Authoritarian Totalitarian Regimes Basics Characteristics of Authoritarian Rule

Authoritarian & Totalitarian Regimes Basics

Characteristics of Authoritarian Rule § Concentration of power in the hands of a few § Intolerance of opposition § § § Press censorship Outlawing opposition parties Firm control over the legal system Prosecution & persecution of political opponents Few avenues for ordinary people to change the system

Things to remember about authoritarian states § Don’t rely on fear alone § Variation in state goals and statesociety relations among authoritarian regimes § People support them for a variety of reasons

What is a totalitarian state, and how does it differ from an authoritarian regime?

Totalitarian regime § Aims at total political, social, and economic control § Subjugation & attempted transformation of society § Extensive use of violence as policy instrument § Other characteristics § Single party merged with state § “Utopia” gone wrong: official vision of social and political reorganization § Extensive use of propaganda § Attempt to create a monolithic society § Mobilization of society § Atomization of the individual “For modern society, a colossus with feet of clay, we shall create an unprecedented centralization which will unite all powers in the hands of the government. We shall create a hierarchical constitution, which will mechanically govern all movements of individuals. ” Point 25 of the program of the German Workers Party (predecessor to the Nazi Party, 1920)

Main types of authoritarian governance § Autocracy (personal rule/dictatorship) § Rule by one main person § Oligarchy § § Military rule Single-party rule Theocracy Monarchies Plus, illiberal regimes/pseudo-democracies/illiberal democracies…

How do modern authoritarian regimes differ from earlier ones? § § § Weaponry Technologies of surveillance etc. Ideology (transformative goals) § Nationalism § Fascism: § What are the key characteristics of fascism? § Communism

How do authoritarian states maintain power? (Several main mechanisms)

Why are some states authoritarian and others more democratic? Theories and arguments

The problem with culturalist arguments… (one example) Source: Stepan and Robertson, “An ‘Arab’ More than a ‘Muslim’ Electoral Gap, ” J. of Democracy 14 (3), 2003.