Non-Democratic Governments: Authoritarianism, Totalitarianism, and Dictatorship

Non-Democratic Governments: Authoritarianism, Totalitarianism, and Dictatorship
1/11/17, 8'31 AM
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Non-Democratic Governments: Authoritarianism,

Totalitarianism, and Dictatorship
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Unlike democracy, authoritarianism and totalitarianism are forms of government

where an individual or a single-party concentrates all power.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
Discuss the central features and types of undemocratic governments
KEY POINTS
An authoritarian government is characterized by highly concentrated and centralized power
maintained by political repression and the exclusion of potential challengers. It uses political parties
and mass organizations to mobilize people around the goals of the regime.
An autocracy is a system of government in which a supreme political power is concentrated in the
hands of one person; by contrast, a single-party state is a type of party system government in which no
other parties are permitted to run candidates for election.
Totalitarianism is an extreme version of authoritarianism it is a political system where the state holds
total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life wherever
necessary.
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A dictatorship (government without people's consent) is a contrast to democracy (government whose

power comes from people) and totalitarianism (government controls every aspect of people's life)
opposes pluralism (government allows multiple lifestyles and opinions).
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an
individual: a dictator. In contemporary usage, dictatorship refers to an autocratic form of absolute rule
by leadership unrestricted by law, constitutions, or other political factors in the state.
TERM
Autocratic
Of or pertaining to autocracy or to an autocrat; absolute; holding independent and arbitrary powers of
government.
EXAMPLE
The concept of totalitarianism was first developed in a positive sense in the 1920s by Italian fascists.
The concept became prominent in Western anti-communist political discourse during the Cold War era
in order to highlight perceived similarities between Nazi Germany and other fascist regimes on the one
hand, and Soviet communism on the other.
FULL TEXT
Introduction
Authoritarianism is a form of social organization
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characterized by submission to authority as well as

the administration of said authority. In politics, an authoritarian government is characterized by highly
concentrated and centralized power maintained by political repression and the exclusion of potential
challengers. It uses political parties and mass organizations to mobilize people around the goals of the regime.
Authoritarianism emphasizes arbitrary law rather than the rule of law, including election rigging and political
decisions being made by a select group of officials behind closed doors. Authoritarianism is marked by
"indefinite political tenure" of an autocratic state or a ruling-party state.
An autocracy is a system of government in which a supreme political power is concentrated in the hands of
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one person, whose decisions are subject to neither external legal restraints nor regularized mechanisms of
popular control. By contrast, a single-party state is a type of party system government in which a single
political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election.
Typically, single-party states hold the suppression of political factions, except as transitory issue oriented
currents within the single party or permanent coalition as a self-evident good. The Communist Party of
China's single-party rule of the People's Republic of China is a prominent contemporary example .
Communist Party of China

XVII Congress of the Communist Party of China held in 2007.
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianismis an extreme version of authoritarianism. Authoritarianism primarily differs from
totalitarianism in that social and economic institutions exist free from governmental control. By contrast,
totalitarianism is a political system where the state holds total authority over the society and seeks to control
all aspects of public and private life wherever necessary. The term 'an authoritarian regime' denotes a state in
which the single power holder - an individual 'dictator,' a committee or a junta or an otherwise small group of
political elite - monopolizes political power. However, a totalitarian regime attempts to control virtually all
aspects of the social life, including economy, education, art, science, private life, and morals of citizens. The
concept became prominent in Western anti-communist political discourse during the Cold War era in order to
highlight perceived similarities between Nazi Germany and other fascist regimes on the one hand, and Soviet
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communism on the other.

Political scientists Carl Friedrich and Zbigniew Brzezinski were primarily responsible for expanding the usage
of the term in university social science and professional research, reformulating it as a paradigm for the Soviet
Union as well as fascist regimes. For Friedrich and Brzezinski, the defining elements were intended to be
taken as a mutually supportive organic entity composed of the following: an elaborating guiding ideology; a
single mass party, typically led by a dictator; a system of terror; a monopoly of the means of communication
and physical force; and central direction, and control of the economy through state planning. Such regimes
had initial origins in the chaos that followed in the wake of World War I, at which point the sophistication of
modern weapons and communications enabled totalitarian movements to consolidate power.
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Zbigniew Brzezinski (1977)

A number of thinkers, including Zbigniew Brzezinski, have argued that Nazi and Soviet regimes were
equally totalitarian.
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an
individual: a dictator. In contemporary usage, dictatorship refers to an autocratic form of absolute rule by
leadership unrestricted by law, constitutions, or other social and political factors within the state.
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For some scholars, a dictatorship is a form of government that has the power to govern without consent of
those being governed (similar to authoritarianism), while totalitarianism describes a state that regulates
nearly every aspect of public and private behavior of the people. In other words, dictatorship concerns the
source of the governing power and totalitarianism concerns the scope of the governing power. In this sense,
dictatorship (government without people's consent) is a contrast to democracy (government whose power
comes from people) and totalitarianism (government controls every aspect of people's life) opposes pluralism
(government allows multiple lifestyles and opinions).
The wave of military dictatorships in Latin America in the second half of the twentieth century left a particular
mark on Latin American culture. In Latin American literature, the dictator novel challenging dictatorship is a
significant genre. There are also many films depicting Latin American military dictatorships.
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Referenced in 2 quiz questions
Which of the following is the main dierence between authoritarianism and

totalitarianism?
Which of the following characteristics are part of authoritarian governments?
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KEY TERM REFERENCE
candidate
Appears in these related concepts: The Candidates, Policy Preferences, and The
Mission of Human Resource Management
consent
Appears in these related concepts: Commander-in-Chief, Advice and Consent, and
Powers Denied to Congress
constitution
Appears in these related concepts: The 16th Amendment, Protecting Citizens
from Other Governments, and Democracy
democracy
Appears in these related concepts: Theories of Democracy, Democratic
Governments, and Introduction
election
Appears in these related concepts: The 22nd Amendment, Presidential Candidates,
and Electing Candidates
government
Appears in these related concepts: Forms of Government, Thinking Politically,
and Span of Government
junta
Appears in these related concepts: Intervention in Latin America, Clinton and Foreign
Policy, and Non-Democratic Governments: Monarchy, Oligarchy, Technocracy, and Theocracy
monopoly
Appears in these related concepts: Rockefeller and the Oil Industry, Definition of
Perfect Competition, and Robber Barons and the Captains of Industry
pluralism
Appears in these related concepts: External Sources of Social Change, Capitalism
in the U.S., and Public Interest Groups
political party
Appears in these related concepts: Nominating Candidates, Political Parties,
and Party Organization
politics
Appears in these related concepts: Functions of the State, Politics, and Why Politics
Matters
rule of law
Appears in these related concepts: Establishing Justice, Privacy Rights and
National Security, and From Political Values to Ideology
scope
Appears in these related concepts: Dynamically Crafting your Message, Results of the
1946 Act, and Scoping Your Topic
state
Appears in these related concepts: The Declaration of Independence, Politics, and
Article IV
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term
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Appears in these related concepts: Basics of Graphing Polynomial Functions, Social
Regulation, and Introduction to Variables
totalitarianism
Appears in these related concepts: Dictatorship and Totalitarianism, Issues
with the Traditional Political Spectrum, and Authority
SOURCES
Boundless vets and curates high-quality, openly licensed content from around the Internet. This
particular resource used the following sources:
"Boundless."
http://www.boundless.com/
Boundless Learning CC BY-SA 3.0.
"Authoritarianism."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authoritarianism
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
"Totalitarianism."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totalitarianism
"Single-party state."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-party_state
"Autocracy."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocracy
"Dictatorship."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictatorship
"Autocratic."
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Autocratic
Wiktionary CC BY-SA 3.0.
"Communist Party of China."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_China
"Brzezinski 1977."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brzezinski_1977.jpg
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Wikipedia Public domain.

"XVII Congress CPC."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:XVII_Congress_CPC.JPG
Wikipedia Public domain.
CITE THIS SOURCE
Source: Boundless. Non-Democratic Governments: Authoritarianism, Totalitarianism, and Dictatorship. Boundless

Political Science Boundless, 19 Sep. 2016. Retrieved 11 Jan. 2017 from https://www.boundless.com/politicalscience/textbooks/boundless-political-science-textbook/american-politics-1/forms-of-government-19/non-democraticgovernments-authoritarianism-totalitarianism-and-dictatorship-115-11223/
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