Hugo Chavez Authoritarianism

On the other hand, authoritarianism, is a system in which the state hold all power over the social order. It lives on the basic beliefs of strong central power and limited political freedoms and you can typically characterize authoritarian political systems in four different qualities. The first being a sort of limited political pluralism, one that places constraints on political institutions and groups like legislatures, political parties and interest groups. Another quality would be a “basis for legitimacy based on emotion”, identifying necessary evil to combat problems such as underdevelopment or insurgency. The third one is a “minimal social mobilization most often caused by constraints on the public such as suppression of political opponents

For example, in the beginning of the book they state how democracies are still dying but not because of the usual culprits like military coups and violent seizures of power, but by the elected governments themselves. They bring up real life examples like of the government in Venezuela, headed by Hugo Chavez. The freedom in Venezuela was heavily diminished following the decision to elect Hugo Chavez as president and his misguided economic policies ultimately led to a crisis and downfall of the country. It is believed Venezuela’s economic dependence on oil paved the way for Chavez to come to power, which fueled his policies and put pressure on oil prices. Eventually the country went through a downward economic spiral and left the country in declining health. A clear example of an elected part of the government destroying a democracy and a country

The first is to try to prevent authoritarians or certain types of figures from emerging and gaining power in the first place. Political leaders and parties must prevent them from rising to power by keeping them off mainstream party tickets, refusing to endorse or align with them, and making common cause with rivals in support of democratic candidates. The authors discuss how democracy is imperiled when established parties bring extremists into the mainstream. What are political parties? Essentially they are coalitions of groups with intense preferences managed by politicians. These parties play 3 very important roles; the first being party in government, then party in the electorate, and the last is party organization. Party in government is all the elected officials serving in office under the party’s banner, balancing policy goals with electoral needs, and often talking about the influence parties have on members to help achieve policy goals. Party in the electorate is the voting process and acquiring the votes in order to acquire the desired position. Party organization is the formal apparatus of the party which includes party leaders, activists, offices, and headquarters. It emphasizes policy and putting the party in position to win elections. This part is the influence the party has over who represents and makes decisions for the