Democracy: An Analysis Essay

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Democracy is defined as a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections. This definition is accurate in

A democracy is when the common people are considered as the primary source of political power. Although democracy and absolutism had advantages and disadvantages, democracy was a more effective type of government for it limited royal power and protected the rights of the people socially, politically, and economically. Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, tension arose between the two different types of governments, the democracy and absolute monarchs.

In a democracy, the people are supposed to rule via representatives. Using a system by, of, and for the people, everyone is equal and rights are guaranteed. Democracy is vital to uphold basic human rights such as freedom of expression or liberty. For this reason, democracy is the cornerstone of nearly all developed nations today, including the United States. Yet in many places, that cornerstone is weak. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a democracy as “a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives” (Definition). To be an effective democracy, all the members of a state must be properly represented, and elections should favor public opinion. Yet this is not always the case - in fact, the democracies that represent the most people, such as in the UK, the US, and India are quite weak.

Democracy is an interesting form of government that is evolving. The word democracy comes from the Greek word “demos.” The word demos mean people. Democracy is a form of government that puts the power within the hands of its people. The government works to protect people, but also expects something in return. The People vote to choose who represents them, but they also have to In a democracy, the people have certain rights as well as responsibilities; these can be found in documents such as John Locke’s Second Treatise on Government, The Spirit of Laws, and The Social Contract.

Today many contend that a genuine democracy requires the leveling of progressive systems in culture and in society. Democracy for Ellison guarantees a freeing eagerness to perceive aesthetic perfection without respect to race, class, or gender. A genuinely democratic political framework has certain qualities which demonstrate its authenticity with their reality. A genuine democracy system is that it permits individuals to openly settle on decisions without government mediation. Another fundamental trademark which legitimates government is that each vote must be equal, one vote in favor of everyone. For this balance to happen, all individuals must be liable to similar laws, have measure up to social liberties, and be permitted to uninhibitedly

This phenomenon demonstrates how core features of the very definition of democracy, such as elections and legislatures, can become instruments of authoritarian domination (Gandhi, 2008, Gandhi & Przeworski 2007, Levitsky & Way, 2010, Magaloni, 2006, Svolik, 2012). As a result, more attention is

Democracy is a generic term and every mature person living in today’s world is familiar with it. Democracy is a topic of debate now-a-days and most of the research about it has already been conducted through surveys and choices of people. Democracy is a system that assures the people’s part in taking decisions of state and political affairs through the right of voting. The generic definition and concepts of democracy are easy accessible on many websites online. Democracy is a on which almost 70% of the research is already done and further research is mostly taken in order to check the shifting choices of the people.

In the world exist three forms of government: Democracy, Aristocracy and Monarchy. In Democracy the power is of everyone, in Aristocracy the government is of a few, the “elite” and in Monarchy the power is of one person. In the “Republic” written by Plato around the 380 BCE, he tried to give a definition of what justice really is. He described the three different ways of government and he criticized them. He wrote that none of the three is an ideal form of government because all of them turn out to be a damage for the society.

Since 2016 is a presidential election year, and arguably, one of the most pivotal elections in American history, almost every front page article covers the whereabouts of the election. “The Case Against Democracy” is an article written by Caleb Crain and was published on the New Yorker Today’s headlines on Tuesday November 1st and fits the common theme of election headlines but speaks on the electorate rather than the candidates. It discusses the possibility of an epistocracy, the logic and means of instilling one, and how the relationship of epistocracy to democracy.

Furthermore, people can vote for and support the head of potential government. As a result, Hix (2005:175) argues that democracy exists if there is a competition between rival political manifestos for public policies and between the leaders of political parties and if there is a possibility to change the government if citizens do not satisfy from government’s policies. To conclude, in the majority of the democracies today, the party or the leader that wins the elections becomes the government or the president (Hix 2005:176).

Overall the nature and dynamics of such democracy remains a never-ending study case for the scholars. This discussion is also part of efforts to respond to that paradoxical nature of democracy.

The question of what is considered a democracy is one which many people have struggled to answer for centuries. Answers might vary from having all civil liberties to a model in which every person’s rights is protected and independent to a model that ensures equality. McKinnon (2012), believes that “Democracy refers generally to a method group decision-making that is characterised by a kind of equality among the participants at an essential age." Does the world have a democratic government that encompasses all of those answers? no. However, they all share one principle; the right to vote (choose a government). But an element of that answer contradicts the notion that a right to vote would lead to a government “by the people”. This essay will aim to illustrate how giving people a vote does not mean that a state would have a government “by the people” by analysing the problem in three areas: majority, minority and real-world statistical representation.

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

When in a political environment the election of different governments can lead to frequent changes in the policies of the country, changing the political landscape of the country. For example frequent changes of the extraterritorial policies can cripple the nations economy by making investments non-profitable for foreign and local investors and thus crippling the nations economy. This fact is considered by some as to why a democracy is not the best kind of government for a developing nation whose aim is the economic growth and elimination of poverty.

In our textbooks democracy is defined as “a form of regime associated with ‘rule by the people’ that signifies rights and liberties for citizens, including political rights to participate in elections and civil liberties such as freedom of speech” (Dickovick & Eastwood, 2013). Yet this definition will not suffice alone. To further our understanding of a democracy Larry Diamond and Leonardo Morlino explain what makes a good quality democracy. According to them a democracy is at least made up of universal suffrage, fair elections, multiple political parties, alternative sources of information, and must accords its citizens’ ample freedom, political equality, and control over public policies and policy makers through the legitimate and lawful functioning of stable institutions as well (Diamond & Morlino 2004). Although the quality of a democracy is hard to measure, they offer eight dimensions that can be used to measure the quality of a democracy, and if