Voting often refers to the collective action where the peoples’ preferences, ideologies and wills speak out for themselves. Even in non-democractic, authoritarian regimes, elections do exist and voter turnouts tend to incorporate a large percentage of the population. Even more commonly in authoritarian regimes, candidates are repeated for years and even for decades and the results are often predetermined. Elections in non-democractic regimes exist in different levels; however, they rarely offer opportunities for changing the existing regime. According to Lisa Blaydes, a professor in the Department of Political Science in the University of California, Los Angeles, elections in these non-democractic regimes are essential for several reasons. Egypt, for example, chooses to hold elections due to constant pressure from the United States and global institutions to be more democratic. Furthermore, elections are crucial for the survival of the regime on its own. Furthermore, elections also allow the regime to find out its’ supporters against its’ opponents (Magaloni, 2006.)
Political life in authoritarian regimes (notably Jordan and Egypt from the articles read) divides society into two: the wealthy minority who run as candidates and buy votes and the poor majority of citizens who sell themselves to the “highest bidder”. Often, results in authoritarian regimes are pre-determined and the candidates are repeated for years and several decades as well. Why then, do people in such regimes have the incentive to vote? Despite the fact that these votes rarely account for a change in the regime, the results are significant and imples the nature of the political sphere in authoritarian regimes.
Voting in authoritarian regimes could be ca...
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...hat they are doing over and over again. They first need to be properly educated in order to realise that. Voting for autocrats in authoritarian regimes because of survival can prevent them, since people want to survive. But if the same candidates are elected over and over again, and the same people are still not capable of surviving, except in times of election, people must understand and be able to see the pattern. Most importantly, I would also question and interrogate those in the upper classes of the society. For example, I would like at how they have managed to obtain a decent quality of life and whether or not it came from members of the regime that they had personal ties. It is interesting to see why they don’t vote and despite that, how they maintain their living. How come they don’t change what’s going on if it isn’t acceptable and why aren’t they bothered?
In many real and fictionalized totalitarian societies, children live apart from their families. I believe that dictatorial leaders enforced this living arrangement because they don’t want parents to influence their children, to make sure people are loyal to the society, and to maintain everyone equal. They do this so that they have total control over their society.
Authoritarianism is more likely to exist in countries that have not yet experienced a high degree of modernization. This is because, without modernization, many of the fundamental institutions thought to be required for democracy are not yet thoroughly developed. These institutions include intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and the emergence of an economic middle class. In fact, it is highly correlated that a middle class is a vital requirement for the existence of democracy. However, modernization by itself does not always mean that the end result will be a democracy. For instance, if modernization occurs in some urban areas but lags behind in the rural areas it could be destabilizing to democratic institutions. Poverty is also strongly linked to authoritarianism although it alone is not a correlation.
Many countries have decided against having a totalitarian government system, but there still are countries that continue with running their country with authoritarianism. The Middle East persists on having an authoritarianism style government over having a democracy. Theories that prove to be true to Middle Eastern people of how a totalitarian government is better relate to economics, religion, and international involvement. People living in the Middle East want to avoid having political liberation because that can lead to a consistent and stable democratic government. Another reason keeping them from changing is that since their countries aren’t struggling economically, the citizens don’t see it necessary to elect new leaders. The countries in the Middle East region decide to continue with authoritarianism because the fear and pain is greater than the feeling of freedom.
Freedom and equality are intertwined with one another. Freedom is defined as the custom of being free, political independence, and the possession of civil rights. When reflecting upon the history of the twentieth century many people all over the world were not afforded the luxury of being born with freedom or born with equal rights. In most cases, those people were often oppressed or subjugated by various forms of systematic state sponsored authoritarianism and terror. In order to receive the freedom necessary to survive and the equality required to live a happy and successful life the oppressed people had to take action. Often times the action took on various forms such as, revolts or nonviolent campaigns. Because the governments reliance on authoritarianism and terror to control their citizens, often times revolts and/or nonviolent campaigns were the consequence. Therefore, any advances towards gaining freedom and equality cannot happen without some form of systematic state-sponsored authoritarianism and terror taking place first. It is no coincidence because the two phenomena are linked.
In comparing the average citizen in a democratic nation, say the United States, to that of a non-democratic nation, for instance Egypt, it will be found that the citizen in the democratic nation is generally better off – free of persecution, free from fear of the authorities, and free to express his opinions on governmental matters. And while national conflicts occur everywhere, incidents like violent revolts have shown to be more prevalent in nations where citizens are not allowed to choose who governs them. It is slightly paradoxical that democracy, so inherently flawed in theory, can lead to such successful outcomes in practice. The question, then, becomes: “If democracy has so many weaknesses, why does it work?”
In the Quran it is said that: "Let there be no compulsion in religion."(2:256) If someone does not want to believe God and obey his rules, he cannot be forced to do. If even God's rules cannot be imposed by using force, a person can never have the right to impose his own rules by using power. Although all Muslim dictators claim that their state is the most Islamic one, this is evidence that dictatorships are un-Islamic. Dictators know that what they say is not true, but they also know that gaining and staying in power is much easier by hiding their aims under the cover of Islam. As Mir Zohair Husain, professor in University of South Alabama, says,
In his book International Politics on the World Stage John T. Rourke (2008) states that governments range from the strict authoritarian at one end of the spectrum to a completely unfettered democracy at the other end (p. 78). His definition of an authoritarian style government is a “political system that allows little or no participation in decision making by individuals and groups outside the upper reaches of the government” (p. G-1). Those of us who live in a country that has a democratic government may find it difficult to understand why people who live in countries with authoritarian governments do not revolt and change their system of government, but in fact a truly democratic system of government is a relatively new concept in the age of man.
...ly repressed and discriminated in every sphere of social life. The people in autocracies generally cannot form interest groups and show persistence in their desire to improve their lives by competition, which further leads to the weakening of the state on the whole. In the end, the crucial question for autocracies remains whether they could stay for longer periods as they are essentially inherently unstable. The extreme case of what might happen next if the aforementioned issues are not sufficiently addressed might be observed via focusing on the recent Arab Spring events when the enduring autocratic regimes were overthrown and challenged across many states in Middle East. How they will further evolve as a governmental entity and whether they could resolve the issues without turning democratic should be the interesting case to research on in the foreseeable future.
Throughout history different types of instrumental regimes have been in tact so civilizations remained structured and cohesive. As humanity advanced, governments obligingly followed. Although there have been hiccups from the ancient times to modern day, one type of government, democracy, has proven to be the most effective and adaptive. As quoted by Winston Churchill, democracy is the best form of government that has existed. This is true because the heart of democracy is reliant, dependent, and thrives on the populaces desires; which gives them the ability for maintaining the right to choose, over time it adjusts and fixes itself to engulf the prominent troubling issues, and people have the right of electing the person they deem appropriate and can denounce them once they no longer appease them. In this paper, the benefits of democracy are outlined, compared to autocratic communism, and finally the flaws of democracy are illustrated.
... due to privilege. This might make people who are living under illegitimate and unauthentic power rise up and contest the ruling party. The people can have another nature too. If the people have illegitimate intentions, they will support illegitimate rule and vice versa.
French writer Milan Kundera mentioned in his work The Book of Laughter and Forgetting “Totalitarianism is not only hell, but all the dream of paradise-- the age-old dream of a world where everybody would live in harmony, united by a single common will and faith, without secrets from one another.” We have heard about totalitarian systems before, although it is often confused with fascism. Totalitarianisms is the ideology that everyone in an existing society will be the same and treated equally under law and govern of one single political party, creating a balanced perfect harmonious living.
The book 1984, written by George Orwell, focuses on a man named Winston Smith. Winston lives in a society where citizens are taught to hate each other and children are told to betray their parents. Fear is a part of every person’s daily lives and as if that was not enough, citizens are kept busy for the entire day so that thoughts of rebellion or things other than their leader “Big Brother” are kept at bay. If a person is to go against the rules set forth by “Big Brother” and his party then torture or worse would be implemented. This novel, written by George Orwell clearly displays how to maintain a thriving totalitarian society.
The current challenges of democracy around the world should prioritize each encounter that should be addressed through networks, global gatherings, and various activities. As a continuous concern, the progress of democracy discusses various strategies and activities. These various strategies and activities lead to lessons that are learned in advancing democracy, making democracy deliver, strengthening democratic fundamentals, and more current challenges. Democracy faces threats from every spectrum as the threats surge the need to reinforce democratic forces through aid and greater international solidarity. Each country reflects on a certain assessment towards the current status of democracy.
In a democracy, free and fair elections which are held after around half a decade, guarantee social rights and equality. These elections ensure that every citizen has the right to vote, and hence they create social stability among the society. Each and every individual casting his vote in the elections reduces discrimination among the people. Citizens are not judged on the basis of religion, race, color, social status and so on. In this way, the dignity of nationals is not damaged and people can live in peace. In addition to voting rights, a democracy also assures access to other services like security, education, property rights, and healthcare facilities. These human rights maintain social equity and involv...
Actually, democracy is deemed to be a difficult form of government regardless if it is favourable circumstances or not. It seems to be all the more difficult when society’s economic environment is weak, civil society is still developing, and finally ...