Democracy : The Best Option?

Those who are in power are not accountable to constituencies and public policy does not derive from social consent. Within sociology and political science, particularly within comparative politics, authoritarianism has been understood as a modern type of political regime. Therefore, the concept focuses on the way of accessing, exercising, and organizing power, on the nature of the belief system, and the role of citizens in the political

Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, and is one with representative institutions and a rule of law.

Democracy is the idea government of present day. Many nations are converting to a democratic image to improve and better their society and make the people have a “fair” government. Today, it may seem easy to do things such as voting and our own freedom, but the expansion of democracy back then was a struggle. During 1776- 1920, many attempts were made to expand/ create democracy to increase citizen participation in the government. Acts for rights for suffrage, equal rights for the “lower class”, women, and African Americans, and balanced government where no one directly controls the government like the monopolists did, helped form the way democratic governments are run today. Events such as the Civil War, protests that created amendments and

Democracy, as it is used today, means “ the people rule.” A democracy is a form of government ruled by the people of the country through elections and representation. A democracy is really a form of republic known as a democratic republic. A republic is a government where officials elected by a small group of people that make the important decisions.

A Democracy is a system of government in which the popular vote reigns. Through the popular vote, a leader is elected, decisions about the country are made, and the future of the country is set. In a democracy, often two political sides will form that see two different futures for their country. Having differing opinions is good for a country, but in a democracy, the smaller party will almost always lose.

What is democracy? The origin of the word, democracy, comes out to the meaning “people rule”. Democracy is where people decide what is important and what issue should be addressed. This allows and gives people the power to make decisions and to stand or be against for what they believe in. Many countries have noticed how popular democracy is and as stated in the Greenberg textbook, democracy is “form of government that best protects human rights” compared to the other forms of governments (Greenberg 6).

Authoritarianism is a political system in which a leader or a small elite group contains all real power. Individual liberties such as freedom of speech, press, and religion are subordinate to the authority of which citizens are blindly compliant to, as opposed to enjoying at will. Therefore, the people's main role in the government is to execute rather than engage. Authoritarianism is described as being a strong central government, which is essentially the exact opposite of democracy.

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.

Authoritarian rulers place themselves above the law without any reprimand. There is no respect for civil society and the population has limited political participation. These rulers often strive to financially benefit themselves rather than their state and any opposition is removed by threats of violence. This increases fear within the population and increases power of the ruler or rulers. All media platforms are censored and monitored and the ruler or party

Authoritarianism is a form of government in which the leader or leaders have exclusive power concerning matters of the state. Although these

History has known far more authoritarian regimes than any other form of government. Authoritarianism is a form of non-democratic rule defined by state power being centralized in a single person or a small group of people. Unlike democracies, these individuals in power are not dependent on the people for power. Thus, under authoritarianism, state leaders have little accountability to the public and there is little individual freedom. Additionally, authoritarian regimes are not bound by a constitution that might limit their power. Such democratic liberties such as the right to assembly, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press are highly controlled or non-existent. State policies are designed to maintain the power status quo in favor of

A democracy is a government by the people, in which the power is vested in the people themselves. The people then elect representatives who conduct their power in a free electoral system. The Declaration of Independence, which says that all men are created equal, was written on the premise of a democracy.

In these systems, the regimes possess some of these characteristics but have found ways to manipulate the system to consolidate their power. “Rather than openly violating democratic rules (for example, by banning or repressing the opposition and the media), incumbents are more likely to use bribery, co-optation, and more subtle forms of persecution, such as the use of tax authorities, compliant judiciaries, and other state agencies to ‘legally’ harass, persecute, or extort cooperative behavior from critics” . While it is apparent that these regimes are not fully democratic, it would be unfair to label them as fully authoritarian either. Unlike traditional totalitarian governments, the persistence of true democratic institutions in competitive authoritarian regimes allows the opposition to contest, weaken and occasionally even defeat autocratic incumbents. While these situations are generally uncommon, these situations are possible in competitive authoritarianism due to four independent means, the electoral arena, the legislature, the judiciary and the media. These four branches are virtually independent of the executive control however, unlike in democracies, the competitive authoritarian regimes use its power to undermine their independence. “In regards to the electoral arena, large-scale abuses of state power, biased media coverage, harassment of opposition candidates and activists are widespread, legislatures tend to be relatively weak, the

Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy allows eligible citizens to participate equally—either directly or through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws. It encompasses social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination.

Under an authoritarian regime, specifically a dictatorship, the ruler has the political and executive power to persecute an individual or group for political reasons, which demonstrates a form of political oppression.