What Is a Political Dynasty? Here's What You Need to Know

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Political dynasties have been a recurring controversy in democracy dating way back centuries ago. Gaetano Mosca, an Italian political scientist, wrote in his book (La Classe Political), “Every class displays the tendency to become hereditary in fact, if not in law,” as cited from a Brown University paper. 

In addition, Oxford University stated in a paper titled How Political Dynasties Concentrate Advantage within Cities: Evidence from Crime and City Services in Chicago, “Names like Bush, Rockefeller, and Kennedy are synonymous with political power in the United States, but they are just a few examples of the political dynasties that operate in democracies throughout the world.” This signifies the extensive practice of political dynasties even in today’s democracy. 

What is a political dynasty and how does this affect democracy? This article discusses political dynasty meaning that is often swept under the rug. 

What Is a Political Dynasty? 

A political dynasty means there is an occurred hereditary in the political realm. An instance of a common political dynasty lies in the rooted problem when some family members of the higher political elites exploit the power to run for elections.

According to the Cambridge dictionary, a dynasty refers to a series of rules or leaders who are all from the same family, or a period when a country is ruled by them. This is as opposed to what the theory of democracy is about, where every member of a community has a balanced power to express ideas. 

The data found in the same paper of Brown University shows the personal characteristics and political careers of dynastic politicians. It’s noted that most have a lesser scale of previous public experience, denoting the lack of drivers each carry. In addition, the result also highlights the importance that some dynastic legislators do not come from the state they represent. 

Scholars from Brown University have seen a prominent trend of the political dynasty establishment. They argue that the longer political elites occupy certain power, the greater the chance there is an inheritance involved. 

According to the Oxford University paper, the political dynasty has seen to raise issues such as spatial inequality due to its inability to provide the same efforts to other states besides the dynastic politicians emerging from.

Some research on the Philippines’ political dynasty explains how inequality between provinces is often associated with the practice of political dynasty. 

A paper from Northwestern University has noted there is a strong connection between poor economic conditions and a political dynasty. Those coming from a rather poor background tend to support the ruling of dynastic politics due to their family’s established brand name. 

According to various studies, political dynasties can be found everywhere around the world, ranging from the Philippines, India, Japan, Greece, and the United States. It has been a growing problem for those who are skeptical of the legitimacy of the political system. 

To conclude, a political dynasty may erase the major essence of democracy as it creates a disparity between independent individuals and dynastic politicians. Additionally, the quality drivers of the latter are often questioned. 

Editor's Choice: Gibran Rakabuming Reacts to Suspicion of Court's Ruling Perpetuating Jokowi's Political Dynasty

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