What is a Democracy?
3 DEFINITIONS OF DEMOCRACY:
Definitions and/or perceptions of democracy are as varied as the day is long. Some label a regime that will serve the true interests of the people, whether these people directly affect the making of those decisions. Using this definition of democracy, authoritarian regimes stake claim to the democratic label. This is based on the principle of democratic centralism that Lenin contributed to Marxist tenets. The principle of DEMOCRATIC CENTRALISM is the idea that the true interests of the masses were discovered through discussion within the Communist Party whereby the true interests of the masses were discovered through discussion within the Communist Party and then decisions were made under central leadership to serve those interests.
Another definition of democracy by Joseph Schumpeter is a more apt description of republican democracy. The principle of republicanism, known as REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY : the democratic method is that institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individuals acquire the power to decide by a competitive struggle for the peoples vote.
A third definition would be the one that resembles direct or PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY where all citizens participate and hold offices.
AREND LIJPHART:
Arend Lijphart says ideal democracy is a government whose actions are always in perfect correspondence with the preferences of all its citizens, and that this ideal democracy is seldom or rarely achieved in reality.
A pragmatic examination of democracy requires us then to examine those systems or regimes that are in RELATIVELY CLOSE CORRESPONDENCE with the relatively majority of citizens for a long period of time. This condition is what Lijphart calls RELATIVE RESPONSIVE DEMOCRACY.
Lijphart maintained that there are two RELATIVE RESPONSIVE DEMOCRACY categories:
1. Majoritarian: A majoritarian system works best in homogeneous societies where social, cultural, political, economic elements are mainly uniform; the emphasis and safeguards are instituted to provide MAJORITY RULE; Lijpharts model of majoritarian is what he calls the WESTMINSTER MODEL, used by Great Britain and New Zealand;
WESTMINSTER MODEL: protects majority rule through a centralized, unitary government.
Eight specific traits of the Westminster model:
No written constitution
Parliamentary sovereignty---laws of parliament are part of constitutional law; (Note: If GB should adopt the Euro, no longer fully sovereign; US faced similar situation with Treaty of Versailles post WWI)
Republican form
Plurality election system: first past the post, WTA;
Two party system
One dimensional difference between the two parties: socio-economic differences
Asymmetric bicameralism
Executive power fused with legislative majoritythus majority controls both areas.
2. Consensus: A consensus system works best when society is heterogenous and there is broad participation by all groups across society;
CONSENSUS MODEL:
Eight traits:
Written constitution
Multiparty system: multiple dimensions reflect gamut of views and clearvages
Balanced bicameralism
Executive is a coalition
Separation of powers
Territorial and non-territorial federalism
Decentralization
Proportional representative system
It is Lijphart's contention that a truly democratic society existed until Australia and New Zealand emerged in the early 1900s with their popular controlled government and universal direct suffrage.
Lijphart also maintains the US is a Deviant of the two systems.
Lijphart believes there are no perfect examples or models of democracy; usually we conclude that democracies are republican and are only RELATIVE RESONSIVE DEMOCRACY. Remember though that Lijphart adheres to a Regional or narrow approach of studying Political Systems. In Lijpharts system of RELATIVE RESPONESIVE DEMOCRACY, there must be certain conditions:
Freedom to join/form organizations, groups
Freedom of expression
Right to vote
Eligibility to run for public office
Right of political leaders to compete for support and vote of the people
Free and fair elections
Alternative sources of information
Institutions for making government policies
Basis of power for decision making: depends on votes or expressions of preference
Presently, there are 22 democratic regions in the world today out of approximately 190+ nations. Thus, most of the world's governments fall in the non-democratice forms. Obviously, democratic nations are in the minority.
Lijphart claims US was not a full fledged democracy until 1965 with the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act which removed voting restrictions on blacks
Since the end of WWII, 21 nations have been continuously democratic, and the similarities of these nations include:
Developed country
Highly industrialized
Highly urbanized nation
Culturally homogeneous
All but Japan are Judeo Christianity
Most are geographically in the North Arlantic area
Different traits of these democratic nations include:
Population, territory, and economy
Major difference in societal homogeneity: 80% belong to same religious group or speak same language;
Different degrees of plurality
Structure of Government
Function of Government
Process of Governance
COMPONENTS of Government
PROCEDURES of Government
DECISIONS and DECISIONMAKING of Government
LEADERS
CONTROL OVER DECISIONS
CONSENSUS OR CONSENT OF THE PEOPLE
PUBLIC REALM: ELECTION OF PUBLIC OFFICIALS( ARE THESES FAIR OPEN ELECIONS OF THE PEOPLE AND PARTICIPATION?)
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: ARTICULATION
FACTIONS: AGGREGATION
RULE OF LAW
ELECTIONS
RIGHT TO ASSOCIATE IN GROUPS
CIVIC CULTURE & SOCIAL CULTURE
COOPERATION
COMPROMISE
MAJORITY RULE
MINORITY RIGHTS
IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICIES
REPESENTATION: POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY?
POWER: LIMITED?; SEPARATION OF POWERS WITH CHECKS AND BALANCE?
Robert Dahl:
A contemporary of Lijpharts is Robert Dahl who sees democracies as relatively close correspondence and called them POLYARCHIES. Dahl studied political systems from the comparative environmental/humanist approach.
Monday, January 14, 2008
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