Politics of IdeocracyExpanding upon the concept of totalitarianism, this study introduces the concept of ideocracy to encompass all those political systems that legitimize their actions by reference to an all-inclusive utopian ideology. It distinguishes pluralist systems, marked by competing schools of thought, from monistic systems in which a utopian ideology is dominant. Focusing on twentieth-century regimes, the authors develop Weberian ideal-type models to clarify different forms of ideocracy and pluralism; explore the ideal-type model of ideocracy; and analyze the dynamics of political life using models that allow readers to examine the contradictions and evolutionary paths of specific political systems. In addition, they examine diverse psychological, social, and environmental factors in analyzing the emergence of ideocracies and their subsequent evolution and emphasize that although these systems may persist for extended periods, they may also evolve into other forms of government through processes ranging from radical transformation to gradual erosion. |
Contents
Ideocracy as a Distinctive Form of Politics | 25 |
Ideocracy Distinguished | 27 |
Intellectual Origins of Ideocracy | 29 |
Organic and Mechanical Pragmatic Concepts of the State | 34 |
Politics and Problem Solving | 36 |
Community and Ideology | 38 |
Ideocracy Described | 41 |
Psychological and Cultural Aspects of Ideocracy | 43 |
Types of Social Disruption | 97 |
Multipliers of Cumulative Disruption | 106 |
Leadership Ideology and Organization | 118 |
Scenario of Ideocratic Revolution | 123 |
Ideocracy in Dynamic Perspective Inception and Stabilization | 125 |
Inception of Ideocracy | 128 |
Stabilization | 138 |
The Evolution of Ideocracy | 149 |
Traditional Culture and Divergent Individual Propensities | 50 |
Ideocratic Framework of Politics | 59 |
The Foundations of Legitimacy | 60 |
The Organization of Political Leadership | 68 |
The Penetration of Political and Social Organizations | 77 |
Total Mobilization | 82 |
The Major Components of Ideocracy | 89 |
Causes of Ideocracy | 93 |
Peaceful Erosion | 154 |
Regeneration | 163 |
Ideocracy and Processes of Dynamic Change | 165 |
Conclusion | 169 |
Notes | 177 |
227 | |
261 | |
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action Adolf Hitler analysis areas authoritarian become behavior belief Brzezinski central China Communist conflict cratic Culture Czechoslovakia degree democracy democratic Dictatorship doctrine East Germany Eastern Europe economic elites emergence eventually example forces Friedrich fundamentalist groups historical Hitler human ical ideal ideo ideoc ideocracy ideocratic movement ideocratic system individuals involve Iran Iraq Islamic Islamic fundamentalism Italian Fascism Jaroslaw Piekalkiewicz lead leadership legitimacy lieutenants mass membership ment mobilization modern monistic ideology Nazi Germany norms Origins of Totalitarianism participants party patterns penetration pluralism pluralistic Poland political systems population Praeger Publishers psychological racy regeneration regimes religion religious Republic Revolution revolutionary Robert Russia scapegoats sense severe social disruption social control social organizations social system society Soviet Union specific spheres stabilization takeover technological terror theory Third Reich tion top leader totalitarian model traditional University Press utopian goals World York Zbigniew Brzezinski