Praetorian state
From Hobson's Choice
A transitional phase between a decrepit form of government and a totalitarian one. The term is often used to refer specifically to a state in which political power often passes through the hands of military leaders. This site, perhaps breaking with normal usage, uses the term to refer to the political conditions of a state that ensure praetorianism.
Exposition
Praetorian states usually govern societies that are so deeply polarized, such as along sectional lines, that deeply unpopular politicians can remain in office, obstructing reforms. Revolutionary disgust with the civil order, and a general contempt for society, have become endemic. Praetorian states are typically not quite dictatorial; frequently they have multi-party politics. However, parliamentary politics has become an object of universal derision since nothing can be accomplished.
Often praetorian states experience a long and tedious succession of prime ministers, military juntas, or even sweeping constitutional revisions, to no avail. Under optimal conditions, the praetorian state gives way to responsible parliamentary democracy (as, for example, in Argentina with the election of Pres. Nestor Kirchner in 2004). In other cases a revolution may occur, resulting in fascism, falangism, or Jacobinist totalitarianism.
See Also
External Links
- Amos Perlmutter, Political Roles and Military Rulers, Routledge (1981)
