...Defining Democracy I define democracy as a system of government that involves freedoms, liberties, fairness, and competition. I believe that these four aspects of political life and participation are essential to forming a democracy. Pluralism is an important aspect of democracy. A true democracy expects competition because there is not one political party or actor that practices monopoly. Therefore, a multiplicity of actors has to be present. Democracy means observing multiple aspects, perspectives and choices in the political realm. There should never be one single actor that far exceeds all others. Politics is inevitably varied in terms of how it is practiced, who practices it, and what ideals it encompasses. Thus, plurality is a very important aspect that creates competition, which is needed for a true democracy. Democracy is a very difficult concept to define. There still is no concrete definition of democracy, but many people have attempted to provide a comprehensive, yet precise and concise, definition of it. This has resulted in both conceptual stretching and conceptual differentiation (too vague or too specific). I acknowledge the difficulty of making an accurate definition of democracy – so I have provided a statement on what democracy is. These four concepts (freedom, liberty, fairness, and competition) are essential to establishing a true democracy. American democracy means to as an individual: A democracy values each individual in society, because a democratic...
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...The term "democracy" originally meant people rule or more specifically rule by the people. A democracy is a form of government that stressed universal suffrage, multiparty elections, and majority rule. The term did not contain any unjustified positive connotations. Finally, after an American Revolution and one century after the Progressive Era the distinction between a democracy and a republic is gradually disappearing. During present times the term democracy is now considered a synonym for republic. Is democracy really the best form of government? According to Plato, democracy does not seem ideal and is flawed in numerous accounts. Can this form of government that we have been fighting so hard for be that harmful to us? Socrates was not executed for preaching democracy. He was executed for corrupting the youth of Athens by teaching them to think for themselves by asking questions, called the Socratic Method. Plato considers the extreme alternatives to having a democratic society that isn’t fit for it. There can be various complications with a pure democratic society. First, Plato argues that people in a democracy will tend to vote themselves only what is pleasing to them. For example, if people did not like wars, they simply will not have them but if a majority of the society was aggressive for any reason they will. As long as the will of the people is present, there is no need for anyone to exercise authority and no one has to submit to it. Plato views democracy is being...
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...Debate- perfect recipe for Democracy As i sifted through a newspaper on a cold morning with a cup of simmering tea, lifeless pages seemed to be hollering at me,coaxed me to mull it over. The Times of India costing 3.50 rupee paper brought life to 350 issues (buried in the hearts and graves of millions) that are rampant and pervasive across the nooks and corners of our developing nation and all we want is "Yellow Journalism", craving for stories that could gratify our salacious insatiable desires. We are promised a new dawn where the potential stakeholders of the country ( so called 273 in number) prepare to slug it out and their adversaries ( 269) brace themselves to stall anything that comes from across the "Radcliffe Line"( Border between India and Pakistan). Scams, problems,malfunctioning and debates ( you name it and we have it) are inextricably interwoven in this hedonist society. Even if i flit through channels of the modern day satellite glorified idiot box ( if we may call it as), would get to see a barrage of eminent and not so familiar faces involved in matches of mud-slinging, trying to defend not the country but the plundered wealth that they had brazenly embezzled from the exchequer. Out of the myriad channels i see wizened Anna, a septuagenarian crusading without caring for the fact that the people he is battling for, are the ones who are perpetrating it and are nonchalantly reclined in their comfort zones. In the name of Democracy all you get to feast upon...
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...WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? Andrew Heywood The origins of the term 'democracy' can be traced back to Ancient Greece. Like other words ending in 'cracy' - autocracy, aristocracy, bureaucracy and so on -democracy is derived from the Greek word kratos, meaning 'power' or 'rule'. Democracy thus stands for 'rule by the demos', demos meaning 'the people', though it was originally taken to imply 'the poor' or 'the many'. However, the simple notion of 'rule by the people' does not get us very far. The problem with democracy has been its very popularity, a popularity that has threatened the term's undoing as a meaningful political concept. In being almost universally regarded as a 'good thing', democracy has come to used as little more than a 'hurrah! word', implying approval of a particular set of ideas or system of rule. Perhaps a more helpful starting point from which to consider the nature of democracy is provided by Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, delivered in 1864 at the height of the American Civil War. Lincoln extolled the virtues of what he called 'government of the people, by the people, and for the people'. What this makes clear is that democracy serves to link government to the people, but that this link can be forged in a number of ways - government of, by and for the people. Nevertheless, the precise nature of democratic rule has been the subject of fierce ideological and political debate. The next section will look at alternative models of democracy. For the...
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...Democracy Mukulika Banerjee A s India is hailed as the next superpower, do its political credentials stand up to scrutiny? Is its record on governance and development up to the challenge of its newfound reputation? India has been a democracy for over six decades. In this time it has achieved some remarkable successes but also failed in significant ways. While economic growth has been rapid over recent decades, this has not translated into greater welfare for the majority of the Indian population. Despite being severely critical of its politicians, the electorate however remains enthusiastic in its political participation, especially at elections. In 1947, when India gained her independence from colonial rule, the choice of parliamentary democracy and a universal franchise for such a poor, vast and largely illiterate nation was considered foolhardy by many observers, at home and abroad. Nevertheless the first general election was held with great rigour, enthusiasm and success in 1952. In the meantime, a Constitution reflecting the political and ideological goals of the new nation had been adopted. It was authored by the Constituent Assembly made up of 299 members who represented the enormous class, religious and linguistic diversity of India’s population and who after much debate and deliberation set out the framework for India’s future as a republic and parliamentary democracy. Enshrined within it were the principles of the separation of powers, a universal...
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...Even the worst form of Democracy is better than Dictatorship. Democracy is a process not an event. Democracy, like anything in world, has its significance and its disadvantages at the same time. So, the question arises as to what really is democracy and in what aspects is it different from dictatorship. Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Therefore, one can call democracy as the will of the people. This definition is self explanatory as to the advantages of democracy. How can a thing be the will of the people living in the land and still not be advantageous to them? This question explains that democracy is a cure to certain ills; it is the voice of people. However, democracy is not as clean as it looks from the outside, it does has its own foes that needs to be answered so for that purpose we are going to compare it with dictatorship and in conclusion establish which system is better than the other. Like democracy, dictatorship has also its own advantages and disadvantages. Dictatorship is believed to be a system where the power is centralized and rests with one person called the dictator. As it is a centralized system of governance it carries with it all the advantages a centralized system has and it has to cater to all the disadvantages a centralized system has to deal with. However, it is to be regretted in the very beginning that dictatorship has got a much worse of image as compared to democracy due to certain reasons, which...
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...Normative democratic theory deals with the moral foundations of democracy and democratic institutions. It is distinct from descriptive and explanatory democratic theory. It does not offer in the first instance a scientific study of those societies that are called democratic. It aims to provide an account of when and why democracy is morally desirable as well as moral principles for guiding the design of democratic institutions. Of course, normative democratic theory is inherently interdisciplinary and must call on the results of political science, sociology and economics in order to give this kind of concrete guidance. This brief outline of normative democratic theory focuses attention on four distinct issues in recent work. First, it outlines some different approaches to the question of why democracy is morally desirable at all. Second, it explores the question of what it is reasonable to expect from citizens in large democratic societies. This issue is central to the evaluation of normative democratic theories as we will see. A large body of opinion has it that most classical normative democratic theory is incompatible with what we can reasonably expect from citizens. It also discusses blueprints of democratic institutions for dealing with issues that arise from a conception of citizenship. Third, it surveys different accounts of the proper characterization of equality in the processes of representation. These last two parts display the interdisciplinary nature of normative...
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...of Contents Introduction | 2 | Body | 2 | Conclusion | 4 | Bibliography | 5 | Introduction The question on whether democracies are actually required for development to take place is inadequate. In this research, I examine how a democracy forms policies that overcome poverty traps and increase development. Democracy is certainly a set of ideas and principles mainly about freedom, but it also involves of practices and procedures that have been molded through a long, and often torturous history. This paper discusses how democracy has been reliable with growth and examines the relationship between development and democracy. Growth has a decreasing effect on democracy because political leaders have full motivations to obey the rules of democracy beyond a particular edge of development. Moreover, the effects of development are facilitated by the arrangement of the international system. The evolution in politics was required to generate conditions which are beneficial towards the development of the economy, but contestation of policy and the increasing levels of corruption is now failing stock and causing unemployment. The link between democracy and development isn’t an easy one. Lipset (1959) and Barro (1996) claim that development in developed capitalist countries leads to more demands for political freedom. There are many causes why democracy weakens development; it is linked with governmental insecurity, elected representatives make biased choices in order to maximise...
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...(EU), an end to Russian intervention in Ukraine’s politics and the establishment of a clean government to replace the kleptocracy of President Viktor Yanukovych. But their fundamental demand is one that has motivated people over many decades to take a stand against corrupt, abusive and autocratic governments. They want a rules-based democracy. It is easy to understand why. Democracies are on average richer than non-democracies, are less likely to go to war and have a better record of fighting corruption. More fundamentally, democracy lets people speak their minds and shape their own and their children’s futures. That so many people in so many different parts of the world are prepared to risk so much for this idea is testimony to its enduring appeal. Yet these days the exhilaration generated by events like those in Kiev is mixed with anxiety, for a troubling pattern has repeated itself in capital after capital. The people mass in the main square. Regime-sanctioned thugs try to fight back but lose their nerve in the face of popular intransigence and global news coverage. The world applauds the collapse of the regime and offers to help build a democracy. But turfing out an autocrat turns out to be much easier than setting up a viable democratic government. The new regime stumbles, the economy flounders and the country finds itself in a state at least as bad as it was before. This is what happened in much of the Arab spring, and also in Ukraine’s Orange revolution a decade ago. In...
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...Bayarchimeg Tsolmon POS 112 American Government Professor: Dr. Moon Park Term Paper 03/17/15 Is United States of America a Democratic country? Democracy has been defined as a government structure which people are involved in decision making about it either directly or through by the representatives whom they have chosen by open vote. In a perfect sensing world ideal of perfect democracy could be described as all citizens are well informed in every topics of issues occurring around them such as human abuse, employment issue, foreign politics, and economy. Everyone can voice their opinion strongly on the issues and not disregard them because it is not a personal problem to them. Media and politicians would work together to inform us on the current insights for a better change, political corruption can be found easily and corrected by the power of people, and everyone who is eligible for elect do so not because it is their duty but it is because they are well-versed and determined to choose right candidate for a representation. All of this would have been a beautiful picture to paint, however it is not the type of democracy currently appear to exist in the U.S. It is tough to say that U.S is fully democratic country since that few of the researchers and sources have been arguing that democracy has not been seem to be present for the last few decades, and in fact it has been slowly changing onto an oligarchy system. As of Fall 2014 “ Research conducted by Princeton and...
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...Name Instructor Course Date Machiavelli and Mill’s democracy During the 16th century, Europe was governed by a monarchy. This was a king who ruled his territory solely and enjoyed the support from a group of nobles. Niccolo Machiavelli authored the book “The Prince” on the basis of the European feudal system, in which, he taught basic rules surrounding governance for a leader based on his understanding. According to Machiavelli, it is better for a leader (prince) to be feared by his subjects rather than loved. In addition, a leader should strive to clinch on power at all costs since they possess the power to do everything in the interest and benefit of the state (Held, 201). Various democratic principles are evident in the office of the President, congressmen, and the common citizens of the United States. Nevertheless, the constitution bars leaders from exhibiting the characteristics of Machiavelli’s prince via laying down a system of power checks and balances. Numerous concepts put forward by Machiavelli can presently be practiced by the President because he remains as the most senior leader of the nation. Moreover, Machiavelli’s most outstanding aspect of democracy is that a capable leader should do all he can in his capacity to remain in power. Evidently, numerous presidents in many nations share this wish and express their willingness to go to severe measures to retain their offices. Politicians; for instance are willing to spend huge amounts of dollars at each campaign...
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...Socialist "Democracy cannot consist solely of elections that are nearly always fictitious and managed by rich landowners and professional politicians." — Che Guevara, Marxist revolutionary Democracy is not only a political system… It is an ideal, an aspiration, really, intimately connected to and dependent upon a picture of what it is to be human—of what it is a human should be to be fully human. — Nikolas Kompridis Republic In contemporary usage, the term democracy refers to a government chosen by the people, whether it is direct or representative.[79] The term republic has many different meanings, but today often refers to a representative democracy with an elected head of state, such as a president, Definition While there is no universally accepted definition of 'democracy',[7] equality and freedom have both been identified as important characteristics of democracy since ancient times.[8] These principles are reflected in all citizens being equal before the law and having equal access to legislative processes. History of democracy Ancient origins Democracy has its formal origins in Ancient Greece,[3][20] but democratic practices are evident in earlier societies including Mesopotamia, Phoenicia and India.[21] The term Democracy first appeared in ancient Greek political and philosophical thought. The Greek city state of Athens, led by Cleisthenes, established what is generally held as the first democracy in 507 BCE. Middle Ages During the Middle Ages, there...
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...understand why. Democracies are on average richer than non-democracies, are less likely to go to war and have a better record of fighting corruption. More fundamentally, democracy lets people speak their minds and shape their own and their children’s futures. That so many people in so many different parts of the world are prepared to risk so much for this idea is testimony to its enduring appeal. Yet these days the exhilaration generated by events like those in Kiev is mixed with anxiety, for a troubling pattern has repeated itself in capital after capital. The people mass in the main square. Regime-sanctioned thugs try to fight back but lose their nerve in the face of popular intransigence and global news coverage. The world applauds the collapse of the regime and offers to help build a democracy. But turfing out an autocrat turns out to be much easier than setting up a viable democratic government. The new regime stumbles, the economy flounders and the country finds itself in a state at least as bad as it was before. This is what happened in much of the Arab spring, and also in Ukraine’s Orange revolution a decade ago. In 2004 Mr Yanukovych was ousted from office by vast street protests, only to be re-elected to the presidency (with the help of huge amounts of Russian money) in 2010, after the opposition politicians who replaced him turned out to be just as hopeless. Between 1980 and 2000 democracy experienced a few setbacks, but since 2000 there have been many Democracy is going...
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...In this essay I will discuss the different kinds of democracy and its advantages and disadvantages regarding to a quotation of Englands prime minister (1940) Winston Churchill: ‘Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.’ (from a House of Commons speech on Nov. 11, 1947). The essay argues that Churchill is right in saying that democracy has a lot of weak aspects but is still the best solution to rule a community- compared to its alternatives. Starting with the definition of democracy itself I will explain its different kinds followed by the main existing alternatives. In addition to that, democracy’s pro and con’s will be discussed ending with a conclusion. ‘It is not the State that orders us; but it is we who order the State!’ (Hitler, 1935). This statement, taken out of a speech of the German dictator from the 1930’s Adolf Hitler, ironically explains the term democracy very well. Demos means translated the people and kratos rule; the people rule the state (Hague and Harrop, 2010). Talking about this form of government we distinct between the direct, Classical version and the indirect, representative democracy (Hague and Harrop, 2010). Classical democracy, based in Ancient Greece, is the ‘only pure or ideal system of popular participation’ as most decisions were made directly by the people (Heywood, 2007:76). Nevertheless, the high level of political participation also brought major disadvantages as...
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...Democracy Expansion In a democracy, the government is the spokesperson for the people and the needs they would like to be met. The government is a group of people in the state who have the ultimate authority to act on behalf of that state. A democracy is a state in which citizens vote to choose the best candidate. Democracy derived from liberalism, which is the ideology that individuals develop their capacities to the fullest. A democracy reflects the liberal value that individuals are responsible for their own choices. Citizens can be free to run their lives as they want. Democracy requires an attitude of mind, a belief that every citizen has the right to a hearing, a sense that no doors are closed to talent and energy. Democracy in Africa is slowly coming together, but not fast enough. 1993 was the first presidential in 10 years. Abiola won, but soon went to jail for treason and the military remains in power. The wave of democratization called “second liberation” began at the end of the cold war. Political institutions have to be built in order for Africa to become a full fledge democracy. "Most of Africa lacks the crucial educated middle class and professional classes and the mediating private and public institutions that compose a civil society”(William Pfaff). Political conflicts have brought a collapse of government of authority. The low levels of income at about $300 per year continent wide and huge trade deficits is not a good standing in moving...
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