1.From a basic and conceptual standpoint, thin concepts of democracy are more narrow, whilst thick concepts of it take a much broader stance.(Democracy Index 2012:5)
Both definitions include the fundamental electoral requirements of a democracy whilst the thin concepts seem to stay within this minimalist realm(Democracy Index 2012:5) and the thick definition encompasses more political freedoms, adding civil liberties to the list of requirements as well.(Democracy Index 2012:26)
Dahls version of polyarchy and Freedom Houses electoral democracy are examples of ‘thin’ definitions where both define democracy by political freedoms only, mostly related to elections and votes. (Democracy Index, 25, 26), Freedom houses’ non electoral definition of democracy (Democracy Index 2012:5) is “thick” as it adds to it a range of political liberties and includes public freedoms.(Democracy Index 2012:5)
Sometimes there are even more points added to certain “thick” definition of democracy because they do not see political and civil liberties as enough to define a country as truly democratic.(Democratic Index 2012:26, 27)
The economic index does this where it sees that requirements such as a population that participates in the democratic process and a government that is able to carry out its given role must be added on to make a democracy more practically efficient.(Democratic Index 2012: 26, 27)
In conclusion thin democracy is a narrow definition(Democracy Index 2012:5) leading more towards
Overtime, democracy in the United States has transformed. Throughout America’s rich history, democracy has undergone several modifications due to the changing of certain institutions. The Greek words “demos” translates to people and “kratos” means power. Putting the two Greek words generates power to the people, which is the primary statute of democracy. Another definition is “Democracy...means a way of living together in which mutual and free consultation rule instead of force...” (Tozer, p.125). Democracy is government by consent, meaning that individuals in a democratic society will be free from coercive force and the right to individual freedom. Robert Dahl, a political theorists and professor, created criteria for democratic
Amartya Sen uses a maximum definition of democracy. Sen believes that a democracy has more qualities than just rule by the majority. "Democracy is a demanding system, and not just a mechanical condition (like majority rule) taken in isolation" (Sen 5). Sen believes
Fareed Zakaria’s “The Rise of Illiberal Democracy” details his view on elected governments and the ignorance and abuse of their power. He claims that they do not use their powers in the right way and instead deny basic civil rights and liberties. Democracy can be defined numerous ways in different countries. In Zakaria’s definition, to paraphrase, a democracy is viewed as a process of selecting government and is to always mean the rule of the people. In my opinion this definition is very true when associating democracy with countries such as the one I preside in because we have the right to vote for the people making decisions in individual states and, most importantly, our federal government. To have a democracy intuitively means “A good government”. Following democracy in the article, Zakaria highlights two other forms of government that contrast to democracy and where they are used. Constitutional liberalism “is not a procedure for selecting government, but rather the government’s goal”. This concept of government rule looks out more for the individual
This classification comes from the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index, a report issued annually which analyzes the “electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, democratic political culture and civil liberties” of governments throughout the world (“Declining trust in government” 1). Each country is rated according to these categories, and given a score ranging from 0-10 (“Democracy Index” 53). This score places them in one of four groups: full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime, and authoritarian regime (54). The major differences between a full democracy and flawed democracy fall within issues of functioning, political participation, and political culture (54). Normally, the United States has held the title of full democracy, and although it’s change in numerical score is minimal, the change in category is of large
Over the years democracy in our country has improve extremely. Compare to back then to now there is less mistakes being made as in individuals voting. Dahl says there is five standards of democracy which is “effective participation, equality in voting, gaining enlightened understanding, excising final control over the agenda, and inclusion of adults”.
“Rather, there are all shades of democracy, ranging from purely façade democracies, such as the now-demised Fujimori regime in Peru, to formal to procedural democracies, where you have relatively free and competitive elections and the institutional forms of democratic governance, but where other important aspects—e.g., a free press, respect for human rights, strong and effective legislative and judicial institutions.” - Interesting
In chapter nine, "Varieties I Democracy On Different Scales" of the novel, On Democracy by Robert A. Dahl discussed: "the words democracy and democratic are bandied about indiscriminately, it is tempting to adopt the view of Humpty Dumpty in Through the Lloking Glass (Dahl, R. A., 1998, pg.100)." From Humpty Dumpty's perspective, each person has the freedom to refer any goverment a democracy; even a government that's tyrannical. Athens created and used the terminology "democracy". Those involved in a smaller unit had the opportunity to engage in the method to control themselves. Democratic countries believed it wasn't necessary to remove the representative system.
Democracy is a difficult concept to define, with almost every nation state in the world self-defining themselves as such, when in fact not all are. The complexity of the definition of democracy poses challenges when one is trying to analyse the causes and effects that democracy can have. Democracy occurs by degree, not in absolutes, further complicating analysis. The traditional definition of democracy prior to the revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries, was one of direct democracy, where every citizen participated actively and collectively to decide on every policy that affected them, rather than through a representative as is the norm today (Panagos 2008). In the modern form, political
Amartya Sen uses a maximum definition of democracy. Sen believes that a democracy has more qualities than just rule by the majority. "Democracy is a demanding system, and not just a mechanical condition (like majority rule) taken in isolation" (Sen 5). Sen believes
-Democracy is the recognition of the individual, respect for equality, faith in the majority rule, acceptance of compromise, insistence on greatest possible individual freedom
However, this is not the case as when looking further it becomes clear that are a result of simplifying there are certain implications. This is evident in Weber’s concept of the “ideal type” which states that concepts are created by putting forward the central feature of the phenomenon. This in turn marginalises other features that play a part. It becomes problematic as politics is complicated and intricate in its nature and requires every aspect to be explored. Concepts simply ignore the parts of the political world which make politics ‘political’. Ultimately leading us to fail to investigate and explore that which defines the political world. Wedeen explores this further when analysing ‘Democracy’ in the minimalist sense which constrains ourselves to simply a state level definition. Nevertheless, when looking at ‘Democracy’ further in the interpretive way it is found in places like Yemen in the Arab world
Dictionaries define Democracy as a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a parliament . Other dictionaries define Democracy as the rule of the majority. Democracy appears distinguishably in everyday news, papers, and people’s daily talks. Democracy as a word has become associated with equality and goodness. Moreover, democracy, in theory, is not the power of certain people over others but the power of the people, the people rule. Personally, I believe that democracy is liberty. In other words, “In order that the liberty of all may be preserved, the liberty of everybody must be curtailed.” Nevertheless, I find that today’s definition of democracy has changed considerably. This paper will discuss the term democracy defined by Qaddafi’s through his book and rule of Libya.
There are two types of regimes: democracies and dictatorships. As political scientist, Samuel P. Huntington describes it, “a country is democratic to the extent that its most powerful collective-decision makers are selected through fair, honest, and periodic elections in which candidates freely compete for votes and in which virtually all the adult population is eligible to vote.” This definition has since become one of the most widely accepted definitions of democracy among political scientists. A dictatorship, on the other hand, is any other type of regime. Although this may not have been the case a century ago, democracy tends to have a positive connotation attached to it, most likely due to the positive effects associated with it, such as higher levels of wealth and civic engagement. However, this paper will prove that wealth and civic engagement are the products of the underlying causes of democracy, not the democracy itself.
The concept of ‘democracy’ dates from Ancient Greece. In the Greek two words: Kratos means the (rule) and demos means (people). Heywood (2013, p.89). The concept of democracy cannot be understood with precision. One of the most political concepts which does not have one definition. As Bernard Crick’s argues democracy is a term that can mean different things to different people. It is frequently stated in terms of ‘thin’ and ‘thick’. At its thin incarnation,
For the past semester, I have been involved in a class that was focused on exploring the world of democracy. Going into this class, like many, I was convinced that democracy was a cut and clear issue. I believed that democracy was a shining beacon in the world of government, and I never really gave a second thought to it. Through the times of this course however, I have come to truly understand the make up of democracy and where it came from. The real issue that is had within democracy is the actual implementation and execution of the system.