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 junta of the four service commanders held constituent and legislative power and decided by unanimity; Pinochet held executive power. Economic policy was delegated to a team of Chicago-trained economists.Kings of small kingdoms (túatha) under over-kings; assemblies (óenach); customary law expounded by hereditary jurists rather than legislated.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?Military courts and a state of siege; secret police detention; courts rarely granted habeas corpus. A 1978 amnesty decree shielded abuses.Brehon judges; sureties (naidm, ráth, aitire); distraint of livestock; ritual fasting against higher-ranking defendants; body-fines and honour-price compensation.ArbitrationOpposition 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?Privatised pensions, vouchers and municipal schools, targeted social programmes; copper remained state-owned through Codelco.Rules on shared grazing, co-operative ploughing, mills and fencing; obligatory hospitality; churches and monasteries; few public works.Aims to improve public-service access and reduce discretion in public procurement.
How is AI used?None.None; a medieval legal order.Chatbot and voice assistant on e-Albania; a procurement system tender was still being prepared in August 2026.
What are the main risks?Systematic human rights violations, financial fragility under a fixed exchange rate, very high inequality, and constitutional enclaves outlasting the regime.CLM-1181Status-graded and unequal protection, unfree labour, endemic raiding and dynastic war, and vulnerability to a centralising conqueror.CLM-0385Unclear 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.