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INTRODUCTION TO UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT: Foundations of Government Categories of Government According to Number of Rulers: Overview In their writings, Plato and Aristotle described and analyzed the state in terms of autocracy, oligarchy, and democracy—the rule of one, several, or many. Both Plato and Aristotle advocated the type of government that was ruled by an educated elite, that is, an aristocracy; however, throughout the city-states of Greece they observed all forms of government. Still used today, these categories are outlined below. Autocracy The power and authority to rule are in the hands of a single individual. Sovereignty is in the hands of one—the king, queen, AUTOCRACY emperor, tsar, dictator, etc. Totalitarian Monarchy Dictatorship Power usually Power usually inherited acquired by force Oligarchy A small group holds the power to govern. The power is derived from wealth, military power, social position, education, or OLIGARCHY some combination of these. Sovereignty is in the hands of a few. Communist Aristocracy Military Junta Totalitarianism Power derived from Power derived from Power claimed to be wealth, education, military strength derived from people, and/or social position but actually in hands of a few Democracy A government in which the people hold the power to rule, either directly or through elected officials, i.e., “rule by DEMOCRACY the ruled.” Sovereignty is in the hands of the people. Direct Representative Democracy Democracy Power derived Power derived from directly from the the people through people elected representatives © 2004 The Moschovitis Group, Inc. Published by Facts On File, Inc. All electronic storage, reproduction, or transmittal is copyright protected by the publisher..

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Myanmar Country Report BTI 2006
Myanmar Status Index 1.88 Management Index 2.04 (Democracy: 1.65 / Market economy: 2.11) Population 49.5 Mio. HDI 0.578 Population growth1 1.8% GDP p. c. ($, PPP) n/a Women in Parliament parliament not convened Unemployment rate n/a Poverty2 n/a UN-Education Index 0.76 Gini-Index n/a Source: UNDP: Human Development Report 2005. Figures for 2003 – if not indicated otherwise. 1Annual growth between 1975 and 2003. 2 Population living below $ 1 (1990-2003). A. Executive summary Myanmar today is still an authoritarian regime ruled by a military junta that suppresses all avenues of dissent, including the media and public protest. The regime leaves no room for independent civic organizations to develop, but uses vast resources to repress its citizens and deny all basic freedoms. Some 2000 political prisoners are still kept under arrest. Some hopes were raised in 2002 that the regime would relax its control on the National League for Democracy (NLD), Myanmar’s biggest opposition party, when it freed the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest. Yet, these hopes were dashed again in May 2003, when the military ordered a clampdown against the opposition and the re-detention of Suu Kyi. The renewed house arrest for the opposition leader triggered widespread criticism from the international community. The military junta answered with the announcement of a roadmap to a “disciplined democracy” in September 2003, which also included plans for a new constitution, a popular referendum and fresh multiparty elections. The NLD was invited to participate in the proceedings but opted to boycott the National Convention after the military declined to free Suu Kyi.
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Autocracy and Anocracy.*
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A Sequential Theory of Decentralization and Its Effects on the Intergovernmental Balance of Power: Latin American Cases in Comparative Perspective
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A Model of Praetorian States
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The Perfect Dictatorship? Comparing Authoritarian Rule in South Korea and in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico1
The Perfect Dictatorship? Comparing Authoritarian Rule in South Korea and in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico1 Jorge I. Domínguez Harvard University Abstract The Perfect Dictatorship: Comparing Authoritarian Rule in South Korea and in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico What is a “perfect dictatorship”? Such a regime provokes little societal resistance at installation. Its leaders act jointly to consolidate the regime and to broaden the support coalition by agreeing upon succession rules to rotate the presidency within the authoritarian regime. They delegate policy-making authority to civilians in areas of their competence. They emphasize consultation, not open contestation, prefer cooptation to repression, eschew ideological appeals, compel social actors into regime-licensed organizations, and deactivate civil society. South Korea under Park Chung Hee is compared on these dimensions to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico, all at a time when authoritarian regimes governed them. Prepared for delivery at the 2002 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, August 29-September 1, 2002, Boston. Panel 11-25. Copyright by the American Political Science Association. Authoritarian rule established through an act of force, such as a military coup, poses several distinct challenges to the authoritarian ruler. The first is how to install the regime, that is, how to survive past the initial moments of the overthrow of the old regime in order to establish a pattern of rule that will last. This requires reducing the need for initial repression, consolidating unity within the coup leadership group, and arranging for succession rules in order to stabilize and broaden the support coalition for the new dictator.
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Burma Coup Watch
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The United States and the Greek Coup of 1967
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