Authoritarian 2

Authoritarianism

Why does Authoritarianism or Democracy prevail in particular region at a particular time?

Common Characteristics of Authoritarian Regimes: Wealthy, elite class, closely linked to the ruler or rulers. Regime tied to structure/function of the economic system. Maintenance of Status Quo at virtually all cost. No tolerance for opposition. Few political and civil liberties. Military often has a key role in governance.

Three broad classifications: Personal dictatorships (tyrannies) Military oligarchies (juntas) Dynastic regimes (monarchies)

Personal dictatorships: Three basic aims (according to Aristotle): 1. to break spirit of subject 2. to breed mutual mistrust “Tyranny is never overthrown until men can begin to trust one another.” 3. to make subjects incapable of action

Tyrants usually gain power through force or fraud (coup or rigged elections). May start out as military officers, charismatic politicians, or even religious gurus. Examples: Saddam Hussein (Iraq), Idi Amin (Uganda), Castro (Cuba), Manuel Noriega (Panama), Trujillo (Dominican Republic), Somoza(s) (Nicaragua), Pinochet (Chile), Charles Taylor (Liberia), Sukarno (Indonesia), Chavez? (Venezuela). Tyrants/Dictators often use military to maintain power, but should not be confused with Military Rule.

Military Regimes: Only exist where military rule has been institutionalized May be a “first among equals,” but rule is not personalized, and executive may be replaced from within the institution Executive power may also be in form of a junta: group of high ranking officers.

Typically come to power via coup d’etat. Between 1958 and 1969: 88 military coups in 52 countries

Dynastic Rule/monarchy: Existed nearly everywhere until the 20th century Kings, Queens, Emperors, Sultans, Czars, Emirs Absolute power is hereditary. Continue to rule in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Brunei, Tonga and a few other places

Key element of totalitarianism: an all encompassing, monolithic party organization that functions like a state within a state. Party possesses the real power Controlled by an absolute dictator Decisions made in secret. Secret police intimidate and mobilize society. EX: Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Soviet Union, China, perhaps Cuba.

“the Arabs, I think are singled out primarily because, unlike most other peoples of the developing world…. they have resisted assimilating western ways….or capitulating to western values….so they are seen as a threat…and armed with oil and the ability to make war or peace with Israel….are thought to be in a position to translate that threat into actions that affect the industrialized world…..” --Edward Said

Egypt: Ottoman/British domination  National Movement 1952: massive popular unrest

coup

military junta led by Gamal Abdel Nasser

dictatorship, cult of personality

Nasser = nationalist, anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist Wanted Egypt free of foreign interference Also anti-communist Used a tactic common among dictators: find a large enemy

Pan-Arabism: Promotion of Arab identity across countries to unify fragmented Middle East against Western imperialism and “the evil” of Zionism

For many Egyptians Nasser = hope for self-determination

Iran: 1921-1925: Rheza Kahn became first Shah of the Pahlavi Dynasty Program of modernization and secularization. Ruled with iron fist. Justified? Abdicated to his son, Mohammad Reza. Continued modernization (including vote for women). But modernization not popular among land owners and religious leaders.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leading cleric, who opposed Shah’s reforms

Growing resistance to Shah  Shah’s regime became more repressive

Revolution of 1979, Ayatollah consolidated power

In short: The Shah(s) attempted modernization, a chaotic process =unsettling and often leads to a strong hand to instill order When threat to tradition became too great, another strong hand stepped in and fought for the cause of religion, and traditional culture

Three Dynamics: 1. Accommodation 2. Co-optation of critical elites 3. Coercion

Accommodation: exploitation of national symbols Ex: revival of indigenous cultures and traditional values Goal = to neutralize popular desires for liberalization/modernization.

Congo  Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (ha!))

Mobutu Sese Seko nee Joseph Mobutu

Co-optation: privileges in exchange for cooperation = network of patron-client relationships.

Coercion: violence/imprisonment in exchange for lack of cooperation.

Examples in Africa: Guinea: Sekou Toure, 19581984

Personalistic, repressive rule Ruling party = the state Members of other ethnic groups exiled, imprisoned, or“disappeared” His death  power vacuum, filled by military

Uganda: Idi Amin 1971-1979

Referred to as “Africa’s Adolph Hitler” Approx. 300,000 people killed Another 60,000 people of Asian descent forced into exile

Uganda: Remained under military rule after Amin’s exile 2001 elections

Liberia: Charles Taylor, 1997-2003

Former rebel leader Elected president in 1997 Used rape, torture and slave labor to maintain control His personal wealth estimated as larger than Liberia’s GDP Currently indicted for war crimes at the Hague.

Taylor on trial

His successor: Johnson-Sirleaf

Provisional authoritarian regimes: ostensibly transitional, to prepare country for future constitutional government Often military regimes Corrective goals: to rescue nation Sometimes provisional regimes turn over power to civilian, constitutional governments More often they don’t Ex: Ghana, Nigeria, Sudan, Uganda

Ghana: Success Story? Jerry Rawlings

1979: Led a military coup, then returned country to civilian government 1982-1992: Retook country as military strongman 1992-2001: Democratically elected “civilian” president

Authoritarian tradition also prevalent in Latin America Colonial legacy Greater polarized between rich and poor than in other parts of world Polarization generally runs along racial lines Every country in Latin America has a history of either personal dictatorship or military dictatorship

Bonapartism: Strong figure (personalistic dictator) who takes care of problems, gets things done, and instills order

Some suggest that democracy will never take root in Latin America because anytime things get a little hairy, a country cries out for a Bonaparte to come to the rescue

Liberal Dictators of mid to late 19th century: Modernization at a price Little long-term planning

Protest or failure to play along  Crackdown

Same tactics of cooptation and coercion In Latin America = pan o palo (bread or stick) politics

Pan: Same old patron-client relations Dictator protects elite’s interests in exchange for support/legitimacy Dictator must constantly keep bread flowing to elite  endemic corruption

Palo: same old political repression against opposition

In Latin America at least, Military Regimes are far more brutal than Personalistic Dictatorships

Military dictatorships tend to use the “common enemy” tactic (e.g. communism, crime) to suspend civil liberties, commit arbitrary arrests and/or commit genocide (e.g. villages “sympathetic” to the enemy) Since 1950: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Dominican Republic (every country but Cuba (a personalistic dictatorship), Costa Rica and Colombia).

Why is authoritarianism a political option that remains viable even today? How does political culture fit in? How is a country to install the “chaos of democracy” among a people who have never known it?