Presentation Transcript

1. Week 11-Political Systems.
2. Today: Western Liberal Democracies Dictatorships Monarchy Philosopher Kings Communism Anarchy Theocracies Technocracies
3. Western Liberal Democracies Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive. Political pluralism is usually defined as the presence of multiple and distinct political parties. A liberal democracy may take various constitutional forms: Constitutional Republic, such as the France, Germany, India, Italy, or United States. Constitutional Monarchy, such as the Japan, Spain, or United Kingdom. Presidential System: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, the United States. Semi-Presidential system: Finland, France, Poland, Taiwan. Parliamentary System: Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, the United Kingdom.
4. Western Liberal Democracies:Criticisms. Lacking Direct Democracy Dictatorship of the Bourgeoisie Limited voter turn-out Bureaucracy Short-term focus / popularity politics Tyranny of the Majority (conscription, slavery) Effective response in wartime http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_democracy#Issues_and_criticism
5. Western Liberal Democracies:Benefits. Political Stability More likely to win wars Better informed choices and correction of problems Low corruption rates Correlation to higher GDP (Creates factors like: lower inflation, higher ec. Freedom, low political instability)- Of 80 worst financial catastrophes during the past 40 years, only 5 were in democracies. Never suffered large scale famine, rare refugee crises. High human development index score, low human poverty index score. Democratic Peace Theory Less murder by government (democide) as well as less genocide and politicide. Freedoms and rights.
6. Dictatorships An autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. A government controlled by one person or a small group of people. In this form of government the power rests with one person. Such power is often obtained forcibly. A dictator usually takes away much of people's freedom. In contemporary usage, dictatorship refers to an autocratic form of absolute rule by leadership unrestricted by law, constitutions, or other social and political factors within the state.
7. Dictatorships- History. Big thing during WW2 Europe- Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin Issue in Africa, middle east and south America – independence movements led to personal dictatorships. Threat of communism/ capitalism as justification
8. Dictatorships- Case Studies. 1. Omar al-Bashir, Sudan. His human rights abuses have killed 200,000 people, driven five million from their homes, and prompted 700,000 to emigrate. 2. Kim Jong-Eun, North Korea. While North Korea is a communist state, Kim's family follows the highly centralized, patriarchal ruling model of Confucianism. His citizens are more shut off from the world than those of any other nation. 3. MahmoudAhmadinejad, Iran. It is this ayatollah and his Guardian Council who control all decisions regarding the country's international relations, nuclear program, and domestic freedoms. It increasingly suppresses freedom of expression. Women can be stoned to death for adultery and a man was publicly hanged for homosexuality. 4. Hu Jin-Tao, China. The U.S. State Department has identified 22 areas of human rights violations including torture, forced abortions, forced labor, detention of religious groups, restrictions on speech and restrictions on the media. Citizens are executed for nonviolent crimes such as bribery and theft of oil. 5. King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia. It is possible to be executed for witchcraft and to be flogged for being alone with a person of the opposite sex. It is illegal to practice any religion other than Islam. School textbooks are virulently anti-Christian and antisemitic. The U.S. State Department lists Saudi Arabia among the top eight offenders of religious freedom.
9. Dictatorships- Case Studies. 6. TheinSein, Burma. The citizens are still waiting for a new constitution promised 17 years ago. Reporters Without Borders ranks Burma 164th out of 168th in its press freedom index. Burmese have been arrested for selling videotapes of foreign news reports on the 2004 tsunami. 7. Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe. Under his rule the health and well-being of his people have dropped so dramatically as to constitute an abuse of human rights. Zimbabwe has the world's shortest life expectancy, 37 for men and 34 for women. It has the greatest percentage of orphans, 25%, and the worst annual inflation rate, nearly 1,300%. 8. Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan. He came to power using old-fashioned Soviet methods of torture, media censorship and fake elections. He has banned the study of Arabic in an Islamic nation and ordered the massacre of hundreds of his citizens. 9. Bashar al-Assad, Syria. His administration has been implicated in assassinations in neighbouring Lebanon.10. Muammar al-Qaddafi, Libya. He has been in power the longest of any of these dictators, 38 years. During most of that time he was a conspicuous supporter of international terrorism. In his country political prisoners disappear and women who have been raped or merely accused of extramarital sex can be kept in "rehabilitation" homes indefinitely.
10. Monarchy A form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication, is most often hereditary, and usually accords official pre-eminence to members of the reigning dynasty. The monarch often bears the title King or Queen. However, emperor/empress, grand duke/grand duchess, prince/princess and other terms are or have been used to designate monarchs.  Monarchy was the most common form of government into the 19th century, but so many countries have abolished it that it is no longer prevalent, at least at the national level. Where it persists, it now often takes the form of constitutional monarchy, in which the monarch retains a unique legal and ceremonial role, but exercises limited or no political power pursuant to a constitution or tradition which allocates governing authority elsewhere.
11. Monarchy Currently, 44 sovereign nations in the world have monarchs acting as heads of state, 16 of which are Commonwealth realms that recognize Queen Elizabeth II as their head of state. AllEuropean monarchies are constitutional ones, with the exception of the Vatican City, but sovereigns in the smaller states exercise greater political influence than in the larger. The monarchs of Cambodia, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia and Morocco "reign, but do not rule" although there is considerable variation in the amount of authority they wield. Although they reign under constitutions, the monarchs of Brunei,Oman,Qatar,Saudi Arabia and Swaziland appear to continue to exercise more political influence than any other single source of authority in their nations, either by constitutional mandate or by tradition.
12. Philosopher Kings The rulers, or Guardians, of Plato's Utopian Kallipolis. If his ideal city-state is to ever come into being, "philosophers [must] become kings…or those now called kings [must]…genuinely and adequately philosophize" It is next and in support of the idea that philosophers are the best rulers that Plato fashions the Ship of State metaphor, one of his most often cited ideas (along with his allegory of the cave). "[A] true pilot must of necessity pay attention to the seasons, the heavens, the stars, the winds, and everything proper to the craft if he is really to rule a ship" (The Republic, 6.488d). Plato establishes the comparison by describing the steering of a ship as just like any other "craft" or profession - in particular, that of a politician. He then runs the metaphor in reference to a particular type of government: democracy. Plato’s democracy is not the modern notion of a mix of democracy and republicanism, but rather pure rule by what he terms the poor masses by way of pure majority rule. Plato argues that the masses are too busy fighting over what they consider to be the right way to steer the ship to listen to a true navigator – representing his philosopher-king. It is ultimately seen, then, that the ship of state metaphor is a cautionary tale against rule by anything other than an enlightened, benevolent monarch-of-sorts.
13. Philosopher Kings Karl Popper blamed Plato for the rise of totalitarianism in the 20th century, seeing Plato's philosopher kings, with their dreams of 'social engineering' and 'idealism', as leading directly to Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler (via George Fredrich Wilhelm Hegel and Karl Marx). In addition, Ayatollah Khomeini is said to have been inspired by the Platonic vision of the philosopher king while in Qum in the 1920s when he became interested in Islamic mysticism and Plato’s Republic. As such, it has been speculated that he was inspired by Plato's philosopher king, and subsequently based elements of his Islamic Republic on it.
14. Communism A social structure in which classes are abolished and property is commonly controlled, as well as a political philosophy and social movement that advocates and aims to create such a society.
15. Communism- History Marxist theory Famously taken up by the Soviet Union and China Fear of communism massive global issue Propaganda dictatorships
16. Communism- Case Studies Republic of Cuba 1959 Fidel Castro became leader after over throwing, American backed dictator, Batista. Closely linked with USSR Sent advisors Traded oil 1960-1962 USA plans to remove as leader Bay of pigs attack – American trained exiles Cuban missile crisis- nuclear war Assassination attempts 1962- Present Poor human rights record and huge prisons Improving economy- In 2005 Cuba had exports of $2.4 billion, ranking 114 of 226 world countries, and imports of $6.9 billion, ranking 87 of 226 countries. Lowering military numbers but secretive about spending No free media Better under Raul Castro, instated in 2008
17. Communism- Case Studies China 1921 communist party of China founded 1949 Came to rule all of china Based on Marxism-Leninism 1960s-70s Experienced ideological break down with USSR under Krushchev Maoism 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre sparked by the death of a pro-democracy and anti-corruption official, HuYaobang 100,000 people had gathered at Tiananmen Square Number of deaths is unknown Gov arrested protestors, cracked down on other protests, banned foreign media, placed party sympathisers under house arrest. Present The PRC government argues that the notion of human rights should include economic standards of living and measures of health and economic prosperity, and notes progress in that area Capital punishment One child policy Lack of freedom of press and religion Tibet
18. Anarchy No ruler-ship or enforced authority, often after state collapse Absence of government; a state of lawlessness due to the absence or inefficiency of the supreme power; political disorder. A social state in which there is no governing person or group of people, but each individual has absolute liberty (without the implication of disorder). Acting without waiting for instructions or official permission... The root of anarchism is the single impulse to do it yourself: everything else follows from this
19. Anarchy- History English civil war (1641-1651) French Revolution Jamaica (1720) Spanish civil war Albania (1997) Somalia (1991-2006)
20. Anarchy- Case Study Somalia 1991 Government collapses Early 1990s Daily violence high infant mortality little access to water 2000s Better education Free media Improved transport 2006 Transitional Federal Government secured power Hold seat on UN
21. Theocracy A form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion Theocracy should be distinguished from other, secular, forms of government that have a state religion, or are merely influenced by theological or moral concepts, and monarchies held “By the Grace of God".
22. Current Theocracies Islamic States: AnIslamic state is a state that has adopted Islam, specifically Sharia, as its foundations for political institutions, or laws, exclusively, and has implemented the Islamic ruling system khilafahand is therefore a theocracy. Although there is much debate as to which states or groups operate strictly according to Islamic Law, Sharia is the official basis for state laws in the following countries: Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Oman and Iran. InNigeria, the constitution provides that states may elect to use Sharialaws and courts, though non-Muslims are not required in any state to submit to Shariajurisdiction and adherence varies by state. AlsoIran maintains religious courts for all aspects of law and has religious police to maintain social compliance, while its government is described as a "theocratic republic". Iran's head of state, or Supreme Leader, is appointed for life by an elected body called Assembly of Experts. The Council of Guardians, considered part of the executive branch of government, is responsible for determining if legislation is in line with Islamic law and customs (the Sharia), and can bar candidates from elections, and green-light or ban investigations into the election process.
23. Current Theocracies Pakistan has Islam as its only official religion and its Federal Shariat Court has the duty of striking down any law not complying with the Sharia code of Islamic law; however, ruling falls upon legal scholars who, while required to be Muslim, are not religious clergy. Saudi Arabia maintains religious courts for all aspects of law and has religious police to maintain social compliance. Vatican City: Following the unification of Italy, Vatican City became the last surviving territory of the former Papal States. In 1929, the State of Vatican City was formally recognized as an independent state through treaties with the Italian government. The head of state of the Vatican is the pope, elected by the College of Cardinals, an assembly of Senatorial-princes of the Church, who are usually clerics, appointed as Ordinaries, but in the past have also included men who were not bishops nor clerics.A pope is elected for life, and voting is limited to cardinals under 80 years of age. A Secretary for Relations with States, directly responsible for international relations, is appointed by the pope. The Vatican legal system is rooted in canon law but ultimately is decided by the pope; the Bishop of Rome as the Supreme Pontiff, "has the fullness of legislative, executive and judicial powers."The government of the Vatican can also be considered an ecclesiocracy (ruled by the Church).
24. Technocracy The government or control of society or industry by an elite of technical experts. A hypothetical form of government in whichscience would be in control of all decision making. Scientists,engineers and technologists who have knowledge, expertise or skills would compose the governing body, instead ofpoliticians,businessmen and economists. In a technocracy, decision makers would be selected based upon how knowledgeable and skilful they are in their field.
25. Today’s debate!
26. THW use the military to enforce democracy.