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Chapter 6 - Competition in the (Former) Totalitarian Countries’ Political Arenas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2025

Ahlam Lee
By
Ahlam Lee
Ahlam Lee
Affiliation:
Xavier University
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Summary

Little attention has been paid to competitive dynamics from a political perspective, despite numerous instances of political competition across cultures and systems. In liberal democratic societies, political competition is legalized, allowing citizens to elect leaders who represent their ideas. Conversely, in totalitarian societies, citizens lack voting rights, and political authority is not challenged through democratic means. However, political competitions still occur among ruling elites, often through purges to seize power. This chapter explores political competition, particularly in totalitarian regimes, where purges eliminate rivals among ruling elites. The collapse of such regimes has marked an evolution toward freedom and equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of background, which aligns with Darwin’s theory of evolution. Highlighting the lack of research on political competitions from an evolutionary psychology perspective, this chapter underscores the need for future research on human emotions and competitive behaviors in the political arena.

Keywords

competitionpoliticstotalitarianismliberal democracypurgeelectionevolution
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Chapter
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Questioning Conventional Assumptions of Competition Dynamics , pp. 141 - 182
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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