2024-07-18
"Democracy is not merely a form of government. It is primarily a mode of associative living, of conjoint communicated experience. It is essentially an attitude of respect and reverence towards fellow men" -> BR Ambedkar.
"A perverted form of government where the many rules in the interest of few" -> Aristotle
"A system where the multitude dominates politics, leading to chaos and eventually tyranny" -> Plato
"Political method by which people elect elites (ruler) in periodic competitive elections" -> Joseph Schumpeter
"Democracy is not majority rule; democracy is diffusion of power, representation of interests, recognition of minorities" -> John Calhoun
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle -> rule of mob or multitude; a perverted form of government
Rosseau -> Democracy reflects general will of people- support direct democracy
John Locke -> supported Representative Democracy- sovereign people governing through their representatives
JS Mill -> Representative democracy- 2 step shifted democracy
Winston Churchill -> Democracy is the worst form of government, except of all others.
G.W Shaw -> Democracy is "the substitution of election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few"
2 step shifted democracy: 1 step, people do not rule themselves, they elect representatives; 2nd step among those representatives some select rule (cabinet). Potential 3rd step among the cabinet some few actually rule.
Direct Democracy in Athens, Greece. Licchavis of Vaishali, Vajjian confederacy as repbulics in India.
Romans adopted the idea: Republic, rule by senate
Democracy remained obscured in the mediaeval era which witnessed large empires based on absolutist monarchy
With Renaissance, protestants and reformation movements, idea of democracy gained momentum in western Europe particularly England which became a constitutional monarchy after the glorious revolution- 1689
With the enlightenment movement led by the bourgeois class, individualism, rationality, idea of social contract was gaining ground; democracy was enticing idea to propel these thoughts
French revolution spurred the idea: liberty, equality, citizen rights were linked to the idea of democracy
Social contract theory of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, etc. made democracy the preferred form of government but it was not classical democracy but was liberal democracy, that is, democracy tempered by the liberal doctrine of individualism, rights, limited state, representative rule, constitutionalism, etc.
Through colonialism, idea of democracy spread to Asia, Africa, and wherever England has its colonies
Free America further propelled the idea: it became the first fully functional democratic republic in 1789
1st world war brought radical changes: with the demise of many empires, ideas of equal worth, rights, popular will, etc. gained momentum. Between 1828-120, 28 nation-states in Europe adopted democracy
Socialist movements, and anti-colonial movements during inter-war period further expended the idea of democracy
After 2nd world war sudden wave of decolonization resulted into large number of Asian and African post-colonial states becoming democracies
Currently, 167 (59 full democracies) out of 195 countries in the world are considered democracies in some form
EIU -> full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, authoritarian regimes
The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century, 1991 - Samuel P. Huntington
Gradual emergence of liberal democracies in 1st world
Industrial revaluation, modernization and rise of nation-sate in North America, Uk and western Europe, 29 democracies
Ended with rise of fascism in 1920s
Reverse wave: Fascism, great depression, World War 2 - only 12 remained by 1942
Post war era, restoration of democracies in West Germany, Japan, Italy, in many countries of Europe by Allied powers led by the USA
De-colonization produced many democracies in Asia and Africa - India, Sri-Lanka, Ghana, Indonesia
Ended during 1960s - many nations revered to authoritarian rule (Greece and several countries in Latin America - Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Mexico)
Started in 1974 in Portugal, followed in Greece and Spain, spread to Eastern Europe, then to Latin America, Africa and Asia
Factors: rise of a global middle class, the spread of information technology, and the increased pressure from international organizations for countries to democratize, Disintegration of USSR added fuel to the democratization process
Strongest in Latin America, then Asia, and least in sub–Saharan Africa and Middle East
28% (1975) to 61*(1998) nations adopted democracy
Equality: Each human has equal worth and dignity. Rule of law, no discrimination based on race, religion, caste, gender, language, culture
Equity: Proportional equality- un-equals treated unequally
Liberty: Liberty and autonomy of individuals ensured Civil Liberties - freedom of speech, conscience
Justice: Social arrangement ensuring both procedural and substantive justice. Fairness and justice in distribution of social goods
Rights: Protective fundamental rights of the citizens
Fraternity: Denotes social solidarity, comraderies based on respect for each other
Direct Democracy:
Representative Democracy:
Liberal democracy- individual rights, rule of law, constitutionalism, independent judiciary, separation of power, procedural justice (it considered aggregative democracy, everyone has different ideas and thoughts)
Participatory Democracy:
People actively take part in decision making and their implementation
Substantive Democracy: closer to direct democracy
Thinker -> Rousseau, Machperson, Hanah Arendt, Carole Pateman, Seyla Benhabib, Benjamin Barber, Mansbridge, John Dewey etc.
Deliberative Democracy
Social decisions/public policy by reasoned and inclusive public deliberation
Against the "aggregative" modal of democracy it is "transformative" and "discursive" model of democracy
It is an integration of popular sovereignty and liberal democracy
Thinkers -> Rousseau, John Rawls, David Miller, J. Drysek, Walzer, Bernard Manin, Fishkin, Amy Gutmann, Dennis Thompson etc.
Cosmopolitan Democracy
Extension of democratic principles and practices beyond the nation-state to the global level
All people are entitled to equal respect, rights and consideration, no matter what their citizenship status or national affiliations happen to be
All people are citizens of the world and that they should have a voice in the decisions that affect them, regardless of their nationality
Transnational citizenship, commitment to universal human rights, direct participation of citizens/communities on global decision making, bypassing hierarchical and formal national authorities
Democratic global institutions, global society participation, global deliberation and public sphere, global justice, focus on tackling climate, pandemics, terrorism etc.
Thinkers -> Immanuel Kant, David held, Daniele Archibugi, Ulrich Beck, Thomas Pogge, Seyla Benhabib, Richard Falk, Mary Kaldor
Polyarchy
Introduce by Robert Dahl in his book "Polyarchy; participation and opposition" 1971
His view Polyarchy: individual by multiple channels participate in politics, one through voting and other one through community. Power is not in one entity, it spread out in multiple communities, power is distributed
Associational Autonomy: Polyarchies allow citizens to form and join diverse interest groups, political partices, and associaltions
Alternative Information: Citizens in polyarchies have access to diverse sources of information- state and non-state
Rule of Law, Civil Liberties, Limited Government Powers, Competitive Elections, Pluralism
Social Democracy
Intergration of socialism and liberalism, both values exist. Individual rights, market and liberty exist with social values like welfare, social justice, equality, and minority rights.
Guided Democracy
democratic processes exist, but they are heavily controlled or guided by a centralized authority, such as a single party or a dominant leader.
Audience Democracy
Government pays close attention to public opinion and adjusts its policies accordingly, but does not fully respect the rights of minorities or allow for meaningful opposition
Delegative Democracy
Elected leaders have wide-ranging powers and are not accountable to the legislature or the judiciary
Populist Democracy
Leaders gain power by appealing to the emotions, grievances, and desires of the majority population, often through anti-establishment rhetoric and promises to address popular concerns
Managed Democracy
Elections are held, but the process is tightly controlled to ensure specific outcomes. This control can involve manipulating electoral rules, limiting opposition candidates, or influencing media coverage
Exclusive Democracies
Certain groups of people are excluded from political participation, such as women, minorities, or the poor
Domain Democracies
Government restricts political participation to a narrow elite
Bureaucratic Authoritarianism
A system of government in which the bureaucracy has a great deal of power, and the government is not accountable to the people
Unitary
All governing powers are concentrated in the central government. Administrative divisions at regional and local levels exercise only those power that the centeral government has delegated to them
Federalism
AT least two layers of government, both drawing power and autonomy from a written constitution that is subject to specific amendment procedures and judicial review by independent courts
Parliamentary: Executive emerges from legislature and accountable to it. head of the state - constitutional monarch or elected- have nominal power.
Presidential: Executive and parliament both elected directly. Executive accountable to people directly, not through parliament. Head of state and government one and same.
Semi-Presidential: Head of state- president and parliament both elected directly. President appoints PM- head of government- who is leader of majority party/coalition in parliament. Both head of state and head of government exercise real power. Head of state directly accountable to people, head of government accountable to people through parliament.
A monarch is the head of state, but their power is limited by a constitution. The monarch is usually responsible for ceremonial duties, such as opening parliament and signing laws. Real Power is exercised by the head of the government, which is accountable to the people through parliament.
Representative Democracy criticized as nominal or notional democracy. J.S. Mill derided it by calling it "two-step shifted democracy". Formal equality of opportunity, negative liberty, negative rights, limited state.
Elite rule in the name of democracy
Its support to capitalism, which is considered an exploitative and unequal economic system.
It's focus on individualism negative liberty and negative rights makes it favorable only to the privileged class
Justice in liberal democracy is procedural not substantive
By focusing more on rationalism and individualism it promotes atomized society of self-interested individuals
By creating a dichotomy of public versus private liberal democracy has denied equal rights to women
Its focus on elaborate rules regulations and institutions mechanism has made it structured and exclusive
Liberalism is also associated with colonialism, two world wars, racism, and cultural hegemony
Its linkage to neo-liberal globalization, universalism in the name of human rights, democracy, and development