Class notes
Regimes of the Modern World
- Institution
- University Of Cape Town (UCT)
These notes are a detailed summary of the third week of POL1004F at UCT: Regimes of the Modern World.
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Regimes of the Modern WorldCreated @March 6, 2022 12:11 PM
Class POL1004F
Type Lecture
Materials
Reviewed
Key Issues
What is the difference between governments, political systems, and regimes?
What is the purpose of classifying systems of government?
On what basis have, and should, regimes be classified?
What are the systems of rule in the modern world?
Does the future belong to democracy or authoritarianism?
Traditional Systems of Regime Classification
Governments, Political Systems, and Regimes
government: the institutional processes through which collective and usually binding
decisions are made - who rules
political system: a network of relationships through which government generates
policies in response to the demands of the general public
regime: a set of arrangements and procedures for government that outline the location of
authority (a system of rule) - how they rule
The Purpose of Classifying Political Regimes
Regimes of the Modern World 1
, classification aids in the understanding of politics and government
understanding in politics relies heavily on comparisons of different cases
highlighting similarities/differences helps those who study politics develop theories
and concepts about politics and governments around the world
thus, classifying political regimes makes it easier to compare and understand
different political systems
classification facilitates evaluation, rather than analysis
most who study politics also want to improve government, and are searching for an
‘ideal’ political regime
Critiques of Classification
oversimplification
by grouping political regimes together, one runs the risk of disregarding the
differences between them in favour of the similarities
a term may have different meanings in different parts of the world, and this is not
always taken into account
biases
there is always some implicit bias/prejudice which may hinder one’s ability to
classify opposing political regimes objectively
state-bound
classification assumes all countries are coherent entities
viewed as parochial in light of globalization
Ways of Classifying Political Regimes
classical typology
devised by Aristotle in the 4th century BCE
based on the questions ‘who rules’ and ‘who benefits’
government can either be held by an individual, small group, or big group
from this came 6 forms of government
Regimes of the Modern World 2
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