Okila Kosimbekova

POLT 1080: Introduction to Comparative Politics

Professor: Dr. Michael Rossi

December 11, 2022

The Final Essay

 PART 1.

1. Hybrid Regime. It is a type of a democracy structure that conceives of partly conversion

from authoritarianism to democracy. It is a political system that is new, and not strong

yet. As before countries were only democratic or authoritarian, and after the end of

communism and the flourishing of globalization, there was an opinion that authoritarian

regimes would become democratic. However, in the 90s it becomes clear that countries

are making semi-conversions. They were not fully switching to democracy, by still

remaining somehow free. And this new type of regime was called the ‘Hybrid Regime’.

The authoritarian foundation of hybrid regime results from the imperfect democratic

transition. Political repression and infrequent elections are made possible by hybrid

regimes, which blend authoritarian and democratic aspects as Dr. Rossi says. The term

“hybrid regime” refers to a number of political regimes that reject the opposition between
 democracy and authoritarianism. Hybrid regimes are a defining characteristic of

resource-rich nations like oil nation. The administration is powerful and solid just like

this. Such countries as Mexico. Nigeria, Serbia, Colombia, Egypt and few others are

considered to be in number of those who has hybrid regime.

2. Fascism. This complex term can be looked at from different perspectives. When it is

considered as a type of government, like a fascist county, it can be defined as a “vocation

of the Far Right” (Comparative Politics-Understanding of Fascism, Dr. Michael Rossi),

i.e. it might have had some sort of ideological fundament in radicalism. In simple words,

fascism is usually an authority where society is under tight control and is not permitted to

express disagreement to its dictatorial government. The Nazi government that was ruled

by Hitler until the end of the Second World War is a great example of a fascist

government, however it was all done for the sake of the country, which means that it does

not always carry something like a negative and “incorrect” message as it stereotypically

thought to be. Fascism brings society together, its power is in unity. Generally, it has

many definitions. Some use the terms political ideology, mass movement, or collection of

political actions to describe it. The main characteristics of fascism are disputed, despite

the fact that most definitions agree that it is a totalitarian system that promotes

nationalism at any cost. Modernism, defined as “ism”, individualism, feminism and

others always have opposed fascists. Fascist regimes also ruled in other countries, but

most often they are associated with the governments of Italy and Germany that came to

power after the First World War.

3. National populism. Firstly, populism itself is a form of democracy that is distinct from

conservative structures of politics, and it has clear goals for the government. And when it

comes to national populism now, it is similar to populism and has its ideas, but all the

ethnic groups are seen and used by it as “good versus bad” (Populism and National

Populism, Dr. Michael Rossi, 2020). And it is seen as more authoritarian and more
 illiberal. National populism has become widely applicable in developed states. The

example of leaders that support and use national populism was Donald Trump when he

was the president of the US back in the days. Also, such politician leaders as Ross Perot,

Bernie Sanders, Sarah Palin and others were great supporters of populism.

4. Totalitarianism. It is viewed as authoritarian and also centralized system of government

requiring full subordination to the government, is run by a single political party and has

full control over society, politics and economics of the government. Soviet Union, back

in the days, was a totalitarian government for instance. Also nowadays, North Korea is

still considered as a totalitarian state, as well as Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.

Mostly, totalitarian governments are ruled by dictators. And those, in turn use harsh

methods such as trespassing human rights to keep people under control and demand to

take part in votes. The overlapping roles and responsibilities within government create an

incomprehensibly complex bureaucracy that gives the false impression of a functional

separation of powers that is antithesis of totalitarian regimes and control all media as well

as literature. Through this control, dictatorships can create a constant stream of

propaganda aimed at forcing them believe in something and ignoring the hopelessness of

its situation. To achieve military goals, totalitarian regimes own and control all aspects of

the economy, including capital also. This makes the individual economic incentives of

capitalism impossible.

5. Sultanism. Sultanism is a political regime that is under control of a family that rules the

country and is considered as its property. Their laws are whatever that the leaders say.

(Theories of Authoritarianism, Dr. Michael Rossi). The examples of sultanistic regimes

are North Korea that is ruled by Kim Jong II, Syria and others. The ruler of a sultanistic

government has a choice to accept the general philosophy of sultanism but he/she never

does it. Bound by all norms and ideologies including his/her own. As M. Weber in

“Economy and Society” says, “initially the sultan had maximum power. Doing a person’s
 will, such as paramilitaries and gangs. Sultanism tends to emerge at the limit of accepted

rules. The administration and the army are purer instruments of the sovereign. Sultanism

is somehow a form of control that operates primarily at will. On the other hand,

traditional aspects are not described in impersonal terms. It consists only of a significant

enlargement of the sovereign’s freedom of action. This is what sets it above all other

forms of logical authority.

6. Sovereign democracy. It is considered as a society where Russia determines and controls

political authority, its decisions in order to promote material well-being, freedom and

justice for all its citizens, social groups, nations, and those who participate in political life

of the country. On February 22, year 2006, there was gathering of the political party in

Russia, when Vladislav Surkov said that “supernational democracy is the political life of

society, in which political power, its powers and decisions are determined” while

describing the “sovereign democracy”. Managed by various states of Russia in order to

achieve prosperity and freedom for its people, social groups by those who formed it.

Legislative elections in which the Russian Federation, led by Putin, formally became the

leading and guiding force in Russian society, similar to the Communist Party of the

Soviet Union, without forming a government. Putin’s plan outlined the specific goals and

directions of sovereign democracy.

7. Cultural revolution. The Cultural Revolution was a political movement created by Mao

Zedong and it existed from 1966 till 1976. Its goal was to bring over China to real

socialism. During that time, Mao Zedong saw the current political movement as a way to

revive the communist revolution by strengthening doctrine and eliminating enemies. His

number one goal was to destroy the perceived class enemies from his CCP and to destroy

state affairs throughout Chinese society. Mao assembled a powerful alliance of extreme

party cadres, loyal military leaders and student youth. The rebels defended him and used

his unrivaled political charisma to abandon his brand of communist theory known as
 ‘Mao’s ideas’. The cultural Revolution effectively destroyed the economy, claimed

millions of lives, and plunged China into a decade of chaos, violence and stagnation.

Millions of people were persecuted during the Cultural Revolution, and senior CCP

officials engaged in a number of violent power conflicts that resulted in the huge

demolition of historic structures. Two million people died in total. One of his victims,

Chinese president Liu Shaoqi, was harshly chastised and assaulted, imprisoned without a

trial, and he passed away in solitary confinement as a result of medical complications.

8. Post-totalitarianism. It is a political system that replaced totalitarianism, but retained

some of its features. The Soviet Union can be a perfect example of it. AS experience has

shown, full-fledged regimes are changed only due to external influences. However

authoritarian regimes can change from within due to internal dynamics within totalitarian

governments. The pluralism of society, the confrontation between the powerful and the

populace, and the escalation of ethnic and national and national conflicts are indicators to

conversion of totalitarianism into post-totalitarianism. The post-totalitarian states wasted

certain key elements of totalitarianism itself. The economic, social and political changes

have become the key-element of post-totalitariansim.

PART 2.

The question: “How does Vladimir Putin conform to the type of leadership modeled in hybrid

regimes? What is that fine balance between full democracy and full authoritarianism and what

strategies has Putin taken in order to maintain a firm hold on power without abusing that power?

Do you think his hold on power is slipping and might he one day be ousted or do you think he is

the best thing Russia needs right now?”

A lot of things have happened since Vladimir Putin has become the president of Russian

Federation in 1999. It was not expected that he would be ruling the country for such a long time

because he did not really stand out, was a part of KGB, then became the head of FSB of the

Russian Federation. But here he is now, still the president of Russia in 2022, by being voted
through popular vote and won every single time. By concentrating all of his efforts on the armed

forces, Putin was able to accomplish all these expansionist objectives: Crimea, Georgia, and

Ukraine right now. He grabbed people’s attention and won their long-term support. He

suppressed information and outlawed all opposition media. When people do not agree and

support his arbitrary decisions, he threatens them with imprisonment and repress them for years.

These days Russia is obviously a democratic government, and Putin is a dictator, propagandist,

and continues being popular, intimidating and powerful.

Since the 2000s, there has been multipolar model of foreign policy. India, Brazil, China. Some

countries of South Africa were opponents. Russia considers itself as a world leader of

conservatism. The west goes beyond its limits and tries to impose its values on others, especially

Russia.

But right now Russia needs some changes, since the person who used to work in KGB cannot

rule the county as he has the outdated mindset of a ‘warrior’ and acts in a way as a warrior

should act, not the politician. Since it is not the Soviet Union period anymore, this type of ruling

cannot long last for a long time. This type of approach is not working anymore, especially

considering the situation that is going on right now. I mean the war between Ukraine and Russia

exactly. Especially knowing these countries are closest to each other since they have similar past

and culture, the current war is absolutely a catastrophe. Of course when we look back at 90th

when he started, he worked hard for his country and has achieved many magnificent goals,

changed many things for the sake of the country, and helped the country get up from its knees

but now they need more polarization as there is not only one ruling party but several, and not

government decides who rule the country, but the society. Also the citizens of it are not actually

agreed on the action, political system nowadays, that is why they are leaving it these days.