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Governance and Public Policy QUESTION #10530
Question 1
Totalitarian regimes typically sustain their rule by relying on:
  • A mixture of coercive power and institutionalized authority, with the former predominating✔️
  • Brute physical force exclusively
  • Ideological indoctrination and brainwashing exclusively
  • None of these
Correct Answer Explanation
Totalitarian regimes (Nazi Germany, Stalinist USSR) typically combine coercive power (terror, surveillance, secret police) with ideological authority (propaganda, personality cults, mass mobilization), with raw coercive power being the dominant tool. They differ from authoritarian regimes by also seeking total control over the private sphere. Neither pure brute force nor pure indoctrination alone is sufficient — both instruments are used in combination.