CPO 2001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Kleptocracy, Resource Curse, Secret Police

• School: University of Florida
• Department: Comparative Politics
• Course: CPO 2001
• Professor: Elischer, Sebastian

Document Summary

Variety of different types of non-democratic systems general category of. A small group of individuals exercises power. Limit, to varying degrees, other public rights. Ideology may or may not play a role (personalistic, military, religious, etc) Terms are often used interchangeably, but different. Totalitarianism seeks to transform total fabric of society through a totalist ideology/approach (rare) Almost inevitable use of force to break people, shatter institutions (violence central) Examples: soviet union under stalin, 1930 1950s, hitler, nazi germany, 1930s 1945, china, cultural revolution 1960s, north korea, but not iraq under saddam hussein. Modernization strong correlation between lack of modernization and nondemocratic rule (but doesn"t equal causation) Modernization can be uneven and cause instability -> instability creates openings for strong leaders who can institute nondemocratic regimes to restore order. Elites in highly unequal societies often reinforce non-democratic structures incentivizing elites to maintain power and resources. State can become a tool to siphon off resources and to keep power consolidated (kleptocracy)