Essays on Authoritarian Regimes

Introduction

It seems difficult to analyze democratic transition from the standpoint of international dimension both theoretically and practically because not so much literatures that discuss about what the external environment actually is and how it might contribute to domestic change (Cavatorta 2005). However, it does not mean that international context will be ignored in the analysis process because international factors might have impacts on the transition process through their connections with domestic actors particularly in terms of distribution of power and resources, which in turn have effect on how they will act (Cavatorta 2005). One thing to remember is a ...

Conflicts in the African continent are notorious with their complexity. There are host of reasons for that. These include the complicated history of Africa, especially of the last several centuries when existing divergences were accentuated by the presence of colonists who imposed new circumstances and conditions. These also include many natural reasons stemming from climate conditions and geopolitical situation of Africa. These include as well the ethnical and tribal divergences that turned out to be the major fueling factor in the conflict that set it ablaze for almost fifteen years. There is one thing I am going to make ...

Question two

Totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political structure whereby the state does not recognize the limitation of its authority from any sector and it monopolizes power hence regulating all aspects in its jurisdiction such as the public and the private perspectives. This kind of political system is characterized by some elements which are opposed to a democratic environment. Totalitarianism is associated with autocratic were nobody can resist the power and authority of the president since that is a criminal issue highly punishable by law (ppt.2).

Features of totalitarianism

Absolute military control is an aspect which is experienced in Totalitarian State whereby citizens are not ...

A fundamental problem facing new democracies is the hijacking of the political process by elites. Economic performance is affected by elite politics leading to underdevelopment and sometimes morphing into political violence. The transition from colonial regimes to democracy has been subverted by the harm that was done by the colonial subversion of traditional institutions in favor of artificial Western ones. This provided an opening for the rise of elites and the rule of ‘the big men’ (Owusu, 1992). What role do elites play in transition to democracy or its opposite? This paper seeks to provide an analysis on how ...