Failure of Democracy in Pakistan

Democracy is a Greek invention, first practiced in the ancient Greek city of Athens. In the late 20th century, Democracy triumphed over all other major ideological systems, so overpowering was its victory that former critics now began to advocate their own democratic credentials. The vigorous rise of democracy has continued ever since and today there are over 112 self-proclaimed democratic countries around the world(Kekic 2007), whether all these countries are truly democratic or not is debatable and which will be discussed further in the essay. Important questions arise here: will democracies face a formidable opponent in the future? Have democracies remained true to their essence? or have they been breached by competing ideologies? A large majority of these 112 countries are not true democracies, as they do not adhere to the basic democratic credentials of :of the people, by the people and for the people. Serious revisions are needed in the workings of the modern state if democracy, in its true form, is to remain the dominant system. Whether democracy even in its purest form is flawed or not is a different question, one that I will not address in this essay.

Aside from stability and loyalty which democracy brought into our society, we have seen inequality that generates conflicts. These conflicts can be seen in class, race and gender.

Political reform is often resulting in increased demands of oppressed and weaken state. New democracies tend to have security problems and questions of the democratic governance. The state must instill stability and social control; thus a weak state will fail. Democracy, however, can achieve peace by allocating power through elections, manage diversity without violence, and create political positions. State and nation-building, integration, and a development of a unified ideology can be a strategy to promote democratic consolidation.

Democracy is not just about how elections are run. In order for a state to be considered fully democratic, the state needs to allow its citizens to have freedom of speech, thought, press and freedom to choose a religion. Respecting the freedom of everyone in the nation is key to democratic success. In Indonesia, a Muslim majority country, and in the Philippines, a Christian majority country, democracy has become vulnerable because of the increased power of religious groups.

One of the long-standing pursuits of the human well-being among scholars is the notion of the ‘democracy’. Initially, the word ‘democracy’ is derived from the Greek word ‘demos’ and ‘cratein’, which mean ‘common people’s rule’. Despite having some disputes over the exact meaning of this word and comprehension, the types of the democracy, and its wave, the meaning is mainly considered as ‘government or rule by the people’ throughout the world (Terence 2014).

The Principles of Democracy are very important for our country. They each set boundaries for the government, giving the people some power. They limit the government's abilities so that they don’t become all-powerful and try to rule the people without letting them get a say. They are here to protect us from what the government could possibly do. Although there are many Principles of Democracy, there are three in particular I would like to talk about.

For the first time in known history, most people around the world are living under democratic ruling. Although to many this can be seen as a positive step forward from the gruelling nature of dictatorship and other forms of governance, one needs to understand the true nature of the worlds democratic state. This report will investigate and analyse the state of democracy around the various countries of the world and elaborate on the chosen countries democratic crisis and state of governance.

India’s experiment with democracy has, through the years, proven to be a success. There is an established Constitution that is fair to all the people living in the country, the power of the leadership is vested within the people, and the people are able to voice their opinions without fear. These factors create the foundation on which a democratic nation can stand and continue to build on in. The early leaders of India knew of this, moreover they also knew that it was even more important for India to have these qualities because of its extreme diversity and historical past.

Although many agree that British rule expedited Indian democracy by postulating an efficient structure, the conception that democracy is a British legacy is disputed. As seen with Pakistan, of a comparable background to India, the nation has been under imbedded or unambiguous military rule during its independence period. India’s national movement made the British uncertain about the legitimacy of their rule by enquiring superiority in their own political institutions. As a democracy exasperating to control an empire, Britain found that its liberalism was progressively pending into divergence with its

Americans tend to believe that writing an essay is so easy and fast. Have you ever thought about the list of components that go into a good essay? In fact a good essay addresses the main point and tells the reader what he or she will discuss and where they are going with it. An essay will also state the main ideas clearly. As writers we tend to sometimes use or leave out these important factors. Two authors by the names of Julius Nyerere and Benazir Bhutto; wrote two essays based on the topic of democracy and the struggles that go along with it. Nyerere’s essay titled One-Party Government emphasizes that a democracy can also be represented in a one-party government. On the other hand Bhutto’s essay Islam and Democracy focuses on the illusion that the west is the reason Muslim countries lack democracy. Bhutto’s essay was better in many ways. She convinces me that her essay was the best by providing relatable background information, and expressing both sides of the Western and Islamic beliefs on democracy and equality.

Democracy will always be imperfect without a clear and close relationship among the advisers and their communities. All the representatives need to evolve their skills and need the right facilities and support to be capable of operating completely and effectively. However, there is as well the necessity to develop and embrace effective materials for engaging with population. Political involvement has been depicted as being spirited and very crucial to democracy in general. In a representative democracy, the fact that the majority of citizens select the law makers for a certain time and have the right to reject them also in a period of time, means that the final power belong to the people but is intermediate through a representative system.

Ever since the ancient Greeks, democracy has been widely acclaimed as the best form of governing. Known as the “rule of the majority”, democracy is made up of many factors that makes it so unique. For example, democracy is based on free and fair elections, active participation of the people, protection of human rights, and a rule of law that equally applies to everyone. With a system focussed on the rights and representation of all, why would such a system be on the decline? There are many elements that have contributed to the diminishing of the popularity for democracy. It all comes down to the fact that the people of democratic nations are losing trust in the system. It is this declining trust that can lead to the extinction of democracy.

Through the study of human history it is evident authoritative and monarch governments prevailed as legitimate authorities but with careful considerations these political systems were seen as inaccurate by many. New political systems, functions and responsibilities soon began to surface. Democracy was among these new political systems and argues for the influence of citizens in politics and the protection of rights (Dahl, 1998, p. 44). Democracy can be found through many political systems around the world particularly in first world countries such as Canada and the United States of America. Fortunately the notions of democracy can also be found in some developing countries such as India. ¬¬¬Although democratic views and notions are found throughout Indian politics and its associated practices India does not prove to be completely democratic in relation to Robert Dahl’s criteria of democracy highlighted in his book, On Democracy. Robert Dahl, a political scientist and professor, sets up 5 criteria of democracy that includes effective participation, voting equality, enlightened understanding, inclusion and control of agenda (Dahl, 1998, p. 36-7). He argues that a sense of true democracy is founded when all 5 criteria of democracy are fulfilled (Dahl, 1998, p. 36). Unfortunately India is unable to accommodate the criteria of voting equality and effective participation due to its

one essential conviction, expressed in the word democracy itself: that power should be in the hands of the people. Although democracy today has been slightly inefficient in this idea, with the wealthy, elite class challenging this right, “it nevertheless claims for itself a fundamental validity that no other kind of society shares….” To completely understand the structure of democracy, one must return to the roots of the practice itself, and examine the origins in ancient Greece, the expansion in the Roman Empire, and how these practices combined make what we recognize as today’s democratic government.

Since the initiation of the Third Wave of Democracy, several countries have attempted to form a democratic system of governs. We take note that not all have succeeded. At the dawn of this era, democracy was being applied to countries with no prior history of a governing body that was place by the people for the people hence success of such a system could not be guaranteed because of the innumerous variables that existed in each country. People being the highlighted factor of variance, it may become easier to understand how countries such as Pakistan and Nigeria, both countries prior to the Wave had no local governing machinery. Pakistan further endured a partition from India which resulted in not only an instant religious and