TIDE:Teaching Initiative for Democracy Education

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.