NONDEMOCRATIC REGIMES

resource trap

when natural resources weaken economic development and strengthen authoritarian rule

authoritarianism

a political system in which a small group of individuals who exercise power over the state without being constitutionally responsible to the public

non-democratic regimes

those in which a political regime is controlled by a small group of individuals who exercise power over the state without being constitutionally responsible to the public

totalitarianism

* seek to control and transform all aspects of the state, society, and economy
* use violence as a tool for remaking institutions
* have a strong ideological goal
* have arisen relatively rarely

populism

* draws much of its power from an anti-institutional approach
* a political view that does not have a consistent ideological foundation
* emphasizes hostility towards elites and established state and economic institutions
* favors greater power in the hands of the public

Coercion

public obedience is enforced through violence and surveillance

co-optation

members of the public are brought into a beneficial relationship with the state and government, often through corporatism or clientelism

personality cults

the public is encouraged to obey the leader based on his or her extraordinary qualities and compelling ideas

surveillance

allows the government to prevent opposition from organizing & instills uncertainty among the population

corporatism

a method of co-optation whereby authoritarian systems create or sanction a limited number of organizations to represent the interests of the public and restricting those not set up or approved by the state

clientelism

a process whereby the state co-opts members of the public by providing specific benefits or favors to a single person or small group in return for public support

rent seeking

Process in which political leaders essentially use parts of the state to extract income for their supporters, giving them preferred access to public goods that would otherwise be distributed in a nonpolitical manner

kleptocracy

“rule by theft,” where those in power seek only to drain the state of assets and resources

personal and monarchial rule

based on the power of one single strong leader who typically relies on charismatic or traditional authority to maintain power; no clear regime or rules constraining that leadership

military rule

ruled by one or more military officials, often brought to power through a coup d’etat

one-party rule

rule by one political party that bans or excludes other groups from power

theocratic rule

“rule by god” ; holy texts serve as foundation for regime and politics

illiberal regimes

the basic structures of democracy exists (voting, multiple parties, head of government & state, judiciaries, legislatures, etc) but are not fully institutionalized and often not respected

patrimonialism

an arrangement whereby a ruler depends on a collection of supporters within the state who gain direct benefits in return for enforcing the ruler’s will; a form of co-optation

bureaucratic authoritarianism

a regime in which the state bureaucracy and the military share a belief that only a technocratic leadership (focused on rational, objective, and technical expertise) can rise above emotional and irrational ideologically based party politics in order to solve the problems of the country

communism

* a political-economic system in which all wealth and property are shared so as to eliminate exploitation, oppression, and, ultimately, the need for political institutions such as the state
* a political ideology that advocates such a system

base

the economic system of a society, made up of technology (the means of production) and class relations between people (the relations of the products)

superstructure

all noneconomic institutions in a society (ex: religion, culture, national identity). these ideas and values derive from the base and serve to legitimize the student system of exploitation

bourgeoisie

the property-owning class

dialectical materialism

process of historical change that is not evolutionary but revolutionary. the existing base and superstructure (thesis) would come into conflict with new technological innovations, generating growing opposition to the existing order (antithesis). this would cumpliste in revolution, overthrowing the old base and superstructure (synthesis)

proletariat

the working class

vanguard of the proletariat

lenin's argument that because of false consciousness, an elite communist party would have to carry out revolution; otherwise, historical conditions would not automatically lead to capitalism’s demise

nomenklatura

politically sensitive or influential jobs in the state, society, or economy that were staged by people chosen or approved by the communist party

politburo

the to policy-making and executive body of a communist party

central committee

the legislature-like body of a communist party

party-state

a political system in which power flows directly from the ruling political party (usually a communist party) to the state, bypassing government structures

central planning

a communist economic system in which the state explicitly allocate resources by planning what should be produced and in what amounts, the final prices of goods, and where they should be sold

glasnost

literally, openness; the policy of political liberalization implemented in the soviet union in the late 1980s

perestroika

literally, restructuring; the policy of political and economic liberalization implemented in the soviet union in the late 1980s

sock therapy

a process of rapid marketization