Actually the problems of democracy had started to emerge Democracy as a Political Theory long before these examples. In his book, Republic, Plato
There is a difference between the terms of government discussed many of these problems which occur during the “for the people” and “by the people”. While the former actual practice of democratic principles in Athens. one is designed to support the needs of the citizens, the According to him, wealthy oligarchs oppressed poor second one is designed by the contributions of the citizens citizens. Actually there have always been problems with to form the rules of the government. Participations of the the democratic systems all around the world. The citizens to government can be direct or indirect. In the important thing is to find a way to solve them. direct one as in Switzerland, all the rules are directly influenced by citizens through referendum. In the indirect A political ideology is a belief system held in common one as in France, elected representatives determine rules. within groups of people. Thus, it is concerned with the Government might be presidential, as in the United States benefits of each member of the society making the benefit or parliamentary, as in Great Britain. There are different maximum for the citizens and also for the state.
types of democracies: full democracy (Norway and Ideals cover a wide range of political beliefs. Democracy Canada), flawed democracy (the United States and gives the opportunity to the people who hold different France), hybrid regime (Pakistan), authoritarian political ideas to choose their leaders and be a part of the democracy (Russia and China). process of ruling the country in a way. Thus, a democratic
Practice of Democracy government must address a wide range of human values and political ideals. One of these political ideas is Democracies are still in progress. Any democracy is libertarian in which there is minimal government incomplete. According to John Locke citizens have any influence. The other one is authoritarian which has the right to resist and even to express this resistance violently total acceptance of full government for the sake of full against the government which takes away their property or security. Conservatives believe that for stability we need enslaves them. fixed rules while progressives take responsibility for their
Democracy is practiced differently in different parts of the own behavior and rules will adopt to social change over world. In Great Britain Britain, democracy is in the form time.
of monarchial parliamentary democracy. France is a In terms of economy, political ideologies vary. In parliamentary republic with an elected president as the socialism, all national assets are shared by the citizens head of state. There is also an elected parliament which while in capitalism only the investors or the owners of the serves to create legislative rules for government. In the businesses benefit from the economic growth. United States, there is a constitutional republic. In India, there is a socialist parliamentary. It is the world’s largest Development of the Democracy Idea democracy based on huge population. India gives The concept of democracy is originated from the ancient importance to provide equality for its each citizen. Greeks. The Greek word “demokratia” means “rule of the However, this creates a problem since different cultures people”. In modern times, it means the exercise of power perceptions of equality are also different from each other. by the citizens directly or indirectly. Because of the voting
Also some problems occur within different forms system in which a majority vote represents the greater democracy. Russia is one of the examples of these number of citizens, democracy is sometimes referred to as countries which have some sort of problematic rule of the majority.
democracy. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in According to Plato, government should consist of people 1991, Russia has attempted to incorporate democratic who are trained to and eligible enough to be a part of it. principles of other existing democratic governments to its However, this is not the case with the modern own regime; however, it cannot be claimed that it was democracies. In modern democracies there is a belief that successful. It has a very long and strong totalitarian citizens have a capacity to intervene in developing their cultural history that it prevents a successful transition from own government processes. The only purpose of the communism to democracy. Some resistance can even governments should be to support the citizens. The needs come from the citizens who like the early totalitarian style of the students are much more important than the of the government more than now. Also, sometimes in requirements of the government and its leaders. large segments of population, individual interpretations of the rules of the system can vary. The American civil war Whether or not democracy enhances economy is an is a good example of this. Official and unofficial rules are important question. The history shows that democracy not the same between northern and southern states lead welfare communities. China is a good example of although the United States government tries to create a this. China shows great growth in economy and also it also unified spirit out of the same accepted democratic experiences a gradual transition from totalitarian principals of the nation. In France, citizens claimed communism to partial democracy.
independence from aristocracy seeking for democracy Although countries are influenced from each other in which caused Revolutionary War from 1789-1799. terms of democracy, democracy can be observed to remain
partially in Africa. It is not stable enough to survive tribes. Democracy From Other Than Representative Individuals and movements are seeking for more Participation or Republic democratic forms of governance. Hybrid Forms of Democracy
Types of Democracies Hybrid democracy involves both democratic and non-
All democracies have some common features like citizen democratic governmental principles. In hybrid participation with voting, issue group participation, direct democracies, the only mission of the government is not to participation, and the rule of law. address the needs of the citizens. A leader is elected but the voters are limited to choose a single party or the Democracy from Direct Participation elected leader behaves in an autocratic manner.
Switzerland is a good example for direct democracy. Any Hybrid regimes can be observed in developing countries. citizen starting at the age of 18 take part in government decision-making process. The system of voting varies A country new to democracy can have such regimes. among different political districts. Federal Council consists Some civil movements and their pursuit for more of Councilors representing different political parties. individual rights can be resulted in such regimes. Hybrid democracies can easily be observed in some Middle There are three different types of voting in Switzerland Eastern and African countries. which are mandatory, popular initiative, and optional. Mandatory voting is held to change existing constitutional Presidential Elections In A Totalitarian State
measures. Sometimes a leader is chosen in an election to a totalitarian regime such as Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Democracy from Indirect Participation Benito Mussolini in Italy. After winning the election, the
Elements of indirect democracy are as follows: new totalitarian government, uses fascist strategies over the citizens and each branch of the government. • Citizens determine government through indirect voting Legislative Elections Into A Presidential State • Open elections in which all the citizens of legal In Syria, the system has just one part ,so the citizens do age elect the representatives who act on their not have much of a choice but to vote for the same party. behalf. • Representation in government through political Presidential Elections Limited to Political Party • party influence Membership
• Rotation of leadership when determined by In some countries like China, elections for leadership are leadership to be necessary conducted only within a single dominant political party. • Rule of law developed by representative leaders. Sometimes it seems meaningless to have elections when there is only one ruling party; however, sometimes new The United States is a good example for indirect parties may occur to represent other suppressed voices in democracy. The most important principle of its democracy the community. is the separation of powers among three different branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The power in Elections of Monarchs
each of these branches is explained in a constitution. While leadership is determined by heredity in a monarchy, some monarchs are elected even when there is sometimes Some forms of democracy incorporate elements of only one candidate. In some countries such as Malaysia, presidential and parliamentary governments. For instance, the monarch’s powers are also set under the constitution. in France, there is a constitutional republic which incorporates a parliament of directly elected Democracy in a Monarchy representatives in a National Assembly and an upper Democracy and monarchy are different regimes in terms house of government elected indirectly. of the election of the leadership. In a democracy,
Parliamentary Forms of Democracy leadership is chosen through voting, but in a monarchy leadership is determined through some forms of I an parliamentary system, the process of enacting law is inheritance. In the monarchy, there is a little potential for much faster than a presidential system since a presidential democracy. However, ın democracy decision making system of government needs more check and balances. process can take longer than monarchy since there are a The United Kingdom is the first country which has lot of different ideas and conflicts which has to negotiate practiced the parliamentary system for the first time. Since to reach an agreement. they have the Queen as the head of the government, it is known as parliamentary monarchy. In such systems, the Legislative Forms of Democracy citizens directly elect the members of the legislative body. In this form of democracy, the legislative body forms the The elected members of the parliament then choose from government. It determines its own leadership and provides among the leading political party who will be the Prime executive functions. Sometimes a single political party Minister with executive functions. may control the legislature as in China.
Judicial Forms of Democracy Democratic Transition-From Authoritian
When judicial decisions are made only on a constitution, Regimes To Democracies court systems can hardly influence government. Their Democratization means a transition to a more citizen- behaviors are controlled through constitutional or centered political regime from a regime that is less legislative rules. supportive of citizen needs and interests. This transition
Non-Democracy occurs generally very slow. Stable transition includes a power shift from privileged groups to citizens through a Totalitarianism series of steps in order to avoid conflicts.
In totalitarianism, a single party has all the power. All the other parties even the citizens having different ideas The first sings of a need for a modern form of democracy should be eliminated to hold the whole power in itself. dates back 1215 when English King John signed the Today North Korea and some parts of China can be given Magna Carta. It was a signal to end the total monarchical as examples to the counties which are ruled by rule. After that, Renaissance was a turning point for a totalitarianism. Fundamentalism is a part of totalitarianism revolution in the name of citizens rights in Europe and in North America. Also, the Second World War was fought since it is based on elements of unquestioned belief. against totalitarian elements by the allied countries ruled Controlling citizens is an important part of totalitarian by democratic rules of government. October 1918 regimes. They achieve it by spreading the spirit of nationalism. Revolution f the Bolsheviks, China’s transition from a total communist party dominance to partially democracy Fascism with the death Mao Zedong, Japan after World War II, In fascist regimes, the only priority of the government is some African countries such as Brundi are great examples developing nationalism regardless of left –wing or right- of the transition form authoritarian regimes to wing politics application. It is very close to totalitarianism democracies.
in terms of provoking nationalism. In fascism, a single The Problems leader serving as dictator provides strong leadership. Faith in destiny is a very important element in fascist doctrine. It Breadth:
brings hope for the future. Also, politic is everything in When citizens have broad diversity in terms culture and fascism. social values, it is difficult to govern this community by the government. Theocracy In theocracy, power comes from religious leadership Size:
which may either be a human a spiritual being. Islam is a Larger countries do not operate with direct democracy. good example to this. Rules accepted by the citizens come Large countries in terms of population, representative from a spiritual sense of reality. participation in government becomes more effective.
Oligarchy Cultural values:
In oligarchies power may be limited to political parties, A common language shared by all the citizens of the individuals and wealthy groups. The government serves to country is necessary for a full performance of democracy. privileged and powerful individuals not to the whole In multi cultural countries with a lot of languages spoken society. In Saudi Arabia a wealthy family, in Russia a by the citizens such as China, India and Canada, the class of wealthy business leaders and in China, a governments accommodated one or two standard communist party runs the government. languages.
Plutocracy Over-extension:
In a plutocracy, the wealthiest take the control of the The number of the political parties is important because as government and the only aim of the government is to the number of the parties increase, overlap in political make the wealthy groups richer. Free markets are more values occur and citizens get confused. beneficial to economic growth than the economy Need for expansion: controlled by the government. The partnerships between the countries for trade, cultural- Stratocracy social exchange, and defense to survive requires shared
In this regime, power comes from military. I n a rules. Countries that require increases in number of stratocracy government is headed by military chiefs. This international partnerships can expect that these countries is supported by law. The state and the military are practice democracy. constitutionally the same entity. For example, in Egypt, Uninformed public: where elected leadership comes from its military leader, public criticism of leadership is banned and political The more sophisticated a democracy becomes, the more opposition does not exist. difficulty its citizens face understand the many political
issues. This can lead to indifference or even to a refusal to participate.
Perils of capitalism:
While democracy is based on the principles of equality and fair distribution of wealth, in capitalism wealthy becomes wealthier and poor become poorer. This situation is a danger for democracy.
Lack of majority:
In some cases, a political party may not have the majority to form a government which results in coalitions. However, sometimes coalitions may not answer the needs of the respective constituencies.
Separation of powers:
In most presidential democracies, the separation of powers are provided and lack of adequate separation could result in tyrannical government.
Origin of Law
In many democracies law is determined by constitution, but with the democracies where constitutions are weak or do not exist, natural law or common law takes the place of constitutional law.
Transition:
Changes in leadership generally results in changes about the operation of the political system. Thus, more attention is dedicated to sustaining the continuing power than to supporting liberal characteristics of democracies.
Moral decay:
Distrust and disrespect in any society leads to rejection of government and its leaders. The practice of democracy should not cause discontent among the citizens; otherwise the rejection of rues can be expected to follow.