What is the essence of a democratic regime? What are the institutional, political, philosophical, ethical, and logical prerequisites for its functioning?

Does the so-called "representative democracy" now represent the only feasible form of people's participation in political events, or does it constitute a negation and usurpation of "popular sovereignty"? When does it operate in a prime minister-centric manner, when in a president-centric fashion, and when do parties and parliament (as well as extralegal actors) have decisive margins for political intervention?

What are the conceptual and functional differences between parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential systems? What political data influence or determine the power relations among the various state actors within each system?

What were the earlier forms of political organization before democracy? How can authoritarian regimes be classified? What factors, in general, have defined the historical evolution of the phenomenon of power, and what is its particular nature?

This book by Professor Thanasis Diamantopoulos attempts to answer the above questions. Although it primarily focuses on the analysis and radiography of contemporary forms of political organization in societies, it does not diminish the historical dimension of the study of power, its emergence, legitimization, and exercise.