Ap Comparative Government

AP Comparative Government Term Paper

Adam Rincon
Miss Spencer
April 30, 2013

Since the beginning of America’s democratic success in the late eighteenth century, countries around the globe have strived to mimic a form of government that reflects the freedom to be politically competitive. The overall successes of these democratic countries are what draw global attention. Yet even those countries who reflect the most democratic political atmospheres fail to fully encompass a legitimate liberal democracy due to such a reality being impossible. Though there is no true liberal democracy, there are still those countries within the world today that reflect various aspects of a growing democracy. Such democratic growth is subject to the
Russia’s “United Russia” political party emphasizes a “pro Putin” ideology to the extent of making all rival political parties insignificant. This makes competition within the country difficult as Putin’s consolidation of power through the media provides him with an unfair advantage in campaigning for and retaining his current authority within the government. China’s current level of political competition seems to be determined by the force of it’s the dominant Communist Party. Although minor parties may exist, such as in Russia, the parties are at the mercy of the major party, CCP, as they must be approved by the Communist Party in order to even compete. This is brought about through China’s effective employment of authoritarian controls, patriotic nationalist appeals, and economic benefits. When considering the political influence that Communism still has in China, it becomes obvious that political parties are also rendered insignificant in China as they are in Russia. Yet when comparing the last two countries of Nigeria and Iran, it is apparent that there is a degree of political competition that is unique in their types of government. Within Nigeria, political competition is both religiously and ethnically based with the inclusion of various parties such as PDP, ANPP, and AD. It is obvious that competition is
As Russia fears that there will be a separatist movement taking place sometime soon due to the recent political protests and demonstrations as a result of Putin’s continued reign as President, it has begun cracking down on the freedoms of its citizens. Demonstrations have been interrupted by law enforcement and even imprisonment. Russian citizens seem to gradually be losing their right to choose their leaders as Putin refuses to release his hold on authority and extend to his citizens the opportunity to voice their opinion through the medial or any other social outlet. Such censorship of individual thought is also evident within China which makes the expression one’s personal ideology and thoughts impossible. Within both countries there may be the freedom to choose, yet this freedom of choice does not truly reflect liberty as their choice is limited to a certain individual such as Putin or in China’s situation, the Communist Party. Nigeria’s political freedom is also hindered by election fraud. Even if the people do free cast their vote for a certain political candidate, the consistent reports of fraud throughout the country prove that there is no true liberty or freedom of choice. While some may view Iran as also being fraudulent when considering the