Guided democracy

Last updated

Guided democracy, also called directed democracy [1] and managed democracy, [2] [3] is a formally democratic government that functions as a de facto authoritarian government or, in some cases, as an autocratic government. [4] Such hybrid regimes are legitimized by elections, but do not change the state's policies, motives, and goals. [5] [ page needed ]

Contents

In a guided democracy, the government controls elections such that the people can exercise democratic rights without truly changing public policy. While they follow basic democratic principles, there can be major deviations towards authoritarianism. Under managed democracy, the state's continuous use of propaganda techniques prevents the electorate from having a significant impact on policy. [5] [ page needed ]

The concept is also related to semi-democracy, also known as anocracy.

Regimes

Laos under Nosavan

Peru in the 1990s

Poland under Sanacja

The Sanacja regime that governed interwar Poland from 1926 to 1939 [6] is considered an example of guided democracy, during both its first phase from 1926 to 1930, [7] as well as the final 1930-1939 phase. [8] The regime retained much of the structures and institutions of Polish parliamentary democracy, even though Józef Piłsudski exercised such large influence on the government that he "assumed some of the postures of a dictator". [6] [7] The 1935 April Constitution of Poland implemented by Sanacja centralized most state power in the hands of President, but the Polish guided democracy nevertheless stayed pluralistic, even if authoritarian. [8] The opposition sat in the parliament and local governments, and political parties were allowed to function legally. [6]

Polish historian Andrzej Chojnowski  [ pl ] notes that elections under Piłsudski's regime were still organised along the principles of parliamentary democracy, [6] and the Sanacja regime was genuinely popular as the opposition parties were blamed for failing to prevent the Great Depression. [9] Writing about late Sanacja, Antony Polonsky stated that even after 1930, "parties survived, the press was fairly free, criticism was allowed", thus maintaining the system of guided democracy. [10] While the actions of the opposition were hampered, repressions were rare and only two parties were banned: Camp of Great Poland and National Radical Camp. [6] [11]

Indonesia under Sukarno

After World War II, the term "guided democracy" was used in Indonesia for the approach to government under the Sukarno administration from 1959 to 1966. [12]

Russia under Putin

The term "managed democracy" has been used to describe the political system of Russia under Vladimir Putin by former Putin advisor Gleb Pavlovsky, [13] by media, [14] [15] and by Russian intellectual Marat Gelman. [16]

Singapore under PAP

Singapore under the People's Action Party (PAP) has been mentioned in the context of guided democracy. [17] [18] [19] Proponents of this view point to the party's dominant position in parliament, which they argue limits effective political competition. Additionally, they raise concerns about restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly, which they see as hindering the ability of opposition voices to gain traction. [18] However, supporters of the PAP counter that its sustained electoral success reflects broad public approval for its governance, emphasizing the party's focus on economic development, social stability, and national unity. They further argue that Singapore's specific circumstances, including its diverse ethnic makeup and historical vulnerability, necessitate a strong and stable government, which the PAP's model is said to provide.[ citation needed ]

United States under lobbyism

A man holding an American flag with corporate logos substituting the stars Corporate America flag - September 15, 2007.jpg
A man holding an American flag with corporate logos substituting the stars

In his book Democracy Incorporated, Sheldon Wolin contends that the United States has transformed into a managed democracy dominated by corporate power and the interests of the wealthy elite. Lobbying plays a central role in this system, as corporations and wealthy individuals use their financial resources to influence legislation and policy decisions in their favor. [5] [ page needed ]

Wolin highlights several key points about the influence of lobbying and the nature of the managed democracy: [5] [ page needed ]

Wolin's concept of managed democracy describes a system that is hiding the rule of a powerful elite behind a democratic facade. This elite uses its influence and financial resources to shape public opinion and manipulate the political system to serve its own agenda. [5] [ page needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

In political science, a political system means the type of political organization that can be recognized, observed or otherwise declared by a state.

Sanation was a Polish political movement that was created in the interwar period, prior to Józef Piłsudski's May 1926 Coup d'État, and came to power in the wake of that coup. In 1928 its political activists would go on to form a Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government (BBWR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Democracy (Poland)</span> Polish political party

National Democracy was a Polish political movement active from the second half of the 19th century under the foreign partitions of the country until the end of the Second Polish Republic. It ceased to exist after the German–Soviet invasion of Poland of 1939.

The term "illiberal democracy" describes a governing system that hides its "nondemocratic practices behind formally democratic institutions and procedures". There is a lack of consensus among experts about the exact definition of illiberal democracy or whether it even exists.

The Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government was a "non-political" organization in the interwar Second Polish Republic, in 1928–35. It was closely affiliated with Józef Piłsudski and his Sanation movement. Its major activists included Walery Sławek, Kazimierz Bartel, Kazimierz Świtalski, Aleksander Prystor, Józef Beck, Janusz Jędrzejewicz, Wacław Jędrzejewicz, Adam Koc, Leon Kozłowski, Ignacy Matuszewski, Bogusław Miedziński, Bronisław Pieracki, Adam Skwarczyński, and Janusz Franciszek Radziwiłł.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish Socialist Party</span> Political party in Poland

The Polish Socialist Party is a socialist political party in Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church and politics</span> Interplay of Catholicism with religious, and later secular, politics

The Catholic Church and politics concerns the interplay of Catholicism with religious, and later secular, politics. The Catholic Church's views and teachings have evolved over its history and have at times been significant political influences within nations.

The Alliance of Democrats is a Polish centre-left party. Initially formed in 1937, the party underwent a revival in 2009, when it was joined by liberal politician Paweł Piskorski, formerly a member of the Civic Platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leszek Moczulski</span> Polish historian and politician

Robert Leszek Moczulski is a Polish historian and politician, a member of various organizations, first supporting then supposedly opposing the communist regime in the People's Republic of Poland while dividing the opposition movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1930 Polish parliamentary election</span>

Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 16 November 1930, with Senate elections held a week later on 23 November. In what became known as the Brest elections, the pro-Sanation Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government took 47% of the vote and 249 of the 444 seats in Sejm and 77 of the 111 seats in the Senate. The elections are known as the least free elections in the Second Polish Republic due to the Brest trial controversy.

A Piłsudskiite was a political supporter of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, the founder of the First World War Polish Legions and the first Chief of State of the Second Republic of Poland. The Piłsudskiites had a major influence on the politics of Poland during the interwar period (1918–1939).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popular National Union</span> Political party in Poland

Związek Ludowo-Narodowy was a Polish political party aligned with the National Democracy political movement during the Second Polish Republic, gathering together right-wing politicians with conservative and nationalist opinions.

Sovereign democracy is a term describing modern Russian politics first used by Vladislav Surkov on 22 February 2006 in a speech before a gathering of the Russian political party United Russia. According to Surkov, sovereign democracy is:

A society's political life where the political powers, their authorities and decisions are decided and controlled by a diverse Russian nation for the purpose of reaching material welfare, freedom and fairness by all citizens, social groups and nationalities, by the people that formed it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piłsudski's colonels</span>

Piłsudski's colonels, or the colonels' regime, dominated the government of the Second Polish Republic from 1926 to 1939. In some contexts, the term refers primarily to the final period (1935–1939), which followed the death of their mentor and patron, Józef Piłsudski.

Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and the rule of law. Political scientists have created many typologies describing variations of authoritarian forms of government. Authoritarian regimes may be either autocratic or oligarchic and may be based upon the rule of a party or the military. States that have a blurred boundary between democracy and authoritarianism have some times been characterized as "hybrid democracies", "hybrid regimes" or "competitive authoritarian" states.

Inverted totalitarianism is a system where economic powers like corporations exert subtle but substantial power over a system that superficially seems democratic. Over time, this theory predicts a sense of powerlessness and political apathy, continuing a slide away from political egalitarianism.

A hybrid regime is a type of political system often created as a result of an incomplete democratic transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one. Hybrid regimes are categorized as having a combination of autocratic features with democratic ones and can simultaneously hold political repressions and regular elections. Hybrid regimes are commonly found in developing countries with abundant natural resources such as petro-states. Although these regimes experience civil unrest, they may be relatively stable and tenacious for decades at a time. There has been a rise in hybrid regimes since the end of the Cold War.

Authoritarian capitalism, or illiberal capitalism, is an economic system in which a capitalist market economy exists alongside an authoritarian government. Related to and overlapping with state capitalism, a system in which the state undertakes commercial activity, authoritarian capitalism combines private property and the functioning of market forces with repression of dissent, restrictions on freedom of speech and either a lack of elections or an electoral system with a single dominant political party.

Maciej Kisilowski is a Polish academic. He is associate professor in law and strategy at Central European University as well as the faculty director of CEU Executive MBA program. He is an expert on public-sector strategy as well as nonmarket strategy of businesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic backsliding by country</span>

Democratic backsliding, also known as autocratization, is the decline in democratic qualities of a political regime, the opposite of democratization.

References

  1. ↑ Sultana, Tasneem. (2012). The Evolution of Democracy through the Ages: Focus on the European Experience. 28. p. 38. "[Guided democracy] is also called Directed Democracy."
  2. ↑ E. Akıllı, H. Tabak, O. Tufekci, A. Chiriatti. (2017). Eurasian Politics and Society: Issues and Challenges. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN   9781443891820 , 1443891827. p. 158.
  3. ↑ Rohmann, Chris (2000). A World of Ideas: The Dictionary of Important Ideas and Thinkers. Ballantine Books ISBN   978-0-345-43706-8
  4. ↑ Vanbergen, Graham (March 28, 2024). "Democracy: The Political Assault On Civil Society". The Economic Times . Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Wolin, Sheldon S. (2008). Democracy Incorporated: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN   978-0-691-13566-3.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Chojnowski, Andrzej (2009). Rządy pomajowe. ISBN   978-83-11-11629-0 . Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Plach, Eva (2006). The Clash of Moral Nations: Cultural Politics in Piłsudski's Poland, 1926–1935 (PDF). pp. 13–14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-12-12. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  8. 1 2 di Gregorio, Angela (2021). "European and Polish constitutionalism in the aftermath of WW1". DPCE Online. 48 (3): 31. doi:10.57660/dpceonline.2021.1388. ISSN   2037-6677.
  9. ↑ "Kalendarium wydarzeń - Kalendarium - Polska.pl". Wiadomosci.polska.pl. Archived from the original on January 18, 2007. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  10. ↑ Polonsky, Antony (1972). Politics in Independent Poland 1921-1939: The Crisis of Constitutional Government. Oxford University Press.
  11. ↑ Andrzej Friszke, Henryk Samsonowicz (2010). "Józef Piłsudski". KSAP XX LAT (PDF). pp. 349–379. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-07. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  12. ↑ Lindsey, Tim (2021-08-20). "Soeharto: the giant of modern Indonesia who left a legacy of violence and corruption". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  13. ↑ Weir, Fred (October 1, 2003). "Kremlin lobs another shot at marketplace of ideas". The Christian Science Monitor . Archived from the original on 2012-07-24. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  14. ↑ Sauer, Pjotr (2023-12-08). "Vladimir Putin to run for Russian president again in March 2024". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  15. ↑ Shukla, Sebastian; Chernova, Anna; Sebastian, Clare; Picheta, Rob (2024-02-08). "Russian anti-war election candidate barred from running against Putin". CNN . Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  16. ↑ "Managed Democracy". The Moscow Times . July 8, 2005. Archived from the original on 2014-08-15.
  17. ↑ Shen, Rujun (March 23, 2015). "All roads lead to Singapore: Asians study Lee Kuan Yew's mantra". Reuters.
  18. 1 2 Han, Kirsten (2024-08-07). "Opinion: Opposition Victories Force a Crack in Singapore's Carefully Managed Democracy". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2024-08-04.
  19. ↑ "Does democracy hurt or help growth in the tiger economies of Asia?". The Economist. December 5, 2019. ISSN   0013-0613 . Retrieved 2024-08-04.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.