Polity Atlas

How each model solves the same problems

Instead of “democracy versus anarchism”, compare the concrete ways collective problems get solved.

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How are decisions made?A dominant presidency with a small circle of security-service and business allies; a Duma controlled by United Russia; regional governors appointed (2005–2012) or elected under filters.Power concentrated in the party centre and in Xi Jinping as 'core'; central commissions chaired by Xi; presidential term limits removed in 2018; party bodies absorbed government functions.The Prime Minister is formally responsible for Diella; the Constitutional Court states AI cannot change who exercises public power or bears accountability.
How are conflicts resolved?Courts that rarely ruled against the Kremlin in political cases; elite disputes settled by the president; selective prosecution of rivals.Party discipline commissions and supervisory commissions with extrajudicial detention (liuzhi); courts under party leadership; online petition and complaint platforms.Opposition challenged the decrees before the Constitutional Court, which dismissed the request on 8 October 2026; its full reasoning is pending.
How are public goods funded?Pensions, wages and infrastructure financed largely by oil and gas revenue; a reserve fund built in the boom years.State-led industrial policy, poverty-alleviation campaigns, infrastructure; local governments squeezed by debt and reduced land revenue.Aims to improve public-service access and reduce discretion in public procurement.
How is AI used?No algorithmic governance; growing use of digital surveillance and online censorship by the end of the period.AI-enabled surveillance (facial recognition, big-data policing, IJOP in Xinjiang); algorithmic routing of citizen complaints.Chatbot and voice assistant on e-Albania; a procurement system tender was still being prepared in August 2026.
What are the main risks?Dependence on hydrocarbon rents, erosion of the institutions that could replace leaders, and escalating repression and external aggression.Unchecked personal power and succession uncertainty, mass repression in Xinjiang and Tibet, surveillance, reduced local initiative, and policy errors without public correction.CLM-1095Unclear accountability for an AI 'minister'; no AI law yet; no published technical detail; AKSHI's leaders face a tender-rigging case.CLM-0359

This illustrates differences in design; it is not a universal claim about outcomes. Each cell links to mechanisms and the claims behind them.