Non-democratic regimes are divided into authoritarianand totalitarian. They are states based on the power of the dictator or the ruling isolated top. In such countries, the common people cannot put pressure on the government. Numerous wars, terror and other horrors of despotism are associated with undemocratic regimes.
Any non-democratic regime deprives peoplestatus of the source of power. In a country with such a system of government, citizens on the whole cannot interfere in state affairs. In addition, people who do not belong to the elite are deprived of their freedoms and rights. Non-democratic regimes are divided into two types - totalitarian and authoritarian. In neither case, de facto democracy does not exist. All administrative and power resources are concentrated in the hands of a certain group of people, and in some cases even one person.
The main basis on which the totalitarianundemocratic regime - the figure of the leader, which, as a rule, puts forward a powerful group (party, military, etc.). Power in such a state is held to the last by any means. In relation to society is used including violence. At the same time, the totalitarian government is trying to look legitimate. To this end, such regimes enlist mass social support due to propaganda, ideological, political and economic influence.
When totalitarian society loses itscivil foundations and autonomy. His livelihoods in many aspects of the nationalized. Totalitarian parties have always sought to penetrate into any social structure - from municipal authorities to artistic circles. Sometimes such experiments can affect even the personal and intimate life of a person. In fact, all people in such a system become small cogs of a huge mechanism. The undemocratic regime cracks down on any citizens who are trying to interfere with its existence. Totalitarianism makes reprisals possible not only against ordinary people, but also against the approximate dictator. They are necessary for strengthening and preserving power, since a periodically renewed terror allows you to keep others in fear.
A typical totalitarian society has severalcharacteristic features It lives under a one-party system, police control, a monopoly on information in the media. A totalitarian state cannot exist without universal control over the country's economic life. The ideology of such power, as a rule, is utopian. The ruling elite uses slogans about a great future, the exclusivity of their people and the unique mission of a national leader.
Any non-democratic regime requireduses in his propaganda the image of the enemy against whom he fights. Opponents can be foreign imperialists, democrats, as well as their own Jews, kulak peasants, etc. Such authorities explain all their failures and internal disorder in the life of society as a source of enemies and pests. Such rhetoric allows you to mobilize people to fight against invisible and real opponents, distracting them from their own problems.
К примеру, политический государственный режим The USSR constantly turned to the topic of enemies abroad and in the ranks of Soviet citizens. At various times in the Soviet Union they fought against bourgeois, kulaks, cosmopolitans, industrial pests, spies and numerous foreign policy enemies. The totalitarian society in the USSR reached its heyday in the 1930s.
The more actively the power puts pressure on theirideological opponents, the stronger becomes the need for a one-party system. Only it allows you to eradicate any discussion. The power takes the form of a vertical, where people “from below” strictly implement the next general line of the party. In the form of just such a pyramid there was a Nazi party in Germany. Hitler needed an effective tool that could implement the ideas of the Fuhrer. The Nazis did not recognize any alternatives to themselves. They ruthlessly dealt with their opponents. It became easier to conduct its course on the cleaned-up political field of the new government.
Диктаторский режим - это в первую очередь ideological project. Despots can explain their policies with scientific theory (like the Communists who spoke of class struggle) or the laws of nature (as the Nazis reasoned, explaining the exceptional importance of the German nation). Totalitarian propaganda is often accompanied by political education, entertainment and mass actions. Such were the German torchlight processions. Nowadays, parades in North Korea and carnivals in Cuba have similar features.
The classic dictatorial mode is the modefully subjugating culture and exploiting it for their own purposes. In totalitarian countries often monumental architecture and monuments to leaders. Cinema and literature are intended to chant the imperial order. In such works there can in principle be no criticism of the existing order. Only good things are emphasized in books and films, and the message “life has become better, life has become more fun” in them is the main one.
Terror in such a coordinate system always actsin close conjunction with propaganda. Without ideological support, it loses its massive impact on the inhabitants of the country. At the same time, propaganda itself is not capable of fully influencing citizens without regular waves of terror. The totalitarian political state regime often combines these two concepts. In this case, the actions of intimidation become a weapon of propaganda.
Totalitarianism can not exist without powerorgans and their dominance over all aspects of society. With this tool, power organizes complete control over people. Everything is under close watch: from the army and educational institutions to art. Even a person who is not interested in history knows about the Gestapo, the NKVD, the Stasi and their methods of work. They were characterized by violence and total oversight of people. In their arsenal there are strong signs of a non-democratic regime: secret arrests, torture, and long sentences. For example, in the USSR, black craters and a knock on the door became a symbol of the whole pre-war era. "For prevention" terror can even be directed at a loyal population.
Totalitarian and authoritarian state oftentends to territorial expansion towards its neighbors. For example, the ultra-right regimes of Italy and Germany had a whole theory about the “vital” space for further growth and prosperity of the nation. For the left, this idea is disguised as a “world revolution”, help to the proletarians of other countries, etc.
Famous researcher Juan Linz singled outmain features characteristic of authoritarian regimes. This restriction of pluralism, the lack of a clear leadership ideology and a low level of involvement of people in political life. To put it simply, authoritarianism can be called a soft form of totalitarianism. All of these are types of undemocratic regimes, only with varying degrees of distancing from democratic principles of government.
Из всех особенностей авторитаризма ключевой is precisely the absence of pluralism. The one-sidedness of the accepted views may simply exist de facto, and may also be fixed de jure. Restrictions primarily affect large interest groups and political associations. On paper, they can be extremely blurry. For example, authoritarianism allows for the existence of “independent” from the power of parties that are actually either puppet or too insignificant to influence the real state of affairs. The existence of such surrogates is a way to create a hybrid regime. He may have a democratic showcase, but all his internal mechanisms operate according to a general line, set from above and not allowing objections.
Зачастую авторитаризм является лишь ступенькой на ways to totalitarianism. The state of power depends on the state of the state institutions. Totalitarianism cannot be built overnight. In order to form such a system, it takes some time (from several years to decades). If the government has embarked on the path of the final “crackdown”, then at a certain stage it will still be authoritarian. However, as the totalitarian order becomes legal, it will increasingly lose these compromise features.
Under an authoritarian system, power can leaveremnants of civil society or its individual elements. However, despite this, the main political regimes of this kind rely only on their own vertical and exist separately from the majority of the population. They regulate themselves and reform themselves. If citizens are asked for their opinions (for example, in the form of plebiscites), this is done “for a tick” and only in order to legitimize the established order. The authoritarian state does not need a mobilized population (as opposed to a totalitarian system), because without a firm ideology and widespread terror, such people will sooner or later oppose the existing system.
В чем еще сильно отличается демократический и undemocratic regime? In both cases, there is an electoral system, but its position is quite different. For example, the US political regime depends entirely on the will of citizens, while in an authoritarian system elections become a sham. An overly powerful government can use administrative resources to achieve the necessary results in referendums. And in presidential or parliamentary elections, she often resorts to clearing the political field, when people are given the opportunity to vote only for the “right” candidates. In this case, the attributes of the election process are preserved externally.
With authoritarianism, an independent ideology canbe replaced by the supremacy of religion, tradition and culture. With the help of these phenomena, the regime makes itself legitimate. The emphasis on tradition, a dislike for change, conservatism - all this is typical for any state of this kind.
Authoritarianism is a general concept.It can be attributed to a variety of control systems. Often in this series there is a military-bureaucratic state, which is based on military dictatorship. For such a power is characterized by the absence of ideology. The ruling coalition is a union of the military and bureaucrats. The US political regime, like any other democratic state, is somehow connected with these influential groups. However, in a system regulated by democracy, neither the military nor the bureaucrats occupy a dominant privileged position.
The main goal of the above authoritarian regime- suppress active groups of the population, including cultural, ethnic and religious minorities. They can pose a potential danger to dictators, because they have a better self-organization than the rest of the country’s inhabitants. In a military authoritarian state, all posts are distributed according to the army hierarchy. This can be either the dictatorship of one person or the military junta, consisting of the ruling elite (such was the junta in Greece in 1967-1974).
In the corporate system for non-democraticregimes peculiar monopoly representation in the power of certain interest groups. Such a state occurs in countries where economic development has achieved some success, and society is interested in participating in political life. Corporate authoritarianism is something between a one-party rule and a mass party.
Limited representation doesits easily manageable. A regime that relies on a certain social stratum can usurp power, while at the same time giving handouts to one or more groups of the population. A similar state existed in Portugal in 1932-1968. under Salazar.
A unique form of authoritarianism appeared inthe second half of the 20th century, when numerous colonial countries (primarily in Africa) gained independence from their metropolises. In such societies there has been and remains a low level of well-being of the population. That is why postcolonial authoritarianism was built there “from below”. Key positions acquired elite with few economic resources.
The slogans aboutnational independence, which overshadows any other internal problems. For the sake of preserving imaginary independence in relation to the former metropolis, the population is ready to give power to any government levers. The situation in such societies traditionally remains tense, it suffers from its own inferiority and conflicts with its neighbors.
Отдельной формой авторитаризма можно назвать так called racial or ethnic democracy. Such a regime has many features of a free state. It has an electoral process, but only representatives of a certain ethnic stratum are allowed to take part in elections, while the rest of the country’s inhabitants are thrown overboard in political life. The position of the rogue or enshrined de jure, or there is a de facto. Within privileged groups, there is competition typical of democracy. However, the existing inequality of races is a source of social tension. The unfair relationship is maintained by the power of the state and its administrative resource. The most striking example of racial democracy is the recent regime in South Africa, where the policy of apartheid was paramount.
