Models of Governance

The freedom enjoyed by various democracies during the old progression is not a result of constitutions, bill of rights, statutes or laws. It points to protecting the freedom and liberty decisively established by the action of the market economy, against infringements concerning officeholders (Sinha, 2011). Political economy goes before politics: the former has to find whether human interests are antagonistic or harmonious, a reality which must be settled before the latter can decide the rights of Government. Therefore, this paper discusses how different models of governance affect the liberty of citizens. Dictatorship, communist State, theocratic State, republic, parliamentary democracy, representative democracy, and Constitutional monarchy are discussed in the paper.

Form: Dictatorship

Example: Syria, North Korea, and Iran.

Discussion:

A dictatorship government is a model of governance that is characterized by a single leader with a weak party system or none at all with little or no existence of political pluralism. Often, the leader of such a government or country is referred by the title of a dictator, because of taking advantage of their leadership to suppress citizen's freedom (Lombardo, 2015).

Advantages

1. Creates a stable government because there are no critics from the opposition and it dedicates all its efforts towards the state arms.
2. Dictatorship gives efficient and quick management because there are no discussions or debates because the dictator has absolute powers to make smart decisions.

Disadvantages

1. It deprives citizens their rights as they are required to sacrifice everything for the state
2. It is founded on violence and force that demands total obedience of rules without opposing or any form of discussions.
3. It makes citizens uninterested with the affairs of the state.
4. It encourages the spread of war, hate, and hostility.
5. No freedom of speech

Form: Communist State

Example: China, Cuba.

Discussion:

Occasionally, it is referred to Marxist-Leninist state. It is a state that is ruled by a single party. The primary purpose is to attain communism (Marx & Engels, 2017).

Advantages

1. Equality is key, and no particular social class is better than the other.
2. It improves the accessibility of health care and education to citizens.
3. It discourages monopoly forms of business. No manufacturer is business than the other hence no competition in the market.

Disadvantages

1. It hinders individual growth because it tends to control the lives of individuals.
2. It creates a form of dictatorship over the lives of people because of limited freedom.
3. It gives limited financial freedom because business people have less command of the economy.

Form: Theocratic State

Example: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Vatican

Discussion:

It is a system of government where God or goddess is the superlative civil leader.

Advantages

1. There are no checks and balances; hence laws can be passed quickly with no discrete branches of government examination each other.
2. Significant levels of patriotism among citizens.
3. High levels of collaboration and organization in the government.
4. Funds are easily distributed
5. Due to religious fear, the state can quickly gain control of the citizens and increase productivity.

Disadvantages

1. Leaders take advantage of the fear of the load to impose self-interest laws.
2. There is no opportunity for change since they strictly believe in the religious doctrine.
3. Old style forms of punishment that are inhumane.
4. There is limited freedom since the media is filtered and speaking ill of the government is prohibited.

Form: Republic

Example: Pakistan

Discussion:

Republic is a form of government where the state is governed by representatives of the citizens and are founded by sovereignty. These chosen delegates will be more educated and experienced to pass laws that assist/run the nation. However, a portion of the problems that this Government creates is that few citizens get to voice their opinions, as the elected representatives are the ones who vote on policy changes instead of the people.

Advantages

1. Representatives are chosen by citizens; hence, all people make laws with high citizen participation.
2. Citizen Representatives in the government make more effective laws.
3. Citizens have a say in the government.

Disadvantages

1. It functions effectively in small governments
2. Citizens in a great dissimilar republic might form special interest groups that work against one another.

Form: Parliamentary Democracy

Example: Australia and Germany

Discussion:

It is a democratic form of administration that a party or coalition of parties has a significant representation in the parliament or legislature. The parliamentary assembly nominates a prime minister and other members of the ruling party to make up the cabinet (Egreteau, 2017).

Advantages

1. It reduces political polarization
2. Permits an easy and faster passage of laws and bills.
3. It needs a coalition to be able to pass a bill or law.
4. It is suitable for nations that have citizens from diverse race, ethnicity or ideologies.
5. It is easier to create a coalition of parties and ensure it is represented at the government level.

Disadvantages

1. It does not give an equal representation because of the presence of coalitions.
2. It allows laws to be passed without the support of the minority.
3. The government could become unstable when challenged by a minority.
4. The electorate is not voted in by the legislature.

Form: Representative Democracy a.k.a Constitution-based Federal Republic

Example: United States of America and India.

Discussion:

It is based on the principles of citizens of a country electing their state legislatures to represent them on their behalf. Majority of representative democracies have multi-party elections.

Advantages

1. Representatives update the citizens regarding political issues.
2. Representatives ensure that interests of the entire society are considered and are held accountable for their actions.
3. Representatives can comprehend diverse demands of the public and establish a logical programme.

Disadvantages

1. Representatives might use the demand of the public to suit their interests.
2. More trust is required to make the form of government work effectively
3. Frequent communication between the representative and the public is necessary for the government to function effectively.
4. It encourages representatives to be deceptive because it is the next election that can remove them from office.

Form: Constitutional Monarchy

Example: Belgium, Spain, Sweden, and Jordan.

Discussion:

it is a system of government where a monarch shares power with a constitutional administration. It can either be a de facto head of the state or only a traditional leader, and the state assigns the remaining states' power to the judiciary and legislation (Manca, 2014).

Advantages

1. It creates a system of check and balance, which prevents individuals from gaining too much power.
2. Preserves a cultural uniqueness.
3. It improves security to the government since there are low chances of a domestic uprising against the state.

Disadvantages

1. It is an expensive government to run.
2. It can be challenging to create a social change.
3. Decision making is slow because of the involvement with many politicians.

Conclusion

The government and economic system affect the liberty of the citizen to a considerable extent. In a monarchy the king is supreme, and no one could replace him, same to a dictatorship where citizens are deprived of their freedom of speech. The dictator is supreme, and no law and order is above him, he does not consider the opinions of the citizens as well. Whereas in democracy, public opinion is everything, they choose the government if their choice and can also replace it. Governance models that deprive citizens the freedom of expression are the worst. The form of government majorly decides it, being at the supreme position, the government decides what powers must be given to its citizens and what not, and he decides the future of the nation.

References

Egreteau, R. (2017). Restoring Parliamentary Democracy. Oxford Scholarship Online. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190620967.003.0004

Lombardo, C. (2015). Dictatorship Advantages and Disadvantages List. Retrieved February 21, 2018, from https://thenextgalaxy.com/dictatorship-advantages-and-disadvantages-list/

Manca, A. G. (2014). State Building is utilizing Constitution in the Italian Constitutional Monarchy. Constitutionalism, Legitimacy, and Power, 49-68. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198723059.003.0003

Marx, K., & Engels, F. (2017). Manifesto of the Communist Party. Retrieved February 23, 2018, from https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/download/pdf/Manifesto.pdf

Sinha, A. (2011). Capitalism, socialism & mixed economy. Retrieved February 21, 2018, from https://www.slideshare.net/amitkishoresinha/capitalism-socialism-mixed-economy?qid=df7d04b9-91a7-4f96-9a29-20667f22ccb5&v=default&b=&from_search=1