FIGURE 12.3 Excergt fom a Socilogy Textbook Essay Preparation Strategies * 309 Political Systems in Global Perspective Paoltial systems as we know them today have evolved slowly Inthe earliest societies, paltios was not an entity separate from other aspects of life. Political institutions. first emerged in agrarian societies as they acquired surpluses and developed greater social inequality. Elites took control of politics and used custom or traditional Authority to justify their position. When cities developed cirea 3800-3000 a.c-, the city-state—a city whose power extended to adjacent areas—became the center of, politcal power. Nation states as we knaw them began to develop in Europe between the twelfth anc fifteenth centuries (see Tilly, 1975). A nation-state is a unit of political organization that has recognizable national boundaries and whose citizens possess specific legal rights and obligations. Nation-states emerge as countries develop specific geographic teritories and acquire greater ability to defend their borders, Improvements in communication and transportation make it possible for people ina larger ‘geographic area to share 2 common language and culture. Ais charismatic and traitional authority are superseded by rational—legal authority, legal standards come to prevail in all areas of lite, and the nation-state claims a monopoly cover the legitimate use of force (Kennedy, 1983). Approximately 190 nation-states currently exist throughout the world; today, everyone is born lives, and dies under the auspices of a nation-state (see Skocpol and ‘Amenta, 1986). Four main types of political systems are found in nation states: monarchy, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, and democracy, Monarchy Monarchy is a political system in which power resides in ‘one person or family and is passed from generation to generation through lines of inheritance. Monarchies are ‘most common in agrarian societies and are associated with traditional authority patterns. However, the relative power ‘of monarchs has varied actoss nations, depending on religious, political, and economic conditions. Absolute monarchs claim a hereditary right to rule (based on membership in a noble family) or a divine right to rule (a God-given right to rule that legitimizes the ‘exercise of power). In limited monarchies, rulers depend (on powerful members of the nobility to retain their thrones. Unike absolute monatchs, limited monarchs are not considered to be above the law. In constitutional ‘manarchies, the royalty serve as symbolic rulers or heads of state while actual authority is held by elected officials in national parliaments, In present-day monatchies such as the United Kingdom, Sweden, Spain, and the Netherlands, ‘members of royal families primarily perform ceremonial functions. Inthe United Kingdom, for example, the media often focus large amounts of time and attention on the royal family, especially the personal lives ofits members. Recently, the European Union (of which the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands are all members) has also received mecia attention as a form of governmental cooperation across national boundaries but rot one that weakens the powers of the present-day rmanarchies. ‘Authoritarianism ‘Authoritarianiem is political system controlled by rulers ‘who deny popular participation in government. A few authoritarian regimes have been absolute monarchies hose rulers claimed a hereditary right to thei position, Today, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are examples of authoritarian absolute monarchies. In dictatorships, power is gained and held by a single individual. Pure ictatorships are rare; all rulers need the support of the military and the backing of business elites to maintain their position, Miltary juntas result when military officers seize power from the government, as has happened in recent decades in Argentina, Chile, ané Halt Today, authoritarian regimes exist in Fidel Castro's Cuba and in the People's Republic of China, Authoritarian regimes seek te control the media and to suppress coverage of any topies or information that does not reflect upon the regime in favorable light. Totalitarianism Totalitarianism isa politcal system in which the state seeks to regulate all aspects of people's public and privat lives. Totalitarianism relies on modern technology to manitor and control people; mass propaganda and electronic surveillance are widely used to influence people's thinking and control their actions. One example ofa totalitarian regime was the National Socialist (Nazi) Party in Germany uring World War Il; military leaders there sought to contol all aspects of national life, not just government operations. Other examples include the former Soviet Union and contemporary Iraq before the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. To keep people from rebelling, totalitarian governments enforce conformity: People are denied the right to assemble for politcal purposes, access to information is strictly contrlled, and secret police enforce compliance, creali an environment of constant fear and suspicion, Many nations do not recognize totalitarian regimes as being the legitimate government for a particular country. Aghanistan in the year 2001 was an example. As the war fn terrorism began in the aftermath of the September 11 terorst attacks on the United States, many people veloped a heightened awareness of the Taliban regime, ‘whieh ruled most of Afghanistan and was engaged in fierce fighting to capture the rest of the county. The Taliban regime maintained absolute control over the Afghan people in most of that county. For exampl it (Continues)310 * Chapter 12. Taking Essay Exams FIGURE 12.3 (continued) required that all Muslims take part in prayer five times ‘each cay and that men attend prayer at masques, where women were forbidden (Marquis, 2001). Taliban leaders claimed that their actions were based on Muslim law and ‘espoused a belief in never-ending jihad-—a struggle against one's perceived enemies. Although the totalitarian nature of the Taliban regime was difficult for many people, it was particularly oppressive for women, who were viewed by this group as being "biologically, religiously and prophetically” inferior to men (McGeary, 2001: 41), Consequently, this regime made the veil obligatory and banned women from public life. U.S. government officials believed that the Taliban regime was protecting Osama bin Laden, the man thought to have been the mastermind behind numerous terrorist attacks on U.S. eilizens and facilities, both an the mainland and abroad. As a totalitarian regime, the Taliban leadership was recognizes by only three other governments, despite controling most of Afghanistan Once the military action commenced in Afghanistan, most of what U.S, residents learned about the Talioan and about the war on terrorism was based on mecia accounts and “expert opinions" that were voiced on television. According to the politica analyst Michael Parenti (1998), the media play a significant role in framing the information we receive about the politcal systems of other countries. As discussed in previous chapters, framing refers to how news is packaged, including the amount of exposure given to a story, its placement, the positive or negative tone of the story, the headlines and photographs, and the accompanying visual and aucitory effects if the story is being broadcast. In politics and government, framing isnot limited to information we receive about other countries: It can be used to frame a political agenda in this country, as wal Democracy ‘Democracy isa political system in which the people hold the ruling power either directly or through elected representatives. The literal meaning of democracy is “rl by the people” (rom the Greek words demos, meaning "the people,” and kratein, meaning "to rule”). In an idea: type democracy, people would actively and directly rule themselves. Direct participatory democracy requires that citizens be able to meet together regularly to debate and ecide the issues of the day, However, if all 295 million people in the United States came together in one place for meeting, they would occupy an area of more than seventy square miles, and 2 single ound of five-minute speeches would require more than five thousand years (based on Schattschneider, 1968), In countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, people have a voice in the government through representative democracy, whereby citizens elect representatives to serve as bridges between ‘themselves anc the government. The U.S. Constitution requires that each state have two senators and a minimum of one member in the House of Representatives, The current size of the House {435 seats) has not changed since the apportionment fllawing the 1910 census. Therefore, based on Census 2000, those 435 seats were reapportoned based an the increase or decrease in a slate's population between 1990 and 2000. Ina representative democracy, elected representatives are supposed to convey the concerns and interests of those they represent, and the government is expected to be responsive to the wishes of the people. Elected officials are held accountable to the people through elections. However, representative democracy is not always equally accessible to all people in a nation, Throughout U.S. history, members of subordinate racal-ethnic groups have been {nied full participation in the democratic process. Gené fang social class have also limited same people's democratic participation. For example, women have not always had the same rights as men. Full voting rights were note gained by women until the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. Even representative democracies are not all al AAs compared to the winner-takes-all elections in the United States, which are usually decided by who wins the most votes, the majority of European elections are based on 2 system of proportional representation, meaning that each pary is represented in the national legislature according to the proportion of votes that party received. For example, 2 party that won 40 percent. of the vote would receive 40 seats in a 100-seat legislative body, and a party receiving 20 percent of the votes would receive 20 seats. Source: Test material from Diana Kendall, Sociology in Our Times, 6th ed, (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2007), pp. 450454 would use in your answer. Then take a few minutes and organize it. Finally, outline your answer. Think back to the active study strategies that you learned in Chapter 10, Planning your answer is an active preparation strategy that incorporates all of the IGOW strategies (identify, condense, organize, and write). Gather Information An easy way to gather information is to treat each question separately. Write each question across the top of a large piece of paper. Then open your text and your notes to that section of the material. Start to look for information that you would