Democracy

The meaning of democracy

Generally, most people would say that a country where the people have a say in how they are governed is a democracy. But, the meaning of democracy can be a little tricky to explain because there is no set definition that everyone agrees on. However, there are some characteristics that most people agree are essential to be considered a democracy, like the principles of democracy we discuss in the next section.

What is important to understand is that there is a spectrum between democracy and authoritarianism. For example, a country could have free and fair elections and a state-controlled media, so they have characteristics of both a democratic and authoritarian country and don't sit on either side of the spectrum.

The principles of democracy

The implementation of democracy varies significantly in its values. For example, while equality, freedom, and liberty are essential values, they are interpreted differently in each democratic system. In addition, every nation limits its rights and freedoms in many ways.

Fig. 1 Ballot Drop-Off Box.

In general, the principles of democracy help evaluate democracies in their implementation and differentiate one type from another. In addition, they help determine if a system of government is indeed a democracy.

Some of the most important and more agreed-upon principles of democracy are:

• Free and Fair Elections: It is the primary way for citizens to participate in the government; these elections must be peaceful and avoid corruption, coercion, and intimidation before, during, and after the electoral window.

• Free Judiciary: The judicial system should not be under the control of other branches of government, as they must prosecute each one in case of abuse of the law.

• Rule of Law: The law shall be protected and enforced by the government and the people, as no one is above it, in the understanding that the law maintains political, social, and economic order.

• Participation of citizens: As democracies are supposed to serve the people, it is the citizen's right and responsibility to participate in political affairs, whether by vote or by the system established in a Constitution.

• Equality: Every person is born equal; therefore, each shall be treated and attended to equally, as no citizen holds more rights than another, and the law equally judges all.

• Human and civil rights: Democratic governments shall protect the rights of their citizens in the understanding that these are inalienable, such as life, liberty, justice, and dignity.

• Accountability: Officials are responsible for explaining their decisions and policies by attending to their duties solely to benefit the people.

• Transparency: To ensure accountability, the government shall explain its decisions and allow non-government agencies, such as the press or public meetings to pass information to the citizens.

• Political Tolerance: While there are multiple opinions in a society, the state must view this as an advantage and tolerate differing views, protecting the views of the minority and the majority.

These principles are not implemented equally in every state. For example, how citizens are able to participate in political life is different in every state.

In general, the principles of democracy help evaluate democracies in their implementation and differentiate one type from another. In addition, they help determine if a system of government is indeed a democracy.

Types of democracy

While there are many types of democracies classified by many factors, the most common types of democracy are direct democracy, representative democracy, and liberal and social democracies.

Direct Democracy

It is derived directly from Athenian Democracy, and its defining marker is people's power over decisions, as they do not require intermediaries. Instead, they are constructed under frequent referendums, petitions, debates, and passing public interest laws.

While historically significant, this system is rarely used in modern politics as it can slow down policy-making, making it ineffective at passing relevant laws. The most common example of its use today is referendums.

Representative Democracy

Representative democracy, also called a republic or indirect democracy, is the most common type of democratic government. It involves frequent and free elections of government officials and parties that will represent the people. These officials shall have the power to govern and create laws on behalf of the people.

Representative democracies include every type of democratic government requiring the ruling bodies' election. The most common ones are parliamentary democracies and presidential democracies, but many systems fall between them and are still considered representative democracies.

Liberal democracy vs social democracy

Among the vast array of representative democracies, you can find liberal democracies as a category. What sets liberal democracies apart from social democracies is that they tend to focus on equality of opportunity rather than equality of outcome.

Another important point is that liberal democracies tend to support capitalism and implement policies favouring the free market. Whereas social democracies tend to prefer higher regulation of the market.

Countries practising Democracy

There are many types of government in existence. Still, democracy continues to be well-regarded as it protects the people's interests and well-being because they participate in the decision-making process. Moreover, as people hold the right to vote, they become equally important in the face of government, which enhances the values of liberty and equality. As such, it is one of the most popular forms of governance. Here are some examples of such countries.

Examples of Democracy

While it is impossible to name every country with a democratic system, this table contains some examples of countries with systems previously mentioned.

^{Table 1 – Examples of Democracy.}

History of Democracy

Modern democratic systems are the result of a long history of representative governments. While democratic-like representation systems can be seen throughout history, the Greeks established the first governments ruled by the people. Romans continued this trend in the form of the Senate. However, this did not last as emperors quickly shunned the Senate to accumulate power.

Where these precursors significantly differed, what was the same was in their representation. Greeks and Romans had particular requirements to have the right to vote. This meant that the government's representation mainly consisted of upper-class delegates.

You could argue that the Senate did not look for the common good of the people. They only consisted of the upper class and therefore only protected their interests, as most people who lived in the Greek and Roman territories were not considered citizens.

Fig. 3 History of Democracy timeline

The Declaration of Independence in the American Revolution was the first document to establish that men are born with rights that the government cannot take away. It also establishes the role of the citizens as the deciding factor in choosing their government and holds them accountable for their actions, as rulers must direct them to the citizen's best interests. Many consider the United States of America to have the first 'modern' democracy.