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Many Countries That Claim To Be A Democracy Are Quasi Democracies

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Many countries that claim to be a democracy are quasi democracies because they fail to promote active participation, political efficacy and activism, free/fair/frequent elections, and an independent and pluralistic media. These countries instead choose to promote subject mindset and chauvinistic attitudes, which is a major red flag. Elections that aren’t free, fair, or frequent is a threat to the foundations of democracy because it takes away the people’s right to vote and pick proper representation. The media either promote subject or participant mindset depending on if it is government controlled or influenced. A controlled media is a red flag because it prevents the citizens from getting multiple perspectives on government issues and…show more content…
Where there is massive inequality in society and a lack of protection for citizens’ procedural and substantive rights, then this is a major sign that the country has become a quasi-democracy. When the government restrict or neglect to recognize citizens’ civil liberties, it should be a major red flag to citizens that they need to increase their participation in government through continuous political and social activism.
The Role of the Citizen
Citizens become subjects when they are cynical about the government, follow orders without questioning the morality, develop a chauvinistic attitude, become inefficacious, – which leads to lower voter turnout during elections – and is overall apathetic about politics. These are major red flags that the democracy is in trouble because power is supposed to come from the people. However, if people are becoming apathetic and inefficacious because they don’t believe the system will change, that is a sign that the government is no longer a true democracy. According to Rousseau, citizens have an inherent social contract with the government, meaning the citizens give the government permission to govern and represent their best interest, essentially giving them the power to rule. This reflect the idea of popular sovereignty, which is that the people have the power within the society. In theory, the people are supposed to have the power, but in practice, the government seems to be ruled by Elitist interests, rather than
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