A Typology of Political Regimes

Abstract

As indicated earlier, Rawls introduces five types of political regime, distinguished according to liberal-democratic ideas (Herrera 2005, 337) of political participation, the recognition of (basic) human rights and non-aggressiveness towards other regimes. The last point is not (genuinely) liberal democratic. The global political landscape is divided into the five categories: (1) liberal peoples, (2) decent peoples, (3) benevolent absolutistic societies, (4) burdened societies and (5) outlaw states, though there is room for other types of regime, two of which are introduced later in this chapter.