Whether liberal democracy, illiberal democracy or authoritarian rule is the best route to economic development for low income countries
Introduction
Democracy and economic development are two concepts that were not related initially, however, with the rise of democracies and the subsequent economic development there is an established correlation between the two concepts. The question that this paper will seek to address is “which is the best regime for economic development”. In responding tothis question it is significant to first distinguish between the different regimes that are available; liberal democracy, illiberal democracy and authoritarianism. Additionally, is prudent to define development before arriving at a consensus on the best regime for development.
Liberal democracy is a form of government that allows the society to participate in policy making. This participation should be at every level of the decision making process as well as keeping control of the process. Democracy is seen as the absolute enjoyment of human rights. The elements of a democratic society include freedom of speech, an independent judiciary and the power to legislate which must be exercised by representatives of the people who are elected in free and fair elections. Laws, in a democratic society, are implemented by responsible individuals and all administrative organs are accountable to the people’s representatives (Hadenius 1992). A liberal democracy, therefore, is a society where collective decisions, including policies, laws and procedures are the direct or indirect choice and preference of equal citizens in the society.
The opposite of a democratic democracy is an authoritarian rule. Authoritarianism is a form of government where obedien...
... middle of paper ...
... Journal of Politics, Vol. 74 no. 1, pp. 1-17.
Hadenius, A 1992, Democracy and development, Cambridge University Press.
Leftwich, A 2002, Democracy and development, New Political Economy, Vol. 7 no. 2, pp. 269-281.
Makdisi, S. A., & Elbadawi, I. 2011, Democracy in the Arab world: explaining the deficit IDRC.
Oforiwaa Gyamera, G. 2014, Education, democracy and development: does education contribute to democratization in developing countries?. Journal of Education Policy, pp. 1-2.
Persson, T., & Tabellini, G. 2006, Democracy and development: The devil in the details. National Bureau of Economic Research.
Przeworski, A. 2000, Democracy and development: political institutions and well-being in the world, 1950-1990. Cambridge University Press.
Shihata, I. F. 1997, Democracy and Development, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Vol. 46 no.3, pp. 635-643.
Liberal freedom is the absence of subjective legal or institutional restraints on the individual, containing the idea that all citizens are to be treated equally. Freedom as self-government involves an assumed individual state of independence, self-determination, superiority, and self-confidence. Participatory freedom includes the right to the individual to partake fully in the political process. Collective deliverance is agreed as the liberation of a group from outside control-from imprisonment, bondage, or domination. (Walton Jr & Smith,
1. Janda, Kenneth. The Challenge of Democracy. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, MA. 1999. (Chapter 3 & 4).
Reich, R. (2007). How capitalism is killing democracy. Foreign Policy, Sep/Oct2007, 38-42. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete.
What Democracy Is. .. and Is Not Journal of Democracy, Vol. 2, No. 3. (1991), pp. 75-88
To begin democracy simply is defined as being for the people, but Zakaria explains how western countries governments version of democracy has meant liberal democracy, a system that has the qualities where there is not only fair and free election, but also constitutional limitation of power that the government has, separation of powers and protection of basic rights such as freedom of speech, assembly, religion and property. Liberal Democracy avoided civil war by providing protection of its citizens and their rights. This form of democracy differs from the historical and theoretical form of democracy. There are many different forms of government besides liberal democracy, in fact, many countries goes through many types of government before becoming a liberal democracy. Countries tend to start of with self-elected ruler that do not protect its people rights, this form of government is an Illiberal Autocracy, then they go on to become a Liberal Autocracy, still self elected but protects its peoples rights, and then finally become Liberal Democracy. Another form of government is illiberal democracy; this government is not free and fair.
177-192 Street, P. Capitalism and Democracy "Don't Mix Very Well": Reflections on globalization, February, 2000. Z online Magazine: http://www.iefd.org/articles/capitalism_and_democracy.php UNDP (2004), Arab Human Development Report 2004: Towards Freedom in the Arab World . Pp. 12
Special attention must be given to the claim that weak institutions are to blame for this decrease in democracy rather than resource wealth in itself (Lam et al., 2002). I concede that this is partially true, however, weak institutions and the resource curse are by no means mutually exclusive. By definition, undeveloped countries have weak institutions; likewise, countries with weak institutions are generally undeveloped. Since this paper focuses particularly on developing resource rich states, this criticism is not detrimental- but rather complimentary to my argument.
Authoritarian regimes are defined, at their core, by having all the power in the hands of one leader or a small elite where rights of citizens are not protected. Other characterisations, according to Headley, including having no rule of law, a lack of independent civil society, ambiguous mechanisms of succession, military control, and populist nationalism (lecture 5). Authoritarianism is categorised into types: dictatorship, one-party rule, military rule, theocracy and hybrid. Liberal democracies are the opposite to authoritarian regimes, with focuses on the education, liberalism and equality of their
Authoritarian forms of government do sometimes fail. The reasons for such failure include the public’s dissatisfaction with the current governmental regime, the emergence of relevant opposition, political negotiation with elites, the physical location as well as history of freedom in a given nation, and the deserting of the authoritarian leader.
Zakaria, F. (2007). The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad (Revised Edition). New York: W. W. Norton.
Firstly, K. Isbester mentions that democracy has a different meaning for everyone, as some can define democracy as a good aspect for development, on the contrary other believe that it is nothing more than voting after several years. Although, Latin America see democratic g...
“…increasing international trade and financial flows since the Second World War have fostered sustained economic growth over the long term in the world’s high-income states. Some with idle incomes have prospered as well, but low-income economies generally have not made significant gains. The growing world economy has not produced balanced, healthy economic growth in the poorer states. Instead, the cycle of underdevelopment more aptly describes their plight. In the context of weak economies, the negative effects of international trade and foreign investments have been devastating. Issues of trade and currency values preoccupy the economic policies of states with low-income economies even more than those with high incomes because the downturns are far more debilitating.1”
Most people have heard the terms “developed countries”, as well as “undeveloped countries”. Developed countries can be defined as countries with high advanced technological functions and a matured economy. While developed countries are seen as “rich” and “state-of-the-art” , undeveloped countries are quite the opposite. They are the poorer states and are often called the third world countries. But what really causes these countries to be poor and undeveloped? And how can they become like the developed countries? There are many reasons why countries are undeveloped but the main factors are the country’s natural disasters, poverty, lack of education , and selfish governments who may not be transparent in handling money.
Joseph T. Single (2004:9) argues that although capitalistic growth of the economy had led to democracy in the past, in the future it may fail to do so. Countries with a capitalistic economic system have prospered under oppressive or authoritarian governments. The People’s Republic of China is a fascinating example. Its private sector has grown exponentially since its creation, regardless of the authoritarian
Throughout history different types of instrumental regimes have been in tact so civilizations remained structured and cohesive. As humanity advanced, governments obligingly followed. Although there have been hiccups from the ancient times to modern day, one type of government, democracy, has proven to be the most effective and adaptive. As quoted by Winston Churchill, democracy is the best form of government that has existed. This is true because the heart of democracy is reliant, dependent, and thrives on the populaces desires; which gives them the ability for maintaining the right to choose, over time it adjusts and fixes itself to engulf the prominent troubling issues, and people have the right of electing the person they deem appropriate and can denounce them once they no longer appease them. In this paper, the benefits of democracy are outlined, compared to autocratic communism, and finally the flaws of democracy are illustrated.