16. How do you understand free elections?

Without free elections, there is neither the possibility for citizens to express their will nor the opportunity for citizens to change their leaders, approve policies for the country, address wrongs, or protest the limitation of their rights. Elections establish the citizenry's and the individual's political rights. They are the ongoing representation of the consent of the governed.

17. What is ‘Leviathan’?

The best explanation of political conflict was given by Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan. Hobbes called any situation in which men do not acknowledge a common superior a ‘state of nature’ and his thesis was that a state of nature is always a state of war, in which the life of man would be ‘nasty, poor, solitary, brutish and short’. Hobbes suggested three basic reasons: the scarcity of the things men value, and the human passion for glory. The third was something Hobbes called ‘diffidence’ or mistrust of others.

Leviathan rigorously argues that civil peace and social unity are best achieved by the establishment of a commonwealth through social contract. Hobbes's ideal commonwealth is ruled by a sovereign power responsible for protecting the security of the commonwealth and granted absolute authority to ensure the common defense. In his introduction, Hobbes describes this commonwealth as an "artificial person" and as a body politic that mimics the human body.

18. What is the difference between monarchy and aristocracy?

Monarchy and aristocracy, you can see similarities as well as differences between both forms of government. Both, monarchy and aristocracy, are related to ruling or governing of a country or a nation. Monarchy is a form of government in which the power and the sole authority is in one or two individuals’ hands. In contrast, aristocracy is a form of government where ruling lays in the hands of few people, and these were usually considered to be the best-qualified people in the particular society. Aristocracy does not only refer to a ruling party, but also certain societies regard them as the highest social class in their society. When we look at the differences, we can see that monarchy had one single ruler who had the power for him/herself whereas, in aristocracy, the power was shared among few selected people. Also, aristocracy does not enjoy the power as a monarch.

Monarchy and aristocracy are, on the other hand, impractical because they are based upon a god-like willingness to place the good of the community before one’s own interests. Aristotle accepted that polity, rule by the many in the interests of all, is the most practicable of constitutions, but feared that the masses might resent the wealth of the few and too easily come under the sway of a demagogue. He therefore advocated a ‘mixed’ constitution which would leave government in the hands of the ‘middle classes’, those who are neither rich nor poor.

19. What is a nation-state?

The nation-state is the highest form of political organization. the nation-state to be the highest form of political organization, reflecting as it does the principle that the nation is the sole legitimate unit of political rule. the nation-state is an ideal type and has probably never existed in perfect form anywhere in the world. As a principle to move towards, however, the nation-state represents independence and self-government; it has elicited support from peoples in all parts of the world, almost regardless of the political creed they may espouse. The attraction of the nation-state is that it offers the prospect of both cultural cohesion and political unity. When a group of people who share a common cultural identity gain the right to self-government, community and citizenship coincide.