Political regime is a way of organizing the state system, which reflects the attitude of society and government. There are three main groups of the regime: totalitarian, authoritarian, democratic. A combination of the two is often used.
Political regime is a term that first appears in the works of Socrates, Plato and other ancient Greek philosophers. Aristotle singled out right and wrong regimes. He attributed the monarchy, aristocracy, and polity to the first type. The second - tyranny, oligarchy, democracy.
What is a political regime?
It is a way of organizing a political system. It reflects the attitude to power and society, the level of freedom, the nature of the prevailing political orientation. These characteristics depend on various factors: traditions, culture, conditions, historical component. Therefore, different states cannot have two absolutely similar regimes.
A political regime is being formed due to the interaction of a huge number of institutions and processes:
- the degree of intensity of the course of various social processes;
- the form of the administrative-territorial structure;
- type of power-managerial behavior;
- the consistency and organization of the ruling elite;
- the presence of the correct interaction of the officials' apparatus with the society.
Institutional and sociological approaches to the definition
The institutional approach brings together, merges the political regime with the concept of a form of government, a state system. Because of this, it becomes part of constitutional law. It is more typical of the French state. Previously, within the framework of this approach, three main groups of regimes were distinguished:
- mergers - absolute monarchy;
- division - presidential republic;
- cooperation - a parliamentary republic.
Over time, this classification became additional, since it mainly defined only government structures.
The sociological approach differs in that it focuses on social foundations. Under him, the concept of the regime is considered in a more volumetric manner, assuming a balance in the relationship between the state and society. The regime is based on a system of social ties. For this reason, regimes change and are measured not only on paper. The process requires the interaction and movement of social foundations.
The structure and main characteristics of the political regime
The structure is made up of a power-political organization and its structural elements, political parties, public organizations. It is formed under the influence of political norms, cultural characteristics in their functional aspect. In relation to the state, one cannot speak of an ordinary structure. Of paramount importance is the relationship between its elements, the ways of forming power, the relationship of the ruling elite with ordinary people, the creation of prerequisites for the realization of the rights and freedoms of each person.
Based on the structural elements, the main features of the legal regime can be distinguished:
- the ratio of different types of government, central government and local government;
- the position and role of various public organizations;
- political stability of society;
- the order of work of law enforcement and punitive bodies.
One of the important characteristics of a regime is its legitimacy. It means that laws, the Constitution, and legal acts are the basis for making any decisions. Any regimes, including tyrannical ones, can be based on this characteristic. Therefore, today legitimacy is the recognition of the regime by the masses, based on their convictions about which political system of society meets their convictions and interests to a greater extent.
Types of political regimes
There are a lot of varieties of political regimes. But modern research focuses on three main types:
- totalitarian;
- authoritarian;
- democratic.
Totalitarian
Under him, such a policy is formed so that it is possible to exercise absolute control over all aspects of the life of society and the person as a whole. He, like the authoritarian type, belongs to the undemocratic group. The main task of the government is to subordinate the way of life of people to one undividedly dominant idea, to organize power in such a way that all the conditions for this are created in the state.
- The difference between a totalitarian regime is ideology. It always has its own "Bible". The main features include:
- Official ideology. She completely denies any other order in the country. It is needed to unite citizens and build a new society.
- Monopoly on the power of a single mass party. The latter practically absorbs any other structures, starting to perform their functions.
- Control over the media. This is one of the main disadvantages, since the information supplied is censored. Total control is observed in relation to all means of communication.
- Centralized control of the economy and bureaucratic management system.
Totalitarian regimes can change, evolve. If the latter appears, then we are talking about a post-totalitarian regime, when the previously existing structure loses some of its elements, becomes more blurred and weak. Examples of totalitarianism are Italian fascism, Chinese Maoism, German National Socialism.
Authoritarian
This type is characterized by a monopoly on the power of one party, person, institution. Unlike the previous type, authoritarianism does not have a single ideology for all. Citizens are not repressed just because they are opponents of the regime. It is possible not to support the existing system of power, it is enough to simply endure it.
With this type, there is a different regulation of different aspects of life. The deliberate depoliticization of the masses is characteristic. This means that they know little about the political situation in the country, practically do not take part in solving issues.
If under totalitarianism the center of power is one party, under authoritarianism the state is recognized as the highest value. Among people, class, estate and other differences are preserved and maintained.
The main features include:
- a ban on the opposition's work;
- centralized monistic power structure;
- maintaining limited pluralism;
- lack of the possibility of non-violent change of the ruling structures;
- using structures to hold on to power.
In society, it is believed that an authoritarian regime always implies the use of rigid systems of political government, which uses coercive and forceful methods of regulating any processes. Therefore, law enforcement agencies and any means of ensuring political stability are important political institutions.
Democratic political regime
It is associated with freedom, equality, justice. All human rights are respected in a democratic regime. This is its main plus. Democracy is democracy. It can be called a political regime only if the legislative branch was chosen by the people.
The state provides its citizens with broad rights and freedoms. It is not limited only to their proclamation, but also provides a basis for them, establishes constitutional guarantees. Thanks to this, freedoms become not only formal, but also real.
The main features of a democratic political regime:
- The presence of a Constitution that would meet the requirements of the people.
- Sovereignty: the people elect their representatives, can change them, exercise control over the activities of the state. structures.
- The rights of individuals and minorities are protected. Majority opinion is a necessary but not a sufficient condition.
In a democratic system, there is equality of rights of citizens in the management of state. systems. Any political parties and associations that allow expressing their will can be created. Under such a regime, the rule of law is understood as the supreme rule of law. In a democracy, political decisions are always alternative, and the legislative procedure is clear and balanced.
Other types of political regimes
The three types considered are the most popular. Today you can find republics and countries in which other regimes persist and prevail: military dictatorship, democracy, aristocracy, ochlocracy, tyranny.
Some political scientists, characterizing modern undemocratic regimes, emphasize hybrid species. Especially those that combine democracy and authoritarianism. In this direction, certain provisions are legitimized using various democratic procedures. The peculiarity lies in the fact that the latter are under the control of the ruling elites. The subspecies include dictation and democracy. The first arises when liberalization is carried out without democratization, the ruling elite becomes humble with some individual and civil rights without accountability to society.
In a democracy, democratization takes place without liberalization. This means that elections, a multi-party system and political competition are possible only to the extent that does not threaten the ruling elite.
