Political Regimes

http://aclu.org/pizza/images/screen.swf

Political regime as organization of governance
The 4 spheres (Judson):
SOCIETY
THE STATE
THE MARKET
GLOBAL INSERTION

POLITICAL REGIME

POLITICAL CULTURE
POLITICAL REGIME

Interactions between the four spheres

State-society relations
How much power does the state have over society?
How is state power regulated?
Which groups, classes, segments of society does the state rely on?
How can society change the state?

State-market relations
What role does the state play in economic life?
Does the state submit to the forces of the market economy, or does it try to control them?
Can the state supplant the market?
Can the market supplant the state?
How do economic crises affect the state?

State-global relations
How independent (sovereign) is a state?
What external forces affect its policies?
Can a state control the flow of capital across its borders?
Can states lawfully intervene in the affairs of other states?

Society-market relations
How does the functioning of the market economy affect the distribution of power in society?
What does it take to succeed in the market?
Does the market economy make society more stable – or does it generate social strife?
How do economic crises affect society?

Society-global relations
How does globalization affect this society?
Which social classes and groups benefit from globalization?
Which social classes and groups suffer from globalization?
Does globalization generate conflicts between societies?
Does globalization foster the growth of transnational ties between societies?
Is a global society emerging?
If it is, how can it be governed?

Market-global relations
How do global markets affect this national market economy?
Is free trade always better than protectionism?

These sets of relations shape the emergence, transformation, and demise of political regimes

Main types of political regimes
Authoritarian
traditional
modern
authoritarian in various degrees
Totalitarian
Right
Left
Democratic (or liberal-democratic)
Revolutionary (formed by insurgent political and social forces overthrowing an old regime)

LIBERAL-DEMOCRATIC
REVOLUTIONARY
AUTHORITARIAN
TOTALITARIAN

REGIME CHANGES

A liberal assumption
There is a strong positive relationship between market economy and political democracy
Development of market economies fosters the rise of political democracies

This assumption is debatable
A market economy may generate social upheavals which may destroy a democratic political regime
A democratic revolution may destroy a market economy
Market authoritarianism is just as possible as anti-market authoritarianism
See the notes for the lecture “Democracy”

Examples of regime change

In September 1973 a right-wing military coup against the democratically elected Popular Unity government destroyed democracy in Chile:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36mju8Hjejk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00kQorWVIsw&feature=fvsr
Inside Pinochet’s prisons:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjM4DyzQu4Y&feature=relmfu

In April 1974, a left-wing military rebellion overthrew the totalitarian regime of Ruben Salazar and led to the creation of a democratic state: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhDXm9fu1P0