Democracy is a system of elected government wherein authority is theoretically delegated from the people to elected leaders. Under this model, a strong constitution grants authority for elected leaders to govern the people and manage the affairs of government. The power of a state is clearly defined in this model of state authority. The United States is an example of countries operating under this model of governance. The elected governors have the power to manage the affairs of the state as stipulated by the constitution. Authoritarianism is a government in which authority and power emanate from the state and are not delegated from the people to elected leaders. Authoritarian regimes can have elected leaders, but they have authoritarian power and often rule for indefinite periods of time. Constitutions do not have enough provisions to prohibit abuses by the state. Syria is an example of countries with this kind of regime with the citizens always protesting against the oppressive authoritarian regime.
Totalitarianism is a form of government that theoretically permits no individual freedom and seeks to subordinate all aspects of the individual’s life to the authority of the government. China is an example of countries with this model of leadership. This model of governance is credited with the economic boom in China as well as success in the fight against corruption. Crazy states are those whose behavior is not rational. In such a state, people live at the whim of the regime or a dominant group. Liberia and quite a number of African countries are associated with violence and struggle for power. In this kind of scenario, the regime is always unstable, and at times the country can have two parallel regimes claiming to be in charge of the country. In most cases, the crazy states have both the rebels’ government and the central government. The countries facing this kind of irrational governance are always in a state of confusion.