The awareness of sociologists and political scientists of such a phenomenon as a political system came back in the middle of the 20th century. This term implies a wide range of legal norms and institutional bodies that determine the life of society as its form.
In the same period, the main types of the political system of society were identified. Each of these types has characteristic features in the relations between power and the population and in the way this power is exercised. The types of modern political systems are quite diverse already because different countries and states in different parts of the world went through completely unique historical conditions, giving them their own civilizational, mental and other features. For example, the democratic system known to every student today could not have arisen in the midst of eastern tyranny. It was the brainchild of the development of European capitalism.
Types of Political System
Current political scientists distinguish between three main types that exist today on the planet, and many mixed options. However, consider the main ones.
Types of Political System: Democracy
Modern democratic devices imply a number of mandatory principles. In particular, the separation of branches of power, which is an additional measure of protection against its usurpation; regular removal of government officials through re-election; the equality of all people over state laws, regardless of their official, property status or any other advantages. And the central principle of this concept is the recognition of the people as the bearer of the highest power in the country, which automatically implies the service to this people of all government structures, their right to free change and rebellion.
Types of Political System: Authoritarianism
Although the vast majority of the world community recognizes the democratic system as the most progressive, the usurpation of power sometimes does happen. An example is military coups, continuity from archaic forms, as in some monarchies that have survived to this day.
This system is characterized by the fact that all government powers are concentrated in the hands of a group of individuals or even one person. Often, authoritarianism is accompanied by the absence of a real opposition in the state, a violation by the government of the rights and freedoms of its citizens, and so on.
Types of Political System: Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism at first glance is very reminiscent of an authoritarian system. However, unlike him, here the interference in public life is deeper and at the same time more subtle. Under a totalitarian system, citizens of the state from an early age are brought up in the belief that it is this ideology, power, and path that are the only true ones. Thus, in totalitarian systems, power gains much more tenacious control over the spiritual and social life of society.
