Totalitarianism

Overview of Totalitarianism: Types, Key Features, examples.

Types:

Nazism
Communism / or clerical rule such as Taliban and in its early period, Iranian regime.

Key Features:
Concentration of power: a) power in concentrated in hand of single party or leader; b) total domination of all spheres (economy, culture, religion, private life) c) government wants to transform society; crate new vision of society and hence need for absolute power to create better society

Access to power: through membership and career in the ruling party only
Degree of power: no limits on power; no acceptance of private sphere or purely private interests

Mode of governing: through repression, coercion, propaganda, ideological persuasion

Citizen participation: want active, involved citizens; emphasis on demonstrations of support for regime; citizens obligated to participate in large variety of government sponsored activities and organizations.

Responsiveness: Government is focused exclusively on policy outputs, no interests in our mechanism for addressing needs, demands, interest, ex. interests from citizens.

Examples:
Totaliarian regimes in the 20th Century:
Italy under B. Mussolini (1922 - 45)
Soviet Union under J. Stalin. (one party rule) (from 1930, until his death in the early 1950's)
Germany under A. Hitler (1933 - 45)