Political Power and Conflict in a Globalized World

Political Power and Conflict in a Globalized World

• Systems of governance have been central to human history, reflecting values, struggles, and aspirations of people.
• Key systems throughout history include monarchies, democracies, and dictatorships.

Monarchies

• Power is concentrated in the hands of a king or queen.
• Absolute monarchies: Monarch holds total control.
  • Justified by the "divine right of kings" (monarch's authority from God).
• Constitutional monarchies: Monarch's power is limited by laws and shared with other governing bodies.
  • Example: England after 1689.
  • Shift toward limiting royal power and increasing representation.

Democracies

• Power rests with the citizens.
• People participate directly or indirectly in decision-making.
• Prioritizes equality, freedoms, and accountability.
• Seeks to balance power across branches of government to prevent concentration of power in one individual or institution.

Dictatorships

• Power concentrated in the hands of one leader or a small group.
• Often use propaganda, force, and suppression of opposition to maintain authority.
• Tend to curtail freedoms and limit public participation.

The Ancien Régime

• The political and social system that dominated France and much of Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.
• Deeply rooted in feudal traditions.
• Characterized by absolute monarchy, a rigid social hierarchy, and an agrarian economy.
• Political Structure: Absolute monarchy held all legislative, executive, and judicial powers.
• Social Structure: Rigidly stratified into three estates:
  • Clergy (First Estate)
  • Nobility (Second Estate)
  • Third Estate (peasants, artisans, middle class) (made up of over 95% of the population).
• Economic Structure: Primarily agrarian, with feudal practices dominating rural life.
  • Peasants worked the land for noble landlords.
  • Trade and manufacturing expanded in cities, but hindered by restrictive policies.
  • Inequality between privileged estates and overburdened Third Estate led to dissatisfaction.

The English Parliamentary Monarchy

• Shift from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy in England.
• Conflicts between monarchy and Parliament in the 17th century.
• Examples: The Case of Charles I and the English Civil War, The Restoration of the Monarchy.
• The Glorious Revolution (1688) marked the turning point toward constitutional monarchy, with the monarch's powers limited by the Bill of Rights (1689).
• Parliament gained control over taxation and legislation.
• Monarch could no longer suspend laws or maintain a standing army without Parliament's consent.
• Citizens were guaranteed basic rights.

The Enlightenment

• Intellectual movement in 18th-century Europe.
• Challenged traditional ideas about power, religion, and society.
• Emphasized reason, science, and individual rights.
• Laid foundation for revolutionary change.
• Key thinkers: Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau.

The American Revolution

• 1775-1783.
• Thirteen American colonies broke free from British rule.
• Established an independent republic based on democratic principles.
• Contributing factors: Taxation without representation, enlightenment ideas, economic restrictions.

The French Revolution

• 1789-1799.
• Dismantled the Ancien Régime in France.
• Rooted in Enlightenment ideals of equality, liberty, and fraternity.
• Causes: Social inequality, economic crisis, famine, enlightenment ideas.
• Significant events: Tennis Court Oath, Storming of the Bastille, Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.

Conclusion

• American and French Revolutions, and the shift to constitutional monarchy in England, show the rejection of absolute monarchy and demand for equality.
• Enlightenment ideas were influential.
• These movements shaped global governance.