Politics plays a major role in the governance of a country or state. With every activity that a government engages in an attempt to gain political power, then politics is in motion. Those that set these activities in motion are politicians who want to attain office or remain in office.
Why, because, attaining office comes with power and authority. These politicians in an attempt to massage the minds of the people they seek political power from, engage in meetings with these constituents to explain what their taxes pay for, this is because they want to resolve political power struggles over the limited national resources owned by the state.
Every political state or country has a political system that aids governance. They include the country engaging in either Democracy, Dictatorship, Autocracy, Monarchy, Communism, Republic, Totalitarianism, Authoritarianism, Oligarchy, Socialism, or Kleptocracy among others.
Related media: Different Forms Of Government (What Are The Forms Of Government?)
Democracy
It’s a political system of government, where its representatives are typically elected by the whole population of everyone who is an eligible member of a state. It incorporates its types, whether it is, direct representative, constitutional, or monetary democracy.
However, the main brain behind democracy originates from Athens which was in the fifth century Before the Common Era (B.C.E). The word comes from the ancient Greek words demos which means “the people,” and kratos which means “to rule.” A democratic country has a system of government in which the people have the power to participate in decision-making, each democracy is unique and works in different ways.
Ghana is a democratic nation with active political parties, vibrant media, a history of successful political transitions, freedom of the press, an independent judiciary, and a strong civil society.
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is a form of government that is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator.
Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by the dictator and facilitated through an inner circle of elites that includes advisers, generals, and other high-ranking officials. The dictator maintains control by influencing and appeasing the inner circle while repressing any opposition, which may include rival political parties, armed resistance, or disloyal members of the inner circle.
Dictatorships can be formed by a military coup that overthrows the previous government through force or by a self-coup in which elected leaders make their rule permanent. Dictatorships are authoritarian or totalitarian and can be classified as military dictatorships, one-party dictatorships, personalist dictatorships, or absolute monarchies.
Autocracy
An autocracy is a form of government in which one ruler has absolute control and decision-making power. Autocracies have existed since ancient times when kings and emperors ruled over great countries and tribal lands, and they exist today in the form of absolute monarchies and dictatorships.
Unlike in a democracy, the people living in countries with autocratic governments have no say in determining the nation’s laws, or in how those laws are enforced. An autocratic ruler is accountable to no one; there is no system of checks and balances, no constitutional limit on the ruler’s power, and the ruler is not held accountable by a cabinet of advisors, a system of courts, the people, or the press.
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy), to fully autocratic (absolute monarchy), and can expand across the domains of the executive, legislative, and judicial.
The succession of monarchs in many cases has been heretical, often building dynastic periods. However, elective and self-proclaimed monarchies have also happened. Aristocrats, though not inherent to monarchies, often serve as the pool of persons to draw the monarch from and fill the constituting institutions (e.g. diet and court), giving many monarchies oligarchic elements.
Monarchs can carry various titles such as emperor, empress, king, and queen. Monarchies can form federations, personal unions, and realms with vassals through personal association with the monarch, which is a common reason for monarchs carrying several titles.
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Written by: Michael Pobee, Sat, Feb 04, 2023.