Political Systems

Edwin S. Martin, Ph.D.

UST, Graduate School
 What is Political Systems

Political System refers to the broad spectrum of

how things happen in a political milieu. It is a
coordinated set of principles, laws, ideas and
procedures relating to a form of government. It is
a set of formal institution and practices that
defines a government structure.
 Typologies of Political System According to
Scope of Jurisdiction
1. State/ National Government
2. Sub-State Government
3. Supranational Government
1. State/ National Government (Centralized vs
Decentralized)
A community of persons more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion
of territory, having a government of their own to which the great body of inhabitants
render obedience, and enjoying freedom from external control (H.S. De Leon). Ergo,
the elements of a state are: People, Territory, Government and Sovereignty
(International recognition is an element that is recently arguably added).
Centralized - A centralized government is one in which a small group or
executive at the highest level of government holds all political authority, and all
other political units are subject to it. It is governed by a supreme political authority
that has sovereignty over all other governing bodies.
Decentralized (Deconcentration, Devolution, Deregulation). A Decentralized government is
the process of distributing or dispersing functions, powers, people or things away from a
central location or authority. Political decentralization aims to give citizens or their elected
representatives more power in public decision-making. It is often associated with pluralistic
politics and representative government, but it can also support democratization by giving
citizens, or their representatives, more influence in the formulation and implementation of
policies.
🡪 Deconcentration - often considered to be the weakest form of decentralization and is used
most frequently in unitary states-- redistributes decision making authority and financial and
management responsibilities among different levels of the central government. It can merely
shift responsibilities from central government officials in the capital city to those working in
regions, provinces or districts, or it can create strong field administration or local
administrative capacity under the supervision of central government ministries.
🡪 Devolution - When governments devolve functions, they transfer authority for
decision-making, finance, and management to quasi-autonomous units of local
government with corporate status. Devolution usually transfers responsibilities
for services to municipalities that elect their own mayors and councils, raise their
own revenues, and have independent authority to make investment decisions. In
a devolved system, local governments have clear and legally recognized
geographical boundaries over which they exercise authority and within which
they perform public functions.
🡪 Deregulation - reduces the legal constraints on non-state actors in service
provision or allows competition among private suppliers for services that in the
past had been provided by the government or by regulated monopolies. In recent
years privatization and deregulation have become more attractive alternatives to
governments in developing countries.
2. Sub-state/national Government (Local Govt.,
Autonomous Regions, Federal Govt., Protectorates)
Refers to a subdivision of a state, nation or country. It is
a subsidiary layer of government under the national
central government authority with varying degrees of
dependence on the central government.
Kinds of Sub-states:
🡪 Local Governments – subdivisions of a unitary state.
It constitutes different layers of political and
administrative divisions that aims to facilitate
effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of public
services and public goods. Leadership of which may be
elected by local constituencies or appointed by central
state authority
🡪Autonomous Regions – is a subdivision or dependent
territory of a country that has a degree of self-
governance or autonomy from a national authority.
🡪 Federal States – is a political entity characterized by a
union of partially self-governing states or regions under
a central (federal) government. Federalism is a political
setup where sovereignty is constitutionally shared
between the central government and constituent political
units.
🡪 Protectorates – a state that is controlled and protected by another.
A dependent territory that has been granted local autonomy and
some independence while still retaining the suzerainty of a greater
sovereign state. In exchange for this, the protectorate usually
accepts specified obligations, which may vary greatly, depending
on the real nature of their relationship. Therefore, a protectorate
remains an autonomous part of a sovereign state. They are different
from colonies as they have local rulers and people ruling over the
territory and experience rare cases of immigration of settlers from
the country it has suzerainty of.
3. Supranational Government – is a supranational polity
which lies somewhere between a confederation that is
an association of States, which recognizes the complete
independence of each state, and a federation that is a
state.
 Foundations of Political Systems
What defines a country’s political system:
• History
• Culture/ Tradition
• Social Cohesion
• External Influence
• Judicial Practice/ Law
• Adopted Form of Government
 Forms of Government vis-à-vis
Political Systems
A. By elements of where decision making power is held
B. By elements of who elects the empowered
C. By elements of how power distribution is structured
D. Other Characteristic Attributes
A. By elements of where decision making
power is held
• Aristarchic - traditionally controlled and organised by a small group of the most-qualified people,
with no intervention from the most part of society; this small group usually shares some common trait
• Variations of Aristarchic attributes:
🡪 Aristocracy – ruled by elite citizens by birth
🡪 Geniocracy – rule by the intelligent
🡪 Kratocracy – rule by the strong
🡪 Meritocrcy – rule by the meritorious
🡪 Timocracy – rule by honourable citizens
🡪 Technocracy – rule by the educated or technical experts
A. By elements of where decision making
power is held
• Autocratic - dominated by one person who has all the power over the people in a country
• Variations of Autocratic attributes:
🡪 Autocracy – Rule by one individual, whose decisions are subject to neither external
legal restraints nor regular mechanisms of popular control
🡪 Despotism – Rule by a single entity with absolute power. That entity may be an
individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy.
🡪 Dictatorship – Rule by an individual who has full power over the country
🡪 Fascism – Rule based only on patriotism and national identity and forcible suppression
of opposition
A. By elements of where decision making
power is held
• Monarchic - Governments with monarchic attributes are ruled by a king/emperor or a
queen/empress who usually holds their position for life. There are two types of monarchies:
absolute monarchies and constitutional monarchies.
• Variations of Monarchic attributes:
🡪 Monarchy – a system of government where the role has been inherited by an individual, the monarch, who expects to bequeath it
to their heir
🡪 Absolute Monarchy – a monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government
🡪 Constitutional Monarchy – a system of governance that has a monarch, but one whose powers are limited by law or by a formal
constitution
🡪 Diarchy – a system of government in which two individuals, the diarchs, are the heads of state
🡪 Elective Monarchy – a system of governance that has an elected monarch
🡪 Emirate – a system of governance in which the supreme power is in the hands of an emir (the ruler of a Muslim state)
🡪 Federal Monarchy -- a system of governance where a federation of states with a single monarch as overall head of the federation,
but retaining different monarchs
A. By elements of where decision making
power is held
• Pejorative - the actual governance may be influenced by sectors with political power which are not part of the
formal government. A break away from conventional political structures.
• Examples of Pejorative attributes:
🡪 Bankokcracy - a system of governance with excessive power or influence of banks and other financial
authorities on public policy-making
🡪 Corporatocracy - a system of governance where an economic and political system is controlled by
corporations or corporate interests
🡪 Kakistocracy - a system of governance where the worst or least-qualified citizens govern or dictate policies
🡪 Nepotocracy – a system of governance highlighted by nepotism
🡪 Kleptocracy - a system of governance where its officials and the ruling class in general pursue personal
wealth and political power at the expense of the wider population
🡪 Mobocracy – a system of governance ruled by the mob
B. By elements of who elects the empowered

• Authoritarian attributes
• Democratic Attributes
• Oligarchic Attributes
• Others
B. By elements of who elects the empowered

• Authoritarian attributes
🡪 Authoritarian - is a form of government characterized by strong
central power and limited political freedoms
🡪 Totalitarian - a political system where the state recognizes no limits to
its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life
wherever feasible
B. By elements of who elects the empowered
•Democratic - a government chosen by election where most of the populace are
enfranchised
• Variations of Democratic attributes:
🡪 Demarchy - government in which the state is governed by randomly selected decision makers who have been selected by lot from
a broadly inclusive pool of eligible citizens
🡪 Direct Democracy - government in which the people represent themselves and vote directly for new laws and public policy
🡪 Representative Democracy - people or citizens of a country elect representatives to create and implement public policy in place of
active participation by the people
🡪 Liberal Democracy - is a political ideology and a form of government in which representative democracy operates under the
principles of freedom and equality
🡪 Social Democracy - argues that all citizens should be legally entitled to certain social rights
🡪 Totalitarian Democracy – citizens, while granted the right to vote, have little or no participation in the decision-making process of
the government.
B. By elements of who elects the empowered
• Oligarchic - a system of governance with small group of individuals, the oligarchs, who share
similar interests or family relations
• Variations of Oligarchic Attributes:
🡪 Kritarchy - a system of governance composed of law enforcement institutions in which the state and the legal systems are
traditionally and/or constitutionally the same entity
🡪 Ergatocracy - Rule by the proletariat, the workers, or the working class
🡪 Nepotocracy - Rule by social connections; a term invented by the editorial board of the American technology magazine
Wired in the early 1990s
🡪 Plutocracy - Rule by the rich; a system of governance composed of the wealthy class
🡪 Stratocracy - a system of governance composed of military government in which the state and the military are
traditionally and/or constitutionally the same entity
🡪 Theocracy - Rule by a religious elite
B. By elements of who elects the empowered

• Other Attributes:
🡪 Anarchy - a situation where there is no government. This can happen
during a civil war in a country
🡪 Banana Republic - a country dependent upon limited primary-sector
productions, which is ruled by a plutocracy (governed by the wealthy) who
exploit the national economy
🡪 Maoism/ Leninism - a continuous revolution is necessary if the leaders of
a communist state are to keep in touch with the people
C. By elements of how power distribution is
structured
• Unitary – a form of government where power is concentrated on a central government
• Variations of Unitary governments:
🡪 Republican – characterized by representative democracy
-- Presidential – where power is concentrated on the executive branch of government
represented by a President who is usually directly elected by the people
-- Parliamentary – the head of state and head of government are kept separate with the
head of government retaining most executive powers
🡪 Islamic – governed in accordance with Islamic law.
🡪 Socialist/ Communist – Normally governed by one-party system
C. By elements of how power distribution is
structured
• Federalism – a system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally
divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units
• Variations of Federal governments:
🡪 Federal Monarchy
🡪 Federal Republic
-- Presidential
-- Parliamentary
C. By Socioeconomic System attributes
🡪 Capitalism
🡪 Communism
🡪 Feudalism
🡪 Socialism
 • Blue – Presidential republics with a full presidential system
• Yellow – Presidential republics with a semi-presidential system
• Green – Parliamentary republics with an executive presidency
States by their systems of responsible to the legislature
government (wikipedia) • Orange – Parliamentary republics with a ceremonial/non-executive
president, where a separate head of government leads the executive
• Red – Constitutional monarchy with a ceremonial/non-executive
monarch, where a separate head of government leads the executive
• Magenta – Constitutional monarchy which have with a separate
head of government, but where royalty still hold significant
executive and/or legislative power
• Purple – Absolute monarchy
• Brown – Countries where the dominant role of one political party or
coalition is codified in the constitution
• Dark green – Countries in which constitutional provisions for
government have been suspended (e.g. military dictatorship)
• Grey – Countries which do not fit any of the above systems (e.g.
transitional government or unclear political situations)
• Light grey – No government
Countries highlighted in blue are designated “electoral democracies" in Freedom
House's 2016 survey "Freedom in the World", covering the year 2015.
A world map distinguishing countries of the world as federations (green)
from unitary states (blue). (wikipedia)
 27 Federal Countries

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Comoros,
Ethiopia, Germany, India, Iraq, Malaysia, Mexico, Micronesia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Russia, St Kitts and Nevis, Spain, South Africa, Sudan, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates,
United States of America, Venezuela