What is Democracy?
Democracy is a political regime that is based on the principle that power derives from, and is exercised by, the people. It is a system of government that allows citizens to participate in decision-making and to choose their leaders, as well as to hold public office and enjoy the freedoms of speech, association, assembly and the press.
Democratisation is the process of moving towards this type of regime. This can take many forms, and there is a great deal of debate about the factors that promote or hinder it. These factors can be economic, cultural, individual (such as personality and choice) or international. There are also different theories about the timing of a country’s democratisation, and there have been several “waves” of it occurring around the world. These include the emergence of democracies in former British colonies following World War II, the spread of democracy to southern Europe and Latin America, and the rise and fall of young democracies in Africa and Asia.
There is also a wide range of views about what constitutes a democracy, and how it can be defended against the threat of autocracy or other alternatives to it. For example, it is often held that a democratic regime must be multiracial and must allow women to take part in political life. In addition, it must be open to foreign investment and must permit the movement of workers between countries to seek better pay and conditions.
It is also argued that a democracy must be free from military or other external interference in internal affairs. In addition, a democracy must be transparent and accountable to its citizens. Some argue that the emergence of a genuinely democratic regime is a lengthy process, and that it requires building civil society, where various political, social and cultural groups and practices play an active role in setting the limits of state authority, and establishing democratic procedures and institutions.
One theory of democratisation is that it is a gradual, sometimes slow process that can be promoted by the actions of external actors such as the Allied forces in Japan and Germany after World War II, or the Western liberal democracies supporting the transition to independence in East Timor before 2006. The success of these examples has given rise to the idea that democracy can be imposed by outsiders, although this view is not widely accepted by scholars.
There is broad consensus that, in order to be sustainable, a pro-democratic revolution must come from within. In the long run, it is not possible to achieve democratic politics through foreign imposition – even in countries with good economic and political prospects – because the necessary conditions must develop organically. Moreover, attempts to impose democracy from the outside have rarely been successful. The experience of the Afghan and Iraq interventions, and of a number of other cases of attempted democratisation that have failed to become functional states, supports this view. The exception is perhaps South Africa in 1994, where the head of the white racist dictatorship that had ruled for 27 years was replaced by Nelson Mandela, the leader of a black liberation movement that had won a majority of the vote.
Democracy is a political regime that is based on the principle that power derives from, and is exercised by, the people. It is a system of government that allows citizens to participate in decision-making and to choose their leaders, as well as to hold public office and enjoy the freedoms of speech, association, assembly and the press. Democratisation is the process of moving towards this type of regime. This can take many forms, and there is a great deal of debate about the factors that promote or hinder it. These factors can be economic, cultural, individual (such as personality and choice) or international. There are also different theories about the timing of a country’s democratisation, and there have been several “waves” of it occurring around the world. These include the emergence of democracies in former British colonies following World War II, the spread of democracy to southern Europe and Latin America, and the rise and fall of young democracies in Africa and Asia. There is also a wide range of views about what constitutes a democracy, and how it can be defended against the threat of autocracy or other alternatives to it. For example, it is often held that a democratic regime must be multiracial and must allow women to take part in political life. In addition, it must be open to foreign investment and must permit the movement of workers between countries to seek better pay and conditions. It is also argued that a democracy must be free from military or other external interference in internal affairs. In addition, a democracy must be transparent and accountable to its citizens. Some argue that the emergence of a genuinely democratic regime is a lengthy process, and that it requires building civil society, where various political, social and cultural groups and practices play an active role in setting the limits of state authority, and establishing democratic procedures and institutions. One theory of democratisation is that it is a gradual, sometimes slow process that can be promoted by the actions of external actors such as the Allied forces in Japan and Germany after World War II, or the Western liberal democracies supporting the transition to independence in East Timor before 2006. The success of these examples has given rise to the idea that democracy can be imposed by outsiders, although this view is not widely accepted by scholars. There is broad consensus that, in order to be sustainable, a pro-democratic revolution must come from within. In the long run, it is not possible to achieve democratic politics through foreign imposition – even in countries with good economic and political prospects – because the necessary conditions must develop organically. Moreover, attempts to impose democracy from the outside have rarely been successful. The experience of the Afghan and Iraq interventions, and of a number of other cases of attempted democratisation that have failed to become functional states, supports this view. The exception is perhaps South Africa in 1994, where the head of the white racist dictatorship that had ruled for 27 years was replaced by Nelson Mandela, the leader of a black liberation movement that had won a majority of the vote.