Political Systems and Theories: Democracy, Monarchy, Republic
Political Systems and Key Theories
Authoritarianism — regimes that favor the appearance of control and diminish political participation by concentrating political power in one person or one body, undermining representative institutions.
- Aristocracy — Political system in which the government is exercised by a minority of citizens in the general interest of society.
- Oligarchy — Political system in which the government is exercised by a minority in the interests of the ruling group rather than the interest of society.
- Autarky — In ancient Greece, this meant the political situation of free cities governed by themselves without being subject to any external authority or power. Auto = self; -archia = power, authority, government. In the philosophical sense, autarky means a state of happiness that, according to Socratic and Hellenistic schools, implies the absence of concern; derived self-sufficiency achieved by dispensing with desire for inaccessible things.
- Contracts — Theory that human society and the state are the result of an agreement or contract between people, not from any other natural or divine origin (Locke, Hobbes, Rousseau).
- Demagoguery — Political rule in which government is exercised to satisfy the desires of the masses rather than the general interest of society.
- Democracy — Political system in which the government is exercised by decisions of the majority of citizens in the general interest of society. Its organization uses parties, associations, and active public citizenship.
Natural Law — Modern theories of natural law (e.g., Grotius, Hobbes) remove its exclusively divine origin and conceive it as the product of reason.
- Monarchy — From mono = single; -archia = power, authority, government. A political system in which a monarch concentrates the powers of the state, usually for life, transmitting that authority by inheritance (a dynastic law). For Aristotle, monarchy is one of the three forms of legitimate government, exercised by one person in the interest of the social community.
- Tyranny — Form of government in which power is exercised by one person for personal benefit. According to Aristotle, tyranny is a corruption of monarchy and, as a corruption of the best, is the worst form of government.
- Theocracy — A form of government in which political leaders align with the leaders of the dominant religion; government policies are identical to or heavily influenced by the principles of the dominant religion. Usually, such governments claim to govern on behalf of God or a higher power.
- Republic — From the Latin res publica = public affairs; a form of government used at some stages in ancient Rome in which rulers were elected and held their positions temporarily.
- State of Nature — A reference used by social-contract theorists to explain the origin of political power. It is based on the idea of man’s situation before the onset of laws, guided by wishes and strength rather than justice (the “war of all against all” — Hobbes).
- State Law — A modern form of government in which the power of kings is replaced by a system of laws (rights). Born from liberal policies, it defends four characteristics: the rule of law, separation of powers, legality of the administration, and respect for and protection of fundamental rights and freedoms.