Authoritarianism

One of the questions that Blaydes (2010), Svolik (2012), Magaloni (2006) and Gandhi (2008) all address is the following one: why do nominally democratic institutions, such as parliament elections, often exist in the authoritarian countries? In this paper, I consider an example of Putin’s Russia and show that the explanations offered in these books do not fit very well to this particular case. Instead, I argue that the democratic institutions in Russia exist mainly due to the necessity of some…

In Albert Camus’ novel, “The Stranger”, the absurdist themes of the meaninglessness of human life, living in the moment, irrationality, and lack of conformity to the values of society are best exemplified through the relationships that the protagonist, Meursault, has with those around him. Camus’ characterisation of his anti-hero makes us question the way we must fit into other people’s expectations of our own behaviour, thus forcing us to lie in order to find a secure place within society.…

The Hunger Games Panem’s government is under the control of a single person named President Snow. President Snow is a dictator, he misuses his personal power and does not have to convince anyone that his plans are rational. In a dictatorship, power is absolute and all decisions of the dictator are law, no matter what harm could be caused by them. Panem could be considered to be under an authoritarian dictatorship where the dictator demands obedience to his authority over any desire for…

Many different ideas were covered throughout the class of Modern World History this semester. But, imagine living a life completely controlled by the government, where citizens are brainwashed to accept beliefs and ideologies without questioning. From events in WWI to the atrocities in WWII to the brutal Cold War, this class thoroughly went over many important lessons that has happened in our past. However, despite the many topics, the one idea that stood out the most was the method of enforcing…

The table above lists the characteristics of each country during the time each of these oil spills took place. While understanding the characteristics of these countries during the oil spills was important, understanding how each of these characteristics affected the response differently, was the goal of this research project. The rest of this section is served to look at each of the how each of the four independent variable (Democracy, GDP, Institutional Gridlock, and Corruption) influenced the…

Totalitarianism is defined as a system of government that attempts to control all aspects of its society (Lansford). Throughout the past two centuries, there has been an increase in this style of government around the world. From Russia to China, from Iraq to Germany, these leaders control their countries with absolute power. Because of how powerful these leaders control is, their power must be constantly maintained and in order to do so, the leaders go to great lengths to ensure their unlimited…

Editing information, another aspect of totalitarianism, is terrifyingly prevalent in the 2016 election. Donald Trump, the forty-fifth President of the United States, has had one of the most controversial campaigns in history. Many question how he moved from a life of hosting TV shows to the White House so easily. The answer is simple: his use of falsehoods to psychologically manipulate the public. Trump’s presidency has been full of lies. Whether you are a supporter or not, it is clear that he…

The world is structured to be of many components and ideas where humans dwell on such premises. Without each other, the act of living would be much harder to suffice and rather pointless. In the light of a notion, we don’t need each other for the sake of competition, but for the sake of peace and minimal chaos within society. If everyone in the world were to compete against each other, society would still be paralyzed in the prehistoric era, where civilization barely got the chance to start…

The Significance of State Institutions: A Comparison between Norway and Ethiopia There are several different ways in which a state can choose to govern its citizens. The two types of government that are frequently analyzed and structurally oppose one another are authoritarian versus democratic regimes. The main difference between a democracy and an authoritarian regime is that a democracy is comprised of a government that reflects the wants of its citizens. On the other hand an authoritarian…

Introduction For many years, the U.S has been known to be a country that thrives on democracy. In other words, the U.S most closely resembles a democratic regime. However, many now believe this to be false. The U.S is now being viewed an authoritarian regime. The U.S. still possesses democratic ideals. It does not possess any aspect of an authoritarian regime. Democratic Regimes Regimes are much more complex than states and governments. Regimes are often perceived in a negative way. When one…