...Q) Discuss the role of political parties in contemporary democracies. Assess whether parties have retained their position or are in a decline or ascent? Consider arguments both in favour and against your judgment. A) In the twenty-first century, the term democracy doesn't just bring to mind the idea of people power; instead it prompts the idea of the existence of several political parties. The changing face of democracy has much to owe to the evolution of the political party system in the world today. Political parties seem to have become an engraved concept of democracy nowadays because of the significant role they play in the prevalent democratic systems. On face value a political party is a group of individuals representing certain views and attempting to gain power through the process of elections and translating these views into policies. However, they have several purposes, that upon being fulfilled act like building blocks to form the wall of democracy as we know it today. These include, but are not limited to, the formation of a government, representation of populist ideas, provision of a political platform for individuals, and the setting of goals for society which of course are coherent with what the masses desire. Moreover parties may also represent a certain faction of society which could be ethnic, religious or a certain class, much like interest groups do. These purposes of political parties are parallel to the essential principles of democracy, hence playing...
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...Democracy in America Michelle Caddell POS/110 May 20, 2012 Cawas Mody Democracy in America On July 4, 1776 the Declaration of Independence was signed. This was a significant start to democracy in America. The fore fathers of our country had big plans for America. This essay will include my opinions of Democracy in America, as well as some of the strengths and weaknesses that exist in our government system in America. I will include a description of the roles of the President, and other members of our government structure in America. The role of the government has done some major changing since the beginning of democracy. Some of these changes that have occurred have weakened our government system. The definition of democracy is a government run by the people of the country. My personal definition of democracy is having officials that will do what is best for the citizens of the country. I also feel that this should be done with the utmost respect and morals. I feel that this is the way that our fore fathers would have wanted it. I truly believe that our country started on these values and beliefs. Is that where it has really ended up? Democracy has a different meaning to everyone. One fact that we can all agree on is that democracy is one of the most important things in our life in America. The fact that we all wake in the morning to living in a free country is something that we as Americans thrive on. Some things that we must pay close attention to is the control that...
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...WORKING OF INDIAN DEMOCRACY More than six decades have passed since India has adopted the democratic form of government. The reason for the adoption was the familiarity of the Indian people with the democracy. The working of Indian democracy is stick to the words of Abraham Lincon about democracy i.e. the government is by the people, of the people and for the people. Elections are the essence of every democratic country. On the basis of number of voters, India is known as the largest democracy of the world. In India elections are held from time to time so that the voters may choose and change their representatives. Voters vote in a free and frank manner so as to register their will in the battle of ballot box. All the citizens irrespective of their caste, colour, creed, language and sex are given right to vote. Our country ensures universal adult franchise to all the citizens. Elections in India are not merely symbolic but they are competitive, periodic, inclusive and definite elections. Indian democracy ensures maximum freedom to press. As public opinion plays very significant role in a democratic society, freedom of press is necessary for the formation of public opinion. Media serves as a connecting link between the people and their representatives in India. No discrimination is allowed on the grounds of religion, caste, colour, creed, place of birth etc. The discrimination that is allowed is the protective discrimination, which is done for the upliftment of weaker sections...
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...Constitution Oct 15, 2012 1. The most general definition of politics would be the process by which values are authoritatively allocated for a particular society. More specifically that allocation speaks to the process where it is decided when, what, who, and how resources are distributed. Many would say that politics is no more than the art of governing humanity through deception, and some would even go as far as to say it is nothing more than conducting public affairs for private gain. Government has numerous roles but four of the major areas are paramount. Manage the national economy. It is the responsibility of the government to place checks and balances within the system to make sure the economy remains viable. The government also has the responsibility to enforce laws and contracts. This could be as simple as managing disputes between private citizens (civil or criminal) or as major as the Supreme Court hearing arguments between the states. Another major area where government is involved are issues of public safety and infrastructure. The upkeep of roads and bridges, regulation of utilities and public services, and public health standard guidelines are roles of the government. One of the most obvious and expensive roles of the government is national defense. The Constitution speaks to the issue of raising an army and navy (doesn’t say exactly how) and it is the expectation of the people that the government will provide for them an adequate defense. 2. ...
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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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...Comparative Politics Brazil Paper Peter Kingstone 04/17/12 Brazil as a “Democracy” Brazil’s government has been through a lot of change in recent history. Prior to the new Constitution in 1988, the nation was run as a dictatorship. Now, with the aid of a new Constitution, many steps have been taken in the direction towards a democracy. In fact, many sources will tell you that Brazil is now democracy, due to the façade that we see from the outside looking in. Even so, with such a large portion of Brazil’s population being poor who barely see any benefits from the so called democracy, I believe that Brazil is not a democracy. Democracies are meant to have fair elections, give the people a strong voice in politics, protect the people, give the people a sense of power and social standing, and generally please the majority of the population while being a government of the people. Granted, we know from our own nation that a democracy does not always please all of the people, but it is designed around the idea that it will please the majority of the people. As we will see, many of the things needed to have a strong democracy are present in Brazil, but many things are either corrupted, not what they seem, or just don’t play out to do what they are meant to do. In order to understand why it is hard to consider Brazil a democracy, we must first examine how the government has evolved into what is thought to be a Democracy. Before the new Constitution in 1988, Brazil was believed to be...
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...a biologically lower level. Additionally, he provided an example of how the product of such mating would produce the miserable life for the child because he cannot be with a person of a higher status, or even worse, to be with a lower individual. For Nature, it’s worse to blend the higher races with lower ones, because it would taint her work of creating high developments. In other words, the interaction of the distinct statuses would contaminate the blood for human progress by causing the collapse of great civilizations. As a result, Hitler states that the specific human who created the great culture should preserve his bloodline in order to protect it. The human would need to fight and abide to these laws of race for human progress. 2. What, in Hitler’s view, are the basic dissimilarities between Aryans and Jews?...
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...To what extent have constitutional reforms introduced since 1997 made the UK more democratic? Since 1997 the UK has seen many constitutional reforms; it is argued about whether or not they have made the UK more democratic, this easy will be going through a few of these reforms and explain how they have effected the UK. The word democracy means a system of government in which all the people are involved in making decisions that effect the country/state, it can further be defined as a government for the people, by the people, of the people, the people of the state can have their say through electoral votes, referendums lobbying or protests. Democracy has many aspects such as decentralisation, accountability, participation, open government and rights protection; decentralisation means the process of distributing or dispersing power away from the central government, an example of this can be seen in the Devolution Act of 1997. Accountability is the act of the government being liable for everything they do; this relates back to the rule of law which states that anybody can be taken to court if they have broken the law including the law makers themselves. Holding the government accountable means that anybody of the public can take the government to court if they have broken the law or if someone feels like an Act has been broken. Open government definitely helps democracy as it means that citizens have the right to access documents and proceedings of the government to allow for...
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...contract of consent and have the power to change the government if it breaks the people's contract. Locke's theory had a more direct impact on the American system of government as one can see his work and ideas in not only the Declaration of Independence, "life, liberty, and property", but also in how the American government works as a whole. Although Hobbes' Leviathan does not play a key role in our government in the sense of an "all-powerful" government, his idea that people need a single ruler to govern to "guarantee the rights of the weak against the strong" was implemented in the creation of the executive branch of the American government system. 2 Locke's ideas and theory shows up all throughout the Declaration of Independence. Three examples of this are: "all men are created equal", "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness", and "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed". These three quotes are directly related to the theory and works of John Locke. I do agree with this assessment. This could be a biased answer because I have more knowledge of Locke's work, however, after this reading I still feel the same way. There are direct connections between Lockes theory and the Declaration of Independence not only in quotes but also the feeling and emotion of the ideas presented. I think that Hobbes' theory carries a...
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...Part 1: Arizona Statehood There are many events which impacted the process of Arizona becoming a state. Each of these events is not only historical, but they are what allowed the Arizona Constitution to be written in 1910 and to finally become a state in 1912. The Arizona Constitution, when first adopted, was seen as one of the most radical documents in the United States, and even today it still has many contrasts to the U.S. Constitution. Some of the events which helped to shape the Arizona Constitution, as well as make it an official state are the Pre-territorial Period, the Spanish Period, The Mexican Period, the U.S. Controlled Period, the Territorial Period and the impact of the Progressive movement on the creation of the Arizona constitution. First, the Pre-territorial Period is probably the most politically unknown because it is impossible to reconstruct how these prehistoric communities felt about politics and democracy. However, evidence shows that people inhabited Arizona for thousands of years before the Europeans. Indians were considered to be the “first citizens” established in Arizona, long before it became a state. There are three major cultures which lived in this state, which were the Apache, the Navajo, the Hohokam and Mogollon. The Hohokam disappeared around the mid 1400’s but historians do not know why. Each group was complex in their social organizations which showed that they were well established and sophisticated. The Indians significantly influenced...
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...The American control of Iraq is purportedly only to hold the place of power until a democratically elected regime can take the place of the occupying force. But is there, as some critics have speculated, some aspect of Islam that makes it inherently hostile and incompatible with Western notions of democratic rule? This is the question which John Esposito and John Voll have tried to examine in their book Islam and Democracy. Published in 1996, this book explores the different ways in which Islam relates to democratic principles and ideas. Arguing against previously held explanations about the nature of Islam and the very definition of democracy, this book explores several cases where Islamic movements operate to a varying degree of success in the area of popular representation. The authors begin with the assertion that due largely to economic and technological globalization, the world is presently experiencing an increase in the spread and influence of democratic ideals. Occurring alongside this political shift, they argue that there is a growing focus upon what the authors refer to as "the assertion of the authenticity and legitimacy of communal identities." This trend toward the popular identification of people with subgroups within the larger cultural framework often takes the form of the resurgence of religious fundamentalism. The authors point out that this resurgence is a natural part of the pluralistic mode of social representation. These two forces of cultural change...
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...various types of governments, three of the most commonly-studied include the republic, the absolute government, and the democracy. Each of these three governmental systems have unique factors that allow them to be preferred over one another; each one has served as a viable system of government for societies in years past. However, when creating a new system of government in a given state, the republic is the ideal system of government to ensure the fairest treatment for all citizens, moving most closely to equality and justice and protecting basic liberties for all. Generally speaking, the Republic is a system that views the government as a public entity, not a private one; rather than consolidating power in the hands of a few select individuals, the responsibility for leadership falls to the members of a given society. While this type of government can include the vast majority of individuals, such as in a democracy, it can also be restricted to just a select few individuals, such as in an aristocracy or oligarchy. In comparison to the absolute government, though, the Republic works to disseminate power more readily to more individuals, ensuring that individuals are protected from the abuses of power that can occur when rule is passed on from one solitary individual to another, often through hereditary elements (Mayer, 2005). When comparing the concept of a democracy to that of the republic, there is a great deal in common between the two. John Adams wrote that a republic is “an...
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...When considering the history of democracy, Ancient Athens is perhaps the culture that came closest to direct democracy. Although they excluded women, slaves and foreigners, the democratic system required all citizens to vote on all major issues in a general assembly. The boule consisted of 500 citizens commissioned to carry out these decisions and run the city. Even the verdict of every court case was decided by a vote of the Assembly. With this system, all citizens were actively and constantly involved in the running of all political life. Since the French Revolution, representative democracy has spread throughout most of the world. These governments consist of complex structures, in which the legislature is carried out by a parliament. With the influence of media and the overall advancement of technology, such as the Internet, the voting behaviour of citizens in contemporary democracies has caused many transnational bodies, such as the EU, to question the sovereignty of each country and its chosen representatives. As a result, one could ask what structures of direct democracies can exist in such a time where the conditions have changed drastically since old Athens? Furthermore, do they constitute meaningful alternatives to representative democracy? For this investigation, a line needs to be drawn between the different types of instruments used by direct democracies. In the first part, I will focus on instruments of direct democracies that influence the executive branch...
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...Introduction In this era when individuals are questioning the legitimacy and wisdom of unregulated free markets, issues are raised about the most efficient form of economic activity and the best role for government in an economy. These issues have been discussed at many points in the past, and different societies have come to different conclusions regarding political and economic systems. In the United States, and many developed nations around the world, the view has often been that democracy accompanied by capitalism, offers the best, most efficient use of resources and governments guided by those principles assure the best outcomes for their populations. Other countries have adopted very different governing principles. Communist doctrine, as adopted by some nations, endorses the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership of the means of production and property (Communism: The failure of an utopian system, 2008). The civilization is governed by an individual, or individuals, whose function is to ensure the efficiency of the society as a whole. As an ideal, the communist doctrine defines a just city as one that eliminates the need for its citizens to wish to exploit each other. History appears to indicate that in practice, however, the communist vision cannot be fulfilled since “absolute power (which is given to the leader) corrupts absolutely” (Martin, 2009). Human nature does not appear to manage total supremacy well. 49 When...
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...and the evolution of associated Political Action Committees by focusing on the funding side. In this essay I am defining ‘too powerful’ as something that is a hindrance to democracy. On the one hand there is the pluralist view on pressure groups. Many believe they provide true representation for the ordinary citizens between the long stretches of elections. Interest groups provide a valuable addition to any democracy in which the range of views and beliefs can be heard and fed into the decision-making process. Pressure groups highlight the inherent value of the first amendment to the constitution, which formally protects the freedom of speech and the right to petition for the remedy of grievances. In this light, pressure groups can effectively never be too powerful, as they are providing a source for ordinary citizens to participate in politics, which they normally don’t get to do between elections. Pressure groups offer many forms of participation, through simply joining, perhaps signing a petition, forming a protest, educating others or even standing for a role within the pressure group. Taking this into account, with reference to the first amendment, pressure groups are meant to be powerful; they provide citizens with political participation. Interest groups provide a valuable addition to any democracy in which the...
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