacy based on appeals to emotion and the identification of the regime as a necessary evil to combat societal problems.
- Minimal political mobilisation and suppression of anti-regime activities.
- Ill-defined and shifting executive powers that extend the power of the executive.
In the 21st century, authoritarian regimes have posed a threat to democratic systems by exploiting the fears of citizens and utilising digital tools to mislead and manipulate public opinion.
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Monarchy
A political system is a set of formal legal institutions that constitute a "government" or a "state". It defines the process of making official government decisions and the relationships among those involved in making these decisions.
The power of the royal family has traditionally been considered absolute, with the monarch claiming a divine right to rule. However, today most modern monarchies are constitutional, with the monarch exercising limited or no political power, similar to a head of state in a parliamentary republic. The monarch may still have a role in the life of the nation, undertaking constitutional and representational duties, as well as acting as a focus for national identity, unity, and pride.
Monarchies were the most common form of government until the 20th century, when republics replaced many monarchies. As of 2024, 43 sovereign nations have a monarch, including 15 Commonwealth realms that share King Charles III as their head of state. Some argue that monarchy persists as a regime type because it can accommodate demands for democratization better than other forms of autocratic rule.
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Hybrid regimes
A political system is a set of formal legal institutions that constitute a "government" or a "state". It is the process by which laws are made, public resources are allocated, and the relationships between those involved in making these decisions.
The term "hybrid regime" was introduced to describe countries that were previously called "transitional" in the 1980s. These countries are located in a politically stable grey zone, with limited changes occurring over decades. Scholars vary in their definitions of hybrid regimes, with some arguing that they are deficient democracies or deficient autocracies, while others argue that they combine characteristics of both democratic and autocratic regimes.
Guillermo O'Donnell, Philippe C. Schmitter, Larry Diamond, and Thomas Carothers have identified several signs of a hybrid regime, including the presence of external attributes of democracy, a low degree of representation of citizens' interests in political decision-making, and a low level of political participation.
Populism is also often associated with hybrid regimes, as it undermines checks and balances on the main leader and personalises politics, leading to an erosion of intermediary institutions. Hybrid regimes can develop from populism or use populism to stabilise their regimes.
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Frequently asked questions
A political system is a set of formal legal institutions that constitute a government. It defines the process by which a government makes decisions, including law-making and resource allocation.
There are several types of political systems, including democracies, totalitarian regimes, authoritarian regimes, and monarchies. Democracies are characterised by self-governance, either directly or indirectly through elected representatives. Totalitarian regimes are marked by state control and the suppression of individual rights and freedoms. Authoritarian regimes sit between democracies and totalitarian regimes, and hybrid regimes exhibit a mix of democratic and autocratic features. Monarchies are political systems where power is held by a single family, either with absolute or restricted authority.
A country's political system has a direct impact on its economic development. The type of political system determines the level of government influence on the economy and the process by which economic decisions are made. For example, a democratic system may prioritise economic policies that reflect the will of the people, while a totalitarian regime may centralise economic control.
The formation of a country's political system can be influenced by various factors, including historical, cultural, and social elements. A country's political system may reflect a shared sense of identity, history, culture, and language among its people. Additionally, the transition from one political system to another, such as from an authoritarian regime to a democracy, can result in hybrid regimes that exhibit a combination of features from both systems.
