Constitutional democracy

A democracy is built on the foundation that the citizens or elected officials participate in construction of the laws under which a country is run. This can lend itself to creating an environment where the majority rules or where those with the most influence can sway legal decisions in their favor. On the other hand, lawyers by nature are loyal to the ideas of protocol and structure, which serves as a natural counterbalance to democracy. Tocqueville equated a lawyer’s influence to that of an aristocratic

federal level and an opponent of the Articles of Confederation. He was an active participant in the writing of the Federalist papers, which supported the Constitution; to this day, it remains one of the most influential pieces of writing in terms of constitutional interpretation. In these federalist papers, more specifically Federalist 70, Hamilton proclaims that “energy in the executive” is a leading characteristic in the definition of good government. Hamilton believed that a weakly executed government

To what extent have constitutional reforms introduced since 1997 made the UK more democratic? Constitutional reform is a process whereby the fundamental nature of the system of government is changed or where a change is proposed. In the UK this may also involve the process of codification. Since 1997 there has been many key reforms that have made UK more democratic by a large amount and sometimes not so much if at all. Firstly the House of Lords reform where the voting rights of most hereditary

Media Bias Turn on CNN or Fox and Bias pounds you over the head. They each have their own talking heads or political correspondents to decry their “ expert opinions”. Since the advent of the 24 hour news cycle back during the Gulf War, when CNN was launched, the”news- junkie “ was born. News became less of a journalistic report of the facts about what was happening in the world and more about infotainment, it became more biased when Fox news came along and all of the other stations. Media has

from kindergarten to graduation, the belief instilled in people from a young age that we are a democracy is an idealistic, and unrealistic view of current political affairs. Before delving into why the United States operates as a government dominated by the economic elite rather than a democracy though, the latter must be defined. Following the classical teachings of Aristotle’s utopian view of democracy, in which each citizen has as much weight in the policy-making that governs as any other and still

is that the political regimes in both countries are democracies. Then, both countries have their own constitutions, which are quite old but still actual as the highest legal documents. Moving to the differences, it should be mentioned that while the UK is a parliamentary democracy, the USA is a representative democracy. Moreover, the forms of government are completely different as the USA is a presidential republic and the UK is a constitutional monarchy. Also, whereas in the USA the constitution

ever. There is no question that the powers of the presidency have increased since the founding of the United States, but what are the implications of this for American democracy? Increased presidential powers are taking power away from Congress, undermining the system of checks and balances, and ultimately hurting American democracy. Concentration of power in the executive branch circumvents democratic deliberation and limits

Democracy is perhaps the most elusive concept of all times. But if there has to be something more elusive, it will surely be the concept of American democracy. In 1858, Abraham Lincoln is known to have written: ¨As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master … This expresses my idea of democracy. Whoever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy.¨ The initial understanding of American democracy takes the form of an antithesis of English colonialism and slavery.

constitution included the absolute assurance of the freedom of speech. The American Dream is inseparably intertwined with this right, as the allure of America can be summarized in the unwavering belief in freedom of thought, alongside open and impartial democracy, and with the ability to “pull oneself up by one’s bootstraps” into prosperity. However, in these turbulent times, such rights have come under attack. More and more emboldened groups espoused controversial speech, dubbed hate speech, and subsequently

the lack of democracy. In Nigeria, corruption stems from the problem with oil, it leads to political violence, repression and unchecked government power. In Kenya, corruption arises from economic interests, causing political instability and hindering development. In addition to that, both experience electoral corruption. Conversely, civil societies active participation in the government propels each country towards a “thicker” democracy. Even though Nigeria and Kenya are thin democracies, their high