Political Regimes
Types of Political Regimes (1)
Robert Dahl (1971)’s ‘polyarchy’
• A polyarchy: A form of
government with political power
rested with the people
• 2 Dimensions
• Contestation captures the extent
to which citizens are free to
organize themselves into
competing blocs in order to press
for the policies and outcomes they
desire.
• Inclusion has to do with who gets
to participate in the democratic
process.
Types of Political Regimes (1)
A polyarchy is a political
regime with high levels of
both contestation and
inclusion.
Measuring Political Regimes (1): Democracy-
Dictatorship Measure
Cheibub, Gandhi, Vreeland (2010)’s Democracy-Dictatorship measure
• A country is classified as a democracy only if all of the following conditions
apply:
• The executive is elected: The chief executive must be chosen by popular election or by a
body that was itself popularly elected.
• The legislature is elected: The legislature must be popularly elected.
• More than one party competes in elections: There must be more than one party
competing in the elections.
• Alternation in power under identical electoral rules:
• “We take Przeworski's (1991,10) dictum that "Democracy is a system in which parties lose elections" quite
literally: whenever in doubt, we classify as democracies only those systems in which incumbent parties
actually did lose elections. Alternation in office constitutes prima facie evidence of contestation. Alvarez,
Cheibub, Limongi and Przeworski (1996).”
Japan’s Ruling Party
Measuring Political Regimes (1): Democracy-
Dictatorship Measure
https://sites.google.com/site/joseantoniocheibub/datasets/dd
Types of Political Regimes (2): Liberal Democracy
Reality: more and more dictators hold elections
Reaction: Election + !
• Now in addition to election, set of values of a country is important for
defining democracy
!1: Civil Liberty (Dahl, 1989, p. 221)
: Freedom that governments commit not to abridge
Types of Political Regimes (2): Liberal Democracy
!2: Rule of Law (Diamond, 2002, p. 213)
• All citizens are treated equally
• çè Rule by decree: laws are made by a small number of people (or one
person) and applied differently to different people
• https://www.modernghana.com/videonews/bbc/7/434319/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo-MASTzLVY
Types of Democracies
Measuring Political Regimes (2): Freedom
House Index
Political Rights (0–40 points) • Civil Liberties (0-60 points)
• A. ELECTORAL PROCESS • D. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND BELIEF
• A1. Was the current head of government or other • D1. Are there free and independent media?
chief national authority elected through free and
fair elections? • E. ASSOCIATIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL RIGHTS
• A2. Were the current national legislative • E2. Is there freedom for nongovernmental
representatives elected through free and fair organizations, particularly those that are engaged in
elections? human rights– and governance-related work? (Note:
This includes civic organizations, interest groups,
• B. POLITICAL PLURALISM AND PARTICIPATION
foundations, think tanks, gender rights groups, etc.)
• B2. Is there a realistic opportunity for the • F. RULE OF LAW
opposition to increase its support or gain power • F1. Is there an independent judiciary?
through elections?
• F4. Do laws, policies, and practices guarantee equal
treatment of various segments of the population?
• C. FUNCTIONING OF GOVERNMENT • G. PERSONAL AUTONOMY AND INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS
• C1. Do the freely elected head of government and • G1. Do individuals enjoy freedom of movement,
national legislative representatives determine the including the ability to change their place of residence,
policies of the government? employment, or education?
Measuring Political Regimes (2): Freedom
House Index
• (Liberal) Democracy scores
Aggregate_Category_and_Subcategory_Scores_FIW_2003-2024.xlsx (live.com)
Types of Dictatorships (Authoritarian Regimes)
Dictatorship
• Characteristic: Lack of democratic
components (i.e., elections, civil liberties,
and the rule of law)
• Types:
• Hereditary head of government
• Monarchic dictatorship: King or Queen has
absolute governmental power
• Non-hereditary head of government
• Military dictatorship
• Civilian dictatorship
• Dominant-party dictatorship
• Personalistic dictatorship
Heads in Dictatorships (Authoritarian Regimes)
Performance of Authoritarianism
Authoritarian Regime’s performance
• Lower spending on social
programs than democracies
• Higher death rates than
democracies
• Higher corruption rates than
democracies • Residents: Those who can choose the leader
(registered voters/those who have the right to vote)
• Selectorate (S): Those who really choose the leaders
(those who cast a vote)
• Winning Coalition (W): Those whose support translates
into victory
Persistence of Authoritarian Regimes
Population by Political Regime Type
Despite widespread democratization,
• 2/5 of the world's population live under
authoritarianism
• Authoritarianism revived (e.g., Egypt)
Institutions and Authoritarian Persistence
Elections
• Authoritarian regimes sometimes hold elections to demonstrate their
legitimacy, and those that hold regular elections tend to last longer than
those that do not (Gandhi & Przeworski 2007).
• How are elections held?
• To stay in power, rulers can create institutions, such as moderate ‘opposition’ parties
(e.g., A Just Russia in Russia), to encourage moderate ideas for policy-making and to
pre-empt radical opposition.
è Such institutions may blur the divide between democratic and authoritarian
regimes
Popular Acceptance and Authoritarian
Persistence
Terror
• Authoritarian regimes rely on
terror to maintain their rule
• Suppress dissidents
Reward/Award
• Elaborate systems of awards for
authoritarian rules using sources
like natural resources
• Maintain supporters
