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Democracy (from Greek δημοκρατία (demokratia), δημος (demos) ''the common people'' + κρατειν (kratein) ''to rule'' + the suffix ία (ia), literally "the common people rule") is a Form Of Government where the population of a Society controls the Government . This simple concept has been interpreted and applied in various ways throughout history. Various mechanisms have been developed through which the people control (or are supposed to control) the government. As such, there are several distinctions between important Kinds Of Democracy . The word "democracy" has acquired a highly positive connotation over the second half of the 20th century, to such an extent that even widely acknowledged Dictator s regularly declare their support for "democracy" and often hold pre-arranged show elections. Nearly all of the world's governments claim to be democratic. Most contemporary political Ideologies include at least nominal support for some kind of democracy, no matter what they do support. KINDS OF DEMOCRACY Main article: Democracy (varieties) . Representative Democracy is a political system where the people vote on government ''members'', who are then expected to make decisions in accordance with the interests of their voters. It is called ''representative'' because the people do not vote on government decisions directly, but elect representatives to decide for them. This form of government has been increasingly common in recent times, and the number of representative democracies experienced such explosive growth during the 20th Century so that the majority of the world's population now lives under representative democratic regimes (which are sometimes also referred to as " Republic s"). In turn, representative democracies may be subdivided into "liberal" and "illiberal" forms. Liberal Democracy is a type of representative democracy where the ruling government is subject to Rule Of Law and Separation Of Powers , while the people are guaranteed certain inviolable Right s. Illiberal Democracy is a type of representative democracy where there are no effective limits on the power of elected representatives to rule as they please. HISTORY OF DEMOCRACY See Also: History of democracy The earliest forms of democracy were used by , 2006 . These republics were known as '' Maha Janapadas '', and among these states, Vaishali , in what is now Bihar , India , was the world's first republic. Later during the time of Alexander The Great in the 4th Century BC , the Greeks wrote about the Sabarcae and Sambastai states in what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan , whose "form of government was democratic and not regal" according to Greek scholars at the time. The term "democracy" in the original word in Ancient Greek - was coined in (or Pure Democracy ). Over time, the meaning of "democracy" has changed, and the modern definition has largely evolved since the 18th Century , alongside the successive introduction of "democratic" systems in many nations. Freedom House argues that there was not a single liberal democracy with universal suffrage in the world in 1900 , but that in 2000 120 of the world's 192 nations, or 62% were such democracies. They count 25 nations, or 19% of the world's nations with "restricted democratic practices" in 1900 and 16, or 8% of the world's nations today. They counted 19 constitutional monarchies in 1900, forming 14% of the world's nations, where a constitution limited the powers of the monarch, and with some power devolved to elected legislatures, and none in the present. Other nations had, and have, various forms of non-democratic rule. Freedom House. 1999. "Democracy’s Century: A Survey of Global Political Change in the 20th Century." Their evaluations are,in this field, disputable: for example, New Zealand enacted Universal Suffrage in 1893 (there is some room for quibbling about certain restrictions on the Maori vote). Freedom House omits this on the ground that New Zealand was not fully sovereign. Some states have changed their regimes after 2000 , for example Nepal which has become a non-democracy after the government assumed Emergency Powers because of defeats in the Nepalese Civil War . 20th century waves of democracy The movements, and fascist regimes in Nazi Germany , Mussolini in Italy, Francisco Franco 's regime in Spain and António De Oliveira Salazar 's regime in Portugal , limited the extent of democracy in the 1930s, and gave the impression of an "Age of Dictators". The status of most Colonies remained unaffected. World War II brought a definitive reversal of this trend in western Europe. The Occupation Of Germany and its successful democratisation from above, served as a model for the later theory of Regime Change . However, most of Eastern Europe was forced into the non-democratic Soviet Bloc . The war was followed by Decolonisation , and again most of the new independent states had nominally democratic constitutions. In the decades following World War II, most western democratic nations had a predominantly Free-market Economy and developed a Welfare State , reflecting a general consensus among their electorates and political parties. In the 1950s and 1960s, economic growth was high in both the western and communist countries, later it declined in the state-controlled economies. By 1960, the vast majority of nation-states were nominally democracies, although the majority of the world's populations lived in nations that experienced sham elections, and other forms of subterfuge (particularly in Communist nations.) Subsequent waves of Democratization brought substantial gains toward true liberal democracy for many nations. Economic malaise in the 1980s, along with resent of communist oppression, contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the associated end of the Cold War, and the Democratisation and Liberalisation of the former Soviet bloc countries. The most successful of the new democracies were those geographically and culturally closest to western Europe, and they are now members or candidate members of the European Union . Free-market reforms, while requiring adjustment, have generally improved the economic situation in most such nations, and will likely do so to a greater extent in the future. (Even countries that are still nominally communist, like China, are today embracing capitalism as a superior vehicle for economic growth and prosperity.) Much of Latin America and Southeast Asia, Taiwan and S Korea and some Arab and African states—notably Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority— moved towards greater liberal democracy in the 1990s and 2000s. The number of liberal democracies currently stands at an all-time high, and has been growing without interruption for some time. As such, it has been speculated that this trend may continue in the future to the point where liberal democratic nation-states become the universal standard form of human Society . This prediction forms the core of Francis Fukayama 's " End Of History " theory. ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A DEMOCRACY Though there remains some philosophical debate as to the applicability and legitimacy of criteria in defining democracy (see philosopher Charles Blattberg , ''From Pluralist to Patriotic Politics: Putting Practice First'', Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2000, ch. 5. ISBN 0-19-829688-6) what follows is a generally-accepted minimal set of requirements for a decision-making body to be considered democratic:
Four conceptions of democracy Among political theorists, there are at least four major contending conceptions of democracy. On one account, called minimalism, democracy is a system of government in which citizens give teams of political leaders the right to rule in periodic elections. According to this minimalist conception, citizens cannot and should not “rule” because on most issues, most of the time, they have no clear views or their views are not very intelligent. Joseph Schumpeter articulated this view most famously in his book ''Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy'' Joseph Schumpeter , (1950). ''Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy''. Harper Perennial. ISBN 0061330086.. Contemporary proponents of minimalism include William Riker , Adam Przeworksi, and Richard Posner . A second view is called the aggregative conception of democracy. It holds that government should be a system that produces laws and policies that conform to the vector-sum of citizens’ preferences. A good democratic government is one that produces laws and policies that are close to the views of the median voter — with half to his left and the other half to his right. Anthony Downs laid out this view in his 1957 book ''An Economic Theory of Democracy''. Anthony Downs , (1957). ''An Economic Theory of Democracy''. Harpercollins College. ISBN 0060417501. A third conception, Deliberative Democracy , is based on the notion that democracy is government by discussion. Deliberative democrats contend that laws and policies should be based upon reasons that all citizens can accept. The political arena should be one in which leaders and citizens make arguments, listen, and change their minds. Participatory Democracy , a fourth conception, holds that citizens should participate directly, not through their representatives, in making laws and policies. Proponents of participatory democracy offer varied reasons to support this view. Political activity can be valuable in itself, it socializes and educates citizens, and popular participation can check powerful elites. Most importantly, citizens do not really rule themselves unless they directly decide laws and policies. Political legitimacy and democratic culture All forms of government depend on their Political Legitimacy , that is, their acceptance by the population. Without that, they are little more than a party in a Civil War , since their decisions and policies will be resisted, probably by force. Apart from those with anti-statist objections, such as Anarchists and Libertarians , most people are prepared to accept their governments as necessary. Failure of political legitimacy in modern states is usually related to Separatism and ethnic or religious conflicts, rather than political differences. However there are historical examples, notably the Spanish Civil War , where the population split along political lines. In a democracy, a high degree of political legitimacy is necessary, because the Electoral Process periodically divides the population into 'winners' and 'losers'. A successful democratic political culture implies that the losing parties and their supporters accept the judgment of the voters, and allow for the peaceful transfer of power - the concept of a " Loyal Opposition ". Ideally political competitors may disagree, but acknowledge the other side's legitimate role, and ideally society encourages tolerance and civility in public debate. This form of political legitimacy implies that all sides share common fundamental Values . Voters must know that the new government will not introduce policies they find totally abhorrent. Shared values, rather than democracy as such, guarantee this. Free elections alone are not sufficient for a country to become a true democracy; the culture of the country's political institutions and Civil Service must also change. This is an especially difficult cultural shift to achieve in nations where transitions of power have historically taken place through violence. There are various examples, such as Revolutionary France , modern Uganda and Iran , of countries that were able to sustain democracy only in limited form until wider cultural changes occurred to allow true majority rule. Comparison of direct and representative democracy The definition of the word "democracy" from the time of ancient Greece up to now has not been constant. In contemporary usage, the term "democracy" refers to a government chosen by the people, whether it is direct or representative. In constitutional theory and in historical usages and especially when considering the works of the Founding Fathers Of The United States , the word "democracy" refers solely to Direct Democracy (traditionally called Pure Democracy ), whilst a Representative Democracy where representatives of the people govern in accordance with a constitution is referred to as a Constitutional Republic . Using the term "democracy" to refer solely to direct democracy retains some popularity in United States Conservative and Libertarian debate. The original framers of the . Republished by Wikisource . However, at the same time, the framers carefully created democratic institutions and major Open Society reforms within the United States Constitution and the United States Bill Of Rights . They kept what they believed were the best elements of democracy, but mitigated by a constitution with protections for individual liberty, a balance of power, and a layered federal structure. Modern definitions of the term "republic", however, refer to any State with an elective Head Of State serving for a limited term, in contrast to most contemporary Hereditary Monarchies which are representative democracies and Constitutional Monarchies adhering to Parliamentarism . Older Elective Monarchies are also not considered to be republics. LIBERAL DEMOCRACY |
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