Why Democracy Gave Way To Totalitariasm

Why democracy lead to totalitarianism in Germany and not in France

Title: Why democracy lead to totalitarianism in Germany and not in France

Name:

Date:

Why democracy lead to totalitarianism in Germany and not in France

Introduction

Totalitarianism is a way of government that denies individual freedoms to its citizens.

The word is totalitarianism is believed to have come from an Italian word, totalitarianism which

was used by Benito Mussolini, Italian dictator to describe the Italian state (Britannica, n.d.). This

was just after the World War1. Totalitarianism was a common term in many states as the rulers

exercised absolute powers and oppressed the citizens. In many states, this form of government

was characterized by single-parties as many states were seeking to achieve economic stability

and healing from the difficulties of war. This prevented those believed to very vocal from airing

their views. This was mainly because those in power feared being thrown out of power or even to

be criticized. Examples of the rulers who exercised totalitarianism are Adolf Hitler who ruled

Nazi Germany, Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union, and Mao Zedong of the Republic of China

among other rulers. The states had strongly centralized rules that controlled the states either

forcefully or by coercion.

On the other hand, democracy is a way of governance where few individuals are elected

by other individuals to represent them and their will for example a president being elected by the

citizens. This way of governance allows everyone to freely enjoy their freedoms and have their

voices heard through their representatives.

How now did democracy lead to totalitarianism in Germany and not in France? This is a

question that may sound incorrect or very ironical to many. Thus we shall try to explain and

bring out the clear ways and issues that prompted democracy to cause totalitarianism after the

world war1.

Why democracy lead to totalitarianism in Germany and not in France

Methodology and theories in comparative politics

In political science e, comparing politics Is a great aspect to help one understand various

factors such as why some countries are poor while others are rich, why some economist are more

developed than others, what causes differences among nations, states, tribes, religion among

other factors (Casey, 2012). Comparative politics is thus the study and comparison of the various

political systems applied in various countries whose main objective is to control, understand and

explain.. There are various methodologies of comparing politics. These includes the comparing

the most different systems (MDD), comparing the most similar systems (MSS) or comparison by

use of a case study. In our case we will use the most different systems (MDS) of comparing

politics of different countries, regions or other political systems to prove our thesis.

There are various ways, approaches and theories used to study comparative politics and

governments. One good example of such is the system theory also known as the system analysis.

The theory studies the inter-related factors as shown from environments of the set. It focusses on

the frequent interactions and the interdependence among members of a particular system. System

approach theory is the study of variables that are closely related to form one system. The origins

of this theory can be traced from the development of the general systems theory. This was a

theory developed by the German biologist, Ludwig von Bertalanffy to formulate the general

systems. Political scientists from America then adopted the ideas of general systems theory to

come up with system approach theory as they believed that analyzing systems in politics was

important while defining a political system. System approaches' have several characteristic

Why democracy lead to totalitarianism in Germany and not in France

features such as the system has parts that are necessarily related to each other but are merged to

form a whole system. The theory also operates in an output-input within a system which

influences it and as a result, offers a feedback. The theory's main aim to maintain order within a

system which as a result will promote integrity in the system.

Another theory that used in comparative politics is the democratic theory and casual

methodology (Lichbach, 2013). The theory mainly focusses on how democratic a system is. It

combines the peoples' will, freedoms, their representation and their representatives to form a

system. The theory helps one understand the countries or states that respect the peoples' will and

those that do not. It also studies the consequences of democracy in different environments.

Another theory that is largely used in comparative e politics is the comparative foreign

policy analysis. The theory studies the process the decision making on foreign policy. The theory

offers a framework that captures the politics core. The theory explores what causes a country or

state behavior and the implications of the behaviors (Beasley, 2017).

Developmental theory is another theory that can be employed in the study of comparative

politics. After world war1, there emerged new states that prompted economic development.

Countries that were highly involved in the war wanted to regain their economic powers and

outshine others countries. Comparative politics was the main case of this competition.

Cultural theory is another theory that can be used in comparative politics. Political culture

involves the beliefs related to politics, symbols and in some cases, the values that define the

political system of a nation, state or region. Parochial and participatory political cultures are

examples of the cultural theory. This theory was pioneered by Gabriel Almond who based his

research on individuals' attitude and thinking towards their governments.

Why democracy lead to totalitarianism in Germany and not in France

In proving the thesis we mainly rely on data acquired from web pages, academic articles

blogs among other primary and secondary sources of data. This is largely because the data is

readily available and there are many files to choose from. This will in return ensure high-quality

data is obtained and more accurate conclusions are made.

Democracy leads to Totalitarianism in Germany after world war1 but did not lead to the

same in France. This can be supported by various reasons. The first reason was multi-partyism

which is a component of democracy. Multi-partyism is having more than one political party in a

country or state. After the world war1, Germany had several [political parties such as the Nazis

and the communists. The parties had very different ideologies. After 1932, elections, Nazis won

the election. As a result, other political parties felt discontented resulting in street running battles

between the socialists, communists the German police. This created tension prompted the ruling

party to apply excessive force resulting to totalitarianism. France too had various political parties

after the world war1. Unlike in Germany, the political parties in France worked closely to

redeem their economy that had been destroyed during the world war1. The political parties

joined hands and worked together for the well-being of their country.

Democracy allows individuals to elect their representatives either directly or indirectly.

After world war1, both France and Germany had their leaders democratically elected. However,

the results of the democratic exercise in the two countries vary a lot. In Germany, Adolf Hitler,

who was elected democratically became ruthless, brutal and merciless to the Germans. On the

Why democracy lead to totalitarianism in Germany and not in France

contrary, Raymond Poincare, the French president fought to ensure the unity among his people

and their welfare remained alive.

After the world war1, democracy allowed the soldiers to have their choice on political

issues. In Germany, police supported the Nazi regime which was oppressing the Germans.

However, in France, the soldiers were driven by the des of ensuring safety for the French

(Beaupré, 2014).

After the world war1, Germany's economy had not stabilized. In addition, Germany was

to pay for the destruction caused during the war as agreed in the Versailles treaty. They were,

however, unable to pay and was put under France watch. In the mid-20s, America bailed out

Germany resulting in Germany being left to manage herself. In 1929, young democracy in

Germany collapsed after the country was hit by hyperinflation that affecting all the big

economies in the world. This lead totalitarianism from the then government with the hope that

applying dictatorship would speed the stabilization of the German economy. The hyperinflation

also affected the French economy. However, the French rulers embraced the citizens’ wellbeing

and did not apply the totalitarianism. This is a clear way of understanding the difference between

the political systems that were used to govern France and Germany

The rise of totalitarianism in Germany

After the end of world war1, political dictatorships emerged in Germany as they sought

stabilization of their economy and solutions to challenges that emerged during the world war1.

This was after the Nazis rose to power and Weimar republic which was a parliamentary system

that had been introduced in Germany after the end of world war1. The German leader then,

Why democracy lead to totalitarianism in Germany and not in France

Adolf Hitler did all he could to bring down the existing social order among the Germans. He did

this through the use of police and military who had integrated well with his Nazi administration.

The administration a fascist. Fascism was a type of Totalitarianism that advocated more on the

interests of a particular state.

This system succeeded because Germany did not have a strong self-governance system.

The totalitarianism system in Germany demanded taxes from the Germans, forcefully recruiting

them into the army and forcing them to adopt government policies. The Nazi administration was

very concerned about how they would expand the German territories by conquering their

neighbors' territories.

The Nazi administration did not have room for the parliamentary system in Germany. In

1934, Hitler banned any activity that was meant to oppose him and declared it illegal for anyone

to remove him from power. He encouraged Germans to discriminate against the Jews and

managed to make the Jews carry the blame for the problems facing Germans.

As a result of Totalitarianism system of governance in Germany, various things emerge.

The German-speaking people were united while the Jews were discriminated. It also leads to the

emergence of conflicts with German neighbors when they sought to conquer their neighbor's

territories. Also, Germans lived in fear of being brutalized by the Nazi regime. The freedoms and

rights of German were highly reduced. For example, the freedom of speech was denied for fear

that the Nazi administration would be brought down. The grievances of the non-Germans were

ignored by the Nazi administration. In addition, men were forced to join the army. This was to

ensure that Germany was well prepared in case a war with its neighbors erupted.

Why democracy lead to totalitarianism in Germany and not in France

Conclusion

In conclusion, Democracy may have both and negative impacts to a country. In some

instances, it may lead to Totalitarianism system of governance. As a result, the Totalitarianism

system can cause dictatorial leadership which is not driven as by service delivery to the citizens

as was the case In Germany. Also, we see that Totalitarianism system may lead to curtailing of

someone's freedoms as it happened in Germany when Adolf Hitler declared it illegal to oppose

him. Also from the study, we understand how fragile young democracies are.

We learn how Germany's democracy collapsed as a result of hyperinflation resulting in

Totalitarianism leadership raising the question of how strong our democracies are to stand

various challenges. From the study, we also understand how important democracy would in

economic growth of a country as it happened in France. We also see how many parties with

sharp different ideologies may result in Totalitarianism system of governance. We also get to

know the results of Totalitarianism leadership to a country and to those being governed.

Why democracy lead to totalitarianism in Germany and not in France

Reference

1. Araud, G., 2015. The foreign policy of France between 1919 and 1939: the reasons for a

descent into hell.. [Online]

Available at: https://franceintheus.org/spip.php?article6836

[Accessed 9 march 2018].

2. Araud, G., 2015. The foreign policy of France between 1919 and 1939: the reasons for a

descent into hell.. [Online]

Available at: https://franceintheus.org/spip.php?article6836

[Accessed 9 march 2018].

3. Beasley, J. S. L. a. R., 2017. Comparative Foreign Policy Analysis. [Online]

Available at:

http://politics.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-

9780190228637-e-398

[Accessed 9 march 2018].

4. Beaupré, N., 2014. International Encyclopedia. [Online]

Available at: https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/france

[Accessed 9 march 2018].

5. Lichbach, M. I., 2013. Democratic Theory and Causal Methodology in Comparative Politics.

[Online]

Why democracy lead to totalitarianism in Germany and not in France

Available at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/democratic-theory-and-causal-

methodology-in-comparative-politics/B89D3A3D6E1E6FC561DD1190B7B44DBA

[Accessed 9 march 2018].

6. Britannica, T. E. o. E., n.d. Totalitarianism. [Online]

Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/totalitarianism

[Accessed 9 march 2018].

7. Casey, P. W., 2012. Introduction to comparative politics. [Online]

Available at: http://www.tamut.edu/walter-casey/IntrotoCPLecture2009.pdf

Place new order. It's free, fast and safe

Paper type

Deadline

Page count

550 words

Total price: $ 15.00

Our customers say

Jeff Curtis

USA, Student

"I'm fully satisfied with the essay I've just received. When I read it, I felt like it was exactly what I wanted to say, but couldn’t find the necessary words. Thank you!"

Ian McGregor

UK, Student

"I don’t know what I would do without your assistance! With your help, I met my deadline just in time and the work was very professional. I will be back in several days with another assignment!"

Shannon Williams

Canada, Student

"It was the perfect experience! I enjoyed working with my writer, he delivered my work on time and followed all the guidelines about the referencing and contents."

Why democracy gave way to totalitariasm

Place new order. It's free, fast and safe

Our customers say

Jeff Curtis

Ian McGregor

Shannon Williams