Dictatorship, democracy and other political systems

Dictatorship
In a dictatorship, power over a nation is in the hands of one ruler, a dictator, who has complete
control. Dictators usually rule by coercion: people obey because they are forced to and
threatened with punishment if they do not.

In a dictatorship, the government controls aspects of social life such as the mass media, the
legal system and the police. In a democracy, in contrast, these institutions have some
independence from the government.

Dictatorships are able to control almost every aspect of people's lives. Where their control is
total, they are called totalitarian. In dictatorships, there are no elections, or if there are, the
results will be rigged. There may be only one party, or people may be told who to vote for and
threatened with violence if they disobey. Disagreement with the government is not allowed.
People who criticise the dictatorship, known as dissidents, face imprisonment, torture and
death. There are, however, always dissidents; it is impossible for a dictatorship to get rid of all
resistance completely.

Dictators in Europe in the twentieth century included:

• Hitler (in Germany)

• Mussolini (in Italy)
• Franco (in Spain).

The former Soviet Union and other communist countries were also dictatorships that did not
allow free elections. Dissidents in the Soviet Union were often sent to labour camps in Siberia,
and even put in mental institutions (on the grounds that they must be insane if they disagreed
with communism). By the end of the twentieth century, however, all western European
countries had been democracies for some time. There are still dictatorships in Asia and Africa
(although most countries in these continents are democracies).

Example of a military dictatorship - Burma

At the time of writing, an example of a dictatorship was Burma in South East Asia. In 1990, a
general election was won by Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy. The
military dictatorship, called SLORC (the State Law and Order Restoration Council) ignored the
election result and stayed in power. Suu Kyi was put under house arrest for several years, but
Burmese people continued, at great risk, to campaign for democracy. Suu Kyi was detained
until 2010, but was barred from elections.

Dictatorship is often the result of a democratic government being overthrown. The armed
forces, because of their possession of arms, sometimes seize power in this way, creating what
is called a military dictatorship.

Dictatorships today are put under pressure by other governments to hold elections so that
democracy can be restored. Dictators usually argue that they have to remain in power because
of special circumstances, that the time is not yet right to hold elections. In this way they can
hold on to power.

Democracy
The political system of democracy is based on allowing people a say in decision making. In
ancient Athens, all adult male citizens gathered to discuss and vote on important issues. This
is called direct democracy. (Notice that women and slaves did not count.)

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This cannot work in large societies so instead we have indirect or representative democracy,
in which people vote for members of parliament to represent them in discussions and voting.
Candidates at general elections belong to political parties, and the party that has the most
members of parliament usually forms the government.

These are some of the ways in which British citizens can participate in democratic politics:

• by voting in elections - general elections, elections for the Scottish and Welsh
assemblies, European elections, local council elections
• by joining (or even starting) a political party
• by standing as a candidate in an election
• by joining a pressure group
• by expressing an opinion to an MP or other elected representative through writing a
letter or attending a surgery
• by expressing an opinion publicly, for example in a letter to a newspaper.

In spite of this, many people feel that they have very little say in decisions made about them.

• Some people do not register to vote.

• Not all those who register do actually vote. At the 2010 general election, only 65 per
cent of those registered voted, and the figure is much lower for other kinds of election.

Some people argue that real power in Britain (and other countries) is in fact in the hands of a
small group of people, an elite. Britain's top civil servants, judges, army officers and so on tend
to have a shared, very privileged background. They remain powerful whoever wins elections,
exercising their power through the two less obvious faces of power - nondecision making and
control of information. If this is true, Britain's political system is as much an oligarchy (rule by
a small group) as a democracy.

1. Complete the gaps with one of the suggestions offered.

National Assembly gathered public opinion seize

face imprisonment rig an election held house arrest
to stand labour camps surgery civil servant
registered voters general elections restoring overthrow
allegiance

1. Amazon has recently launched the sale of the highly controversial book – How
to____________________? Confessions of a Republican Operative.
2. In order to encourage only serious candidates _____________________ , a £500
deposit is required when submitting the nomination papers - returned if the candidate
receives over five per cent of the total votes cast.
3. The employee who works in the civilian public sector for a government department is
called a _____________________.
4. If you are unable to come to _____________________, you can still contact your MP
by post, phone or e-mail.

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 5. Eritrean Christians fleeing persecution _____________________ , torture, beatings and
sexual assault in Egypt.
6. Some democracies make their citizen become _____________________ if they want to
take part in elections.
7. US Secretary of State John Kerry has said Egypt's military was
“_____________________ democracy” when it acted against elected President
Mohammed Morsi last year.
8. Parliamentary elections are also called _____________________.
9. Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize and leader of her country's
pro-democracy movement was first put under _____________________in 1989.
10. We do not owe _____________________to any candidate because they share our party
or our colour, but because they share our principles and our conscience.
11. Once released from prison, Hitler decided to _____________________ power
constitutionally rather than by force of arms.
12. A rather noisy meeting of the tax-payers of the Village of Castleton, was __________
in the Town Hall last night in order to obtain an expression of_____________________
on the issue.
13. What if American citizens _____________________ regularly and used theatre as a
way to converse with the government about social, human, and political concerns?
14. _____________________ have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons.
Conditions vary widely depending on the operators.
15. The_____________________ is Nigeria's bicameral legislature and the highest elective
law-making body of the country.
16. Having studied the techniques of the CIA and related organizations, I am pleased to
announce the following simple steps you can use to _____________________a
democratically elected government.

2. Complete the gaps in the text below with suitable expressions from the introductory
text.

The dictator was a very charismatic person to whom many owed ____________________.
Gradually all power concentrated in his ____________________. With the help of his
supporters, he ____________________ the election results. Soon he had
____________________control of all aspects of ordinary people’s lives. In his own party, he
ruled ____________________coercion. His supporters were put under
____________________never to go against the dictator, no matter how small or insignificant
the issue was. Whoever opposed him ____________________imprisonment, was
____________________ ____________________ house arrest or, even worse, was
____________________to labour camps. However, a small group of opponents was able to
____________________the government with the help of the armed forces. They claimed they
would ____________________elections and ____________________democracy. Anyone
would have a ____________________in decision making. Any citizen over 18 would be able

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to ____________________as a candidate. After the elections, it would be possible for anyone
to attend a ____________________ of their elected candidate.

3. Read the text and mark the sentences as true or false.

Totalitarianism was a Cold War construct. Essentially a totalitarian regime is seen as the
opposite of a democratic one but also something distinctly worse than previous authoritarian
and dictatorial systems. Twentieth century regimes such as Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Russia
and Mussolini’s Italy though different in many ways were all seen as possessing the 6 main
features of a totalitarian regime. Therefore the enemy in the Second World War (Fascism) could
be seen as essentially the same as the enemy in the Cold War (Soviet Russia) despite the fact
that Soviet Russia fought with the western democracies against fascism.
Fears of totalitarianism also inspired novels such as George Orwell's "Animal Farm","1984"
and "We" by Yevgeny Zamyatin. The political scientists Friedrich and Brzezinski identified
several common features – the defining elements - of totalitarian regimes:

• An official ideology to which general adherence is demanded, the ideology intended to

achieve a 'perfect final stage of mankind'.

• A single official mass party, hierarchically organised, closely connected with the state
bureaucracy and typically led by one leader.

• Monopolistic control of the armed forces.

• A similar monopoly of the means of effective mass communication.

• A system of terroristic police control.

• Central control and direction of the entire economy (state planning).

Adapted from:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_6_features_of_totalitarian_government_as_discussed_by_friedrich_an
d_brzezinski

According to the text

1. a totalitarian regime is no better than an authoritarian regime. T/F
2. twentieth century totalitarian regimes share some characteristics. T/F
3. the common enemy in the 2nd World War and in the Cold War was
dictatorship. T/F
4. totalitarian regimes want to create a perfect society. T/F
5. in a totalitarian regime the leading party has a small membership. T/F

4. Based on what you already know from history lessons, in what ways do Hitler's Germany
and Stalin's Russia correspond to the six points of totalitarianism outlined above?

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At home research either

• George Orwell’s book 1984

or

• North Korea today.

Can we class them as totalitarian regimes? In your answer consider:

CENTRAL POWER

ENFORCEMENT POWER

RELIGION

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS / SPEECH

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

EDUCATION

5. Match the terms referring to selected political systems with their definitions.
1. Democracy A. A system of government where priests or religious leaders
rule in the name of a deity or by direct divine guidance.

2. Autocracy B. A system of government where power is vested in the

people, who rule either directly or through freely elected
representatives.

3. Oligarchy C. A system of government where power is held by a small

group of individuals, often distinguished by wealth, family
ties, corporate, or military control.
4. Theocracy D. A system of government where a single person holds all
power and authority, often maintaining control through
centralized power and limited political freedoms.

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6. For each item below, choose a suitable subtitle. From those suggested. Not all of them
are needed.
A longevity in power B divine legitimacy
C religious authority D religious homogeneity
E social inequality F moral and social regulation
G integration of church and state H legal system based on religious law.

Each political system has distinct characteristics that define how power is distributed, exercised,
and maintained, as well as how the government interacts with its citizens and other institutions.
For example, theocracy is characterised by:
Governance based on religious laws and principles, often
with religious leaders holding significant political power.

The rulers claim divine sanction for their authority, often

justifying their rule as divinely ordained.

Little to no separation between religious institutions and the

state; religious leaders often hold governmental positions.

Laws and policies are heavily influenced or directly derived

from religious texts and doctrines.

Promotion or enforcement of a single religion, often leading

to limited religious freedom for other beliefs.

Strong emphasis on moral and social conduct in line with

religious teachings, with strict enforcement of religious
norms and practices.

Now in small groups choose one of the following: democracy, autocracy, oligarchy and list
its key characteristics. Consider factors such as elections, political competition, rule of
law, separation of powers, protection of rights and freedoms, pluralism, accountability,
longevity in power, social inequality, etc.

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7. Complete the table with suitable word forms.
noun adjective verb adverb
divine
religion
legitimacy
homogeneity
participate
opposition
separate
equal
diverse
elect
accountable
elite
enforce

8. Complete the missing prepositions.

1. accountable _________ his actions

2. accountable _________ the law

3. participation _________ elections

4. control _________ media

5. remain _________ power

6. run _________ office

7. related _________ wealth

8. derived _________ religious texts

9. emphasis _________ moral conduct

10. conduct _________ line _________ religious teachings

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9. Complete the mind map below with expressions that often combine with the
keywords.

LISTING PARAGRAPH / LISTING TEXT

- a passage informing the reader of a number of things / issues in sequence. It can stretch
anywhere from one paragraph to the whole document.

STRUCTURE:

1. starts with a topic (introductory) sentence indicating a list is going to follow

2. continues with the actual list often (but not always) clearly marked with listing
signal words
3. may finish with a concluding sentence.

As Michael Gallagher, Michael Laver, and Peter Mair (1995, 370) point out, Britain is
“decidedly not a corporatist system“ for two important reasons: the first is the general
lack of integration of both unions and management into policymaking process. The
second is the apparent preference of both sides for confrontational methods of settling
their differences. (Source: A. Lijphart, Patterns of Democracy, p.17)

Some listing signal words:

followed by S+V followed by noun / gerund
/ one
first, second, third... also the first, the second, etc.
firstly, secondly, thirdly.... too (end of sentence) the last

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 finally another (noun in singular)
one...., the other.... other (noun in plural)
in addition, in addition to
additionally,
moreover,
furthermore,

10. Underline the sentence signalling the start of a list and the signal words introducing a
new item in the list.

A There are two economic reasons why a country would wish to join the EU. One is to
gain access to the world’s biggest single market. The other is to obtain resources from
the Common Agricultural Policy and the EU’s regional policy.
Source: Bloor, K., A-Level Politics Made Easy, p. 239

B Two additional introductory comments are in order. First, legislative chambers have
a variety of proper names (among them House of Commons, House of Representatives,
Chamber of Deputies, Bundestag, and Senate), and in order to avoid confusion the
following generic terms will be used in the discussion of bicameral parliaments: first
chamber (or lower house) and second chamber (or upper house). The first chamber is
always the more important one or, in federal systems, the house that is elected on the
basis of population. Furthermore, the bicameral legislature as a whole is usually called
Congress in presidential systems – but not, of course, in France, where the term
“parliament” originated – and Parliament in parliamentary systems of government.
Source: Lijphart, A., Patterns of Democracy, p. 201

C States originate in many different ways and their development follows no single
pathway. There are three general patterns, however. First, states arose on the basis of
the gradual transformation of existing independent political units – mostly medieval
monarchies. Major examples were Britain and France, whose independence goes back
to the Middle Ages and whose development as states took several centuries. Second,
some states arose by the unification of independent but dispersed political units. This
process was mainly concentrated in the nineteenth century and major examples were
Germany and Italy. Finally, states arose from the secession or break-up of independent
political units – mostly empires or large heterogeneous states. The break-up of Austria-
Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire after the First World War are examples. In
Africa and Asia decolonisation after the Second World War resulted in many new states
after former occupied territories gained independence. More recently, Czechoslovakia
was split into two independent states: the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Source: Newton, K., Vann Deth J.W., Foundations of Comparative Politics, p. 23

D The distinction between parliamentary and presidential systems is of great importance

in several respects. Firstly, as already discussed in the previous chapter, presidential
cabinets are fundamentally different, and have to be classified differently, from cabinets
in parliamentary systems. Moreover, both later on in this chapter and in the next chapter,
presidential systems are again treated differently from parliamentary systems in the
measurement of key variables.
Source: Lijphart, A., Patterns of Democracy, p. 213

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11. Read the extracts below and answer the questions.

A How many factors influencing presidential popularity are mentioned? Name them.

The sharp peaks and valleys in presidential popularity (within the usual overall pattern
of decline) can be explained by several factors. First, public approval of the job done by
a president is affected by economic conditions, such as inflation and unemployment. A
strong economy buoyed Eisenhower´s popularity during his first term, but a recession
during the middle of his second term brought his rating down. Second, a president is
affected by unanticipated events of all types that occur during his administration. When
American embassy personnel were taken hostage in Tehran by militantly anti-American
Iranians, Carters´ popularity soared. This “rally round the flag” support for the president
eventually gave way to frustration with his inability to gain hostages´ release, and
Carter´s popularity plummeted. The third factor that affects presidential popularity is
American involvement in a war, which can erode public approval. Johnson suffered a
loss of popularity during his escalation of the American effort in Vietnam.
Source: Janda K., Berry J.M., Goldman J., The Challenge of Democracy, p. 406

B How many origins of states are mentioned? Name them.

States originate in many different ways and their development follows no single
pathway. There are three general patterns, however. First, states arose on the basis of
the gradual transformation of existing independent political units – mostly medieval
monarchies. Major examples were Britain and France, whose independence goes back
to the Middle Ages and whose development as states took several centuries. Second,
some states arose by the unification of independent but dispersed political units. This
process was mainly concentrated in the nineteenth century and major examples were
Germany and Italy. Finally, states arose from the secession or break-up of independent
political units – mostly empires or large heterogeneous states. The break-up of Austria-
Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire after the First World War are examples. In
Africa and Asia decolonisation after the Second World War resulted in many new states
after former occupied territories gained independence. More recently, Czechoslovakia
was split into two independent states: the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Source: Newton, K., Vann Deth J.W., Foundations of Comparative Politics, p. 23

C How many examples of acts done by powerful French presidents are given in the text?

The hybrid French system has both a prime minister and a relatively strong president; it
somewhat surprisingly survived de Gaulle’s departure rather well. When they have had
majority support in parliament, French presidents have played powerful leadership roles
that have overshadowed their prime ministers; they have chosen the prime minister,
helped select cabinet ministers, and initiated major legislative programs. Moreover,
when they have sensed a favourable public mood, French presidents have not hesitated
to exercise their power to dissolve the National Assembly and call new elections in the
hope of increasing their legislative base.
Source: Lijphart, A., Patterns of Democracy, p. 218

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12. In groups discuss the possible answers to the questions below. Report your answers to
other groups, using listing signal words when appropriate.

A Why would a government try to control speech, the press and religion? What is the
benefit to the government?
B Why is money so important in elections?
C Why is democracy considered the best form of government?

13. Return to the six points of a totalitarian regime as listed by Friedrich and Brzezinski
(Exercise 3). Incorporate them in an appropriately structured listing paragraph (with an
introductory sentence and suitable signal words), explaining what a totalitarian regime is
and which factors define it.

LIST OF USEFUL EXPRESSIONS

accountable (for, to)
attend a surgery
authoritarian regime
ban
be put under house arrest
campaign for democracy
citizens gather
civil servant
conduct
corporate
derive (from)
detain
dictatorship
diverse
divine
election campaign
express an opinion publicly
face imprisonment

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free elections
gathering of citizens
general election / parliamentary elections
get rid of resistance
have very little say
hold an election
homogeneity
in line with
join a political party
labour camps
longevity
means of mass communication
member of parliament
national assembly
ordain
overthrow a government
owe allegiance
possession of arms
pressure group
registered voters
restore democracy
rig an election
seize power
stand as a candidate for MP
state bureaucracy
the armed forces
threaten with violence
totalitarian regime

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