The Main Classifications of Political Systems free essay sample

Within the science of Politics there have been many studies into the different classifications of political systems. There are many different types of classifications but the three main and important classifications are that of Aristotle’s ‘classical’ classifications, the Three Worlds classification and Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civilisations’. It has been argued by many professionals that the most influential system of political classification is Aristotle’s ‘Classical’ Classification, devised in the fourth century BCE, which he based on his study of the 158 Greek city states which were in existence at the time, and thus being the very first political science argument in history. Aristotle argued that governments could be put into different categories on the basis of two fundamental questions. These questions where, â€Å"Who rules? and â€Å"Who benefits from rule? † He believed that Government â€Å"could be placed in the hands of a single individual, a small group or the many. † (Heywood: 2002: 27). We will write a custom essay sample on The Main Classifications of Political Systems or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Aristotle continued to argue that Government could be pushed in the direction of benefiting the interests of the rulers or in the direction of benefiting the community as a whole. He showed this in this table: Ruled By Who benefits? One Few Many Genuine Monarchy Aristocracy Polity Perverted Tyranny Oligarchy Democracy. In this table, which Aristotle constructed, he argued that Monarchy, Aristocracy and Polity where to be preferred because they benefited the majority of people, unlike Tyranny, Oligarchy and Democracy which only benefited the few who ruled. All in all, Aristotle had wanted to identify the ‘ideal’ constitution, and had. However, now Democracy is seen in a better light, and Aristotle’s argument has been made redundant by the creation of constitutional systems from the late eighteenth century onwards. The creation of the American constitution after the Wars of Independence, the radicalism in the French Revolution and the emergence of a new parliamentary government in Britain, all in the eighteenth century, showed that political systems where much more complex than had been thought in earlier times. Just as Heywood argues: â€Å"Traditional features of classification were therefore displaced by a growing emphasis on the constitutional and institutional features of political rule. † (Heywood:2002:29) Another classification of political systems is the â€Å"Three Worlds† classification. This typology believes that the world, as a whole, is split into three different categories, or ‘worlds’. The first world is that of liberal democracies and in other words: capitalism. The Second world is made up of communist countries. And, the Third world is that of poorer, less developed states which are generally undemocratic. Some political scientists agree with this type of classification, such as Francis Fukuyama, who claimed that liberal democracy was â€Å"the final form of human government. † (Fukuyama:1992) Yet, the â€Å"Three Worlds† classification keeps and groups together different types of regimes. For example, some of the Third World does not have all the characteristics which are tied with the Third world typology. Just because a country is poor does not mean it is undemocratic. It can be argued that The â€Å"Three Worlds† typology has just grouped together ‘the rest’ of the world, which do not fall under western or communist civilisation. Another flaw in the â€Å"Three Worlds† classification is that it is greatly influence by the Cold War, and only relevant to a small period in History. The final type of classification of political systems is that of Huntington’s â€Å"Clash of Civilisations. † Huntington’s theory was influential in the post-war period of the worlds as well as today. He implies â€Å"political culture has escaped in national moorings to embrace wider but still competing identities† (Hague Harrop:2004;102) and argues that the world has been re-classified, and this has been done terms of civilisations because within the world the greatest conflicts are between these 6 to 9 civilisations, which are: I. Sinic (Chinese)II. Japanese III. HinduIV. Islamic. V. WesternVI Latin America. VII Buddhist. VIII. Orthodox IX African. Huntington argues that since world views between each civilisation are so contradictory then there is no compromise, and continues this argument further by stating that â€Å"the most pervasive, important and dangerous conflicts will not be between social classes, rich and poor, or other economically defined groups, but most dangerous cultural conflicts are those along fault lines of civilisations. † (Huntington:1996:28). This wasn’t fully taken notice until the events of September 11th 2001, where these attacks maintained the proof that Huntington was right. Huntington also goes on to argue that cultural kinship influences the choice of sides in wars, for example, â€Å"in Yugoslav conflicts, Russia provided diplomatic support to the Serbs†¦not for reasons of ideology but because of cultural kinship. † (Huntington:1996:28) However, Huntington is unclear about what a civilisation actually is, stating some as religious and others as geographical, for example with Africa. There are many different types of civilisations within Africa, yet he groups them altogether under one civilisation because of where it is situated, geographically. This also raises the question of whether civilisations are really to blame for conflicts across the world. Most of the bloodiest conflicts in History have not been because of a clash of different civilisations, but are actually within these so called civilisations, such as wars in Africa, the wars between Iraq and Iran, and also the First and Second World wars. In conclusion, within Political Science there will always be different theories on different typologies or classifications of political systems, such as Aristotle’s ‘Classical’ classification, the ‘Three Worlds’ classification and Huntington’s ‘Clash of Civilisations. ’ Each are correct and just in their own ways, but also come with their own downsides. Such as Huntington not clearly stating the differences of each of his ‘civilisations’ and ‘Three Worlds’ classification becoming outdated by the fall of the Berlin Wall in the early 1990s.