REGIME CLASSIFICATION - Group A+

Regime Classification Exercise:
Jared Cross, Janelle Anselmi, Yekaterina Gutkin, Cookie Kanitha Wechyangkul, Titoan Bach.

Does the Regime type affect the level to which slavery is present in a country?
We have restricted our scope to the African continent due to the high prevalence of human rights violations in this region, notably slavery. In our definition of slavery we include debt bondage, forced labour, child soldiers, and sex slavery.

We have based our regime classification system on the manner in which Levitsky and Way divide the worlds governing styles.

Please read the following notes and apply the appropriate score. We have divided government into 4 basic categories which take the key elements of Levitsky and Way's argument and apply most directly to our overarching question.

Media

A score of 0
All domestic radio, television, and newspapers are controlled by the government. Radio and television receivers are locked to government-specified frequencies.

A score of 1
The media dutifully reflect state policies and do not allow news or views critical the government. Satellite television and the Internet are available, but the government blocks undesirable political Web sites.

A score of 2
State owned news agencies, broadcast media, and film studios act as propaganda arms of the state, promoting a narrow set of Government-sanctioned images and messages. Audiences in such nations
must become adept at “reading between the lines” in decoding such
Propaganda efforts.

A score of 3
Freedom of the press and freedom of expression. Such societies are usually characterized by a more diverse mix of public and privately Owned media outlets offering a variety of arts, news, information and entertainment. The media in such societies are still subject to government regulation, but they are usually given much greater latitude to operate independently.

Party Representation

A score of 0
This would be given to a regime in which there is only a single party or individual controlling the government.
A score of 1
This would be given to a regime in which more than one party exists but these are intentionally marginalised by a single dominant party. Some election fraud, coercion or restriction is expected to be seen.

A score of 2
This would be given to a regime that has several parties, but a single party has dominated leadership for the last 10 years. Countries that have transitioned to democracy only in the last 10 years should be included also.
A score of 3
This would be given to a country that displays clear pluralist politics and power has been held by multiple parties.

Rule of Law

A score of 0
this would be assigned to regimes whereby there is no subjectivity to the rule of law and powers are not exercised according to the law. Thus, arbitrary power is wielded by the state.

A score of 1
This would be assigned to regimes whereby leadership exists above the law and is not seen as equal before or subject to the rule of law.

A score of 2
This would be assigned to regimes whereby power figures strategically bypass the rule of law in order to avoid subjectivity to the law, whilst other individuals are subject to the rule of law.

A score of 3
This would be assigned to regimes whereby all individuals are subject to the rule of law. All are equal before the law, the government is subject to the law and exercises powers accordingly, and the law conforms to individual liberties and standards of justice.

Voting Representation

A score of 0
This would be assigned to regimes whereby individuals have no rights and freewill to vote in elections

A score of 1
This would be assigned to regimes whereby not all individuals have freewill to run for presidency and coercion occurs

A score of 2
This would be assigned to regimes whereby there is disproportionate elections and bias  towards particular candidates, and thus lack of fair support for other candidates

A score of 3
This would be assigned to regimes whereby there is no repression and thus all individuals have the right to stand and vote in elections

After adding the total of each of the scores, a classification of the regime type presented below.


Fully authoritarian regimes (0-3)
A system of highly centralized government in which one political party or group takes control and provide neither recognition nor tolerance to other political groups. In fully authoritarian regime citizens cannot choose their own leaders, they are restricted of other liberties such as freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of media and rule of law. (O’nile 2010)


Competitive authoritarian Regimes (4-7)
Formal democratic institutions are viewed as principle means of obtaining and exercising political authority. The leading party resorts coercion, intimidation and fraud to attempt to ensure electoral victory. The countries declare competitive elections however they manipulate the process to ensure their political survival. Competitive authoritarian regime violates;
• the right of free and fear elections
• limits the people right to vote
• limits political rights , freedom of press, freedom of association and freedom to criticize the government
• No checks and balances
( Liberalizing Electoral Outcomes in Competitive Authoritarian RegimesAuthor(s): Marc Morjé Howard and Philip G. RoesslerReviewed work(s):Source: American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 50, No. 2 (Apr., 2006), pp. 365-381Published by: Midwest Political Science AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3694278 )


Dominant party democracies (8-11)
Parties that have successively won election victories and whose future defeat cannot be envisaged or is unlikely to be the foreseeable future. One organisation or party is so electorally powerful as to render it unlikely to be defeated in the foreseeable future, has not always been the source of control. (Politikon, (December 2006), 33(3), 277–297)

Fully democratic Regimes (12)
 Political power exercised either directly or indirectly through participation, competition and liberty. It emphasizes with individual freedom and with the ideology of liberalism. Political system that promotes participation, competition and liberalism. Democracy includes;
• Freedom of speech
• Freedom of action
• Freedom of association
• Freedom from political repression
• Independence of media sources
• Separation of the Judiciary and the Executive Branch of

Suggested Resources
http://www.unis.unvienna.org/pdf/Democracy_Human_Rights_2008.pdf
http://www.idea.int/publications/pp_africa/index.cfm
Grant Morris, Law Alive: The New Zealand Legal System in Context (Australia: Oxford University Press, 2009), 73.